Author: swaminathan natarajan
Date: 08:01:48 11/16/03
Hi
i did a google search and accidentaly found out this one
this is about the engine named "voyager"
Jan. 20, 1999 update
====================
Four weeks have passed since I last updated the blitz list. I had been
rather unhappy about the list. Some of the programs played
with time control bugs (most notably the earlier versions of Phalanx and
Goliath), there were empty (!!) games due to the corrupted conversion
utility of Rebel 8 and the buggy version od Dbutil 1.0. So I decided
to clean it up and have all the pgn's checked and verified.
It turned out that there are only 1775 games at hand to compile
the ratings. However, the games are now all correct, there are
no doubles or empty games. (I did manage to find additional pgn files that
were undamaged and add some 400 games to the 1340 I had this morning :))!
Most of the games played in the meantime were played between Crafty and
Voyager -- two contenders for Number One in blitz. All of the games can
be found in the Archive! Voyager is clearly in the lead; it is leading
both Comet and Crafty, scoring almost 60% against these two programs in
a large number of games! The versions of Voyager tested were 3.0 and 3.03.
Crafty's versions tested were 15_ 18, 15_20 and 16_1 and 16_2.
Comet's versions were A.97 and A.98.
The results of some individual matches:
Voyager - Crafty: 221-153 (+184, -116, =74)
Voyager - Comet: 75-54 (+72, -51, =6)
Voyager - TCB: 44-37 (+37, -30, =14)
The machine used: PII-350, 128MB RAM, Win98.
One other piece of information about the current blitz leader: I am running
Voyager (handle -- MagusX) on ICC and it is now 2808 blitz (more than 100
games) and 2894 (bullet -- G/2 or G/1, after about 140 games). My machine
is the above mentioned PII-350. Voyager is now using a special book
that I have hopefully managed to adjust to its playing style. This book
has about 12 million positions and has proven rather handy for play
on the servers. I am running Voyager on FICS too(handle -- TheMagusX)
and it is 2494 blitz and 2705 lightning there after about 300 games.
Database: FREE *** Top 40 elo Blitz ***
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Elo
1. Voyager 710 438.5 - 268.5 387 103 217 62% 2462
2. Crafty 650 345.0 - 302.0 292 106 249 53% 2401
3. Comet 363 213.0 - 150.0 197 32 134 58% 2393
4. Patzer 217 117.5 - 99.5 100 35 82 54% 2383
5. TCB 141 72.0 - 69.0 64 16 61 51% 2365
6. Goliath 254 100.5 - 153.5 93 15 146 39% 2265
7. GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2261
8. Phalanx 252 98.0 - 154.0 85 26 141 38% 2255
9. zchess 287 111.5 - 175.5 93 37 157 38% 2238
10. Gromit 81 37.5 - 43.5 34 7 40 46% 2235
11. lambChop 139 56.0 - 83.0 50 12 77 40% 2204
12. Exchess 97 34.5 - 62.5 27 15 55 35% 2134
13. Fortress 55 18.0 - 37.0 17 2 36 32% 2132
14. SSEchess 115 51.5 - 63.5 43 17 55 44% 2109
15. Arasan 91 48.5 - 42.5 42 13 36 53% 2080
16. Cilian 45 14.5 - 30.5 12 5 28 32% 1999
17. Tristram 42 4.5 - 37.5 3 3 36 10% 1886
Database: FREE *** Complete overview Blitz ***
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Old Oppo New
Arasan 91 48.5 - 42.5 42 13 36 53% 2150 2090 2080
Cilian 45 14.5 - 30.5 12 5 28 32% 2000 2123 1999
Comet 363 213.0 - 150.0 197 32 134 58% 2400 2340 2393
Crafty 647 345.0 - 302.0 292 106 249 53% 2450 2368 2401
Exchess 97 34.5 - 62.5 27 15 55 35% 2250 2254 2134
Fortress 55 18.0 - 37.0 17 2 36 32% 2200 2240 2132
GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2250 1900 2261
Goliath 254 100.5 - 153.5 93 15 146 39% 2250 2335 2265
Gromit 81 37.5 - 43.5 34 7 40 46% 2250 2266 2235
LambChop 139 56.0 - 83.0 50 12 77 40% 2300 2289 2204
Patzer 217 117.5 - 99.5 100 35 82 54% 2370 2392 2383
Phalanx 252 98.0 - 154.0 85 26 141 38% 2350 2371 2255
SSEchess 115 51.5 - 63.5 43 17 55 44% 2100 2144 2109
TCB 141 72.0 - 69.0 64 16 61 51% 2370 2351 2365
Tristram 42 4.5 - 37.5 3 3 36 10% 1900 2129 1886
Voyager 707 438.5 - 268.5 387 103 217 62% 2400 2406 2462
Zchess 287 111.5 - 175.5 93 37 157 38% 2250 2359 2238
Dec. 26, 1998 update
====================
Xmas time... I wish you all a very Merry Xmas!
