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Subject: Re: Ups, text this time.

Author: Peter McKenzie

Date: 11:12:53 11/28/00

Go up one level in this thread


On November 28, 2000 at 13:44:15, Robert Hyatt wrote:

>On November 28, 2000 at 12:47:00, Mogens Larsen wrote:
>
>>On November 28, 2000 at 12:12:12, Mogens Larsen wrote:
>>
>>>On November 28, 2000 at 11:50:12, Dann Corbit wrote:
>>>
>>>>On November 28, 2000 at 10:30:00, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>>[snip]
>>>>To add a bit, here is an output from a chess engine for one of the WAC
>>>>positions:
>>>>
>>>>Middlegame phase.
>>>> 2    -173     4      525  e5c6 d6c6
>>>> 2    -173     4     1232  e5c6 d6c6
>>>> 3    -188     5     1569  e5c6 d6c6 f6h5
>>>> 3    -187     6     4205  g3g6 !
>>>> 3    -123     6     4577  g3g6
>>>> 3    -122     7     6316  f6h5 !
>>>> 3    -101     7     7444  f6e8 !
>>>> 3     -17     7     7746  f6e8 d6e5 d4e5 d8e8
>>>> 4     -17     7     8247  f6e8 d6e5 d4e5 d8e8
>>>> 4     -17     8    10898  f6e8 d6e5 d4e5 d8e8
>>>> 5     -12     8    11626  f6e8 d6e5 d4e5 d8e8 a1d1
>>>> 5     -11    11    22518  g3g6 !
>>>> 5     383    14    33800  g3g6 !!
>>>> 5  999996    14    34042  g3g6 d6e5
>>>> 5  999996    15    34369  g3g6 d6e5
>>>>Learning score: 999996  best: 36  depth:5  hash: F45FB3C8
>>>>
>>>>Notice that it 'found' g6 at ply 3.  Was it 'solved'?  Obviously not.  Why not?
>>>>Because it had no idea how good the position was.  Because of this, the choice
>>>>was easily abandoned at later ply.  Given enough time, it found the right move
>>>>for the right reason and stuck to it.
>>
>>That is an obvious case but you're oversimplifying the question at hand. First
>>of all it found the move at ply 5 for the same reasons as at ply 3, ie. better
>>evaluation than other possibilities. You conclude that it found the right move
>>because the evaluation is improving (rapidly), because you know that it should.
>>
>>The fact that the score explodes is irrelevant as it depends on the position,
>>eg. finding a mating sequence or finding a slightly better move. So going from
>>-167 to 11 slowly as an example is just as valid as -11 to 383 rapidly. It
>>depends on the nature of the position and the depth of the correct variation.
>>Guessing the correct first move in a long variation with a high score is even
>>more suspicious IMO. The evaluation score isn't a right reason by itself.
>>
>>My interpretation of right reason is an improvement in score as the PV
>>approaches the "correct" variation. The Gandalf case doesn't justify this "right
>>reason" conclusively, but it's very close. I find my interpretation easy to
>>understand, independent of position type and free of suspicious speculation.
>>
>>Mogens.
>
>
>I don't have any "suspicious speculation" in this case.  Only a strong feeling
>that "right move, wrong reason" is not convincing me of very much.  IE on ICC
>the other night we had a long discussion about a move Crafty had played.  The
>GM (Don't remember who it was not, but not Roman) said "Rd4 was beautiful...
>I am very impressed that the program saw it as it led to a crushing position
>for it."  I looked at the log and told the group discussing this "The score was
>very bad for it at that point...  it actually thought that move was best, but
>that it was losing the game... until it failed high on the 'pondering search'
>after playing it."  We all agreed that it was just "lucky" there that it found
>a move that turned into a win, even though it had no idea when it played it how
>it would turn out...

Remember the saying that goes something like, 'good players tend to get lucky' ?

I think thats what this whole thing boils down to.  If you (a program or a
human) have a few clues about what is going on, then you are likely to play good
moves.   And as Larsen said: 'Good moves win chess games, not good positions'.

I wouldn't get too carried away with this 'right reason' stuff, I think it over
simplifies things.

>
>That was my point.  Yes it played the right move.  No it didn't understand
>why.  It played it fully expecting to lose.  It could have played any of
>_several_ moves and _still_ expected to lose.  It just _happened_ to pick the
>right one.  In this case, for a reason (weak opponent pawn) that had _nothing_
>to do with how the game actually progressed and was won by that move.
>
>I chalked that one up to heads or tails and heads came up _that_ time.  Next
>time it could well be tails and it goes down in brilliant flames...





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