Author: Steve Maughan
Date: 05:38:01 10/02/01
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Gordon, Some programs do a 'thorough' static analysis of the position before they start to search. They then assign values for a piece being on any one of the squares. This is root node processing or pre-processing. The advantage is speed of evaluation but the (big) dissadvantage is that what seems like a good idea at the root may not be so good at the tip of a search e.g. rook on 7th when King is on 8th is good but when the king starts to advance up the board the preprocessor still thinks that the rook on the 7th is good. Moreover, as machines get faster and search deeper the problem gets worse since the tips are further away from the root. The alternative is tip evaluation which is slower but *MUCH* more accurate when done well. The famous pre-processors are early Fritz versions, Rex chess, Travel Champion, Novag Constellation and anything that claims to do >1.5 million nodes / sec on a single processor e.g. Little Goliath. Junior was always considered to be a preprocessor but I seriously doubt it now as the evaluation is usually rock solid between moves and the scores seem to contain extensive king safety elements. Steve
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