Meanwhile I have continued testing Voyager (two different versions actually --
the 2.18 and the 2.29). My testing has shown that these two versions are
the best of all produced so far. I think that the 2.29 is deadly against
humans,
but that the 2.18 performs better against computers... BTW, 2.29 against
Grandmasters on the servers, in rated blitz games, is leading 13-2 so far!
Voyager played 123 games in my latest testing -- I watched each single game and
took notes -- I prefer that to automated testing. Here are the scores:
1 Voyager229 79.0/123
2 Comet98 23.5/54
3 TCBishop0042 15.5/31
4 Crafty15_18 4.0/10
5 LambChop690 2.5/18
6 Gromit20 1.0/10
The toughest opponent was TCB 0042 which drew the match -- 15.5 - 15.5, the
others,
including Crafty 15.18, lost their matches vs Voyager: Voyager - Comet98:
30.5-23.5,
Voyager - Crafty 15_18: 6-4, Voyager - LambChop 6.90: 15.5-2.5, Voyager - Gromit
2.0b:
9-1 (!!) (The newest version of Gromit plays very strongly and I was amazed to
see this
carnage...)
I will be updating the rating list later, after I have done some more matches,
focusing on the new versions of Crafty and, especially Gromit 2.0b which is
very promising, regardless of the blitz fiasco vs Voyager. Because it has been
proven time and again that ten-game matches do not mean much...
the margin of error is too great.
All the games played here can be found in the Archive. Enjoy.
Dec. 12, 1998 update
====================
This update is coming after almost two weeks. I have done a lot of testing and
not all of my results will be presented here. Not because I am trying to hide
anything, but because the testing has been rather diverse and cannot yet be
subsumed under any methodologically correct statistical heading. Regardless
of that, I can say that the Winboard versions of Voyager 2.x have proven its
value -- Voyager is the leading Winboard engine at blitz, even after facing the
improved versions of Crafty -- Crafty 16.1, and Comet, -- Comet A.97. Just look
at
the new list -- enriched with the thirty additional games Voyager 2.x played
against these two top programs. Voyager lost its match vs Crafty 16.1 by
9.5-8.5
and drew its match vs Comet A.97 6-6 (Games are in the Archive):
Database: FREE *** Top 40 elo blitz ***
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Elo
1. REBEL 8.0 15 12.0 - 3.0 10 4 1 80% 2527
2. Voyager 187 114.5 - 72.5 105 19 63 61% 2498
3. MChess Pro 5.0 16 8.5 - 7.5 7 3 6 53% 2470
4. Crafty 371 248.5 - 120.5 222 53 94 67% 2451
5. Comet 317 193.0 - 124.0 177 32 108 60% 2398
6. TCB 122 65.0 - 57.0 59 12 51 53% 2376
7. Patzer 305 155.0 - 146.0 131 48 122 51% 2369
8. GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2261
9. Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2259
10. Phalanx 263 102.5 - 160.5 89 27 147 38% 2257
11. Gromit 69 35.5 - 33.5 32 7 30 51% 2250
