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Subject: Re: Pawn hash table: need some helps?

Author: Uri Blass

Date: 15:42:09 06/25/02

Go up one level in this thread


On June 25, 2002 at 18:25:57, Matthew White wrote:

>On June 25, 2002 at 18:00:36, Uri Blass wrote:
>
>>On June 25, 2002 at 16:16:50, Frank Quisinsky wrote:
>>
>>>On June 24, 2002 at 18:37:26, Matthew White wrote:
>>>
>>>>On June 24, 2002 at 13:35:12, José Carlos wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On June 24, 2002 at 13:02:13, Frank Quisinsky wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>On June 24, 2002 at 12:43:47, José Carlos wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>On June 24, 2002 at 12:27:40, Frank Quisinsky wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>On June 24, 2002 at 12:03:09, José Carlos wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>On June 24, 2002 at 08:38:51, Frank Quisinsky wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Hi Bob,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>you made really a good work for amateurchess and persons which have questions.
>>>>>>>>>>And this now hundrets of years.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>I hope you have a long time (future) interest on computer chess, I mean I will
>>>>>>>>>>also in the next year write a chess program and need your help.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>A good example for professionals.
>>>>>>>>>>But the most have only interest to make mony and not to help other programmers.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>That`s computer chess, unfortunately!
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>  That's life, not only computer chess. Everyone wants to make money from his
>>>>>>>>>job. Don't you make any money at all from your job?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>  Regards,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>  José C.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Best
>>>>>>>>>>Frank
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Hi José,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>  Hi Frank,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I have no interest to make money with computer chess.
>>>>>>>>With computer chess :-)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>It's my hobby!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>  Exactly. That's my point. People depend on their proffessional success in
>>>>>>>order to get money for a living. My answer was pointed to your sentence "A good
>>>>>>>example for professionals. But the most have only interest to make mony and not
>>>>>>>to help other programmers."
>>>>>>>  Now think of your own job -I don't know what it is, but hopefully you do ;) -.
>>>>>>>You want to be good in your job for not being fired. If you can do something
>>>>>>>others can't, you'll be more valuable to your company; they'll pay you more and
>>>>>>>make your life easier. If you teach all your secrets to the others so that they
>>>>>>>can do it as well as you, but they also can do other things you can't, you'll
>>>>>>>probably be worthless to your company... and fired.
>>>>>>>  This is a competitive world.
>>>>>>>  Computer chess is a very hard area for being a proffessional, harder than most
>>>>>>>other areas. Computer chess has many talented amateur programmers kicking
>>>>>>>proffesionals, sharing ideas and source code, etc.
>>>>>>>  Just imagine someone would create cars and give them for free, and then a lot
>>>>>>>of people get interest in free-cars and start working together to create cars as
>>>>>>>good as the "commercial". Car companies would lose a lot of income -> a lot of
>>>>>>>people would lose their jobs. Then, just then, imagine someone complaining about
>>>>>>>"proffessional" car-builders not sharing knowledge...
>>>>>>>  I also like to see the profis here in CCC, but I understand they keep their
>>>>>>>secrets well hidden... They need money to eat!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>  José C.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Hi José,
>>>>>>
>>>>>>good comments!
>>>>>>I can not write my points in a perfect English.
>>>>>>But I must not write my points because your opinion is good for me as I can say
>>>>>>"I agreed to 95%" :-)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The important point for me is that we can find in chess fora much fans of
>>>>>>commercial programs. So for this group of people it's better if commercial
>>>>>>programmers more write about chess and other interesting topics (not only about
>>>>>>his program). Also helps for amateur chess programmers are important ... I mean
>>>>>>a commercial programmer must not give all secrets but can help in the most of
>>>>>>the questions.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>And here I must say, I like the work from John Merlino (as an example).
