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Subject: Re: How I Learned to Stop Hating 141

Author: Uri Blass

Date: 23:09:34 09/04/04

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On September 04, 2004 at 23:54:50, Stuart Cracraft wrote:

>On September 04, 2004 at 18:40:28, Uri Blass wrote:
>
>>On September 04, 2004 at 17:35:43, Stuart Cracraft wrote:
>>
>>>On September 03, 2004 at 18:14:56, Uri Blass wrote:
>>>
>>>>On September 03, 2004 at 17:30:18, Stuart Cracraft wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On September 03, 2004 at 16:52:34, Andrei Fortuna wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>On September 03, 2004 at 15:41:42, Stuart Cracraft wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>On September 03, 2004 at 05:08:01, Andrei Fortuna wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>This makes me think how funny would be if two engines play, engine A would have
>>>>>>>>all kinds of those extensions in case of check etc, engine B would have
>>>>>>>>implemented a good eval function (with many terms regarding positional play) and
>>>>>>>>in the match engine B leads engine A towards the positions where engine A
>>>>>>>>discovers those mate attacks and so forth ahead of engine B, but he is on the
>>>>>>>>losing side due to B's positional play.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I think this kind of self-play event and auto-tuning and genetic algorithms
>>>>>>>in general are under-estimated by the computer chess programmers. Just
>>>>>>>because good results haven't been generated and there is no easy "elixer"
>>>>>>>doesn't mean we shouldn't be trying it.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Think of the time-savings. Heck, your auto-tune doesn't have to produce
>>>>>>>Bob Hyatt hand-crafted Crafty evaluation coefficients for terms you have
>>>>>>>to find and prove first -- but even if you don't produce something other
>>>>>>>than what you are doing now but saving a lot of time, then you have profited
>>>>>>>more.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Hi Stuart,
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Wasn't talking about auto-tuning, just was thinking that if someone invests in
>>>>>>evaluation function versus someone who invests in various extensions - the
>>>>>>former wins the game. Of course in reality programmers usually take care of both
>>>>>>areas ...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Andrei
>>>>>
>>>>>Yes -- I understand you weren't -- but there is a big savings if you do
>>>>>it right.
>>>>>
>>>>>For me, it is worth investigating as I don't want to spend the rest of
>>>>>my life tuning evaluation functions.
>>>>
>>>>I believe that I can earn more from adding new knowledge relative to tuning.
>>>>
>>>>Tuning can be done not automatically based on watching problems that repeat in
>>>>games.
>>>>
>>>>Uri
>>>
>>>If a problem repeats in games and the program loses, then tuning will
>>>try various things to prevent it.
>>>
>>>Look at Slate's "mouse" program and its learning capability. Highly
>>>effective yet simple. No need to even adjust coefficients. Just store
>>>a hash and a move in an avoid file.
>>>
>>>Imagine what tuning could do.
>>>
>>>I believe both Schaeffer and Marsland have very high expectations for
>>>the future of tuning via various methods.
>>>
>>>Stuart
>>
>>The problem is that there are things that you simply need to add new knowledge
>>if you want to fix them.
>>
>>It is not about changing parameters and I do not see how it can be done
>>automatically.
>>
>>Uri
>
>Absolutely concur that nothing, save neural, could discover new associations.
>
>But once you have identified a term in a linear or non-linear context, then
>the weight for it -- THAT is tunable.
>
>Certainly parameters cannot not easily be added from nowhere automatically.
>We programmers are needed for that.
>
>However, they can be dropped by auto-tuning with the evaluation function
>eventually either zeroing them out or in such a way after the auto-tuning
>to rebalance everything in a way that would zero out any terms that could
>be zeroed out, thus dropping non-essential knowledge.
>
>It is at least as complicated to setup something solid and general.
>
>Have you read Baxter et al and their KnightCap -- please explain that
>success story.
>
>From 1600 to 2500 with one blip on an opening book and probably some
>more blips on repeat wins by players playing the same moves over and
>over is an outstanding success story.
>
>Do I have it wrong??? Has anyone repeated their success?????
>
>Stuart

I do not think that knightcap is a success story.
Movei is clearly better than Knightcap with no automatic tuning.

Uri



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