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Subject: SMP In WMCCC - Winners And Losers

Author: Graham Laight

Date: 01:30:23 08/03/01

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On August 02, 2001 at 15:07:44, Bruce Moreland wrote:

>I think the best thing is if they say SMP is the way to go, we're going to
>provide them next year, so shut up and get with it now.
>
>Then people would have a year to sink or swim.

In the long term, it is inevitable that, to keep the standard of chess rising,
multiprocessor machines will have to be admitted (IMO).

>Of course they'd never find a sponsor who'd contribute 24 duals, but the writing
>was on the wall the moment Crafty showed up on an SMP machine on ICC.
>
>If I actually get on the plane rather than tearing up my ticket, the version I
>use will be my one and only version.  If you put it on an 8-way, it will use all
>8 processors.  It will actually run on a lot more, if a lot more are available,
>but I don't think there are any systems that support more.  If you put it on a
>single, it will use one.  That's the way to do it.
>
>bruce

The winners will be teams whose programs are portable between platforms - and
who can persuade Unix companies to lend them their latest models of 64 bit
machines with huge numbers of processors.

Last year, I persuaded Compaq to lend me a (single processor) 64 bit Alpha to
take to Alexandra Palace to run Crafty. However, it turned out to be an old
model, and I didn't get it soon enough - so I had to spend all my available time
just getting it to work properly. We only got half the NPS we would have been
able to get on a new Alpha.

The losers of course will be Fritz. Writing their program in assembly may have
kept them at the top of the hill for a long time - but it's looking like a
serious handicap now.

-g



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