Official Release of Ethereal 10.55

[AndrewGrant]

Hello all,

Back again to make another Ethereal release. I wanted to try my best to wait a while between releases to ease the burden on testers, but this is the longest time and elo gap between releases for Ethereal, so I did it anyway

Patches include some help from Demolito and DiscoCheck author Lucas Braesch, as well as some patches from Laldon, the worlds greatest Laser fan.

Additionally I have had a massive amount of support from Noobpwnftw, by powering my own home-brew fishtest found here. Many of these patches would likely have not been tested under my setup, as the games needed would be too large. Since he started helping, I have run nearly 1,000 tests in the last three weeks, feeding roughly the same number of machines that power the fishtest framework on my own. A much needed rest is in order.

I was hoping to make this release with the claim that Ethereal would become the 2nd strongest open source engine. However, the author of Booot has done a phenomenal job in his latest release

This version of Ethereal should be competitive with Andscacs, Fritz, and Chiron. It is possible that Ethereal climbs to the Premier Division of TCEC with this latest release during the next season.

Binaries:
Ethereal10.55-x32-armv7 here
Ethereal10.55-x64-armv8 here
Ethereal10.55-x64-nopopcnt.exe here
Ethereal10.55-x64-popcnt.exe here
Ethereal10.55-x64-pext.exe here

Test Data (10.50, NOT 10.55) (using 8moves_v3)

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|      TEST      |      BASE      |  TIME  |   W   |   L   |   D   |   N   |   ELO   | ERROR |
|================|================|========|=======|=======|=======|=======|=========|=======|
| Ethereal 10.50 |      Laser 1.6 | 5+.05s |  1118 |   503 |   879 |  2500 |   87.26 | 11.19 |
| Ethereal 10.50 |      Laser 1.6 | 20+.2s |   966 |   417 |  1117 |  2500 |   77.56 | 10.22 |
| Ethereal 10.50 |      Laser 1.6 | 60+.6s |   376 |   125 |   499 |  1000 |   89.11 | 15.37 |
|----------------|----------------|--------|-------|-------|-------|-------|---------|-------|
| Ethereal 10.50 |   Xiphos 0.3.5 | 5+.05s |  1026 |   691 |   783 |  2500 |   46.84 | 11.38 |
| Ethereal 10.50 |   Xiphos 0.3.5 | 20+.2s |   931 |   517 |  1052 |  2500 |   58.07 | 10.44 |
| Ethereal 10.50 |   Xiphos 0.3.5 | 60+.6s |   355 |   208 |   437 |  1000 |   51.45 | 16.29 |
|----------------|----------------|--------|-------|-------|-------|-------|---------|-------|
| Ethereal 10.50 | Ethereal 10.00 | 5+.05s |   929 |   306 |  1265 |  2500 |   88.44 |  9.60 |
| Ethereal 10.50 | Ethereal 10.00 | 20+.2s |   840 |   216 |  1444 |  2500 |   88.59 |  8.76 |
| Ethereal 10.50 | Ethereal 10.00 | 60+.6s |   346 |    60 |   594 |  1000 |  102.22 | 13.49 |

Patch Notes. Patches with an * are by Lucas Braesch, those with an + are by Laldon