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I don't know that a lot of people losed here job with a little bit more
>>>>>>cooperations. I mean we produce new jobs if professionals with amateurs more
>>>>>>working (teams are important). We have x possibilitys to make a little bit.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Example (I wrote this today in German fora):
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I don't like the bad organization from ICCA.
>>>>>>A very bad work for me in the latest years.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Now:
>>>>>>User give 50 Euro in a year for a memberchip.
>>>>>>If 500 persons give 50 Euro we have 25.000 Euro for more possitiblys to organize
>>>>>>a user friendly WM.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>We can give programmers money for visit the tourneys or can give prizes. We can
>>>>>>create a webpage with much good information about the WM with an online magazine
>>>>>>(like the work from John with his News Letter) and can added downloads of chess
>>>>>>programs for members of this page. We can sent two persons to the WM tournaments
>>>>>>for give live comments in chess fora etc..
>>>>>>
>>>>>>We can play a qualify tournament on chess server for the WM.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>At the moment we have a problem with computer chess. Bad organizations ... and
>>>>>>in this case we not the chances to try that more persons have interest on
>>>>>>computer chess.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Sorry for my English, I hope you understand my points.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Best
>>>>>>Frank
>>>>>
>>>>>  Don't apologize, my english is also bad. ;)
>>>>>  I think I see your point. If programmers are closer to the customers, more and
>>>>>more people can get interested in computer chess. Well, this might be true,
>>>>>though I admit I don't know.
>>>>>  For example, there's a wide market for computer chess in proffessional chess
>>>>>players. Those don't care at all about the programmers; they just want a
>>>>>powerful tool to train with.
>>>>>  There's also the user who just wants to play some games and learn from the
>>>>>computer. They also don't care about the programmers. They probably appreciate
>>>>>someone like John Merlino who kindly answers their questions about how to do
>>>>>this or that, but Chessmaster users dont "need" Johan de Konning at all (except,
>>>>>of course, for writting the engine).
>>>>>  Finally there's CCC (and similar forums). I like when Ed or Amir show up and
>>>>>coment on something, yes, though it's not a necessary condition for me to buy a
>>>>>program.
>>>>>  In summary, it seems that only a small part of potential customers is
>>>>>interested in having the programmers comment in forums.
>>>>>  So I'm afraid I fail to understand your point :(
>>>>>
>>>>>  José C.
>>>>It seems to me that Frank's point (correct me if I am wrong) is that he is glad
>>>>some professional programmers take the time to help the amateur programmers
>>>>understand difficult concepts and improve their own engines, not so much having
>>>>contact with final end users. As more algorithmic/heuristic improvements filter
>>>>down into "mainstream" chess programming, chess programming as a whole improves,
>>>>and we amateurs may even have improvements that the pros haven't thought of ;).
>>>>
>>>>Matt
>>>
>>>Hi,
>>>
>>>maybe the secrets in chess programming are very small.
>>>I believe the knowledge in endgame is one of the big secrets.
>>>
>>>In middlegame the top amateur programs are not bad in eng-eng matches.
>>
>>I believe that the big secret is the middle game.
>>
>>In endgame there are a lot of rules in books that programmers did not care to
>>teach their programs(for example rules when rook and 2 pawns against rook is a
>>draw) but a lot of games are not decided in the endgames and I consider the
>>middle game as more important.
>>
>>Most programmers did not care to teach programs about endgames not because of
>>some secret but because it is a lot of work for relatively small gain.
>>
>>Uri
>At the same time, though, doesn't it give the middlegame a huge boost to
>initiate a combination which results in a won endgame (and not necessarily a
>material gain)? This is something that human masters/GM's do all of the time,
>and which computers are incapable of seeing with current techniques (AFAIK). I
>realize that many programmers are content to let tablebases do the bulk of the
>work. However, what about those endgames with several pawn rams on the board?
>
>Matt

If humans are so smart then why do computers beat humans so often when the
humans play in their regular style?

I do not believe that knowledge about the endgame can give computers a huge
boost in the middle game.

Cases when getting a better endgame is the only way to win are not so common.

Uri



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