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Subject: Re: WCCC Playoff Draw controversy ?

Author: Bob Durrett

Date: 08:11:50 11/30/03

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On November 30, 2003 at 11:05:48, George Sobala wrote:

>On November 30, 2003 at 11:02:44, Bob Durrett wrote:
>
>>On November 30, 2003 at 10:54:08, George Sobala wrote:
>>
>>>On November 30, 2003 at 10:44:27, Geoff wrote:
>>>
>>>>Hi
>>>>
>>>>Could someone explain what exactly happened in the WCCC playoff regarding the
>>>>draw bug issue, it is difficult to infer from the subsequent discussions ?
>>>>Thanks
>>>>
>>>>        Geoff
>>>
>>>The controversy was in the last-but-final round when Shredder, in a winning
>>>position against Jonny, played a threefold repetition, which Jonny's operator
>>>did not claim as a draw according to the WCCC rules. (We need CCTV footage and
>>>screendumps of this bit to really know what happened here.) Shredder then went
>>>on to win the game, tied with Fritz in first place and forced a play-off. The
>>>first play-off game was drawn, Shredder won the second.
>>>
>>>The controversy is over the aspect of the rules concerning draw-claiming in
>>>repeated positions.
>>>
>>>IMHO Shredder WAS winning, and IS the moral champion. Others, perhaps with their
>>>own agenda, feel otherwise.
>>
>>That is amusing.  : )
>>
>>How many times have I been "winning" when I made a blunder and lost?
>>
>>How many times has my game ended in stalemate when I was "winning" but
>>overlooked the stalemate possibility?
>>
>>How many times has a win slipped through my hands because my opponent claimed
>>the draw by threefold repetition of the position?
>>
>>The answers to all of these questions is:  "Too many!"
>>
>>If Shredder allowed the threefold repetition of the position then it should not
>>be given the win IMHO.  This is supposed to be a competition between computers.
>>Obviously, the tournament rules are defective and need a lot of improvement!
>>
>>Bob D.
>
>How many times have you made a losing blunder, which your opponent missed, and
>you went on to win anyway? Did you give him the point because he deserved to
>win? If the draw had been claimed properly then fine, I would have no problem
>with Shredder not winning the championship. It wasn't. So it goes.

Actually, I agree with you that the hands of the programmers should be slapped.
Why would an engine not be programmed to DEMAND the draw automatically?  That
was a major oversight on the part of a programmer.

In that sense, the Fritz program had a bug in it too.  It is a "bug versus bug"
situation.  : )

In the final analysis, this is NOT a competition between machines.  Instead, it
is a competition between programmers.

Bob D.



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