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Hiarcs Chess Explorer is a nice clean quickly loading GUI on Mac OSX, and that is why I bought it. Hosts other UCI engines well. I see that the database features are planned to be enhanced in version 2, which is nice - I just hope that it doesn't try to cram every possible feature in (there's ChessB...

Lyudmil Tsvetkov wrote: I hope Vince will not be angry for me posting this, the topic just seems interesting, as I do not think many programmers have paid attention to it in the past.

No, but you will have to buy me a faster computer

You amaze me with your stats, how are you able to do that? You provide very valuable information. It's very easy if you have a large database and some good software that allows sophisticated queries. SCID will do it, but Chess Assistant and Chessbase are solid commerical options. Large databases of...

Fischer used to fianchettoe kingside in more than half of his games. Only when black. Pulling up Fischer's games in a database: As white: 558 games, of which 66 feature a king-side fianchetto (defined as a bishop on g2 and a pawn on g3 on or before move 15) As black: 396 games, of which 236 feature...

The problem with Joerg's patch is not that SF does not recognise the importance of kingside fianchettoes, when they are available; I tried this many times, and, whenever I fianchettoe the king bishop instead of SF, it very soon gives that line as better than other lines it likes to choose. But you ...

Btw, Vince, just to ask you: did you try implementing the hotspots rule as a single available pawn structure with closed center: d4,e5,g5 white pawns, d5,e6,f7,g6 black pawns? I think this might be essential for the success of the patch. An open center or lack of a backward pawn on f7 might lead yo...

. I thought the hotspot idea failed at VSTC in your local testing. In any case, if my concern is a valid one, the idea should prove better as TC increases. If not, then maybe my concerns about fishtest are unfounded. I can see why you might have got the wrong end of the stick. Hotspot passed at VST...

Yes, your points are quite valid. And still I wonder if, for example, the "hotspot bonus" idea might prove positive were it possible to test at more standard time controls. I mean, if the engine doesn't have time to find the "point" of the position you've told it to choose, of course that choice wi...

Lyudmil Tsvetkov wrote: Me at 15 sec for the entire game, with SF having 2 minutes for the game.

Ok so you were kidding, but that would involve some ninja mouse skills

No, that will not work. In an 8-move book, all kingside fianchettoes will already have been made by move 8, or the book will simply not have them. You can not introduce a kingside fianchettoe with an 8-move long book.. I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve here. If you want the engine to appr...