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Subject: Re: Smirin vs. Shredder - a question

Author: Roy Eassa

Date: 10:35:26 04/15/02

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On April 15, 2002 at 13:21:41, Mark Young wrote:

>On April 15, 2002 at 13:14:24, Roy Eassa wrote:
>
>>On April 15, 2002 at 12:24:08, Mark Young wrote:
>>
>>>So far this is a Shredder problem, if the other programs play as badly then I
>>>will agree with you "Huston we have a problem."
>>>
>>>We can not lable all programs the same, I have seen this type of play before
>>>from Shredder that is why I never considered Shredder the best program, no
>>>matter how many WC titles it has won.
>>>
>>>Shredder was also the only program to lose to Gluko.
>>
>>
>>But Shredder scores pretty well against the other top programs...
>
>That brings up the age old question...Is the best Computer vs. Computer program
>also the best Computer vs. Human program. I don't know....
>
>But to be fair...I don't know if Shredder is the best computer vs computer
>engine. It has won some WCC tournaments, but this is played over very few games.


The question (IMHO) is not whether Shredder is best, second-best, or even
tenth-best.  The question is, if it is capable of such extreme positional
cluelessness, why isn't it completely slaughtered by all the other top
commercial programs?

One possible answer: because they ALL are capable of such extreme positional
cluelessness.

Just like humans usually lack the incredible tactical abilities of the best
programs, so do computers usually lack the positional skills of GMs.

The best humans of course play imperfect chess.

And so do the best computers.

As long as the latter is true, there will be a wedge for humans to use to
improve their results.  Just like any other complex skill, it takes a lot of
research and practice to use it properly.  Analogy: you don't come to understand
the theory of relativity and all its mathematical intracies and all its physical
implications without years of focused hard work and study.

Have any GMs invested even MONTHS (much less years) of focused hard work and
study to consistently exploiting computers' positional weakness while avoiding
the brunt of their tactical strength?



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