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Subject: Re: Q&A with Feng-Hsiung Hsu

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 14:36:11 10/14/02

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On October 14, 2002 at 15:54:10, Bas Hamstra wrote:

>On October 14, 2002 at 15:24:57, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>
>>On October 14, 2002 at 15:17:20, Uri Blass wrote:
>>
>>>On October 14, 2002 at 13:48:26, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>
>>>>On October 14, 2002 at 07:34:16, Bas Hamstra wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Bob, did you read the Hsu transcript posted here? It is pretty clear to me that
>>>>>Hsu himself says 12 ply fullwidth *total*. Case closed. Please read the complete
>>>>>transcript.
>>>>>
>>>>>Best regards,
>>>>>Bas.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>I read it, and I posted the relevant part.  He said "12 plies is brute-force
>>>>part
>>>>of search".  6 plies is hardware partition.  there could be up to 6 more plies
>>>>beyond the 12 ply PV.
>>>
>>>
>>>Here is part of the discussion that I copied
>>>*******************************************************************************
>>>EeEk(DM) kibitzes: kib question from ardee: Does "12(6)" mean 12 total ply or
>>>12+6=18 total ply?  This has the been source of huge arguments for years!
>>>aics%
>>>CrazyBird(DM) kibitzes: 12 total in terms of brute force. 6 is just the max
>>>partition in hardware.
>>>aics%
>>>*******************************************************************************
>>>
>>>I understand from it that 6 is the maximal part in the hardware of the 12 plies.
>>>
>>>Max partition means max part.
>>>The number 18 was not mentioned in Hsu's reply so it seems clear to me that he
>>>meant part of 12.
>>
>>Then what did his very next sentence mean?  "Up to 6 additional plies beyond the
>>PV"???
>>
>>Everyone is stopping _before_ Hsu did.  that last sentence is important, IMHO.
>>As it
>>means the question is still not answered in a way that is precise enough to
>>satisfy me
>>completely.
>>
>>IE 12 plies in software + hardware?  (doesn't match the statement)
>>
>>12 plies in software plus  _up to_ 6 more, done by hardware (possible match with
>>statement)
>>
>>12 plies in software plus 6 more in hardware (doesn't quite match statement,
>>because it says
>>"up to".)
>>
>>So it isn't clear.
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>In case that it was 12-18 plies I expect Hsu a reply like the following:
>>>
>>>"12 total in the software(brute force),6 is the maximal additional plies (not
>>>brute force) in the hardware".
>>>
>>>Uri
>>
>>
>>That is the way I am interpreting his answer, in fact, since it correlates well
>>with the
>>emails I have from others on the team that also asked him this question for me.
>
>The question was asked twice. The second time was the most specific. When asked
>why DB did NOT search deeper BF than nowadays nullmove programs, Hsu answers as
>follows:
>
>CrazyBird(DM) kibitzes: 12 total in terms of brute force. 6 is just
>the max partition in hardware.
>EeEk(* DM) kibitzes: question from parabola444:  You mentioned Deep
>Blue searched about 12 plies brute force + extensions, which is
>similar to what pc programs these days get on a fast pc - since Deep
>Blue hardware was much faster, how come it didn't search significantly
>deeper ?
>CrazyBird(DM) kibitzes: we were using fairly extensive search
>extensions, and the decision not to use null move pruning was an
>deliberate one.
>CrazyBird(DM) kibitzes: there were several reasons.
>CrazyBird(DM) kibitzes: first, we were always at the top of the heap,
>and the occasional error introduced by null move could cause us to
>lose games to lesser programs.
>CrazyBird(DM) kibitzes: second, we observed that we were zugzwanging
>null move using opponents, which made us suspicious of it.
>CrazyBird(DM) kibitzes: third, it is not clear how to incorporate with
>singular extensions & null move pruning. they did not seem to be that
>compatible. though Ferret seems to suggest that it is possible.
>anyway, given that singular extensions are considered far more
>important in creating deep lines, we keep what we know.
>CrazyBird(DM) kibitzes: fourth, and not least, speed was more than
>adequate, and we did not need to resort to null move.
>
>So? Note carefully that he does NOT deny that DB searches as deep as the average
>nullmover (=12 ply) AT ALL. Isn't that a tad strange, when in reality it
>searches more like 18 ply brute force? In stead he says "yes we are doing 12,
>BUT we have clever extensions and no nullmove". So 12 ply.
>
>Best regards,
>Bas.


It isn't "strange" at all, because he has _specifically_ said "the hardware was
not brute-
force".

I don't see the problem...




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