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Subject: Re: typical: a sensation happens and nobody here registers it !

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 18:12:58 10/16/00

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On October 16, 2000 at 17:06:38, Enrique Irazoqui wrote:

>On October 16, 2000 at 15:38:56, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>
>>On October 16, 2000 at 14:05:52, Chessfun wrote:
>>
>>>On October 16, 2000 at 00:53:06, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>
>>>>My take:  let's wait until the thing is released and see how it does.  Without
>>>>beta testers that exert a bit of influence over the program's time allocation
>>>>and book choices.
>>>
>>>
>>>Can you prove this statement please;
>>>
>>>There are no beta testers who exert any influence over book choice or
>>>time allocation. The program runs automatically on the server, the book
>>>is set.
>>>
>>>Sarah.
>>
>>
>>I base it on the following.  I have played multiple gambit tiger clones.  They
>>are reasonably predictable in their time usage.  With a "couple" of beta
>>testers, the thing will go into a "deep think" that is _far_ longer than the
>>time one would expect for a move.  IE it moves consistently at 30-50 seconds per
>>move, then takes 10 minutes.  In a position where it did _not_ fail low.  I
>>believe that the operator simply wants to give it a chance to find something
>>that may (or may not) be there.
>>
>>It is my opinion, with no proof of course.  But it is _very_ common with _all_
>>engines.  ChessPartner makes it trivial for the operator to influence things.
>>I can do it with xboard if I thought that I somehow might know more about when
>>to spent more time than Crafty does...
>>
>>As far as proof, simply play a few fully automatic games at (say) 30 30 or
>>whatever time control you like, and then check the times.  See if you see any
>>case where it takes more than 10x the normal time per move, when the score did
>>_not_ drop _or_ rise during that search.  If you find such cases, I will
>>certainly retract my statement.  But in watching so many games of late, it
>>is obvious that something goes on "from time to time".  IE I see most programs
>>taking 2x-3x on fail lows.  And sometimes for other reasons.  But not 10x or
>>longer.
>
>I have seen it often enough, mostly under panic, but not always. Assuming that
>auto232 and automatic FICS are similar, you will see these 10x and bigger from
>time to time. The longest I have seen was almost 16x, but I don't remember if it
>was in panic time.
>
>When starting an auto232 match in DOS, it is good to set the /t parameter
>(timeout) to at least 10x, or else too many games will be terminated before they
>should. SSDF people can confirm.
>
>Enrique
>

I don't believe this was a panic.  I let crafty search it overnight and the
score remained constant.  IE there was no reasonable explanation for taking
such a long time...  except that the position looked "right" for a deep
combination, one just wasn't there...

Have you seen that sort of 'deep think'?  I will try to find the game and
get the exact time it took...



>>IE I would certainly like to do the same if that is the way games are to be
>>played. When I say Crafty is "automatic" I mean _automatic".  It does
>>_everything_ by itself, completely.



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