05-24-2004, 02:12 PM
Hi,
Well, first of all these are not archives of games. These are tables each containing the complete tree of all possible sequences of end games consisting of a given combination of pieces (i.e., all end games with two kings and a pawn, etc.). Each table takes a long time to generate, too long to do in game, but once generated can be referenced rapidly.
What these tables do is make it possible for the computer to play "perfectly" once the material has been reduced to what is in a table. Or, in other words, play end games and end game puzzles perfectly. Something that had been lacking. Openings are well served by "books" and mid game by heuristics, but computers had been playing very poor end games which people play mostly using pattern recognition. Thus the need for this "brute force" approach.
What did we do before? We put up with poor end game play. And before that we put up with poor chess play from computers. And before that, we didn't play computers at all because we didn't have them to play against. Progress in technology is funny that way, it opens possibilities that didn't exist before. Since none of these possibilities have to do with basic survival or reproduction, they are "unimportant" in the greater sense and we could muddle on without them :)
--Pete
Well, first of all these are not archives of games. These are tables each containing the complete tree of all possible sequences of end games consisting of a given combination of pieces (i.e., all end games with two kings and a pawn, etc.). Each table takes a long time to generate, too long to do in game, but once generated can be referenced rapidly.
What these tables do is make it possible for the computer to play "perfectly" once the material has been reduced to what is in a table. Or, in other words, play end games and end game puzzles perfectly. Something that had been lacking. Openings are well served by "books" and mid game by heuristics, but computers had been playing very poor end games which people play mostly using pattern recognition. Thus the need for this "brute force" approach.
What did we do before? We put up with poor end game play. And before that we put up with poor chess play from computers. And before that, we didn't play computers at all because we didn't have them to play against. Progress in technology is funny that way, it opens possibilities that didn't exist before. Since none of these possibilities have to do with basic survival or reproduction, they are "unimportant" in the greater sense and we could muddle on without them :)
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?