Author: Richard Pijl
Date: 06:27:24 03/19/03
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On March 19, 2003 at 08:28:02, Ricardo Gibert wrote: >On March 19, 2003 at 06:33:01, Matthias Gemuh wrote: > >>I decided to stop chess programming but even the latest version of my program >>sucks. How can I quit in peace? >>It calculates this attack information (bitboards of attackers to 64 squares) >> BITBOARD AttacksTo[64] >>from scratch at each node. I tried to do this incremementally and it quickly got >>messy and buggy because of sliding pieces, castle, en passant. >>How do you attack attack boards (even the conventional type)? >> >>/Matthias. > > >Let me share a couple of observations I have made concerning the development of >amateur chess programs. > >The 1st big mistake I see repeatedly is being in too much of a rush make their >programs strong by adding "fancy stuff." A very simple program can be fairly >strong (> 2200 elo). You just need to get the fundamental things to work right >*first*. Gerbil is a good example of what is possible with a reasonably simple >program (about 2400 ICC rating). Don't layer the "fancy stuff" on top of the >incorrectly implemented fundamental stuff. > >The 2nd big mistake I see repeatedly is thinking that speed optimizations can >make a significant difference. Even if their dream could come true and they >could double the NPS, this only amounts to about 50 rating points. What they >actually achieve (usually) is to make their program less readable and less >modifiable. In this way, they bury theirs errors and make real progress >problematic. > >Concentrate on getting fundamental things done right in a clear way and only >*after* your program is reasonably strong in this manner should you consider the >"fancy stuff." It should take a good while before you get to this point unless >you are Mister Amazing or you've done it all before successfully. > >As for optimizing, it's usually just a trap. The only speed optimizations you >should consider are the ones that make your programs simpler and clearer. >Otherwise, they're not worth the trouble. > >Remember: Think simple and clear.
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