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Subject: Relationship of Ratings verses Time for Thought

Author: Jim Monaghan

Date: 08:49:13 08/07/02


Hi,

I've been playing around with some position testing and engine scoring on epd
tests. I've come up with the following table which expresses a person's (or
engine's) rating based on time given for thought. Here it is:

Time (sec)	Rating
1	2181
2	2294
3	2334
4	2377
5	2394
6	2417
7	2434
8	2451
9	2461
10	2464
11	2477
12	2484
13	2491
14	2501
15	2504
20	2514
25	2531
30	2534
40	2547
50	2564
60	2571
90	2581
120	2604

A number of things can perhaps be gleaned from the above.

1) After about 15 seconds there is an appreciable slowing of ascent of the
rating number. A kind of diminishing returns sets in around here.
2) For engine matches, this perhaps means that reasonable testing results could
be achieved with a time control of around 15 seconds per move (on good hardware)
if time is a factor. Time efficiency is usually a factor. Assuming a typical
computer game lasts about 60 moves between competent programs, that's about Game
in 15 minutes.
2) There is still a significant difference between 2504 (at 15 seconds per move)
and 2604 (at 2 minutes per move).
3) One could surmise that a 2604 player, playing eight 2504 opponents
simultaneously to avoid the pondering factor would score 50% (baring tiredness).
The assumption is that the 2604 would be spending 15 seconds per move on each
game, while the opponents would be thinking for 2 minutes per move on average.

I apoligize if this kind of thing been presented before. It seems to make sense.
A question for the mathematicians here. What is the formula that can be used to
express this time/rating relationship? It makes a pretty nice ascending graph.
Remember also, that it's the differences between the ratings that are important
rather than attaching any significance to the absolute numbers themselves.

I derived this data from running Shredder Paderborn through the IQ test. The IQ
formula is IQ elo = 1564 + (% score x 12). So in the above table for example,
Shredder scored 75.0% at 10 seconds for an IQ elo of 2464. It's IQ elo at 2
minutes was 2604 based on a score of 86.67%. PC used is a Cel 1.3 Ghz.

Cheers,
Jim



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