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10.01 * : Make the bench able to be run from the command line
10.02   : Increase King Safety in the mid game by 12%
10.03   : Remove some bad FENs from the perft test suite
10.04 * : Remove UCI bench command (only run from command line)
10.05 * : Merge piece.h and types.h (-30 lines of code)
10.06   : Rewrite the Late Move Reductions from scratch
10.07   : More aggressive Late Move Pruning, and simplified
10.08   : Use the same value for SEE Pruning in improving and non improving nodes
10.09   : Remove all trailing white space from the files
10.10   : Fix a compilation issue for debug builds caused by 10.05
10.11   : Cleanup and simplify applyMove() & revertMove() (-100 lines of code)
10.12   : Track Counter Moves for move ordering hueristics
10.13   : Fix an off-by-one issue with the fifty move rule (Seen in a TCEC game)
10.14 * : Correct two wrong FENs in the bench command's list of positions
10.15   : More aggressive LMP for non improving nodes
10.16   : Cap the evaluation difference's contribution to Null Move Pruning
10.17   : Simplify the Aspiration Window search (Torwards Stockfish style)
10.18   : Extend quiet moves coming from in check positions, when good
10.19   : Remove some check extensions that occured before the move loop
10.20   : Hand tune the values for Knight & Bishop outposts
10.21   : Hand tune King Safety contribution from safe checks
10.22   : Update the upper bound when failing low on an Aspiration search
10.23   : Implement Counter Move History, Pruning, and Sorting
10.24   : Swap Counter Move Pruning & Late Move Pruning for a 1% speed gain
10.25   : Apply all of our early pruning techniques to PvNodes (But not RootNodes)
10.26   : Reduce Counter Move History Pruning (CMHP) threshold to 0
10.27   : Cap History contribution to LMR by [-2, 2]
10.28   : Use fail-soft for Razoring, Beta Pruning, and Prob Cut Pruning
10.29 + : Remove the evaluation of the # of rammed pawns when we have Knights
10.30   : Swap the Stockfish's US/THEM naming convention for the Evaluation
10.31   : Evaluate threats by safe pawn pushes
10.32   : Use SEE() to place bad captures after quiet moves in sorting
10.33   : Use different CMHP threshold for improving nodes
10.34   : Remove the Estimated Usage heuristic from Time Managment
10.35   : Changes in an attempt to make Android build work
10.36   : Changed my mind about patch 10.35 and reverted
10.37 + : Evaluate threats on rooks by pawns and minor pieces
10.38   : Adjust some tuning code to match changes in patch 10.37
10.39   : Tweak the LMR formula part 1
10.40   : Tweak the LMR formula part 2
10.41   : Speedgain by using information from move sorting to reduce SEE() calls
10.42   : Only perform razoring at depth 1
10.43   : Simplify time managment: No time adjustments when the score jumps
10.44   : Remove thread dependence from the Aspiration Window values
10.45 + : Tuning by Laldon, a slight bugfix to Threat evaluation, and a KS tweak
10.46   : Evaluate Oppisite Coloured Bishop endgames with a simple scaling factor
10.47   : Cleanup some logic around the Pawn King Evaluation table
10.48   : Use "normal" piece values for SEE() and friends
10.49   : Bugfix-ish: Count Null Moves torwards the 50 move rule counter
10.50   : Speedup by delaying calls to SEE() from the Move Picker
10.51   : Even more aggressive Late Move Pruning
10.52 + : Tweak the definition of Unsupported/Weak pawns in Threat evaluation
10.53   : Remove an extra brace commited in 10.52
10.54   : Use the same definition as 10.52 to evaluate major threats on minors
10.55   : Remove an extra call to hashfull() when reporting TB hits at the root

[Graham Banks]

Excellent news!
It's really great to see many more engines competing at this level than was the case not so long ago.

[CMCanavessi]

Awesome! Thanx a lot for this new version. Another candidate for promoting and staying in the Elite League together with Laser 1.6 and Xiphos 0.3, and maybe Leela?

[Fuddur]

Great Ethereal! Now we can more enjoy premier Division.

[AndrewGrant]

Excellent news!
It's really great to see many more engines competing at this level than was the case not so long ago.

Thanks! I hope with TCEC competition, and with the recent burst of open source engines being actively developed, we will all work together to have a more competitive leader board.

[AndrewGrant]

Awesome! Thanx a lot for this new version. Another candidate for promoting and staying in the Elite League together with Laser 1.6 and Xiphos 0.3, and maybe Leela?

At some point here I will simply run out of ideas and HAVE to implement ponder ...

Until then I like the challenge of playing with time odds!

I think Ethereal is strong enough in bullet to make it interesting.

[CMCanavessi]

Awesome! Thanx a lot for this new version. Another candidate for promoting and staying in the Elite League together with Laser 1.6 and Xiphos 0.3, and maybe Leela?

At some point here I will simply run out of ideas and HAVE to implement ponder ...

Until then I like the challenge of playing with time odds!

I think Ethereal is strong enough in bullet to make it interesting.

Andrew, I notice that when using different hash sizes, the node count to certain depths vary, and the speed reported is quite different (bigger hash, slower speed and hence, lower depth). Is this normal/expected?


