Author: Christopher Conkie
Date: 14:23:49 06/12/05
Go up one level in this thread
It is the engine that must play chess not the GUI. There are for example positions that are legal as well where engines have no concept of what is going on. Uri posted one below. I know of many such secret positions both legal and illegal. I have collected them for years. I cannot say them to you or they will be countered and against. We have a problem with clones as you know and these positions can tell us how an engine behaves with both via willingness to play AND output. They are truly fingerprints of what the engines are and are not capable of. For example Uri's position is...... [D]K7/8/8/8/Q7/1k6/B7/8 b - - 0 1 In this position there is a simple capture to make. Movei does this...... FEN: K7/8/8/8/Q7/1k6/B7/8 b - - 0 1 Movei 0.08.295: 1 00:00 62 62 +12.89 Kc3 2 00:00 163 163 +13.19 Kc3 2 00:00 263 263 +13.36 Kc3 Kb7 2 00:00 265 265 +13.36 Kc3 Kb7 3 00:00 917 917 +13.39 Kc3 Qd1 Kb4 Qd4+ Ka3 Qc3+ Ka4 3 00:00 1.394 139.400 +13.39 Kc3 Qd1 Kb4 Qd4+ Ka3 Qc3+ Ka4 4 00:00 2.062 206.200 +13.69 Kc3 4 00:00 3.592 359.200 +13.77 Kc3 Kb7 Kd2 Kc6 4 00:00 3.600 360.000 +13.77 Kc3 Kb7 Kd2 Kc6 5 00:00 16.091 402.275 +13.77 Kc3 Kb7 Kd3 Kc6 Kd2 5 00:00 16.105 402.625 +13.77 Kc3 Kb7 Kd3 Kc6 Kd2 6 00:00 16.179 404.475 +14.07 Kc3 6 00:00 48.256 438.690 +14.10 Kc3 Kb7 Kd3 Kc6 Kd2 Kd5 6 00:00 48.310 439.181 +14.10 Kc3 Kb7 Kd3 Kc6 Kd2 Kd5 7 00:00 151.552 473.600 +14.10 Kc3 Kb7 Kd3 Kc6 Ke3 Kd5 Kd2 7 00:00 151.674 473.981 +14.10 Kc3 Kb7 Kd3 Kc6 Ke3 Kd5 Kd2 8 00:01 513.758 471.337 +14.26 Kc3 Kb7 Kd3 Kc6 Kd2 Kd5 Ke1 Bc4 8 00:01 514.627 472.134 +14.26 Kc3 Kb7 Kd3 Kc6 Kd2 Kd5 Ke1 Bc4 And so on forever...... The point is that these kinds of positions tell us something about the makeup of engines. How it works, in other words. They tell us the minutest details. There is no escape. I in recent months have become aware of more areas of chess programming that I can bear to relate here. I have looked at so much output you would not believe. I know what is inside them. If you want something done, sometimes you have to do it yourselves. That is why we made the CDS Suite. We made it as a way to catalog all known engines in every format. Every few months another new engine/version comes along and that is what we have, and continue to, catalog. We have a vast internet and when you are interested as much in AI and computer chess as I and the people I know are, you have a huge pool of resources at your disposal. We are all collectors you see, as well as being interested. I can go back in time to the very beginning of the Winboard and UCI protocols that are the accepted ways today as well as forwards to new protocols, like those being developed with regard to FRC and Chess960. The engines in each given environment behave certain ways. It's a fact. It is a very hard thing to make a good clone, so much so that one is better off writing ones own code from scratch. If the commercial chess environment is every to recover then they must realise that a strong amateur environment is required. Clones don't breed a strong amateur scene. New and original ideas are what lead to a strong amateur environment. This is the remedy we have been waiting for and we like it. Sorry for banging on but you must understand that we are good people and that we are sick of being f----d about. That is why we made this. It is also therapy for the chess mind as well. I am truly interested in it. Look..... I let Movei running...... FEN: K7/8/8/8/Q7/1k6/B7/8 b - - 0 1 Movei 0.08.295: 9 00:03 1.623.998 474.853 +14.25 Kc3 Kb7 Kd2 Kc6 Ke1 Bc4 Kf2 Kd5 Kg3 9 00:04 1.632.202 474.477 +14.25 Kc3 Kb7 Kd2 Kc6 Ke1 Bc4 Kf2 Kd5 Kg3 10 00:04 1.956.280 434.728 +14.55 Kc3 10 00:04 1.961.593 435.909 +15.25 Kc3 10 00:06 2.938.692 451.411 +49.91 Kc3 Qd1 Kb4 Kb7 Kb5 Bc4+ Ka5 Qc2 Kb4 Qb3+ Kc5 Qb6+ Kxc4 10 00:07 3.397.930 452.454 +49.91 Kc3 Qd1 Kb4 Kb7 Kb5 Bc4+ Ka5 Qc2 Kb4 Qb3+ Kc5 Qb6+ Kxc4 11 00:07 3.435.997 457.522 +50.21 Kc3 11 00:08 3.654.878 456.289 +50.91 Kc3 11 00:13 6.363.059 470.640 +M7 Kc3 Qd1 Kb4 Kb7 Kb5 Qb3+ Ka5 Qc3+ Ka4 Bb3+ Kb5 Qc4+ Ka5 Qa4+ 11 00:19 9.253.019 480.177 +M7 Kb2 11 00:23 11.479.198 487.853 +M22 Kb2 11 00:31 15.261.099 491.659 +50.69 Kb2 Qc6 Ka1 Qb5 Kxa2 Kb7 Ka3 Kb6 Ka2 Kc5 Ka1 11 00:31 15.261.099 491.659 +50.69 Kb2 Qc6 Ka1 Qb5 Kxa2 Kb7 Ka3 Kb6 Ka2 Kc5 Ka1 12 01:00 30.354.140 505.902 +50.87 Kb2 Qb4+ Kxa2 Kb7 Ka1 Kb6 Ka2 Kc5 Ka1 Kc4 Ka2 Qc5 12 01:00 30.378.474 506.307 +50.87 Kb2 Qb4+ Kxa2 Kb7 Ka1 Kb6 Ka2 Kc5 Ka1 Kc4 Ka2 Qc5 13 01:19 39.858.075 504.532 +51.17 Kb2 13 01:19 39.916.095 505.267 +51.87 Kb2 13 01:45 54.671.513 520.681 +M7 Kb2 Qa5 Kc1 Bc4 Kc2 Qe1 Kb2 Qd2+ Ka3 Qc3+ Ka4 Qb3+ Ka5 Qb5+ 13 01:45 54.671.946 520.685 +M7 Kb2 Qa5 Kc1 Bc4 Kc2 Qe1 Kb2 Qd2+ Ka3 Qc3+ Ka4 Qb3+ Ka5 Qb5+ Kc3 and now Kb2. Both squares that are not check but no capture. Uri, if you are there, I have only seen this type of behavior in early versions of EnginMax if I remember, but not in this exact position. I hope that helps. Maybe it had the same problem. :-) Christopher Christopher
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