12. Goliath 245 96.5 - 148.5 89 15 141 39% 2250
13. lambChop 120 52.5 - 67.5 47 11 62 43% 2236
14. Exchess 96 33.5 - 62.5 26 15 55 34% 2130
15. Fortress 79 22.5 - 54.5 20 5 52 29% 2119
16. Ssechess 108 48.5 - 59.5 40 17 51 44% 2103
17. Arasan 96 49.0 - 47.0 42 14 40 51% 2083
18. Cilian 45 14.5 - 30.5 12 5 28 32% 1999
19. Tristram 40 4.5 - 35.5 3 3 34 11% 1874
Database:FREE *** Complete overview blitz ***
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Old Oppo New
Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2250 9 2259
Arasan 96 49.0 - 47.0 42 14 40 51% 2150 2116 2083
Cilian 45 14.5 - 30.5 12 5 28 32% 2000 2123 1999
Comet 317 193.0 - 124.0 177 32 108 60% 2400 2335 2398
Comet 12 6.0 - 6.0 5 2 5 50% 0 2423 0
Crafty 369 248.5 - 120.5 222 53 94 67% 2572 2345 2451
Exchess 96 33.5 - 62.5 26 15 55 34% 2250 2253 2130
Fortress 77 22.5 - 54.5 20 5 52 29% 2200 2281 2119
GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2250 1900 2261
Goliath 245 96.5 - 148.5 89 15 141 39% 2250 2337 2250
Gromit 69 35.5 - 33.5 32 7 30 51% 2250 2251 2250
LambChop 120 52.5 - 67.5 47 11 62 43% 2300 2279 2236
MChess Pro 5.0 16 8.5 - 7.5 7 3 6 53% 2480 2391 2470
Patzer 301 155.0 - 146.0 131 48 122 51% 2370 2363 2369
Phalanx 263 102.5 - 160.5 89 27 147 38% 2350 2374 2257
REBEL 8.0 15 12.0 - 3.0 10 4 1 80% 2515 2384 2527
Ssechess 108 48.5 - 59.5 40 17 51 44% 2100 2146 2103
TCB 122 65.0 - 57.0 59 12 51 53% 2370 2341 2376
Tristram 40 4.5 - 35.5 3 3 34 11% 1900 2191 1874
Voyager 187 114.5 - 72.5 105 19 63 61% 2444 2405 2498
Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2250 2350 2259
Nov. 30, 1998 update
====================
The latest news!! Two matches: Comet vs Voyager and SSEches vs Cilian
Comet A.96 vs Voyager 2.x (a 50-game match, G/5):
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
1 voyager 00010000111011011100101111110111011110001111001½11 30.5/50
2 comet-wb 11101111000100100011010000001000100001110000110½00 19.5/50
This result has catapulted Voyager to spot 1 quite convincingly. Comet started
off
like a fury -- 7-1, but was put under heel later. See the games, go through
them and
try to explain the score. Both programs are self-learners, Comet's book is
definitely the better of the two, its middle game is more dynamic, it is a
terrific
tactician, has a "feel" for attacking positions, etc. But, the endgame seems to
be the winning combination here...
The second match was Cilian 4.07 vs SSEchesII 2.01. It ended 15.5-8.5 in favour
of
SSEchess. Both have progressed by several points and are quite close to the
ratings we assigned to them :-) Cilian had several nice wins as Black -- on the
whole SSEchess played more competitive chess and won deservedly. Still if you
ask me which of these two I enjoy playing more I'd give the nod to Cilian --
plays very human-like and has some particular knowledge that is so alien to
computer programs in general...
