Author: John R. Menke, Sr.
Date: 11:53:52 06/17/99
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Thanks for everyone's feedback!
After some testing of my own, I've settled on a 8MB hash table for Chessmaster
6000 by setting TTABLE=23 in cm.ini. I compared 1MB to 32 MB hash tables by
calculating a benchmark position to a certain ply depth, and 8MB hash gives
about a 10% speedup on my 32MB RAM system (vs. the default 1MB hash, TTABLE=20)
if I calculate to at least 10 selective-search-ply. I also favor chess piece
values approximating those in a recent research article in Chess Life magazine:
Q=9.6, R=5, N=B=3.2, P=1. I note that the bishop pair is worth an extra +0.5 on
an open board, but that personality variable setting isn't available in CM, so
I'll just have to make that judgemental call myself in close-call situtations.
(Computers can't do everything!) With my slow i486 66MHz system, a Selective
Search setting of 7 ply seems about right, usually producing a final search
result in the 10-12 selective-search-ply range and a complete calculation of 4-5
ply. A 6 ply Selective Search setting (the default) might also be OK, but 8 ply
or more seems too slow for my system. No doubt faster processors can use a 8+
ply Selective Search setting. I personally eschew draws, so I gave that
personality variable a +1.5 setting (the same as Kasparov!). Also, I set the
time controls to 1 move in 999 minutes, which seems to be the slowest possible
setting without using infinite search ("Brute Force"). The time controls act a
little funny with that setting, but allow 16.65 hours of calculating per
half-move. (Sometimes it runs longer before making a move, for unknown reasons,
and the displayed time on the clocks doesn't cycle back to zero after a move!?)
Otherwise the standard Chessmaster personality settings seem OK. I'm not
convinced by the tests of CM6555 (a special set of personality settings);
knowledgable people differ in that regard. I welcome any further feedback...
Best Regards, JRM
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