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Subject: Re: questions about the opening book of programs

Author: blass uri

Date: 05:13:49 08/16/98

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On August 16, 1998 at 06:57:02, Robert Hyatt wrote:

>On August 16, 1998 at 06:49:31, Guillem Barnolas wrote:
>
>>On August 15, 1998 at 18:56:08, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>
>>>On August 15, 1998 at 09:20:55, Tom Kerrigan wrote:
>>>
>>>>I know of some cases where killer books have been used, but after talking with
>>>>dozens of other chess programmers, I'm convinced it isn't a serious problem.
>>>>Most people aren't out to get other people at these tournaments. They just want
>>>>to do well and have fun.
>>>>
>>>>-Tom
>>>
>>>I don't agree here for several reasons.
>>>
>>>1.  Ed doesn't compete any longer, because of frustration with having to
>>>"re-tool" the book to avoid getting "cooked" each year.
>>
>>This seems very awfull to me, I mean, it should be a question of computer
>>programming ability, chess playing, etc.. and not about who makes the best
>>opening book or who can "cook" the other sooner... I would like to think that
>>this is not an extended practice, but... We all know what happens when there is
>>money in between... Greetings, Guillem.
>
>For my first 20 years of chess tournaments (computer chess) there were *no*
>prizes of any kind, other than the usual trophies.  "cooking" was still wide-
>spread.  Now, for the commercial programmers, there are huge financial
>incentives to do well at a computer chess event.  So cooking happens.  For the
>amateurs, there is significant "self-pressure" to do as well as possible, and
>one way to do this is to find a busted book line and attack it if possible.  It
>is far easier to do this than to improve the engine dramatically in a short
>period of time...
>
>It boils down to 'effort' and 'return for effort'.  Cooking a book takes less
>time and offers potentially greater returns.
I do not think Cooking is easy because there are many theoretical lines
and the opponent can change the book theory against cooking.
The opponent can use a secret opening book in important competitions and not
repeat a line it used before.

Maybe the only easy way is to play a bad move in the opening like
1.h3 and plan all the game after it but  if the opponent uses some random factor
in the first moves it cannot help.

I think it is more important to do a book your program knows how to play than
to think about opponents.

Uri




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