Author: Mogens Larsen
Date: 02:26:14 07/19/00
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On July 18, 2000 at 21:46:42, Robert Hyatt wrote: >I don't think that they do implement pondering equally well. But that is the >native mode the engine operates in. And it is the mode the engine will be in >when playing serious games. Which means that is the mode that will be used to >produce what I call important results. So if you have a pondering bug, it will >show itself in the important games where you use pondering... [snip bad analogy] Yes, that is true, even though uneven implementation of ponder would also add an extra degree of freedom to a unstable system of comparing computer chess programs. Calling it native mode doesn't change that. On a single cpu machine the native mode is ponder OFF when it comes to engine-engine matches, so let's keep the semantics out of it. Noone disagrees as far as I know with the importance of playing serious games with the optimal settings achieveable. Though I believe this is irrelevant for the majority, unless you're blessed with good hardware or is a good chess player. The truth is that your program offer the possibility of disabling ponder, whereby it becomes a testable feature of your program. It doesn't matter how well this feature is implemented, because that wouldn't be relevant to ponder games as well, by your own admission. The fact that Crafty thinks that it is pondering, while not doing so, is a flaw in the program. If only flawless programs were tested we wouldn't be able to test that many programs, if any at all. I suggest applying one of two options: 1) Disable ponder OFF completely. 2) Fix ponder OFF. As long as it exists it's a feature of your program, like it's a feature of many others. You may ignore the results, but they cannot be described as random. They reflect the state of the program concerning the features implemented. Best wishes... Mogens
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