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Subject: Re: A Question to Dr. Hyatt

Author: Garry Evans

Date: 01:40:36 01/13/01

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On January 12, 2001 at 22:56:31, Robert Hyatt wrote:

>On January 12, 2001 at 21:34:53, Peter McKenzie wrote:
>
>>On January 12, 2001 at 10:02:44, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>
>>>On January 12, 2001 at 00:41:33, Garry Evans wrote:
>>>
>>>> A short while ago, i asked you on ICC, would you acknowledge that computers are
>>>>of Grandmaster Strength if Rebel Won the Match against Van der Wiel, your answer
>>>>Was yes!! So would you please honour this agreement and acknowledge here in
>>>>Public that computers are GM Strength?
>>>
>>>
>>>2-3 years ago my estimate was that the programs were at about 2400-2450 on
>>>the FIDE Elo level.  I would probably change that to barely 2500 for today's
>>>much-faster hardware.  I wouldn't begin to suggest they are beyond 2500
>>>yet, however.  They _still_ have a lot of weaknesses.
>>
>>Hi Bob,
>>I don't usually participate in this sort of discussion but hey, its a slow
>>progamming day :-)
>>Personally I'd bump that 2500 up to around 2550, which I guess is 'GM strength'
>>whatever that means exactly.
>>
>>I think its easy to over estimate the strength of humans, because they are
>>capable of playing very profound chess.  However the practicalities of playing
>>chess free of tactical mistakes are definitely non trivial, even for GMs.
>>Relentless tactical pressure definitely works against GMs, a fact clearly
>>exploited by players such as Kortchnoi and Fischer.
>>
>>Also, we now have comps that are more than capable of exploiting small
>>positional advantages and grinding out points that way.
>>
>>I hear that GMs will 'learn to exploit computers', as if chess computers were
>>just invented yesterday.  Of course they will score the occasional impressive
>>anti-computer victory, but I think these are becoming increasingly more
>>difficult to pull off.  Perhaps the trend is more a case of the programmers
>>learning to exploit the GMs?
>>
>>cheers,
>>Peter
>
>
>I don't think we will really see how "bad" computers can be until we see
>the day when computers play in human events with regularity.  IE until a GM
>is _forced_ to address the issue of computers, he isn't going to do so.
>
>A good curve-ball pitcher is simply bound and determined to throw his curve,
>until he finally realizes that there are a few batters that are going to
>knock him off the mound.  Then he begins to learn which batters like the
>curveball and he throws them sliders or fastballs or changeups or whatever.
>But until _he_ (he being the pitcher) finally accepts the fact that he simply
>can't throw a curve past some batters, he is going to keep trying.  And keep
>watching as his pitches get knocked into the parking lot.
>
>But sooner or later, he will begin to "throw to the batter" and not "to the
>catcher" and then he becomes a _real_ pitcher.  And those batters that can
>_only_ hit curve balls begin to have real problems since it is very difficult
>for them to adapt to sliders or whatever...
>
>the human GM players haven't gotten to that point yet, although if you watch
>on ICC, you see a few "new breed" GM players.  I watched Mecking rip a well-
>known program several games (and about 100 Elo points) to pieces the other
>night.  Because he played the right kind of positions.  I have watched GM
>players play Crafty 10 games in a row, finally quitting when they get a draw
>on the 10th game.  Against the computer they are beginning to play very
>deliberately toward drawish positions because that raises their ratings (since
>the comps on ICC are usually rated above them).  Humans will eventually respond
>when the challenge is recognized.  Right now computers are a novelty in the
>GM tournaments.  I doubt computers will become very commonplace there, which
>means they will continue to do pretty well vs the humans.  Until they invade
>the human's territory enough that the humans decide to take action.

 I don't understand your argument, are you forgetting that van der wiel is about
the best anti-computer player there is, having played hundreds of games vs
computers, and never publically lost, he even had the program to train against
before the match, and he got slaughtered 4-2



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