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Subject: Re: Is the Depth directly proportional to the program's strength? (YES!)

Author: Tony Werten

Date: 03:29:42 02/08/02

Go up one level in this thread


On February 08, 2002 at 05:55:10, Wylie Garvin wrote:

>On February 06, 2002 at 20:08:04, Sune Fischer wrote:
>
>>On February 06, 2002 at 19:14:43, Dann Corbit wrote:
>>
>>>On February 06, 2002 at 18:54:28, Sune Fischer wrote:
>>>[snip]
>>>>I'm not saying that it would be easy to get all those test positions, but if you
>>>>had them the test would be nice.
>>>>I suppose one could do a 14 ply search as an approximation to the best move, it
>>>>wouldn't change the distribution all that much I think.
>>>
>>>The problem (as I see it) of running test suites with only ce answers is that
>>>the chess engine will [not infrequently] find a better solution or another
>>>solution which is marked as "wrong" by the program looking for an answer.
>>>
>>>If you have not traced all the way to checkmate, then the best answer is not
>>>certain.
>>
>>
>>Listen, the idea is very simple :)
>>
>>A) We have X positions where we _know_ the best move.
>>(of cause we can discuss how to get such a set of positions, but that wasn't
>>really the point here, it is an *assumtion*, a mind/thought experiment if you
>>will :)
>>
>>B) Run the engine brute force limitet to n ply.
>>This will produce the previous posted distribution.
>>
>>C) How to interpret this distribution:
>>The 1-ply searcher will often pick the right move, but for the *wrong* reasons
>>in the sense that it cannot see the deeper tacticks.
>>My point is, that this does not matter, because it will still play the *right*
>>move! Pure luck, but that is okay.
>>So the distribution should IMO reflect the chances of *being lucky*.
>>The deeper you search, the more often you will pick the right move.
>>Remember that even a 12 ply search is still making a guess at the right move
>>just as the 1 ply searcher did, but more often the 12-ply'er guesses right.
>>
>>I haven't got any idea as to how fast the distribution converges or what kind of
>>distribution we might be talking about, but interesting to find out I think.
>>
>>-S.
>
>It seems likely to me that if everyone who has posted in this thread had simply
>read the paper ( http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/junghanns97diminishing.html ), they
>would agree that Schaeffer and his smart pals have it figured out.  <grin>

Read it and it's exactly what I disagree with.

Tony

>
>wylie



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