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Subject: Re: Severe Limitations of All Chess Engines

Author: Enrique Irazoqui

Date: 10:06:23 11/16/03

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On November 16, 2003 at 11:38:48, Bob Durrett wrote:

>
>
>Let's face it.  Chess engines play middlegames and complex endgames.  Thats ALL
>they do.  That is a severe limitation!
>
>When will we have chess engines which can play really well from ALL legal chess
>positions?
>
>Why should an opening position be taboo for a chess engine?
>
>Why should simple endgames be such a problem for a chess engine?

Maybe what happens is that developing rules in the opening and "simple endgames"
are easier for us to spot than "middlegames and complex endgames." In other
words, it is possible that the playing quality of engines is quite even
throughout the game, but we see more easily their weaknesses in the phases of
the game that we understand better.

Enrique

>To be a little bit fair about this, one can admit that tablebases are extremely
>good and they are available so why not use them?
>
>The same cannot be said about the opening phase, IMHO, although if one wished to
>be completely fair, one might note that good variety is provided by a good
>opening book.  It is not clear, however, that such variety could not also be
>provided by a suitably programmed engine.
>
>One benefit of a large opening book is that it can steer the engine into playing
>historically significant openings.  History buffs would like that.  : )
>
>Bob D.



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