Database: FREE *** ELO 40 Blitz ***
1. Voyager 157 100.0 - 57.0 95 10 52 63% 2467
2. Crafty 353 239.0 - 112.0 216 46 89 68% 2450
3. Comet 317 193.0 - 124.0 177 32 108 60% 2398
4. TCB 122 65.0 - 57.0 59 12 51 53% 2376
5. Patzer 305 155.0 - 146.0 131 48 122 51% 2369
6. GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2261
7. Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2259
8. Phalanx 263 102.5 - 160.5 89 27 147 38% 2257
9. Gromit 69 35.5 - 33.5 32 7 30 51% 2250
10. Goliath 245 96.5 - 148.5 89 15 141 39% 2250
11. lambChop 120 52.5 - 67.5 47 11 62 43% 2236
12. Exchess 96 33.5 - 62.5 26 15 55 34% 2130
13. Fortress 79 22.5 - 54.5 20 5 52 29% 2119
14. Ssechess 108 48.5 - 59.5 40 17 51 44% 2103
15. Arasan 96 49.0 - 47.0 42 14 40 51% 2083
16. Cilian 45 14.5 - 30.5 12 5 28 32% 1999
17. Tristram 40 4.5 - 35.5 3 3 34 11% 1874
Database: FREE *** Complete overview Blitz ***
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Old Oppo New
Arasan 96 49.0 - 47.0 42 14 40 51% 2150 2116 2083
Cilian 45 14.5 - 30.5 12 5 28 32% 2000 2123 1999
Comet 317 193.0 - 124.0 177 32 108 60% 2400 2335 2398
Crafty 351 239.0 - 112.0 216 46 89 68% 2450 2340 2450
Exchess 96 33.5 - 62.5 26 15 55 34% 2250 2253 2130
Fortress 77 22.5 - 54.5 20 5 52 29% 2200 2281 2119
GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2250 1900 2261
Goliath 245 96.5 - 148.5 89 15 141 39% 2250 2337 2250
Gromit 69 35.5 - 33.5 32 7 30 51% 2250 2251 2250
LambChop 120 52.5 - 67.5 47 11 62 43% 2300 2279 2236
MChess Pro 5.0 16 8.5 - 7.5 7 3 6 53% 2480 2391 2470
Patzer 301 155.0 - 146.0 131 48 122 51% 2370 2363 2369
Phalanx 263 102.5 - 160.5 89 27 147 38% 2350 2374 2257
REBEL 8.0 15 12.0 - 3.0 10 4 1 80% 2515 2384 2527
Ssechess 108 48.5 - 59.5 40 17 51 44% 2100 2146 2103
TCB 122 65.0 - 57.0 59 12 51 53% 2370 2341 2376
Tristram 40 4.5 - 35.5 3 3 34 11% 1900 2191 1874
Voyager 157 100.0 - 57.0 95 10 52 63% 2400 2378 2467
Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2250 2350 2259
NOTE: A bit of restructuring: the Stats section dealing with the events from
Nov. 14 to
Sept. 14, when we started it, is now in the Archives. You can always dig it out
and
read about what happened...
Nov. 28, 1998 update
====================
NOTA BENE: Troubled by the inconsistency of my testing Voyager -- measuring its
success only via its scores on the servers (Chess.net, handle = Mentat; FICS,
handle = TheMagusX; current ratings: Chess.net - 2371 blitz, FICS - 2414
blitz),
I have decided to remove the server scores. The first reason was that Voyager
played mainly the Crafty and TCB clones that used superior hardware (most of
the Crafties played used at least the PII/450Mhz...). The second excellent
reason
to remove the scores was that the latest version of Voyager enabled me to
play games for both sides, as White and Black locally, which had not been
possible
before, having forced me to try it out on the servers. Therefore, I believed
that local
Winboard testing should offer a better INDICATOR of Voyager's blitz strength. To
make sure that no engine hogged the CPU, I used the Microsoft Wintop program to
gauge
the CPU usage. The difference between two programs' CPU usage was never more
than
3%, which is negligible. And I was in for a great surprise. (All the games are
in
the Archives, as usual)
Voyager carried the day again! First in line was an incredibly convincing win
against a very strong adversary -- the new, and very much improved version of
Phalanx,
XIX. This new version of Phalanx got rid of the time management bug, a very
strange
and difficult-to-find glitch that made Phalanx do so badly against other
programs,
regardless of the -xreuse command... I just wonder which program can do so well
against Phalanx. Remember, Phalanx is a self-learner too, just like Voyager.
The
first dozen games were complete annihilation... You can download them from the
Archive,
as usual. (I played 50 games, but three were incomplete, one or the other
program
lost on time, after a dozen or so moves...)
Voyager - Phalanx XIX, 1998 G/5
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567
1 Voyager 111½111111½100011111111011001111111100101110100 34.0/47
2 Phalanx 000½000000½011100000000100110000000011010001011 13.0/47
The second match was against the tactical wizard - The Crazy Bishop v. 0040,
with
tablebase support (all 3 and 4-men). A difficult match --
Voyager - TCB 0040, 1998 G/5
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
1 Voyager 11½0110111110½0½10010½100000111001100110½111011½1½ 28.5/50
2 Tcb 00½1001000001½1½01101½011111000110011001½000100½0½ 21.5/50
The third match was the shortest, as I was getting too tired -- spent most of
the
night and the day watching the games. Voyager faced its main contender for the
preassigned 2400 mark -- the aggressive and tactically very apt Comet. However,
it
proved to be up to the task:
Voyager - Comet A.96, 1998 G/5
1234567890
1 Voyager 1110111001 7.0/10
2 Comet 0001000110 3.0/10
In the end, the incredible has happened, Voyager surpassed even Crafty in its
blitz
rating! Of course, the old sage will face the upstart soon.