4GB hash:

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info depth 31 seldepth 48 score cp 34 lowerbound time 332203 nodes 570491850 nps 1717000 tbhits 0 hashfull 274 pv d2d4
info depth 31 seldepth 47 score cp 30 time 464000 nodes 796660558 nps 1716000 tbhits 0 hashfull 368 pv d2d4 g8f6 g1f3 d7d5 c2c4 e7e6 b1c3 d5c4 e2e4 f8b4 c1g5 c7c5 f1c4 c5d4 f3d4 b4c3 b2c3 e8g8 e1g1 b8d7 d1c2 d8c7 c4b3 h7h6 g5h4 c7f4 h4g3 f4e4 a1d1 d7c5 g3d6 c5b3 a2b3 e4c2 d4c2
info depth 32 seldepth 47 score cp 16 upperbound time 717093 nodes 1229445836 nps 1714000 tbhits 0 hashfull 532 pv
info depth 32 seldepth 45 score cp 21 time 769703 nodes 1319813583 nps 1714000 tbhits 0 hashfull 557 pv d2d4 g8f6 g1f3 e7e6 c2c4 b7b6 c1f4 c8b7 b1c3 f8b4 e2e3 e8g8 f1d3 b4c3 b2c3 b7e4 e1g1 d7d6 d3e2 b8d7 f4g3 f8e8 f3d2 e6e5 a2a4 a7a5 h2h3 h7h6 a1c1 e4g6 d1b3 a8c8 e2f3
info depth 33 seldepth 48 score cp 24 time 897921 nodes 1540137837 nps 1715000 tbhits 0 hashfull 628 pv d2d4 g8f6 g1f3 e7e6 c2c4 b7b6 c1f4 c8b7 b1c3 f8b4 e2e3 e8g8 f1d3 b4c3 b2c3 b7e4 e1g1 d7d6 d3e2 b8d7 f4g3 a7a5 f3d2 a5a4 d2e4 f6e4 e2f3 d7f6 d1c2 d6d5 a1d1 e4g3 h2g3 a4a3 c4d5 f6d5
info depth 34 seldepth 49 score cp 19 time 1085687 nodes 1862780838 nps 1715000 tbhits 0 hashfull 715 pv d2d4 g8f6 g1f3 e7e6 c2c4 b7b6 c1f4 c8b7 e2e3 c7c5 b1c3 c5d4 e3d4 f8b4 a1c1 e8g8 f1d3 d7d5 c4d5 d8d5 e1g1 b4c3 b2c3 d5a2 f3e5 f8c8 f1e1 b8d7 e1e2 a2d5 f2f3 d7e5 e2e5 d5c6 d1c2 g7g6
info depth 35 seldepth 49 score cp 25 time 1341921 nodes 2301890105 nps 1715000 tbhits 0 hashfull 799 pv d2d4 g8f6 g1f3 e7e6 c2c4 b7b6 c1f4 c8b7 e2e3 c7c5 b1c3 c5d4 e3d4 f8b4 a1c1 b7f3 d1f3 b8c6 f4e3 e8g8 f1d3 d7d5 e1g1 d5c4 d3h7 f6h7 f3c6 a8c8 c6a4 b4a5 c3e2 h7f6 c1c4 c8c4 a4c4 d8d5 c4c2 f8d8

default hash (16MB?):

