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Subject: Re: Hiarcs 7.32 vs CSTal-2 **No joke-2games**

Author: Enrique Irazoqui

Date: 11:30:25 09/19/99

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On September 19, 1999 at 13:42:52, Ed Schröder wrote:

>>>It's not so simple, consider a few points...
>>>
>>>#1. Instead of the move send weird stuff to the other PC as a result
>>>the other PC will crash. Do that in case your score is below -1.xx.
>>>Don't do it in every game.
>>
>>You and I checked several programs with CB and Donninger's auto232, and no
>>program sent anything weird.
>>
>>>#2. Let your own program crash when you are down in score. Don't do
>>>it every game.
>>
>>This can be "achieved" also manually, and it has happened twice in the few
>>thousand games I autoplayed.
>>
>>>#3. Send the "move now" command to the other PC after say 10 seconds
>>>in a 60/60 or 40/120 game. Hide it a little, nobody will notice.
>>
>>This can be "achieved" also manually, and it has happened twice in the few
>>thousand games I autoplayed.
>
>These days crashes are rare I agree but I consider a time-out also as a
>crash and I have seen too many of suspect time-out cases and they by
>definition always favor the Rebel opponent. I checked the time-out parameter
>and that can't be the reason. Similar games (behavior) seen?

I noticed very, very few time-outs. Not enough in any case to build a pattern or
to question autoplayers.

>>>I have not the impression it currently happens but is all possible
>>>if a programmer wants so.
>>>
>>>About books...
>>>
>>>You can easily recognize when the opponent is out of book simply by
>>>checking the opponent response time. With this information you can
>>>recognize the opponent. Think about this for a while. I have tried
>>>it for my own curiosity and it simply works. Now you can do nice
>>>things in case you know the opponent. Is it happening already? I
>>>don't know but it can be done and quite easily.
>>
>>I wonder if this is so easy (the 2 versions I tried didn't make reliable
>>identifications at all), and even if a program can identify the opponent
>>one can easily argue that:
>
>Read again. I am not talking about first versions I once send you but
>a system based on the moment when a program is out of book which
>you can easily measure  by the (long cq direct) response time of the
>opponent. You can identify the opponent based on that information.
>It's a piece of cake if you think about it for a few moments.
>
>>- it would be an intelligent development in the "artificial intelligence"
>>field.
>>
>>- all programmers could do it, so what's the problem?
>
>The problem (book-learning alike) is that it hides the real strength of a
>chess engine. These days it's not about the engine but more about
>the extra elo you can gain by smart (and aggressive) book-learning
>and opponent recognition will only make it worse. It operates hidden
>hardly to see (notice) for the end-user unless you take a very deep
>look in the system.

It is like with learners. Once upon a time, it gave advantage to some programs.
Not now. Programs either they have a learner or they escape with broad books.
Opponent recognition is, as far as I can tell, something no program has. But if
they all develop it, and this would be a genuine advance in intelligence, the
engine will still have the last word. We are saying the same as 2 years ago
about learners.

>>>This whole auto232 thing is so fragile that I can imagine people
>>>don't want to touch it any longer.
>>
>>It has always been fragile, but more reliable than the very few manual games
>>that can be played. Proof: you and I play thousands of automatic games, and
>>seldom any manual ones. Why is that? :)
>
>It depends on the intention you are playing these thousands of games. For
>me that is to improve Rebel as it gives me a lot of useful data.

It is useful as the only way to get enough comp-comp games to make accurate
quantifiable comparisons, in spite of the few problems here and there. Although
I learn much more from one game I play manually than from 10 autoplayed games,
but this is another question.

Enrique

>Ed



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