The match ought be long and statistically convincing... Stay tuned.
But, first take a look at the new rating list:
Database: FREE *** Top 40 elo blitz ***
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Elo
1. Voyager 107 69.5 - 37.5 65 9 33 64% 2453
2. Crafty 353 239.0 - 112.0 216 46 89 68% 2450
3. Comet 267 173.5 - 93.5 158 31 78 64% 2418
4. TCB 122 65.0 - 57.0 59 12 51 53% 2376
5. Patzer 305 155.0 - 146.0 131 48 122 51% 2369
6. GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2261
7. Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2259
8. Phalanx 263 102.5 - 160.5 89 27 147 38% 2257
9. Gromit 69 35.5 - 33.5 32 7 30 51% 2250
10. Goliath 245 96.5 - 148.5 89 15 141 39% 2250
11. lambChop 120 52.5 - 67.5 47 11 62 43% 2236
12. Exchess 96 33.5 - 62.5 26 15 55 34% 2130
13. Fortress 79 22.5 - 54.5 20 5 52 29% 2119
14. SSEchess 84 33.0 - 51.0 26 14 44 39% 2098
15. Arasan 96 49.0 - 47.0 42 14 40 51% 2083
16. Cilian 21 6.0 - 15.0 5 2 14 28% 1989
17. Tristram 40 4.5 - 35.5 3 3 34 11% 1874
Database:FREE *** Complete overview ***
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Old Oppo New
Arasan 96 49.0 - 47.0 42 14 40 51% 2150 2116 2083
Cilian 21 6.0 - 15.0 5 2 14 28% 2000 2150 1989
Comet 267 173.5 - 93.5 158 31 78 64% 2400 2323 2418
Crafty 351 239.0 - 112.0 216 46 89 68% 2450 2340 2450
Exchess 96 33.5 - 62.5 26 15 55 34% 2250 2253 2130
Fortress 77 22.5 - 54.5 20 5 52 29% 2200 2281 2119
GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2250 1900 2261
Goliath 245 96.5 - 148.5 89 15 141 39% 2250 2337 2250
Gromit 69 35.5 - 33.5 32 7 30 51% 2250 2251 2250
LambChop 120 52.5 - 67.5 47 11 62 43% 2300 2279 2236
MChess Pro 5.0 16 8.5 - 7.5 7 3 6 53% 2480 2391 2470
Patzer 301 155.0 - 146.0 131 48 122 51% 2370 2363 2369
Phalanx 263 102.5 - 160.5 89 27 147 38% 2350 2374 2257
REBEL 8.0 15 12.0 - 3.0 10 4 1 80% 2515 2384 2527
SSEchess 84 33.0 - 51.0 26 14 44 39% 2100 2188 2098
TCB 122 65.0 - 57.0 59 12 51 53% 2370 2341 2376
Tristram 40 4.5 - 35.5 3 3 34 11% 1900 2191 1874
Voyager 107 69.5 - 37.5 65 9 33 64% 2400 2350 2453
Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2250 2350 2259
Nov. 25, 1998 update
====================
Lots of new scores today. New Voyager results -- it is slowly creeping up
to the best... LambChop was better than SSEchessII 2.01 (SSE using its big 2MB
book):
14-6. LambChop is a better tactician and plays more wholesome chess. SSEchess
is fast and dangerous, but has a long way to go yet. Comet A.96 beat LambChop
easily 23-7, but only at first blush -- lots of fireworks in these
games -- LambChop striving for the initiative and giving up a piece for two
pawns
was a common sight. The hyper-dynamic style of Comet A.96 proved to be
difficult
for its cunning opponent. Cilian entered the arena and lost against Arasan 4.1
in a convincing manner 14.5-5.5... One more interesting match played: Comet
32bit
engine facing Crafty 15.20 (under Junior 5): Comet slightly ahead 13.5-12.5.