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info depth 31 seldepth 45 score cp 24 time 256516 nodes 493927373 nps 1925000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e5 g1f3 d7d6 d2d4 e5d4 f3d4 g8f6 b1c3 f8e7 f1e2 e8g8 c1f4 b8c6 e1g1 c8d7 f1e1 f8e8 a2a4 a7a6 d4c6 d7c6 e2f3 f6d7 e4e5 d6e5 f3c6 b7c6 f4e5 e7d6 e5d6 e8e1 d1e1 c7d6
info depth 32 seldepth 46 score cp 27 time 331766 nodes 636807285 nps 1919000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e5 g1f3 d7d6 d2d4 e5d4 f3d4 g8f6 b1c3 f8e7 f1e2 e8g8 c1f4 b8c6 e1g1 c8d7 f1e1 f8e8 h2h3 h7h6 a2a4 a7a5 d4c6 d7c6 e2c4 e7f8 d1d3 f6d7 d3g3 d7c5 e4e5 c5e6 c4e6 e8e6
info depth 33 seldepth 50 score cp 25 time 475110 nodes 906361068 nps 1907000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e5 g1f3 b8c6 d2d4 e5d4 f3d4 f8c5 c1e3 c5d4 e3d4 g8f6 b1c3 e8g8 f1e2 d7d6 f2f3 c6d4 d1d4 a7a6 e1c1 c8d7 a2a4 f8e8 c1b1 a8b8 e2c4 b7b5 c4b3 b5a4 b3a4 a6a5 h1e1 d7a4 d4a4
info depth 34 seldepth 47 score cp 27 time 547750 nodes 1045450414 nps 1908000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e5 g1f3 b8c6 d2d4 e5d4 f3d4 f8c5 c1e3 c5b6 b1c3 g8e7 d4c6 e7c6 d1d2 e8g8 e1c1 d7d6 f1e2 c8e6 c1b1 f8e8 a2a3 c6e5 f2f3 h7h6 h1e1 e5c4 e2c4 e6c4 f3f4 c4a6 e3b6 a7b6
info depth 35 seldepth 50 score cp 19 time 1037125 nodes 1976071744 nps 1905000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e6 d2d4 d7d5 e4d5 e6d5 g1f3 g8f6 f1d3 f8d6 d1e2 c8e6 c2c4 d5c4 d3c4 d8e7 e1g1 e8g8 b1c3 f8e8 c1d2 b8c6 a1e1 e6c4 e2c4 e7d7 d2g5 d7f5 g5f6 f5f6 c3e4 f6f5 e4d6 c7d6 e1e8 a8e8 f1e1 e8e1 f3e1 f5g6
info depth 36 seldepth 52 score cp 22 time 1267532 nodes 2414628228 nps 1904000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e6 d2d4 d7d5 e4d5 e6d5 g1f3 g8f6 f1d3 f8d6 d1e2 c8e6 c2c4 d5c4 d3c4 d8e7 e1g1 e8g8 b1c3 f8e8 c1d2 b8d7 f1e1 d7b6 c4e6 e7e6 e2e6 e8e6 e1e6 f7e6 a1e1 a8e8 c3b5 b6c4 b5d6 c7d6 d2f4 f6d5 f4g3 c4b2 g3d6
info depth 37 seldepth 49 score cp 23 time 1582672 nodes 3013845253 nps 1904000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e6 d2d4 d7d5 e4d5 e6d5 g1f3 g8f6 f1d3 f8d6 d1e2 c8e6 c2c4 d5c4 d3c4 d8e7 e1g1 e8g8 b1c3 f8e8 c1d2 b8d7 f1e1 d7b6 c4e6 e7e6 e2e6 e8e6 e1e6 f7e6 b2b3 h7h6 a1e1 a8e8 h2h4 a7a6 f3e5 f6d5 c3d5 b6d5 e5f3 d5f6
info depth 38 seldepth 54 score cp 22 time 2067250 nodes 3931601982 nps 1901000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e6 d2d4 d7d5 e4d5 e6d5 g1f3 g8f6 f1d3 f8d6 d1e2 c8e6 c2c4 d5c4 d3c4 d8e7 e1g1 e8g8 b1c3 f8e8 c1g5 b8c6 c4e6 e7e6 e2e6 f7e6 a1c1 f6d5 g5d2 h7h6 a2a3 d5f4 d2f4 d6f4 c1e1 a8d8 g2g3 f4g5 f3g5 h6g5

[AndrewGrant]

Awesome! Thanx a lot for this new version. Another candidate for promoting and staying in the Elite League together with Laser 1.6 and Xiphos 0.3, and maybe Leela?

At some point here I will simply run out of ideas and HAVE to implement ponder ...

Until then I like the challenge of playing with time odds!

I think Ethereal is strong enough in bullet to make it interesting.

Andrew, I notice that when using different hash sizes, the node count to certain depths vary, and the speed reported is quite different (bigger hash, slower speed and hence, lower depth). Is this normal/expected?


4GB hash:

