Author: Frederic Louguet
Date: 14:33:00 09/27/99
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As I created the LCT II test, I believe I can clarify a few points about it. 1) I created it in 1994. A *very* long time ago. 2) It was fun at the time to create a test which could give a reasonable approximation of the capabilities of a chess program, and I enjoyed it. I chose positions with no mistakes, and I think they are all interesting, in one way or another. It took me a long time, but I was not as busy then as I am now... 3) I keep hearing here and there that the LCT II test was made to closely correlate the SSDF results. It is simply not true. In fact, the LCT II predicted some SSDF results BEFORE they were published, and I was quite surprised myself. Some other people too, as they began to overestimate its usefulness. 4) The LCT II gives an Elo rating (Elo, not elo, see the difference), because it was funny to translate numbers into something more meaningful. Of course it has nothing to do with a real elo. 5) Like any test, the LCT II is a tool to evaluate the capabilities of chess programs on a few chosen positions. Nothing more, nothing less. 6) In 1995, I began to write Chess Wizard, and soon I realized that no test could replace real games. In fact, I think that developing a chess program and measuring its progress by running test suites is meaningless, and can even lead to bad decisions regarding its implementation. Since early 1997, I did not use ANY test to measure the progress of Chess Wizard. 7) Last year, I had a funny version of Chess Wizard which did 2705 on the LCT II test (for example, it found Vaisser Cxh7!! in 55 seconds on a Pentium II 300). But in fact, it was at least 100 real elo points WEAKER than the best version... Overloaded with extensions ! I hope it clarifies the situation. To create the LCT II was an interesting, and fun, experience. It was never intended to be taken like the Word of God on chess playing strength. Unfortunately, some people never understood that. I would just like to make clear to anyone that the LCT II can not be substitued to real games, and that it was never intended to be. And it is the same for all tests, because they only measure the capability to exploit winning positions, not to slowly build them. If you want to be brilliant, one move is enough. If you want to be strong, all of them count.
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