Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 12:08:05 06/02/99
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On June 02, 1999 at 14:16:33, James Robertson wrote: >On June 02, 1999 at 14:07:28, Eran wrote: > >>Since tablebase occupies too much harddisk space and tablebase generating needs >>too much RAM, I am wondering whether Hiarcs 7.32, with 40MB hashtable, can play >>endgames extremely well without using tablebase, doesn't it? >> >>Eran > >Tablebases are almost useless for most endgames. TBs will help you in some >games, but in the vast majority of endgames, the program will have to do without >them. If Hiarcs is a good endgame player with TBs, it will be a good player >without them as well. :) > >James I disagree. In the majority of endgames I reach against good computers, it often comes down to one side having an extra pawn. And most of those seem to end up as KRP vs KR endings. Having the tablebases is a huge advantage in those games. Against humans they are not as much of a factor, but in computer vs computer games, I find them getting used far more often than I would have thought before I had them. And if a program probes _in_ the search, they can be devastating in that that program will draw games it should lose, win games it should draw, and win lots of games that would be hard to win without the databases. Remember that they aren't just used when there are 5 pieces left. I have hit them when there are still a total of 20 pieces on the board... but everything gets traded off. In one game/30 game vs a GM a year ago, there were 16 pieces on the board and Crafty spotted a way to win a piece that wasn't obvious to me. When the opponent recaptured (Crafty didn't expect it) it announced a mate in 26 because of a forced series of exchanges ending in a tablebase position. Ask Lonnie how many games he has lost to Crafty in KRP vs KR alone, not to mention all the other hard to win endings like KRB vs KR, KQP vs KQ, and so forth...
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