Author: Louis Fagliano
Date: 14:53:38 10/21/02
Go up one level in this thread
On October 21, 2002 at 16:57:29, Christophe Drieu wrote: >Hi, today Chess engines are more and more strong. I don't like to reduce search >depth, I think that odds game (like Morphy used to play vs weak players) are the >only way to play vs an engine if we want to have a chance of succeeding with the >respect of the engine's style. Are you agree with me ? > >For weak players, try a 30' blitz vs your favorite engine with this beginning >position: > >[D]rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/2BQKBNR w Kkq - 0 1 > >I have win a nice odds game vs ChessTiger 15. Try it ! Odds games were quite popular in the 19th century but then slowly died out. By about the middle of the 20th century they were all but unknown. Why? It turns out that it became a horrible stigma to be the player that recieved the odds because the only published odds games were wins by the stronger player who gave odds. When odds games appeared in chess literature they were hailed as shining examples of how the master was so much greater than the pathetic amateur who recieved odds. The poor saps would usually go down in flames by being caught in tactical traps set by the wiley master. Then too, many people began to see receiving odds as a no-win situation. If they won it was because of the odds and their win would never be published because it's not interesting to see a won game by a player who started the game out already ahead in material. And if they lost it was seen as a downright disgrace and there was always the danger that their loss might be published as another example of how win by giving odds by ensaring your weak opponent into a tactical trap. Yeah, you can go ahead and play odds games against your engine if you want to but I doubt that odds games in chess will ever make a comeback.
This page took 0 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.