Author: Ryan B.
Date: 17:16:43 01/18/06
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On January 18, 2006 at 13:34:17, Chrilly Donninger wrote: >After playing several engine matches against Rybka (chess programming is a >rather boring job) I have come to the conclusion: There are a few special >evaluation features of Rybka which are really unique. It is interesting that >some seamingly relative unimportant feature appear regularily on the board. The >opponent has no idea of this feature and does not prevent it. And the search >always finds a way to reach the pattern. Rybka has e.g. some special passed pawn >evaluation terms. I do not want to tell the details, but the game Zappa-Rybka, >Paderborn 2005 is a prototype game for one of these special features. >But the main chess-knowledge which sets Rybka appart from other engines is >ignorance. The omission of features which other engines have incorporated. >I have written a longer article for the German "Schachkalender 2006". The >message of this article is: Most of the published chess knowledge is completly >useless. Give your favorite chess-enemy your chess-books as a present. They will >do some harm on his play. >Rybka seems to be to prove of this hypothesis. If a feature is - in a given >position - correct, it is of course an advantage if a programm has implemented >it. But if its wrong, the programm hangs on an advantage which does no really >not exist. Or even worse, it sacrificies another advantage to reach the pattern. > >I realized the principle: "It is sometimes more important to remove features >than to add ones" several times in the Hydra project. E.g. Piece-Square Tables >are generally considered as a "must have". Strong Chessplayers do not like them. >It is very unnatural for them to evaluate a piece without considering the >context of the other pieces. It took some time till GM Lutz convinced me to >remove them in Hydra. And indead, the programm played considerably stronger with >Piece-Square. >Insofar is the Rybka approach intelligent ignorance. > >Chrilly > >P.S.: The omission of Piece-Square-Tables is a feature of Hydra. I do not state, >that Rybka as skipped this feature too. How much do you think the end of PV search helps in Rybka? I am surprised at the tactical shots it catches but I think Rybka would still be strong without it. Interesting idea at least. Ryan
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