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Subject: Re: Computer Chess is pointless

Author: Dann Corbit

Date: 20:12:44 01/06/02

Go up one level in this thread


On January 06, 2002 at 22:53:26, Tina Long wrote:

>On January 06, 2002 at 21:17:43, Bas Hamstra wrote:
>
>>...because the fastest hardware simply wins....
>
>I thought it was pretty well determined that Doubling the Speed, for the top
>programs, added "only" around 40-50 ELO points to the strength.

It varies from program to program, but somewhere from 40-70 ELO is typical.
Now, consider quadrupling it: 80-140 ELO boost.  Will you enjoy playing against
everyone else of your equal ability at knight's odds?

>Perhaps someone here could tell us:
>In a (say) 16 game match between identical programs (say F7a), on two computers
>where one is twice as fast as the other (same RAM, same Hash etc), what is the
>expected score?

Let's take a look at one place where we have some good data (hash changed too,
but "Oh Well"...:

1 Chess Tiger 14.0 CB 256MB Athlon 1200  2715
10 Chess Tiger 14.0 CB 128MB K6-2 450 MHz  2631
+84 ELO

2 Deep Fritz 256MB Athlon 1200 MHz  2711
6 Deep Fritz 128MB K6-2 450 MHz  2658
+53 ELO

3 Gambit Tiger 2.0 256MB Athlon 1200  2696
8 Gambit Tiger 2.0 128MB K6-2 450 MHz  2644
+52 ELO

4 Junior 7.0 256MB Athlon 1200 MHz  2681
9 Junior 7.0 128MB K6-2 450 MHz  2643
+38 ELO

5 Shredder 5.32 256MB Athlon 1200 MHz  2664
12 Shredder 5.32 128MB K6-2 450 MHz  2607
+57 ELO

7 Gandalf 4.32h 256MB Athlon 1200 MHz  2647
22 Gandalf 4.32f 128MB K6-2 450 MHz  2533
+114 ELO

This is a factor of 2 and 2/3 in speed, instead of 2.
But we can get a rough idea.  Lots of variability, and a gain of between 38 and
114 ELO.

So there is clearly a nice advantage to increase of speed.  Bas just wants a
level playing field.

Hardware doubles in speed every year.  Top-of-the-line systems cost several
thousand dollars, and a high performance system at least 2000 dollars.  Will you
be willing to spend that much every year in order to keep the playing field
level?  It can be pretty tough if it is only a hobby.

I don't see any clear solution.  It would be nice if someone could think of one
that works for everybody.



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