2009 ACCA World Computer Rapid Chess Championships

[Spock]

Well - for the kids coming out of school today it would probably be a breeze. Ten times the computer knowledge usually of their parents. So, I don't think a cluster will be an issue

How many of them are interested in buying a chess program?

Maybe none - but they can help their parents who do

[bob]

http://www.taccl.org/ACCAWCRCC/2009ACCA ... CPart.html

I see the list pretty good so far. Rybka on its cluster and the rest on pretty average hardware. If i was Vas i would enter on bog standard hardware and probably win what is the point of the world champion winning on 52 cores?

Funny! Personally I would do everything I could to guarantee victory. It's kind of chumpy to play in a championship and and not try to win. Of course if daring your opponents to play at disadvantage is what you do to try to win, so be it.

But surely if Rybka wins on similar hardware to the rest there is no argument - if it wins on 52 cores who cares?! if the engine that came 2nd had <=8?

There will probably be other competitiors on Clusters, like if Sjeng enters. Championship chess programs can not continue to try to live in the past on hardware that I bought years ago. They need to be ready to take advantage and be a good investment for the next computer people will buy. People are buying computers with more than 8 cores this year.

Who is buying a Cluster and who has a program that can run on 1? When they are common, and simple to install and run by anyone who has more than 1 machine, of course they should be allowed. I would love to see the support emails when someone 1st releases a Cluster program.

That is completely illogical. Don't allow clusters until many programs can use them. But who is going to expend the effort to make their program run on a cluster until they can be used. This makes absolutely no sense.

When I did the parallel version of Crafty, everyone was on the _same_ bandwagon. Why do that when the average user will never have a multiple-cpu machine? The average pundits were wrong, and now _everyone_ has multiple CPUs. One can program for the past, or for the future. Clusters are the future. How many households today have more than one computer? Mine does. I'll bet the majority do. Which means the majority already _have_ clusters.

But buy a multi cpu machine - easy to run and install multi cpu program - always has been always will be. If a household has more than 1 computer and I agree many do. How many know anything about networking? How many would know where to start with installing and running a cluster program without serious help? Us geeks here would do ok but the average person with more than 1 computer?!

There's not anything "to do" for a cluster program. First, I assume all the machines are on a local network so that all can access the internet. Given that, the battle is won before it starts. One doesn't have to run around and twinkle around with each machine, it is all run from whatever you choose to call the main or head node.

When you bring up a windows box you are already using a cluster. DNS is cluster-based for example, and you don't have to do any configuration at all to make it work.

I hope to have one ready to release before the end of the year. We will see how hard it is. For unix machines, it will be invisible. WIndows is another question. But it always is.

No point releasing something almost no one will buy - your presumption that most know how to network i think is wrong.

I have been in dozens of home over the past couple of years. Every last one that had more than one computer had a network. Almost every one had a wireless network, in fact, with a wireless laptop or two, plus a family computer, and some have a desktop for the kids... And all share an internet connection.

[bob]

No point releasing something almost no one will buy - your presumption that most know how to network i think is wrong.

They might not know how to network, as long as they can access the internet, they'll be fine.

you go 1st - release a 'commercial' sjeng for cluster - good luck answering all the emails. If internet access is all thats needed - fine but you will still need to tell them what a router is.

No you don't. My daughter set up a wireless network at her apartment, with no input from me at all. She has Charter cable, she went out and bought a wireless router, plugged it in, connected it to her cable modem, and had it working in a few minutes. I explained the WEP mechanism to her so that others would not be piggybacking on her wireless network, but it really doesn't take any technical ability to set up a network today. Millions of homes are already using VOIP telephones in addition to their desktop and laptops. Three of my neighbors know nothing about computers technically, but all three went out and bought wireless routers and connected them up and had them going quickly, without any help at all, until they got interested in the WEP stuff when they knocked on my door.

A cluster program only needs to be told "what are the host names I can use?" The rest can be completely automatic.

We've already had this argument several times. C. Theron raised the issue when I released the first parallel Crafty. Then commented (after multiple-cpu machines were commonplace) that "I'm really interested in developing for a cell phone / PDA which will never have more than one CPU." Not exactly accurate. Never has already come and gone now.

[Harvey Williamson]

A shared connection is different to having a home network - and if the computers are used by different people I wonder how the other users would react if dad says from now on sorry its my Chess Cluster.

i remain to be convinced let's see someone release a cluster version then we will see what happens.

Try networking a Vista and an XP computer with no specialist knowledge.

[michiguel]

http://www.taccl.org/ACCAWCRCC/2009ACCA ... CPart.html

I see the list pretty good so far. Rybka on its cluster and the rest on pretty average hardware. If i was Vas i would enter on bog standard hardware and probably win what is the point of the world champion winning on 52 cores?

If you were Vas, your last name would be Rajlich.

Miguel

[Spock]

The boxes could run analysis overnight say as a cluster, and operate as normal PCs during the day for all family members, You're right, until someone actually releases one we don't really know how successful it will be

[bob]

A shared connection is different to having a home network - and if the computers are used by different people I wonder how the other users would react if dad says from now on sorry its my Chess Cluster.

i remain to be convinced let's see someone release a cluster version then we will see what happens.

How is it different? If you can connect to one machine, you can connect to all. You could even add your neighbor's machine if he agreed. And you should know that there are tons of projects (condor, etc) that are built around the idea of using idle machines, but getting out of the way if the real owner needs to run something so that wasted cycles can be used without causing slow-downs if the primary user tries to do something.

[Spock]

Try networking a Vista and an XP computer with no specialist knowledge.

Just worked straight away for me out of the box, are there issues ?

[Harvey Williamson]

A shared connection is different to having a home network - and if the computers are used by different people I wonder how the other users would react if dad says from now on sorry its my Chess Cluster.

i remain to be convinced let's see someone release a cluster version then we will see what happens.

How is it different? If you can connect to one machine, you can connect to all. You could even add your neighbor's machine if he agreed. And you should know that there are tons of projects (condor, etc) that are built around the idea of using idle machines, but getting out of the way if the real owner needs to run something so that wasted cycles can be used without causing slow-downs if the primary user tries to do something.

Ok lets see - release a crafty that people can do this with - I am sure if they need to set fixed ips etc this will be very easy.

[Harvey Williamson]

Try networking a Vista and an XP computer with no specialist knowledge.

Just worked straight away for me out of the box, are there issues ?

There were for me.