Computer Chess Club Archives


Search

Terms

Messages

Subject: Re: A Blast from the past - Feng Hsu Let's start with the Rules

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 08:16:12 04/25/05

Go up one level in this thread


On April 25, 2005 at 10:36:07, chandler yergin wrote:

>On April 24, 2005 at 22:56:48, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>
>>On April 24, 2005 at 18:59:35, Rolf Tueschen wrote:
>>
>>>On April 24, 2005 at 15:42:54, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>
>>>>On April 24, 2005 at 13:13:22, Rolf Tueschen wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On April 24, 2005 at 10:13:18, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>On April 24, 2005 at 05:14:48, Peter Berger wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>On April 23, 2005 at 23:52:36, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Several of us have looked at the logs for the games, and game 2 looked perfectly
>>>>>>>>normal and the program even reported a fail low and "panic time" where it
>>>>>>>>searched longer than normal because of the fail low.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>This is a red herring and crap.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>When was the first time someone independent had a look at these logfiles? Have
>>>>>>>you and the several others had a chance to look at the logfiles right after the
>>>>>>>games took place, say May 1997?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>The logfiles IBM published eventually mean nothing at all. This was more than a
>>>>>>>year after the games, wasn't it? Even I could produce most impressive logfiles
>>>>>>>given that much time ..
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Yes.  Several looked at the log right after the event.  I believe that Ken sent
>>>>>>me the section from the game although I don't remember whether it was the Qxb6
>>>>>>(not played) or the Be4 position.  I believe that Amir posted something about
>>>>>>the position early, but his comments were based on either not understanding what
>>>>>>DB's log output meant, or something else.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>This was about the "fail low (panic time)" that caused DB to search much longer
>>>>>>than normal and may have been on the Be4 move although I simply don't remember
>>>>>>much about it since it was not a particularly significant event in my mind
>>>>>>because at the time I posted an excerpt from a Crafty log that looked
>>>>>>_identical_ in concept.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Nothing ever looked strange about the log stuff to me...
>>>>>
>>>>>The point is that you explained at the time that it would cost almost no energy
>>>>>to fake the output so that it looked koscher. So - what do you want to say with
>>>>>the above. In truth the later outputs mean nothing in a judicially relevant
>>>>>sense. The question is why they didn't discuss the thing with Kasparov in time
>>>>>before the following game so that the event could have been continued as
>>>>>planned. If they didn't have to hide something.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>OK, we go full circle.  I could certainly produce a fake log to support any move
>>>>that anybody would want to see Crafty play.  As I said back in 1997, it is
>>>>_impossible_ to prove they didn't cheat.  But, the other side of the coin is
>>>>that it would be possible to prove that they did, all one needs is to know the
>>>>methodology or catch them in the act, or whatever.  But this was never proven.
>>>>In fact, no methodology for cheating was ever mentioned.  Normally when you
>>>>accuse someone of cheating, you state the violation clearly.  "He spit on the
>>>>ball".  "His raquette head is too big".  "His golf club face is improperly sized
>>>>or weighted"  and so forth.
>>>
>>>
>>>Exactly, and that does prove at least to me that Kasparov didn't exactly accuse
>>>them of chesting. How could or should he? All he did was making public his
>>>astonishment, his disbelief. Wouldn't it have been ok if they had cared for him?
>>>In what style or with what material they should have done this, that is a
>>>different question. But why a player like Kasparov shouldn't have been allowed
>>>to express his confusion? Exactly with your explanation from that time Kasparov
>>>could have been given back his peace and new motivation to continue the fight.
>>>Without any humiliations. And with the hope to get a valid result of the match.
>>>(Perhaps I'm missing a specific lingual undertone in your messages to me, so
>>>that I'm still missing your exact position in the debate, but I can't figure out
>>>why it should be so difficult to get the sense of what I'm saying. Couldn't you
>>>explain, why in your eyes my science argument isn't good in respect to the
>>>original question of the research, namely could a machine play better than the
>>>best human? Why do you throw it into the bin? Are you really believing that a
>>>win, also a win with certain unfair methods, could prove anything at all?)
>>
>>
>>As I have said before, it proved just one thing.  That the human world champion
>>could be beaten by a computer in a standard time-control match on that
>>particular day.  There are plenty of other questions that could be asked now.
>>But the question back then was asked, and answered...
>
>
>No, it shows that Kasparov 'gambled' the the Computer would retreat the Knight
>on the 6th move!  That's all!
> He certainly wasn't outplayed at that point.

That argument is stupid.  I play chess.  I frequently gamble that a sac will
work, or that my opponent will overlook something that is difficult to see, in
order to further my own game plan.  If I lose, it is not because I "gambled" I
lost because I lost.  There are only three possible outcomes in the game of
chess:  win, lose or draw.  There is no "lose, lose by gambling, lose because I
fealt bad, lost because I blundered in a won position, or anything else."  There
is just "lose"

This argument is completely pointless if that is your only basis for
complaint...  Kasparov lost the 6 game match.  The history of chess doesn't
include any sort of "asterisk" notation about why he lost.

>
>As soon as he realized he had underestimated the Program,
>he knew he was lost. He had played the line himself.

So?  Underestimating your opponent is _your_ problem.  Or in this case
Kasparov's.  He made the decision, it backfired.  He lost the match.  That's all
that can be said.



>He also knew the Public would be infuriated if he resigned at that point, so he
>gave it his best shot. To his credit!



So did General Custer.  But history says he "lost".




This page took 0 seconds to execute

Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700

Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.