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Subject: Re: Shredder wins in Graz after controversy

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 17:04:43 12/09/03

Go up one level in this thread


On December 09, 2003 at 15:11:14, martin fierz wrote:

>On December 09, 2003 at 14:54:42, Omid David Tabibi wrote:
>
>>On December 09, 2003 at 14:43:18, Gian-Carlo Pascutto wrote:
>>
>>>On December 09, 2003 at 14:41:39, Matthew Hull wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>If the GUI can play half the game (opening moves), then it is part of the
>>>>chess-playing software.  The engine/GUI are one chess-playing entitiy.
>>>>Therefore, you point is egregiously in error.
>>>
>>>Who says the GUI must play the opening moves?!
>>
>>Nobody says that the GUI "must" do one thing or another. It is the seperation of
>>tasks. For example, you can let the interface play the opening moves, and do the
>>draw claim; let it only do the draw claim; do nothing; etc. There is no strict
>>border between the engine and the interface (read the WinBoard and UCI
>>protocols). I don't see how you can make the seperation...
>
>i suggest: the engine has to deal with any position that is not in a database
>(opening/endgame). the GUI can deal with all "mindless" tasks, meaning all
>database lookups.
>
>point being, that whether you let the GUI execute the moves in your book or
>whether you let the engine execute the moves in your book doesn't matter, both
>will choose the same moves if you give them the same book. same once you're in
>the tablebase. in this sense, it doesn't matter whether you let the GUI or
>engine do this.


That's a flawed assumption.  You might write a simple book and book selection
algorithm for your engine.  And then think "hey, the CB GUI has a much better
book, with a much better selection algorithm, I'll use that."

For tablebase positions it is _also_ not clear. If you mindlessly play a
tablebase move, yes, but what about Crafty's "swindle mode" that trys to play
a tablebase move that gives the opponent chances to blunder?  Or what if
someone develops a GUI that searches to find the tablebase move with the
move difficult-to-play positions below it, for the same reason?

So even "mindless" decisions can have significant effort behind them.



>
>but choosing whether to claim a draw or not is a conscious decision by the
>chess-playing entity (be it human or computer). you are not forced to claim it,
>and therefore you must make a decision whether you want to claim it or not.
>since this is not a mindless database lookup, i believe the engine should decide
>whether it claims the draw or not.

It does this.  If it repeats for the 3rd time, it _definitely_ wants the
draw.  Otherwise it would not have repeated.

>
>cheers
>  martin



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