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Subject: Re: How is Hydra faster and better than Deep Blue?

Author: Mike Hood

Date: 17:57:05 06/01/05

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On June 01, 2005 at 09:42:11, Uri Blass wrote:

>On June 01, 2005 at 09:33:09, Mike Hood wrote:
>
>>On May 30, 2005 at 02:02:49, Amir wrote:
>>
>>>Deep Blue could calculate 200 million moves per second. According to what I have
>>>read, Hydra calculates 40 million moves per second. How then is Hydra sees
>>>deeper or is faster than Deep Blue, as is claimed by the authors??
>>
>>It's pure speculation. Both Hydra and Deep Blue have their fans, so there will
>>never be an agreement. Deep Blue was faster, doubtless, but chess programming
>>algorithms have improved since Deep Blue's days. My personal opinion? I just
>>don't know.
>>
>>There's only one way to resolve the issue. Hydra's programmers should challenge
>>Deep Blue to a match, giving IBM adequate time to reassemble the machine. If
>>Deep Blue fails to accept the challenge, Hydra can claim victory by default.
>
>By this reason every program can claim win by default against Deep Blue.
>Deep Blue stopped to play chess and not other programs.
>
>Uri

Exactly, Uri. Soon after the victory against Kasparov the Deep Blue computer was
dismantled. The supposed reason was that the hardware was very expensive and was
needed elsewhere. I personally find it hard to believe that IBM was so short of
cash that it had to cannibalize a world famous computer. The real reason is easy
to guess. Someone high up in the IBM hierarchy (much higher than the honest Deep
Blue programmers) was afraid that Deep Blue might lose a rematch against
Kasparov, so Deep Blue had to quit while it was ahead. Deep Blue might have lost
a match against Anand (who was a better anti-computer player than Kasparov), or
may even have lost against a much lower rated player. Worst of all, Deep Blue
might have lost against another computer program. There was only one way to
solve the problem: just tear the machine apart and say "We're the best. We have
nothing to prove".

Deep Blue will never return. If IBM does come back to compete in computer chess
it will be with new hardware and new software. Deep Blue should be treated the
same way as respected human world champions of many years past. They were the
best in their day, they might have been good enough to beat today's best
players, but they're dead, so we'll never know.



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