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Subject: Re: Junior-Crafty hardware user experiment - 6th game

Author: Uri Blass

Date: 11:20:46 11/27/03

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On November 27, 2003 at 14:05:53, Robert Hyatt wrote:

>On November 26, 2003 at 23:45:47, Uri Blass wrote:
>
>>On November 26, 2003 at 23:15:57, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>
>>>On November 26, 2003 at 22:12:43, Uri Blass wrote:
>>>
>>>>On November 26, 2003 at 21:14:14, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On November 26, 2003 at 20:20:26, Peter Berger wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>For information about setup and rules:
>>>>>>http://www.talkchess.com/forums/1/message.html?329237
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Looks strangely familiar? - yes, the controversial setup of game 2 again. Space
>>>>>>advantage vs. pawn - OK, nothing new, we get this in every other game.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>This time after the "novelty" 27. Nf4 Junior reached less than nothing - it's
>>>>>>just too drawish.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>In 1985 there was some upset in our little rural chessclub - a computer had
>>>>>>proven hat KRBKR was a forced win, amazing. Dunno how this came up, and of
>>>>>>course these days we know better - many if not most of these positions are a
>>>>>>draw.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>But surely not all of them - KRBKR is dangerous to the extreme, especially if
>>>>>>the defending king is restricted to the back row - Crafty deals with these
>>>>>>positions as a draw statically in general (my humble and very possibly wrong
>>>>>>judgement after watching the game and evals , no analysis of source coude ) -
>>>>>>dary judgement by the engine.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Not to have to deal with general criticism about setup I spent quite some time
>>>>>>tonight with the best and fastest computer I could come up with in analysis - of
>>>>>>course with all the 5-piece tablebases, to make sure the problem is for real.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>It is - Crafty is not aware that KRBKR is just mean, even with 5 piece
>>>>>>tablebases, something very similar (identical in fact) to the actual game would
>>>>>>have happened.
>>>>>
>>>>>I will look, but two things.  If it ended up in a lost KRB vs KR, that can
>>>>>happen.  But if it has tables it will likely _not_ end up in that position
>>>>>as it would avoid trading down to it...
>>>>
>>>>The problem was losing KRB vs KRPP based on looking in the game.
>>>>
>>>>I am not sure about the losing mistake of Crafty but I think it was Rh1 in the
>>>>following position
>>>>
>>>>[D]5k2/7R/7p/p3K3/2B5/8/8/5r2 b - - 0 64
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>That's the purpose of tables.
>>>>>
>>>>>Losing the occasional KRB vs KR is not something I worry about, because most
>>>>>all chess program users have at least the full 5-piece set of tables which
>>>>>avoids 99.9% of the problems, where KRB vs KR is won is a very tiny percentage
>>>>>of all KRB vs KR endings...
>>>>>
>>>>>When you say something "identical" would have happened with the tables, you
>>>>>overlook the power of probing the tables _deep_ in the search, so you simply
>>>>>don't trade into such lost positions...  Crafty doesn't trade into such a
>>>>>position and _then_ realize "crap, lost position, shouldn't have done that."
>>>>>
>>>>>That's why the tables are important.
>>>>>
>>>>>Here, if a program thinks KRB vs KR is winning, it will be wrong most
>>>>>of the time.  You look _really_ silly winning a piece, trading your last
>>>>>pawn, to end up in a nearly forced draw with KRB vs KR.
>>>>
>>>>Junior did not evaluate it as winning a piece but evaluated it as advantage for
>>>>the side with the bishop(I am sure that Junior could see by search at least
>>>>winning one pawn to get KRB vs KRP but Junior never evaluated it as something
>>>>close to +2 and the evaluation was +0.5 or +0.8 in most of the endgame).
>>>>
>>>>Uri
>>>
>>>
>>>It was _still_ wrong.  In KRB vs KRP, in 99% of the cases, KRP draws or
>>>wins.  Thinking the KRB side is better is simply wrong.
>>
>>I think that evaluation is dependent on the position and KRB vs KRP is not
>>enough information.
>>
>>winning for the pawn can happen only if the pawn is very advanced(otherwise the
>>bishop can sacrifice itself for the pawn for a draw) so it is clear that in the
>>relevant position there were only chances for the bishop.
>>
>>The fact that the opponent king was in the last rank also helped to increase the
>>chances.
>>
>>It is not the first case when I see that KRB wins KRP in comp-comp games.
>>
>>
>>  Except for the
>>>rare exception.  I suspect Crafty with tables might well avoid the critical
>>>trade but I am not sure, some are very deep.
>>>
>>>But I'll take the occasional loss for being wrong, just as I accept the
>>>occasional case where I don't take the trojan horse but should.  It was
>>>wrong here (Crafty).  But it is right _most_ of the time.  A program that
>>>thinks KRB vs KR or KRP, or KRN vs KR or KRp, is better for the KRB or KRN
>>>is going to be wrong most of the time.  Look at the KRB vs KR tablebase
>>>summary file...
>>
>>Statistic about KRB vs KR is not relevant because the position that heppens in
>>the board is not random KRB vs KR position.
>>
>>Uri
>
>Actually it is, when you think about it.  This same thing could have happened
>with the black king anywhere on the board and white and black would have
>evaluated it the _same_ way, and white would not have won most of those
>cases.

I do not think that the sides evaluate it the same way when the black king is
anywhere in the board.

I suspect that it may be the case for Crafty but not for Junior.

Uri



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