Author: Russell Reagan
Date: 12:12:01 05/25/04
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On May 25, 2004 at 14:33:31, Dann Corbit wrote: >I doubt that very much. There are some engines that vary in strength with time >control, but it is generally at the blitz level where these transitions take >place. An engine that scores 30% at G/40 will probably score 30% at G/120 and >at 40/2 against the same opponent. I'll test it. What engines would you like me to use? >I suspect that you saw it happen once or twice and are now extrapolating the >result in your mind. Yes, maybe. I need to test the idea some more. >If the effect were profound, wouldn't Crafty score 50% against Shredder in the >SSDF? I don't understand the reasoning here. The effect may only be subtle. I don't even know if it is testable in practical time. >The reason an engine might pick up strength at longer time controls is that it >has a better fundamental algorithm, but it is poorly microoptimized. What about diminishing returns? If we plotted the results of matches with respect to time (ex. 30%, 35%, 38%, etc.), what do the curves look like? At the beginning of the curve, the slow program with a superior algorithm won't fit the overall pattern, but I'm after the overall shape of the curve, where it levels off (or if it levels off), and things like that. >A great painter paints a picture in a month. The same painter paints a picture >in ten minutes. I am guessing that the slower time of painting made a much >better picture. > >When I play a chess engine contest, I want the result to be art, not comedy. >For me (though not for the majority) high speed blitz games are a crime against >humanity. > >It is not the end point (who won?) that is interesting to me. It is the journey >along the way. This is where we differ somewhat. I am not uninterested in the quality of the games, but I am more interested in the outcome of the match and finding out who is better. A G/30 match might be of lower quality, but in general it will probably produce the same winner as a G/120 match, don't you think? I am thinking about this from the point of view of an engine developer. If I can reliably tell which engine is stronger in 1/10th of the time, without having to play G/120 matches for weeks, then that will benefit me greatly in finding out whether changes to the engine are improvements, and the engine will improve more quickly. In that respect, I think longer games tell us less about which engine is better, and about whether a change was really an improvement. I may be wrong though. It is just an idea.
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