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Subject: Re: null-move

Author: J. Wesley Cleveland

Date: 17:29:08 08/30/04

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On August 30, 2004 at 15:47:47, Robert Hyatt wrote:

>On August 30, 2004 at 12:28:04, J. Wesley Cleveland wrote:
>
>>On August 27, 2004 at 23:26:23, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>
>>>On August 27, 2004 at 11:17:35, J. Wesley Cleveland wrote:
>>>
>>>>On August 26, 2004 at 21:00:10, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On August 26, 2004 at 14:09:06, Bert van den Bosch wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>On August 26, 2004 at 11:33:48, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>On August 25, 2004 at 17:37:59, Bert van den Bosch wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>First of all, I hope the forum will continue in some way!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Before it is gone, I have a question.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I wanted to check my null move so I tested if the null move would create a
>>>>>>>>cutoff, and after that I did the normal stuff. So if you have a cutoff with null
>>>>>>>>moving you are almost sure you will also get a cutoff with the normal proces,
>>>>>>>>except for zugzwangs of course. But this wasn't happening all the time when I
>>>>>>>>tested it, and usually the values involved from what I got back from nullmove
>>>>>>>>and from the normal process were just a few centipawns in difference. Could this
>>>>>>>>be because of search instabillity? If it isn't a bug in my program I had the
>>>>>>>>idea to search nullmove with beta-MARGIN in order for the value returned by null
>>>>>>>>move to bridge the few centipawns gap. And taking MARGIN the few centipawns. But
>>>>>>>>I'm not sure if that is correct. Can someone shine a light on this?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Thanks, greetings Bert
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>This isn't what null-move is about.  It will fail high in positions where a
>>>>>>>normal search won't, but that doesn't make it wrong.  The point is that if your
>>>>>>>opponent can move twice in a row and you fail high after "passing" then your
>>>>>>>position is very good and it is safe to avoid searching to the normal depth to
>>>>>>>see if it is even better.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>As a general rule, if null-move fails high, a normal search should also fail
>>>>>>>high, of course, as that is the point in that the null-move search is easier to
>>>>>>>do since it searches to a reduced depth.  But there is nothing to say that if
>>>>>>>the null-move search fails high that the regular search will not, that is part
>>>>>>>of the risk you take, since null-move is not 100% accurate.  Reduce the depth
>>>>>>>and you obviously will miss some tactical shots that the deeper depth would not
>>>>>>>miss.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>If you want an "error-free" pruning algorithm, good luck.  Logic says no such
>>>>>>>thing exists. :)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>alphabeta :)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>OK.
>>>>>
>>>>>If you want an error-free _forward-pruning_ algorithm, good luck.  Logic says no
>>>>>such thing exists.  :)
>>>>
>>>>EGTBs ;)
>>>
>>>That's not forward pruning. :)  Those probes access a perfect tree search all
>>>the way to the mate position.  Otherwise hash tables would be in the same
>>>category..
>>
>>How about endgame rules, e.g. KBK is a draw, or KQK is always a win if the side
>>with the Q is on move ?
>
>Some of those might well be perfect knowledge.  IE kp vs k can be statically
>evaluated perfectly.  Many have exceptions that cause problems.  IE not _all_
>knn vs k are drawn as you can be mated when you reach that position.  Perfect
>rules don't come into the domain of "forward pruning" generally.  Forward
>pruning is about statically tossing out some moves without searching them.  And
>they have an ovious risk.  Some forward pruning rules might be near 100%
>accurate.  Others less accurate.  Applying "perfect knowledge" is not considered
>forward pruning in AI...  Because with perfect knowledge there is no need to do
>any searching at all.  IE kp vs k.

So your statment that there is no error-free forward pruning is true by
definition, i.e. if it is error-free, it is not forward pruning.



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