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Subject: Re: ponder_on ponder_off comparision

Author: Vincent Diepeveen

Date: 01:41:00 07/21/00

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On July 19, 2000 at 16:41:11, Volker Pittlik wrote:

>On July 19, 2000 at 13:19:07, Mogens Larsen wrote:
>
>[...]
>
>If I'm allowed to give a statement.
>
>Firstly what I wanted to test is: are the the results of ponder _on and
>ponder_off tournaments are comparable. And it's very likely to me they are.

Very easy it's a similar comparision as a bit slower hardware versus
a bit faster hardware.

Basically: if your program doesn't search very deep, like 8 or 9 ply,
versus opponent 12 to 14 ply, then obviously pondering helps more to
get to a depth where it matters less that opponent searches deeper.

>If you you look in the results in my games archive you will easily find that
>Crafty's outcoming in the ponder_off round is probably randomnly. There isn't
>any evidence that Crafty is playing stronger with ponder_off. I assume _every_
>program is playing stronger with ponder_on.
>
>Secondly Crafty wasn't the only program envolved in this test. The outcoming of
>all other program are nearly the same in both tournaments . Maybe _all_ other
>authors of the other programs have implemented ponder_off time management in a
>similar rudimentary way as it has done in Crafty. But this seems very unlikely
>to me.
>
>So what to do next to test the effect of ponder_on? I don't know yet. To do
>another test with other engines, different time controls, more/less games seems
>to be the wrong way because I don't know anything about the time management in
>the other programs.
>
>To use special versions of the programs which are allways or never ponder are
>possibly the way to do such a test.
>
>Volker
>
>
>>I agree, there is very little data to suggest that, except Pittlik's data. In
>>general I don't think there's any correlation between the comparable strength of
>>programs using either ponder=on and off, except maybe in a small spectrum with
>>certain conditions on timecontrol, hash, computer and whatever.
>>
>>My main objection is you complaining about data achieved by using a parameter
>>included in the program, and writing it off as random. That's unappropriate
>>IMHO, especially since the data put forward by Pittlik was interesting, but
>>inconclusive by itself. There's no need to use the machinegun every time :o).
>>
>>Best wishes...
>>Mogens



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