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Subject: Re: ICC Computer Tourney

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 11:28:53 01/18/00

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On January 18, 2000 at 12:47:44, Will Singleton wrote:

>On January 18, 2000 at 09:27:32, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>
>>On January 17, 2000 at 13:34:10, Will Singleton wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>I was thinking about the initial seeding for the ICC tourney (starting Jan 29,
>>>ICC, don't miss it), and it seems to me that the hardware should be taken into
>>>account.  For example, some folks will be running multiple cpus, at least one
>>>will be on a 1ghz machine, and some will be as slow as 300mhz. :)
>>>
>>>So, I'd like to see a list of the hardware for this tourney.  And, for those who
>>>are familiar with such things, what is the relative importance of the initial
>>>seeding in a tourney such as this?
>>>
>>>+------------------------------------------------+
>>>|Program        Main Author         ICC Handle   |
>>>+--------------+------------------+--------------+
>>>|Amateur        Will Singleton     Amateur       |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Averno         Jos? C M Gal?n                   |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Bringer        Gerrit Reubold     Bringer       |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Crafty         Robert Hyatt       Crafty        |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Diep           Vincent Diepeveen  DiepX         |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|EXchess        Dan Homan          EXchess       |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Ferret         Bruce Moreland     Ferret        |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Galahad        James Swafford     GalahadX      |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|GnuChess       Stuart Cracraft    GnuChess      |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Grok           Peter Kappler                    |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Hossa          Steffen A. Jakob   Hossa         |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Insomniac      James Robertson                  |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|LambChop       Peter McKenzie     LambChop      |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Little Goliath Michael Borgstaedt               |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Nimzo          Chrilly Donninger  Varguz        |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|PostModernist  Andrew Williams    PostModernist |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Shredder       Stefan Meyer-Kahlen              |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|Tinker         Brian Richardson   Tinker        |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|UruChess       Nicol?s Carrasco   UruChess      |
>>>|                                                |
>>>|ZarkovX        John Stanback      ZarkovX       |
>>>+------------------------------------------------+
>>
>>
>>Seeding doesn't matter if the number of rounds is >= log2(number of players).
>>In big events, this isn't possible, so you end up with a log-jam at the top,
>>with a bunch of 5 point finishers.  Seeding ensures that the highest rated
>>player generally has the highest tie-break (sum of opponent's scores or
>>whatever is used). When number of rounds is >= log2(players) the probability of
>>this happening goes down.  In our case, 8 rounds is way larger.  It won't matter
>>at all...
>>
>>It would be fun to let everyone seed the thing just before it starts, just to
>>see who comes closest, at least in the top half..
>
>Yes, perhaps we can get someone to put up a prize for the closest guess.
>
>Glad to hear the seeding is unimportant in this case.  I assume you mean that,
>while it remains important to try to order the programs, the *exact* order is
>not critical.  Or would a random seed be equivalent?
>
>Will

With 8 rounds and 32 or less players, seeding can be 100% random and still
produce the best program.  And tie-breaks still mean something.  Think about an
event with 32 players, 16 are GM and 16 are class-A.  If you play only 4
rounds, the 16 GMs will win in round 1, then 8 will win in round 2, then 4 in
round 3 and finally 2 in round 4.  How to break the tie?  Higher-rated player
should win.  Since he will also have the higher tie-break.  But if seedings are
random, tiebreak will be random.

With 8 rounds, that doesn't happen, because the guys at the top, rise to the
top, and then knock each other out, since there are enough rounds.  It is
impossible to have 8 rounds, 32 players, paired properly, and have two
undefeated players at the end.

Of course, you can have 4 tied for first.  :)  But the tie-breaks work pretty
well even with random seeding.  It is always sensible to seed as accurately as
possible, but more rounds mean mistakes don't influence the tournament standings
as much...



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