All in all, these two seem to be dead heat on equal hardware... The latest score
won't be entered in the database as Crafty had no tablebases...
The game scores can be found in the Archive as *Newmatches.zip*.
Database: FREE *** Top 40 elo blitz *** TOTAL: 2573 games!!!
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Elo
1. Crafty 425 279.5 - 142.5 250 59 113 66% 2433
2. Comet 257 170.5 - 86.5 155 31 71 66% 2423
3. TCB 124 69.0 - 55.0 60 18 46 55% 2387
4. Voyager 131 63.0 - 67.0 50 26 54 48% 2374
5. Patzer 305 155.0 - 146.0 131 48 122 51% 2369
6. Phalanx 216 89.5 - 126.5 77 25 114 41% 2269
7. GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2261
8. Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2259
9. Gromit 69 35.5 - 33.5 32 7 30 51% 2250
10. Goliath 245 96.5 - 148.5 89 15 141 39% 2250
11. lambChop 120 52.5 - 67.5 47 11 62 43% 2236
12. Exchess 96 33.5 - 62.5 26 15 55 34% 2130
13. Fortress 79 22.5 - 54.5 20 5 52 29% 2119
14. SSEchess 84 33.0 - 51.0 26 14 44 39% 2098
15. Arasan 99 50.0 - 49.0 43 14 42 50% 2084
16. Cilian 25 6.0 - 19.0 5 2 18 24% 1984
17. Tristram 40 4.5 - 35.5 3 3 34 11% 1874
Database: FREE *** Complete overview blitz *** TOTAL: 2573 games!!!
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Old Oppo New
Arasan 99 50.0 - 49.0 43 14 42 50% 2150 2125 2084
Cilian 25 6.0 - 19.0 5 2 18 24% 2000 2190 1984
Comet 257 170.5 - 86.5 155 31 71 66% 2400 2320 2423
Crafty 422 279.5 - 142.5 250 59 113 66% 2450 2350 2433
Exchess 96 33.5 - 62.5 26 15 55 34% 2250 2253 2130
Fortress 77 22.5 - 54.5 20 5 52 29% 2200 2281 2119
GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2250 1900 2261
Goliath 245 96.5 - 148.5 89 15 141 39% 2250 2337 2250
Gromit 69 35.5 - 33.5 32 7 30 51% 2250 2251 2250
LambChop 120 52.5 - 67.5 47 11 62 43% 2300 2279 2236
MChess Pro 5.0 16 8.5 - 7.5 7 3 6 53% 2480 2391 2470
Patzer 301 155.0 - 146.0 131 48 122 51% 2370 2363 2369
Phalanx 216 89.5 - 126.5 77 25 114 41% 2350 2369 2269
REBEL 8.0 15 12.0 - 3.0 10 4 1 80% 2515 2384 2527
SSEchess 84 33.0 - 51.0 26 14 44 39% 2100 2188 2098
TCB 124 69.0 - 55.0 60 18 46 55% 2370 2342 2387
Tristram 40 4.5 - 35.5 3 3 34 11% 1900 2191 1874
Voyager 130 63.0 - 67.0 50 26 54 48% 2400 2397 2374
Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2250 2350 2259
If one takes a closer look, it appears that our projected ratings correspond to
the match scores rather nicely... There are only a couple of cases in which the
discrepancies are big. Not bad :-)
Nov. 22, 1998 update
====================
More than a week has passed since the last update. Since then I have been
testing
a very exciting program, Voyager, by G. Müller. Voyager has a very complicated
self-learning feature that helps it learn not only the openings, but also other
elements of the game. As this is still under construction I will reveal no
other
details... Anyway, I have tested Voyager on FICS, Chess.net (registered
accounts) and
on ICC (as guest). I did not test it on my computer under Winboard against any
opposition, bearing in mind all the possible logical objections to this manner
of
testing. Voyager was tested mainly against different Crafties, running on
superior
hardware -- PII/450 or even Bob Hyatt's monster Crafty (a 4-CPU unit, 512MB RAM,
etc.)
and its score of close to 40% is almost spectacular, indicating that it should
be at
least as good as Crafty at blitz. BTW, it managed to beat Bob's Crafty 5-2 in
their
seven blitz games (again Bob's machine is made up of a quad P6 = 4 X 200Mhz)!
