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Subject: Re: Why Hiarcs 8 Does Poorly on Slow Computers?

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 21:06:42 06/15/02

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On June 15, 2002 at 02:58:13, Uri Blass wrote:

>On June 15, 2002 at 00:20:48, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>
>>On June 13, 2002 at 23:58:46, Christophe Theron wrote:
>>
>>>On June 13, 2002 at 09:13:43, Robert Henry Durrett wrote:
>>>
>>>>On June 13, 2002 at 06:00:13, Jorge Pichard wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Hiarcs 8 was NOT made for slow computer such as an AMD 450 Mhz as the SSDF
>>>>>decided to test it against Nimzo 8.
>>>>
>>>>What, exactly, causes this problem?
>>>>
>>>>Do other chess engines have this same problem too?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Bob D.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>The problem is that the problem described above does not exist.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>    Christophe
>>
>>Here we disagree significantly.
>>
>>One trivial case...  Take a program that uses null-move R=2 or 3, and run
>>it on a very slow machine.  Then on a very fast machine.  The slow machine
>>will make significant blunders because the R=2 or R=3 depth reduction will
>>be a killer.
>
>This problem can be easily solved if you do not use R=2 or R=3 when the expected
>depth to search is small.
>
>I do not say that it is the best solution but the cost of one if command for the
>speed of the program is close to nothing.
>
>Another obvious option to try can be not using null move pruning when the
>remaining depth is small.
>
>I did not investigat the problem because I found that in the middle game R=2 was
>productive for Movei in all time controls that I tried but it is possible that
>even blitz on p800 is too fast(I tested it only on p800) and I need to test it
>even at faster time control(I have no problem to do it because I have an option
>to let Movei play faster by believing that it really has less time so I can make
>it believe under winboard that it has only 12 or 6 seconds per game when it
>really has a minute).
>
>
>Note that Crafty on a slow p500 won a bullet tournament(1 minute per game

Note that I don't consider a p500 to be "slow".  The P6/200 was the machine
that got me "over the hump" with R=2 null-move search.  I was thinking more
along the lines of a 486 or very early pentium, which (for me) had problems.


)
>against other amateurs.
>
>see http://www.computerschachecke.de/Tournaments/Tables/BulletA.htm
>
>I guess based on that information that it does not make significant blunders
>inspite of the R=2 or R=3 and the fast time control.

Note that my early R=2 troubles were in blitz games on slow hardware.  Most
of the games I played on the chess servers in 1995 were blitz and that
highlighted the slow hardware / R=2 problems...



>
>If you consider the fact that bullet on p500 is eqvivalent to slower time
>control on slower machines then I suspect that your R=2 or R=3 is not a problem
>even on very slow machines like 486 if you are interested on standard time
>control.
>
>Uri


R=2 wasn't so bad even on a P5/133, for 40/2hr games.  It was the game/5 games
that highlighted the problem.  And good humans learned that the faster the time
control, the worse Crafty (and other programs) did.  IE Roman loved to play
game/3 (3 0 on ICC) and he was very difficult back on that hardware...




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