Computer Chess Club Archives


Search

Terms

Messages

Subject: Re: Blocked pieces

Author: Enrique Irazoqui

Date: 02:41:52 06/22/00

Go up one level in this thread


On June 22, 2000 at 00:43:00, Ed Schröder wrote:

>On June 21, 2000 at 15:14:54, Enrique Irazoqui wrote:
>
>>On June 21, 2000 at 13:53:13, Christophe Theron wrote:
>>
>>>On June 21, 2000 at 08:30:59, Enrique Irazoqui wrote:
>>>
>>>>[D]1r6/1pb1k1p1/4p2p/1p1p4/3Pp2P/1R2P1PB/1P2P1K1/8 b - - 0 1
>>>>
>>>>Yesterday I looked at this position that reveals once again how much trouble
>>>>programs have in recognizing the importance of blocked pieces. Some programs
>>>>pick and drop 1...b4, but none of them realize that the blocked rook is out of
>>>>the game until the search makes them see the consequences many hours later. The
>>>>evaluation at the initial position or after 1...b4 2.Rxb4 b5 3.Rb3 b4 is almost
>>>>the same. It takes 61 minutes for F6a and 335 minutes for Tiger to pick b4, and
>>>>much, much longer to fail high.
>>>
>>>
>>>Well, life is unfair. I do have something for this kind of positions in Tiger.
>>>Normally Tiger is able to suspect that the rook is in trouble.
>>
>>Do you have to treat differently the cases of blocked rooks or blocked knights
>>and bishops? So many times I hear programmers looking for patterns. Well, this
>>is one, isn't it? In the first position, the rook can't move or a pawn will take
>>it. In the second and third, the bishop is statically trapped by a chain of
>>pawns in a small corner of the board. Technical question from an illiterate:
>>wouldn't it make sense to heavily penalize such positions?
>>
>>For instance, Junior 6a is the program that does best with the first position.
>>It picks b4 in 51 seconds and sticks to it forever, but the difference between
>>b4 and the next best is only 8/100 of a pawn after 4 hours. So it doesn't quite
>>get it, and in the other 3 positions it fails.
>>
>>>However, for an unknown reason, it looks like it does not work in this here...
>>
>>Tiger doesn't get the other positions either (no program does). Pattern?
>>
>>>Sometimes I wonder if adding this kind of knowledge is worth the trouble, as
>>>there are so many exceptions, and even cases where the knowledge is counter
>>>productive, or is not triggered at the right time!
>>
>>These positions come from real games, one of them from a computer game, so I
>>guess it must be productive to teach them this kind of things. I may be
>>exaggerating, but looking at some human-computer games, like the ones lost by
>>Fritz in the Dutch championship, it seems clear that blocking positions is an
>>efficient anti-computer strategy. But how can a program recognize a general
>>blockade if it's incapable of realizing that one piece is trapped?
>>
>>In my opinion, this also has to do with a more general issue of aesthetics, of
>>programs being able to produce some sort of beauty other than announcing mate in
>>128.
>
>I don't have much trapped piece code in Rebel. But 1..b4 is quickly found
>with a score difference of 1/4 of a pawn in comparison with the previous
>best move. I don't know why Rebel picks 1..b4 but in any case trapped piece
>code isn't an issue here so there are other positional aspects valid for
>this position too.
>
>Ed

But at ply 16 Century 1.2 drops b4 in favor of h5 (+0.66), and then at ply 17 it
picks again b4 (also +0.66), so the difference in evaluation between b4 and h5
is less than 1/100 of a pawn.

Enrique


>_____________________________________________________________
>
>00:00:00  8.07  0.36   1..Kd6 2.Rxb5 e5 3.Rb3 Ba5 4.Bg4
>                       g5 5.hxg5 hxg5  (0)
>
>00:00:01  9.00  0.38   1..Kd6 2.Rxb5 e5 3.Bg4 b6 4.Rb3
>                       Rf8 5.Ra3 Bd8  (1)
>
>00:00:03 10.00  0.39   1..Kd6 2.Rxb5 e5 3.Bg4 b6 4.Rb3
>                       Rf8 5.Ra3 Bd8 6.Ra1  (2)
>
>00:00:05 10.16  0.39   1..b4
>00:00:06 10.16  0.56   1..b4 2.Rxb4 b5 3.Bg4 Bd6 4.Rb3
>                       b4 5.h5 Rf8  (5)
>
>00:00:07 11.00  0.58   1..b4 2.Rxb4 b5 3.g4 Bd6 4.Rb3 b4
>                       5.g5 Rf8 6.gxh6 gxh6 7.Bg4  (6)
>
>00:00:18 12.00  0.61   1..b4 2.Rxb4 b5 3.g4 Bd6 4.Rb3 b4
>                       5.g5 hxg5 6.hxg5 Rh8 7.g6 Kf6  (13)
>
>00:00:45 13.00  0.61   1..b4 2.Rxb4 b5 3.Bg4 Bd6 4.Rb3
>                       b4 5.h5 Kf6  (32)
>
>00:02:06 14.00  0.64   1..b4 2.Rxb4 b5 3.Bg4 Bd6 4.Rb3
>00:06:30 15.00  0.63   1..b4 2.Rxb4 b5 3.Kf2 Bd6 4.Rb3
>                       b4 5.Kg2 Ra8 6.Bg4  (237)
>
>
>
>>Enrique
>>
>>>    Christophe



This page took 0 seconds to execute

Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700

Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.