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Subject: Re: The poll question.

Author: blass uri

Date: 09:28:58 01/11/99

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On January 11, 1999 at 09:31:03, Robert Hyatt wrote:

>On January 11, 1999 at 01:15:55, blass uri wrote:
>
>>
>>On January 10, 1999 at 20:03:37, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>
>>>On January 10, 1999 at 01:28:23, blass uri wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>On January 09, 1999 at 22:08:43, KarinsDad wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On January 09, 1999 at 09:25:23, blass uri wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>On January 09, 1999 at 06:23:08, Micheal Cummings wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>On January 08, 1999 at 20:07:06, Mark Young wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>If Microsoft devoted substantial resources to the creation of a chess playing
>>>>>>>>program, and devoted one year to the project, how would that program compare (in
>>>>>>>>terms of playing strength only) to the best professional chess playing programs
>>>>>>>>on today's market?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>**
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>What is the point of this poll question? In a sense, IBM has already done this.
>>>>>
>>>>>The point of the poll question is that it is a controversial topic (hence, all
>>>>>of the posts on it). Additionally, nobody else suggested another poll question.
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>If the point of this question were to mean the chess program must be run on a
>>>>>>>>desktop computer, the results would still be the same. It would be better then
>>>>>>>>the other professional chess programs, if that would be the goal for Microsoft.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>For Microsoft, substantial resources would mean millions of dollars, a team of
>>>>>>>>programmers, a team of computer chess experts (ex. Bob Hyatt), and a team of
>>>>>>>>high rated professional chess players. All working together to meet the goal.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>With that kind of resources I don?t think the goal of just topping, the best
>>>>>>>>professional chess programs in terms of playing strength currently out would be
>>>>>>>>much of a challenge.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I would like to know one thing, why would Microsoft want to invest the time and
>>>>>>>money to create a chess program.
>>>>>
>>>>>There are no reasons for them to do it. The poll question was "If".
>>>>>
>>>>>>> Its not as though it is big market. Plus what
>>>>>>>are we going to need to run this program, I suggest with the millions of dollars
>>>>>>>invested that the program would be graphically power hungry along with the power
>>>>>>>and memory to then go and run the chess engine.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I woulds suggest 128 Ram, PII450. 16Meg 2D graphics Card.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I think too many people when hearing this will jump on the bandwagon thinking
>>>>>>>that a big company will create a powerful program, This from a company who takes
>>>>>>>2 years over to release operating systems and even when they do is full of bugs.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Its like Deep Blue, used on a super computer
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I do not think that IBM payed to the right people to help them.
>>>>>
>>>>>Why not? Kasparov is still complaining about it. Sounds like they were
>>>>>successful to me. You can almost always get better people, but you shouldn't
>>>>>argue with success.
>>>>
>>>>I expected deeper blue to play better
>>>>It won only because of stupid mistakes of kasparov in the 2 games that it
>>>>won(resigning in a draw position and going to a line that you were not ready to
>>>>go).
>>>>
>>>>Their previous machine failed to win the computer championship
>>>>and did only 3.5 out of 5 (they lost against Fritz3 and drew against wchess when
>>>>the Fritz3 and wchess used pentium90).
>>>
>>>
>>>Blass.. generally your chess comments are right on the mark.  But the above
>>>statement is so far wrong I really don't know where to start, other than suggest
>>>that you look back thru prior ICCA journals and find out who won each of the
>>>ACM events starting in 1987.  Here's a hint:  1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994
>>>were *all* won by Deep Thought.  They didn't participate in the 1992
>>>computer chess event, and the only other event held was the 1995 tournament that
>>>Fritz won.  So out of all those years, they won *every event* except for one
>>>that they participated in.  What micro has come even close to that?  IE what
>>>micro has won even 1 acm event?  Rebel (I think) won in 1992 when no "big iron"
>>>was present.  But other than that exception, they've been completely buried by
>>>the deep thought/deep blue guys..
>>
>>I admit that they were better than other programs because of hardware advantage
>>but I saw some games of them
>>and in at least in 2 games that I saw(I did not see most of the games) they won
>>after  the opponent got an advantage after the opening and probably missed a
>>win.
>
>That I wouldn't argue with.  However, it proves a different point than you
>intended...  that they could get _inferior_ opening positions (because their
>opening book wasn't great in the early days) and _still_ win.  In 1994 at the
>ACM event they had to forfeit round 1 because of a power failure at the Watson
>computer center, and they _still_ won the tournament.  When you win even after
>a bad opening, or after losing a game to a time forfeit when your computer is
>inaccessible, and you _still_ win the tournaments, you must be doing something
>right, because it can't be all luck...

I do not think it was all luck but I think they could win bad positions because
of better hardware.
I agree I should not say that the better hardware did not help them but only
that it did not help them the same as I expect.

The fact that they played bad in the opening in some games because of the engine
proves that IBM did not hire the right people for deep thought.

I know that they hired better people for deeper blue but  I still believe they
could do better program with other people.

even if I assume that deeper blue in the same level of the top programs(assuming
the top programs are 2000 times faster)
>
>
>
>
>>
>>I was not impressed by the games.
>>
>>I believe they were better than their oppenents but my impression is that their
>>hardware advantage against micros was something like Pentium400 against 386 and
>>with hardware advantage like this I could expect better results.
>
>
>it is more like a Pentium 400 vs a calculator.  They are some 2000 times faster
>than the best micros at present...

I did not mean to deep blue but to deep thought when I said that it is something
like Pentium400 against 386
If it is more than that then I am more convinced that other programmers could do
better in the same hardware.
>
>
>
>
>>
>>I believe that Fritz3 (if it was 20 times faster than pentium90 and without
>>losing lines in the opening book) could have better results against the same
>>opponents.
>
>Remember they lost 2 games to computers in 10+ tournaments.  On equal hardware,
>fritz didn't do very well in the last two WCCC events.  Certainly nothing like
>DT/DB did for a sustained period of time...
>
>
>
>>
>>(I know that Fritz3 lost to Sos in the first round in 1995 only because of the
>>opening book,deeper blue

I know that I should write deep thought
Sorry for the mistake.
I intended to deep thought(I do not like deeper blue and it may be an
unconscious reason for this mistake)

>> lost to Fritz3 because of a tactical mistake and not as
>>a simple result of the opening book)
>
>Deep Thought lost to fritz after following a bad opening line, and then playing
>one move on its own and getting into severe trouble.  It had a very weak king-
>safety analysis (remember, this was not deep blue II, or even deep blue I, but
>the original deep thought processors).







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