Computer Chess Club Archives


Search

Terms

Messages

Subject: Re: BGN's "no-time" argument soundly refuted

Author: Wayne Lowrance

Date: 12:02:31 05/08/01

Go up one level in this thread


On May 08, 2001 at 13:54:16, Robert Hyatt wrote:

>On May 08, 2001 at 13:21:07, Wayne Lowrance wrote:
>
>>On May 08, 2001 at 12:16:19, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>
>>>On May 08, 2001 at 11:57:07, Larry Proffer wrote:
>>>
>>>>On May 08, 2001 at 11:43:29, Uri Blass wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On May 08, 2001 at 10:58:01, Larry Proffer wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Thank you for your reply. I concur.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>What we do know is that Fritz and Junior are, to all intents and purposes
>>>>>>'equal', or very nearly 'equal'.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>If we need to find a winner, it makes *no* difference how many games we play.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>If we play one game, Fritz has a 50% chance, Junior a 50% chance.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>If we play one thousand games, Fritz has a 50% chance and Junior has a 50%
>>>>>>chance.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Number of games is not relevant when they are so closely matched.
>>>>>
>>>>>I guess that the number of games is relevant and if the number of games is
>>>>>bigger the better learner is going to win and it means probably that Fritz is
>>>>>going to win after many games because Fritz has a bigger book so it is more easy
>>>>>for it to learn to go for lines that the opponent does not understand.
>>>>>
>>>>>Uri
>>>>
>>>>1. This, of course, opens up a lot of questions as to why machines were switched
>>>>after a few games. This would have killed Fritz's learn files.
>>>
>>>Why?  Everything could have been moved easily.
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>It is known that 'book-learning' can have bad effects, particularly after a
>>>>string of losses. The effect can be to push the program away from its usual
>>>>openings into even worse areas of the book. The desire, of course, is to hope
>>>>that it gets pushed away from the losses towards soemthign less bad, but, in
>>>>practice, it can be pushed into even worse regions from which there is no
>>>>escape.
>>>
>>>
>>>I don't know "where this is known" from..  If you lose a game with a specific
>>>opening, and you don't play it again, you won't lose that game again..
>>>
>>Bob, I think that I have at times destroyed book lines for normal time controls
>>by playing blitz and bullet with losses. But these lines may be perfectly sound
>>for long time controls. I do not know this to be fact.
>
>
>Fritz took the book learning algorithm from Crafty, including the code that
>adjusts the learning value based on the rating of the opponent _and_ the search
>depth reached during the game.
>
>But in the case mentioned, there were _no_ blitz games of any kind played,
>just the qualifying games.

Okey but the strength of the opponent is not given in the games I play at blitz.
They are games played mostly with a friend in Australia. My question was
regarding these playing conditions, mainly opponent Paramater no specified.
>
>>
>>Also another thought. Consider two opening main lines a.) Line (a) is in fact
>>better than line b). But against a better program line (a) loses, _not_ because
>>it is a bad line, it just lost. Maybe line (a) was playing a superior cpu, a
>>superior program and it lost.
>>
>>Opening line (b) is inferior to line (a) stipulated and will loose even worse
>>but now both of the lines, as I understand are Kaput.
>>>
>
>Not sure what you mean by "kaput" but not in Crafty, normally.  IE a bad result
>out of book isn't enough to kill a line.  It might remove the last couple of
>choices in that line, but not the entire line...  unless you have a very tiny/
>narrow book.

No the books are not small and tiny. Kaput was just slang for " the lines will
not be generally selected" because of the red flag (Fritz book for example).

I wonder if book learning is a good thing when blitz and long time contlrols are
plaqyed.
>
>Against a "better opponent" my book learning takes this into account, assuming
>the ratings are provided (this is automatic on a chess server)...
>
>
>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>Books are so large, and the pathways produced by learning so unpredictable, that
>>>>this effect is quite common.
>>>
>>>I have been doing "book learning" for 5 years now.  I don't see this at all
>>>and I have a big book.
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>So another question is why carry out a machine switch whose effect would have
>>>>been to kill the learnt data?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>2. We know about learning in computer chess. Would you tell us if it (comp-comp
>>>>learning) has any relevance at all in 'finding the best opponent for Kramnik'.
>>>>Doesn't the luck involved with this bi-program learning process (remember, the
>>>>learning pathways are almost infinite - we don't know where they lead, and they
>>>>may make things worse) just add to the general fact that Fritz still has 50%
>>>>chance, and Junior still has 50% chance?
>>>
>>>Learning is part of the engine.  In a match vs a human, a computer had _better_
>>>have good learning skills or it will lose the same game over and over..



This page took 0 seconds to execute

Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700

Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.