Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 06:36:20 08/02/98
Go up one level in this thread
On August 02, 1998 at 09:31:30, Don Dailey wrote: >On August 02, 1998 at 07:50:08, Robert Hyatt wrote: > >>On August 01, 1998 at 14:15:33, Robert Pawlak wrote: >> >>>I was wondering whether Rebel 9's time usage is realistic when operated in the >>>ELO handicapping mode. >>> >>>I ask this because Fritz (my mainstay) does not have realistic time usage when >>>in the ELO modes. It seems to move instantaneously when set at 1800-1900. >>> >>>Both CM5500 and CStal seem to have good/realistic time usage when playing at the >>>weaker levels. Can rebel do the same? >>> >>>Thanks, >>> >>>bob P. >> >>There are at least three well-known ways to "dumb down" a program: >> >>1. reduce the search time (a time-handicap mode) to give the opponent >>more time. This has to be done in conjunction with disabling "think on >>opponent's time" or it won't work well. >> >>2. reduce the positional scoring terms so that the program loses the >>significance of positional considerations. IE passed pawns become less >>valuable, open files become less important, pawn structure becomes less >>important, ditto for king safety, etc. >> >>3. factor in some sort of random number so that positions that are bad >>will randomly look less bad or actually look good. Or, if the random >>addition is large enough, but infrequent enough, the program might begin >>to make tactical blunders (ICC has some *bach programs that do (or did)) >>this, and they would make an occasional blunder like a weaker human). > >Another thing that has been done is to hurt the quies search. The >problem is that beginners and younger players often get killed even >with a 1 ply search. So a special beginner mode that does a one >ply search with a broken quies works well and I think some of the >novag machines had this. For instance, 1 ply no quies, 1 ply with >1 ply of quies and so on. They give a beginner a good chance to >learn and excute simple tactics. A weak player will always lose >tactically anyway, making the positional play weaker is good for >more advanced beginners and intermediate players, but won't help >the beginner much. > >- Don right... but if you add random numbers between -8.00 to +8.00, and you control the frequency this is done, you *really* introduce tactical errors, because the +8 will wreck things. IE I have personally played "strongbach" when it was first being tuned, and saw it blunder a piece in every game I played, *if* I was tactically sharp enough to see it (on occasion it let me capture something then refused to make the recapture, as another way to blunder.) However, limiting the q-search seems reasonable, as I've seen the "one ply" crafty clones still play way over 1600 on ICC... Bruce had one that was computing for something like 1ms, with no thinking on the opponent's time, and it still hit over 2200...
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