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Subject: Re: Ruffian 2.0 will include a linux version too!

Author: Chessfun

Date: 14:27:49 11/21/03

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On November 21, 2003 at 14:49:21, Djordje Vidanovic wrote:

>On November 21, 2003 at 14:14:14, Chessfun wrote:
>
>>On November 21, 2003 at 06:23:36, Frank Quisinsky wrote:
>>
>>>On November 21, 2003 at 03:38:24, Chessfun wrote:
>>>
>>>>On November 20, 2003 at 19:14:15, Jorge Pichard wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Ruffian 2.0 by Per-Ola Valfridsson (Sweden) is the strongest Winboard compatible
>>>>>engine in the world today. The freely available and downloadable version of
>>>>>Ruffian (ver. 1.0.5) is placed first on the Winboard Engines Rating List. Its
>>>>>successor, coming more than one year later, with improved features and much
>>>>>higher playing strength, compared with 1.0.5.
>>>>>Ruffian 2.0 is not only capable of holding his own against the strongest
>>>>>commercial chess programs in the world, but also able to compete successfully
>>>>>against any of them.
>>>>>
>>>>>WB I / II & UCI protocol support
>>>>>
>>>>>Linux engine included
>>>>>
>>>>>11 playing levels, interesting settings!
>>>>>
>>>>>Opening books by Prof. Dr. Djordje Vidanovic !!
>>>>>
>>>>>Our Chess GUI Arena 1.0 by Martin Blume !!
>>>>>
>>>>>Ruffian 2.0 is a much improved engine that is considerably stronger than version
>>>>>1.0.1 / 1.0.5. More chess knowledge has been added and many other areas have
>>>>>been enhanced and improved. Piece mobility has been completely rewritten and the
>>>>>new version has a more active positional playing style.
>>>>>The engine is written in portable ANSI C and has been tested on a number of
>>>>>platforms such as Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, Solaris, Pocket PC and PalmOS.
>>>>>
>>>>>Ruffian is a fast program that reaches high search depth very quickly, and this
>>>>>gives it excellent tactical abilities. Extensions, pruning and evaluation have
>>>>>been carefully tuned to maximize Ruffian's playing strength. Mobility is based
>>>>>on precalculated tables that can recognize special patterns; this is one of the
>>>>>major evaluation terms. Ruffian has a lot of endgame knowledge and can play
>>>>>endgames fairly well. With the combination of endgame tables, Ruffian knows when
>>>>>to convert to a winning endgame. Search is based on iterative deepening,
>>>>>principal variation search algorithm (PVS), extension, SEE, transposition
>>>>>tables, recursive null-move and forward pruning.
>>>>
>>>>Hmm, wonder who we should thank for taking it commercial.
>>>>
>>>>Sarah.
>>>
>>>Hi Sarah,
>>>
>>>the best solution for us is to have all for free.
>>>I know this, we make it!
>>>
>>>Ruffian 1.05 / Arena 1.0 for an example!
>>
>>
>>Ruffian 1.0.5 is the same as previous versions which were also free.
>>Arena is an interface.
>>
>>I specifically refer to Ruffian and it becoming commercial. Without "Arena" it's
>>hardly likely that Ruffian could become commercial as a simple winboard engine,
>>and no interface of it's own.
>>
>>You may though wish to change the statement;
>>"Ruffian has a lot of endgame knowledge and can play endgames fairly well."
>>I am not even sure what "fairly well" means?.
>>
>>Sarah.
>
>
>*Fairly well* means _fairly well_ :-)  Just like it says in the description of
>the program by the author himself.

The author wrote the description?, I assumed Frank had.

>*Fairly well* means that Ruffian would play
>endgames even without tablebases fairly well (not perfectly...).  That was what
>Per-Ola meant and I am clarifyng for you, just in case.  I am fairly sure that
>you should have understood the modest statement by Per-Ola _fairly well_.

I understood it, it just seems a large understatement. Also not the type of
remark IMO that one would generally use when trying to sell anything.

And I know it don't play them perfectly but perfectly is a long way from "fairly
well".

>Now
>that we are through with semantics, I wish you a nice weekend.  Although it is
>the end of November in Europe the weather is spring-like; I just hope it's half
>that nice in the USA...:-)

I don't really care what it's like in the US, as long as Southern Ontario is
nice and today was beautiful :-)

Sarah.


>Regards,
>
>Djordje



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