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Subject: Re: To NON-believers in EGTB benefits... (a better example)

Author: Uri Blass

Date: 07:32:01 11/21/05

Go up one level in this thread


On November 21, 2005 at 10:14:48, James T. Walker wrote:

>On November 21, 2005 at 07:52:35, Tord Romstad wrote:
>
>>On November 21, 2005 at 04:28:47, Martin Baumung wrote:
>>
>>>Hello Uri,
>>>
>>>>How much time does your program need to find Kxb3 that is the only practical
>>>>chance to save the game
>>>
>>>please enlighten us on how the game can be saved after Kxb3 - especially when
>>>using the EGTBs.
>>
>>Uri did not claim that Kxb3 was a draw, only that it was the best *practical
>>chance* to win the game.  Big difference.  After Kxb3, white has to find a
>>very hard move in order to win.  Many opponents will not be able to find
>>the right move (I almost certainly wouldn't).  After all other moves than
>>Kxb3, the win is trivial.  Even I would be able to win.
>>
>>Another, less easily noticable problem of EGTBs is the general slowdown
>>of the program.  It is very hard to guess how many wins a program misses
>>because it wastes too much time probing tablebases when a slightly deeper
>>search would have found an easy win.
>>
>>It is just not possible to prove the usefulness of EGTBs in practical
>>play with a handful of positions.  The only way to measure the usefulness
>>is to play a big number of games with and without EGTBs and compare the
>>results.  So far, the overwhelming evidence points toward the conclusion
>>that EGTB use is utterly insignificant in practical play (consider, for
>>instance, the difference of 2 Elo points between Fruit 2.2 and Fruit 2.2.1
>>on the CEGT list).
>>
>>I am not a non-believer in EGTBs, by the way (in fact, I doubt that such
>>"non-believers" really exist).  The existence of 5-piece and 6-piece
>>EGTBs is a tremendous contribution to the body of chess knowledge,
>>and arguably one of the most exciting advances in chess theory over the
>>last few decades.  I am just very disappointed by the immense lack of
>>imagination current chess programmers (myself included) display when
>>trying to use this new body of knowledge.
>>
>>Tord
>
>Hello Tord,
>It seems to me that the opposite of what Uri is trying to prove is true here.
>Any program with 6 man tablebases will play Kxb3 instantly with no real search
>needed.  This saves time and plays the desired move to prolong mate to the
>ultimate.  This I think would be desireable especially vs humans or computers
>without the use of tablebases.  So how does this prove tabelbases are
>counter-productive?
>Jim

You can see that 5 piece tablebases can be counter productive when you do not
have 6 piece tablebases.

For similiar reasons 6 piece tablebases may be counter productive when you do
not have the 7 piece tablebases.

Uri



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