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Subject: Re: Manual vs. autoplayer

Author: James T. Walker

Date: 15:24:13 09/20/99

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On September 20, 1999 at 17:56:37, eric guttenberg wrote:

>I note that H7.32 scored 22.5-17.5 over F5.32 at 40/2. However I believe
>several posts have shown F5.32 outperforming H7.32 at 40/2 in manually
>played games(Shep's recent tournament comes to mind though I well understand
>that it was only 10 or 11 games for each program).
>Playing a game at 40/2 manually is so time consuming that there may never
>be enough such games to permit any definite conclusions, but is there not
>a suggestion that in some cases autoplayer results may differ from manual
>results?
>I do not want to be in Thorsten's corner on this (although there seems to
>be plenty of room there) but this is not the first time that someone has
>raised the question of whether the autoplayer can somehow affect the play
>of a program.
>Does anyone think that it is possible that, for example, H7.32 is slightly
>stronger than F5.32 on autoplayer, but that F5.32 is slightly stronger
>in manual games?
>
>
>eric

Hello eric,
It's food for thought but I honestly don't believe it.  I do believe that
manually entering moves can affect the outcome of a game.  I believe if it is
done without intent the eventual outcome of a long match will be unaffected.
Just by delaying a few seconds before relaying a move can cause a different move
to be played.  It usually only takes one different move to change a game
entirely although it may not change the eventual outcome.  One of the problems
with manual games is they sometimes last 10-12 hours if played to the end.  This
leaves a lot of room for the operator to influence the game when taking care of
eating or other duties or being distracted by a telephone.  As I said if this is
all random then the eventual outcome of a long match should be unaffected.
Jim Walker



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