Author: Bruce Moreland
Date: 00:29:57 02/20/99
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On February 20, 1999 at 00:29:35, KarinsDad wrote: >On February 19, 1999 at 22:12:49, Bruce Moreland wrote: >>5 5 is harder for a program than 5 0. >As for Bruce's statement, please explain. Do you mean merely against humans >(since the humans get more time and are better with more time) or is there some >other meaning? I am talking about human versus computer. In computer versus computer it obviously doesn't matter what happens. In zero-increment games, programs don't manage time very well, but they don't run out, because they simply move when they have time. I never worry about my program having time problems. It spent on the order of a minute per move at the beginning of those games, and the spectators were grumbling about this, because they thought the program was using too much, but it had plenty left at the end of the game. Some people have problems with time discipline, and they flag. This is the most senseless aspect of the human game, and it is astonishing to find it even in very strong players. It is hard for a person to run out of time in a 5 5, because they always start with at least five seconds on the clock for each move, no matter how close they came to flagging on the previous move. They are forced to use time discipline. In a 5 0 game, a program will have less time per move, obviously, than it would in a 5 5 game, but there is also a mad scramble at the end where the human, even has little time and has to deal with something that has more time and won't roll over and die. In a 5 5 they can get an advantage and convert it. If you automate a program and tell it to play only humans at 5 0, and take another one and tell it to play only humans at 5 5, the first one will usually have a significantly higher rating, I think. I've watched mine win many games where it has a bad position, but several minutes left on the clock (in a 5 0 game), and the opponent has little or no time. In a 5 5 it loses all of these games. bruce
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