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Subject: Re: 32-piece tablebases (Philosophical Question)

Author: Louis Fagliano

Date: 08:56:44 04/03/02

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On April 03, 2002 at 06:57:46, Michael Vox wrote:

>10^26 possible positions is not going to happen in our lifetimes, so why bother
>discussing the matter ?!

I thought it was 10^43rd power possible positions.  And there is not even that
many atoms on a CD!

But still, we can discuss the philsopical ramifications however tecnologically
unfeasible it is.

In response to the three "options" given:

1. Wait for the release of the 32-piece tablebase and recommend it to all your
friends as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I could wait for the release of the "CD" and buy it just out of curiosity to see
perfect chess being played, but recommending it to all my friends as the
greatest thing since sliced bread seems rather ridiculous.  What is the point of
everyone being invincible at chess?  Every game would just be a draw.  (I'm
assuming the opening position is NOT a forced win for White.)

2. Buy the rights to the product off the programmer and make sure you are the
only one who can use it in your bid to become world champion.

It's hard to see how one could get away with this. Here's a complete unknown
clobbering Kramnik or Kasparov 11½-½ in a 40/120 match.  Think anyone wouldn't
get suspicous?

3. Shoot the programmer and destroy his work before he has a chance to publish
it.

Cute.  This reminds me of a fictious tale told about how some unknown claimed
the opening position was a forced win for White if he plays 1. h4 and started
clobbering Capablanca game after game like this.  He told Alekhine about it and
he, too, began to lose game after game.  Years later Capablanca and Alekhine
were talking about it to a third person who asked what happened to this guy.
They both answered, "Why we killed him, of course!"



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