Author: Fernando Villegas
Date: 16:43:18 04/10/98
Hi everybody: Let me slip into the discussion about F5. I just finished a game against him -at 40 moves in 75 minutes- and as usual I got a draw after getting a dead position where Fritz begun to toy with his pieces, aimlessly. In my humble opinion, grounded in this experience of mine after many similar games, if Fritz 5 does not win you in the middle game and you are cautious in the ending, you are safe. Even you can win. If not, he will win anyway. The perceptions about Fritz depends, then, just of of how good player are you. If you are not strong enough, you will be smashed in the middle game in a pretty tactical manner and Fritz 5 will appears to your eyes as the strongest machine ever produced because how fast he gets the win. If you can hold the threats and reach an equal ending, then you are in conditions to test all the shortcomings of Fritz 5 and your evidence will be of a dumb program uncapable of doing anything with sense. More generally speaking, beyond my experience, the "real" status of Fritz 5 maybe could be stablished if just we keep in mind the following differences: a) There is a difference between to create a good, pretty and winning position and to be capable of get the kill with it. b) There is a difference between get the kill because of an awful mistake of the rival and to kill because you put the adversary against the wall. c) There is a difference between -yes, so a known thing- oppening, middle game and ending, for God sake. d) there is a difference between human kind of playing and those of machines. e) there is a difference between average human kind -like me- that play to get fun, computers that play because they were plugged and pros that looks for variations and nothing more. f) Elo, as any system of measurement, is only significant inside a determinate pool of data. If you are the best basketball player in a wheel-chair, that does not makes of you the equal of Jordan. So: a)to get the first position in SSDF is not necesarily contradictory with silly games against humans if these keep back Fritz and arrives to the dumb ending. b) An awful game played this or that time against this or that adversary, human or not, does not means neccesarily that all the games played by the program are awful and silly. The contrary is equally relative. c) to be useful for tactical analysis is not equal to be good for playing a game. d) to be useful for analysis does not neccesarily means that then it play awfully in real games. There are so many differents ways to make use of Fritz 5 as people here in CCC. So no wonder that at least we have two sides, one in favour and one against. No wonder, besides, the confussion about what is being discussed. Even more if there is a theory of conspiracy. But then, even if conspiracy does not exist, that does not means that all what is said by Thorsen is wrong. The usual: too many variables to shape a clear-cut fair opinion. Fernando
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