Computer Chess Club Archives


Search

Terms

Messages

Subject: Computerchess Fallacies Part 3: Chess Programming

Author: Rolf Tueschen

Date: 16:35:30 03/13/03


With this message I want more answers and explanations than simple opinions.
For a longer time now we see how programmers try to make their products smarter.
So it is a good idea to implement say a rejection of the Trojan Horse Sacrifice.
But real chess players do know that this is just one single method to bust chess
computers. Eduard Nemeth has actually found a new hobby with his discoveries of
how stupid the engines still are. For instance he proves that Black does also
reject the Trojan if Black could win immeadiately when White has played without
the Ra1 so that Black could take Nb1 if the white Queen moves away to h5...

But all such examples are given without a good description. Let me try a first
explanation - although I am NOT an expert of computerchess programming.

To me it seems that we have here a typical fallacy of computerchess. Chess is a
game that is dominated by the reign of the concrete details of a situation. Now
the point is that even in chess we follow certain rules (and we know) IF the
concrete changes in the position are 'irrelevant'. But how do you want to
program relevancies? All what you could do is implementing a defense - roughly,
but you can't do it with flexibility! The program can't differentiate if
something is suddenly important. Or let me assume, that this could well be done
technically but then that would be so time consuming that the overall strength
of the program would decrease.

So, now a little reminiscence of something I often repeated already. Given the
human super GM would see a real incentive in winning agains chess computer
programs, they would study more about programming, then they would understand
what we have now discussed and then they would make pudding out of the DEEP
THINGS. Because flexibility (not a chance rotating) in a sense of smartness is
impossible to implement. All the programmers can do is implementing a lot of
suspense. But by definition that could be discovered after a few training
sessions. And then  when all tricks have been detected, computerchess is solved!


The actual show-events however do prove NOTHING because there was no incentive
to find out for the players. They got their recompensation right at the
beginning of the show.

Rolf Tueschen



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.