engines and deep analysis

  

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Normajean Yates    (2009-01-15)
engines and deep analysis...

A year ago, Thibault posted links to record of GMs v engines -- but almost all games were blitz.

raising questions:

1. At standard [2.5 hours / 40 moves] time controls, and at correspondence time controls [like here - or even 1 day/move] - humans are still better than engines. true?

If true, how long are they expected to be better?

[I mean in competitive chess, not in specifically design positions which are at present very difficult for engines]

2. which engine is best for standard and correpondence time controls (as I defined in 1)?


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-01-15 12:34:27)
Engines vs. Human

Hi Normajean,

1. At standard time controls, I think Rybka 3 can beat the best GM, there is just no time enough for a human to avoid a single error. But grandmasters probably still have a better vision of the game at least in calm positions. At correspondence time controls, no one can say it but I feel a good GM could rivalize yet with the best engines. This is unlikely to change before a while IMO.

2. The best anti-human engine at any time control is probably Rybka 3, but there will be concurrence soon.


Normajean Yates    (2009-01-15 14:18:37)
thanks for the info, thibault!

its all in the title, like my other short posts :)


Wayne Lowrance    (2009-01-16 05:22:27)
Engines & deep analysis

I agree with Thibault, in blitz or standard time controls Rybka and 2 or 3 others have no pier with human top gm's. But in correspondence time, I think the top GM's will certainly hold their own, or more Wayne


Normajean Yates    (2009-01-16 05:49:31)
thanks thib & wayne - I thought so 2...

..except at standard time controls. At standard I thought top GMs would be better even now :(

IMO, two of the reasons why correspondence is still an exception:

1. engines still understand positional aspects in a clumsy way (mainly through eval function even now I think..)[a]

2. top engines are commercial - so they have to 'show off' to compete in the market - 'showing off time' at corrspondence is too long for the software market.. so top engines are tuned towards faster play...


[a] I wish that after copyright etc. expires, commercial chess engine vendors must be legally forced to make public their algorithms.

(Ideally, I wish - no copyright, only moral right of actual authors! - but that needs a diiferent economic system than capitalism)