Author: Mike S.
Date: 15:19:44 11/26/00
In general, trading is good for the side being ahead in material. This is basic chess knowledge, known to most programs. But in the endgame, it's often wrong to trade the last pawn, if the resulting material doesn't allow to win (a common rule known from beginner's books is, that even the advantage of a minor piece usually is not enough to win in a PAWNLESS endgame). This important motif can be tested with the following position from CSS 5/98, where Mr. R.Petrykowski reported from a game Fritz5/P133 vs. the Tasc R30. Does your program keep the last pawn? [D]8/4kn1p/R7/6p1/4K2P/8/8/8 w - - 0 49 49.Kf5? gxh4, and the game ended in a draw. The only winning move seems to be 49.h5. I have tested some programs (with 4-piece TBs), for a few seconds on P3/700. The all would play h5, or found it fast respectively: Comet B02, Doctor? 3.0, Fritz 5.32, Fritz 6 light, Hiarcs 6, Hiarcs 7.32, LiGo2000a, Junior 5 (0:15) - although some still show a big advantage after Kf5 gxh4 too. Regards, M.Scheidl
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