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Subject: Re: Why to make new chess programs

Author: Thomas Mayer

Date: 17:25:09 05/28/05

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Hi Alexander,

On May 28, 2005 at 14:46:05, Alexander chessplayer wrote:

> Can anybody list ALL purposes why people steel create more and more chess
> engines?

I think it differs from author to author.

For me the key-experience was to see an Mephisto I in action beating my cousin.
(I was 9 or 10 there) Since then the dream has started to built something
similar or maybe even better.
So I did start 1985 or 1986 with my own engine. Well, in the age of 14/15 one
change interests quite often so the engine sleeped again for long. Around 1992 I
started again and published it in the Fido-Net and had some nice contacts. But I
got busy with other things again, and a rewrite around 1995 did simply fail.
Well, in late 2000 I got interested again and this time it was called Quark and
my interest in it did never again fully die.
You know, it happens quite often that I take a bath, a shower, watch tv, discuss
with others and get an idea about my chess program to try something. E.g. I
think I have written now the 6th or 7th move generator for it and it always gets
faster. That's interesting to me - every time when you think you can't get it
better you still can. And I have still so many ideas left which I may try or may
not try. After all it's simply a hobby and not so easy to describe why you do
it. It's a challange, maybe a challange against oneself. Can I do this, how far
can I get etc.
And: I believe I would have stopped with Quark for sure after a year or so, but
all the contacts I got in the meanwhile keep me working on it. It's the best
motivation. Special thanks here especially to Leo Dijksman and Wolfgang Draeger,
my two beta-testers since the beginning. And also to Nolan Denson who tests also
for me since some month. And not to forget all collegues I met in several
computer chess tournaments. And last but not least everybody in the different
chess forums. That's my motivation.

Greets, Thomas



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