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Subject: Re: Technical question regarding interface for CCT

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 10:23:14 12/13/03

Go up one level in this thread


On December 13, 2003 at 12:38:27, Omid David Tabibi wrote:

>On December 13, 2003 at 12:18:43, Sune Fischer wrote:
>
>>>A CCT style tournament can never turn into an official event, since you cannot
>>>prevent any kind of cheating. I can run 5 engines on different computers, see
>>>which analysis I like, and then force my engine to play that move by feeding the
>>>move via a file it checks once a second. How are you going to prevent that? By
>>>looking at the analysis I output?! I can force my engine to print a spurious PV
>>>starting with the move I want it to play...
>>
>>You can do exactly the same in WCCC.
>>
>>Here is one way, you do a ssh to some remote 'super' computer not monitored by
>>any officials.
>>Then you get your cheating partner sitting at home to use multiple engines to
>>decide on the move.
>>He then feeds the best move into your proxy which then makes up some bogus node
>>count and PV and sends it back.
>>
>>You can even let it show analysis on the fly, it just has to have the right fail
>>high at the time when the move is sent. It's a nobrainer to fake.
>
>It's all true. But the only person running remote in Graz was Vincent. And we
>know enough about him and what he does to be confident that he is running on
>what he says he is running. I ensure you that if an unknown person shows up
>running on some unknown remote machine, everyone will question that and will ask
>for verification.

See my other post.  I won't run remote.  I _will_ cheat.  Because you simply
can't stop it without the expense I mentioned.  Want to provide a wide-band
frequency scanner to detect RF?  Won't catch a burst transmission.  Nor an
IR transmission.  Nor a transmission into the room over building power (do
a web search for electrical power line modem).  Etc...

>
>
>>
>>>The only reason why CCT tournaments are popular is that the stakes are not high.
>>
>>You may be on to something here, we are all so scared when the stakes are high.
>>:-)
>>
>>Nah, I think the answer is more straight forward: it's because it's so
>>accessible to everyone while the ICGA event is so unaccessible to most.
>>
>>>Most programmers join CCT only to test their engine against others (speaking for
>>>myself, I will enter a totally experimental and untested version of Falcon).
>>
>>I will enter whatever version I think is the strongest, probably it will be
>>experiment and somewhat untested, all my versions are.
>>I would have done the same had I been at the WCCC.
>
>I wouldn't. In Graz I used a version which was tested enough (tens of long time
>control matches against top programs), and was proven to be stable. During the
>whole tournament I didn't encounter even one bug in Falcon. I learned quite a
>lot about its weaknesses, but no programming bugs.
>
>
>>
>>I assume you also won't be joining with something you know for certain to be
>>weaker 'just for the testing'.
>
>Untested means I don't know. It could be stronger or weaker.
>

I _always_ enter with what I believe is the strongest version.  "believe"
!= absolutely certain.  But I do that at WCCC/WMCCC events as well.  I
treat them no differently from that perspective.


>
>>
>>>But
>>>when you give an official title to the winner, expect many (if not most)
>>>participants to cheat in various degrees starting from "move now" to playing all
>>>the moves as dictated by the operator.
>>
>>So you expect most people at WCCC to be cheaters given the chance?
>
>The stakes in WCCC are so high that you cannot rule out that option. If you
>don't do any drug tests in 100 meter sprint in the olympics, how many contenders
>will use drugs in your opinion?

Not me.  I can't speak for others.  But I notice they still get away with
it.  Testers are human.  They can be bought just as easily as the competitors
can.

>
>
>>
>>And you think showing up in person made cheating impossible for everyone there?
>
>Makes it very hard to cheat, and almost impossible to fake a whole game.
>
>
>>
>>>The physical presence of the programmers (or operators) is inevitable for an
>>>official event, especially one giving the title "World Computer Chess Champion"
>>>to the winner.
>>
>>It doesn't prevent cheating at all, nothing can prevent cheating 100% unless you
>>want to release codes etc...
>
>In a physical WCCC there is no easy way to cheat, apart from plagiarism which is
>a different story. When playing against an engine in WCCC, I know that the move
>it just played was produced by itself, not some external entity (machine or
>human). Could you say the same in CCT?

Again, see my previous post.  I could use any program I choose and you would
_never_ know or prove it.  You might leave scratching your head "how did he
do that?" but that's it..


>
>
>
>>
>>-S.



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