It is very much an up-and-down program due to its elaborate learning and lack
of a ready-made opening book (several hundred lines isn't much of
an opening book :-( However, even after a losing streak of several games it
would
pick up and regain power and start winning in spectacular style. It wins like a
human, once against Crafty it did not underpromote into Queen but Knight -- it
was played almost sarcastically. Brief overview: scores about 2400
against superior hardware, played mainly TCB (about equal) and CRafty
(close to 40%). Opening: very basic and weak now, middle-game: very
interesting, endgame: terrific. This newcomer is going to be the most
exciting new star on the computer chess sky for some time. If you want to
see some intelligent, and, of course, on occasion, some rather dafty games
and see a program that moulds and improves on its style, go and review Voyager's
games in the Archive section. One other thing: Voyager seems to be very good at
playing humans...
PS: In the pgn headers wherever it says that the site was 'local host' that
game was
played on Chess.net thru a registered account. However, the pgn header is a
little
different due to my using the accuclock and Winboard -- other graphical
interfaces do not
allow hooking up to Chess.net with the accuclock.
Database: FREE *** Top 40 elo blitz ***
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Elo
1. Crafty 387 262.5 - 121.5 236 53 95 68% 2445
2. Comet 201 134.0 - 67.0 122 24 55 66% 2412
2. TCB 109 62.5 - 46.5 56 13 40 57% 2387
4. Patzer 305 155.0 - 146.0 131 48 122 51% 2369
5. Voyager 104 47.0 - 56.0 37 20 46 45% 2365
6. Phalanx 216 89.5 - 126.5 77 25 114 41% 2269
7. GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2261
8. Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2259
9. lambChop 70 31.5 - 38.5 28 7 35 45% 2256
10. Gromit 69 35.5 - 33.5 32 7 30 51% 2250
11. Goliath 245 96.5 - 148.5 89 15 141 39% 2250
12. Exchess 96 33.5 - 62.5 26 15 55 34% 2130
13. Fortress 79 22.5 - 54.5 20 5 52 29% 2119
14. SSEChess 64 27.0 - 37.0 21 12 31 42% 2091
15. Arasan 78 35.0 - 43.0 29 12 37 44% 2087
16. Cilian 4 0.0 - 4.0 0 0 4 0% 1994
17. Tristram 40 4.5 - 35.5 3 3 34 11% 1874
Database: FREE *** Complete overview blitz ***
Name Tot Score + « - Perc Old Oppo New
Arasan 78 35.0 - 43.0 29 12 37 44% 2150 2159 2087
Cilian 4 0.0 - 4.0 0 0 4 0% 1912 2400 1908
Comet 201 134.0 - 67.0 122 24 55 66% 2400 2307 2412
Crafty 384 262.5 - 121.5 236 53 95 68% 2450 2345 2445
Exchess 96 33.5 - 62.5 26 15 55 34% 2250 2253 2130
Fortress 77 22.5 - 54.5 20 5 52 29% 2200 2281 2119
GNUChess 11 11.0 - 0.0 11 0 0 100% 2250 1900 2261
Goliath 245 96.5 - 148.5 89 15 141 39% 2250 2337 2250
Gromit 69 35.5 - 33.5 32 7 30 51% 2250 2251 2250
LambChop 70 31.5 - 38.5 28 7 35 45% 2300 2278 2256
MChess Pro 5.0 16 8.5 - 7.5 7 3 6 53% 2480 2391 2470
Patzer 301 155.0 - 146.0 131 48 122 51% 2370 2363 2369
Phalanx 216 89.5 - 126.5 77 25 114 41% 2350 2369 2269
REBEL 8.0 15 12.0 - 3.0 10 4 1 80% 2515 2384 2527
SSEChess 64 27.0 - 37.0 21 12 31 42% 2100 2153 2091
TCB 109 62.5 - 46.5 56 13 40 57% 2370 2334 2387
Tristram 40 4.5 - 35.5 3 3 34 11% 1900 2191 1874
Voyager 103 47.0 - 56.0 37 20 46 45% 2400 2394 2365
Zchess 247 105.0 - 142.0 89 32 126 42% 2250 2350 2259
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Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.