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info depth 31 seldepth 48 score cp 34 lowerbound time 332203 nodes 570491850 nps 1717000 tbhits 0 hashfull 274 pv d2d4
info depth 31 seldepth 47 score cp 30 time 464000 nodes 796660558 nps 1716000 tbhits 0 hashfull 368 pv d2d4 g8f6 g1f3 d7d5 c2c4 e7e6 b1c3 d5c4 e2e4 f8b4 c1g5 c7c5 f1c4 c5d4 f3d4 b4c3 b2c3 e8g8 e1g1 b8d7 d1c2 d8c7 c4b3 h7h6 g5h4 c7f4 h4g3 f4e4 a1d1 d7c5 g3d6 c5b3 a2b3 e4c2 d4c2
info depth 32 seldepth 47 score cp 16 upperbound time 717093 nodes 1229445836 nps 1714000 tbhits 0 hashfull 532 pv
info depth 32 seldepth 45 score cp 21 time 769703 nodes 1319813583 nps 1714000 tbhits 0 hashfull 557 pv d2d4 g8f6 g1f3 e7e6 c2c4 b7b6 c1f4 c8b7 b1c3 f8b4 e2e3 e8g8 f1d3 b4c3 b2c3 b7e4 e1g1 d7d6 d3e2 b8d7 f4g3 f8e8 f3d2 e6e5 a2a4 a7a5 h2h3 h7h6 a1c1 e4g6 d1b3 a8c8 e2f3
info depth 33 seldepth 48 score cp 24 time 897921 nodes 1540137837 nps 1715000 tbhits 0 hashfull 628 pv d2d4 g8f6 g1f3 e7e6 c2c4 b7b6 c1f4 c8b7 b1c3 f8b4 e2e3 e8g8 f1d3 b4c3 b2c3 b7e4 e1g1 d7d6 d3e2 b8d7 f4g3 a7a5 f3d2 a5a4 d2e4 f6e4 e2f3 d7f6 d1c2 d6d5 a1d1 e4g3 h2g3 a4a3 c4d5 f6d5
info depth 34 seldepth 49 score cp 19 time 1085687 nodes 1862780838 nps 1715000 tbhits 0 hashfull 715 pv d2d4 g8f6 g1f3 e7e6 c2c4 b7b6 c1f4 c8b7 e2e3 c7c5 b1c3 c5d4 e3d4 f8b4 a1c1 e8g8 f1d3 d7d5 c4d5 d8d5 e1g1 b4c3 b2c3 d5a2 f3e5 f8c8 f1e1 b8d7 e1e2 a2d5 f2f3 d7e5 e2e5 d5c6 d1c2 g7g6
info depth 35 seldepth 49 score cp 25 time 1341921 nodes 2301890105 nps 1715000 tbhits 0 hashfull 799 pv d2d4 g8f6 g1f3 e7e6 c2c4 b7b6 c1f4 c8b7 e2e3 c7c5 b1c3 c5d4 e3d4 f8b4 a1c1 b7f3 d1f3 b8c6 f4e3 e8g8 f1d3 d7d5 e1g1 d5c4 d3h7 f6h7 f3c6 a8c8 c6a4 b4a5 c3e2 h7f6 c1c4 c8c4 a4c4 d8d5 c4c2 f8d8

default hash (16MB?):

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info depth 31 seldepth 45 score cp 24 time 256516 nodes 493927373 nps 1925000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e5 g1f3 d7d6 d2d4 e5d4 f3d4 g8f6 b1c3 f8e7 f1e2 e8g8 c1f4 b8c6 e1g1 c8d7 f1e1 f8e8 a2a4 a7a6 d4c6 d7c6 e2f3 f6d7 e4e5 d6e5 f3c6 b7c6 f4e5 e7d6 e5d6 e8e1 d1e1 c7d6
info depth 32 seldepth 46 score cp 27 time 331766 nodes 636807285 nps 1919000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e5 g1f3 d7d6 d2d4 e5d4 f3d4 g8f6 b1c3 f8e7 f1e2 e8g8 c1f4 b8c6 e1g1 c8d7 f1e1 f8e8 h2h3 h7h6 a2a4 a7a5 d4c6 d7c6 e2c4 e7f8 d1d3 f6d7 d3g3 d7c5 e4e5 c5e6 c4e6 e8e6
info depth 33 seldepth 50 score cp 25 time 475110 nodes 906361068 nps 1907000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e5 g1f3 b8c6 d2d4 e5d4 f3d4 f8c5 c1e3 c5d4 e3d4 g8f6 b1c3 e8g8 f1e2 d7d6 f2f3 c6d4 d1d4 a7a6 e1c1 c8d7 a2a4 f8e8 c1b1 a8b8 e2c4 b7b5 c4b3 b5a4 b3a4 a6a5 h1e1 d7a4 d4a4
info depth 34 seldepth 47 score cp 27 time 547750 nodes 1045450414 nps 1908000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e5 g1f3 b8c6 d2d4 e5d4 f3d4 f8c5 c1e3 c5b6 b1c3 g8e7 d4c6 e7c6 d1d2 e8g8 e1c1 d7d6 f1e2 c8e6 c1b1 f8e8 a2a3 c6e5 f2f3 h7h6 h1e1 e5c4 e2c4 e6c4 f3f4 c4a6 e3b6 a7b6
info depth 35 seldepth 50 score cp 19 time 1037125 nodes 1976071744 nps 1905000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e6 d2d4 d7d5 e4d5 e6d5 g1f3 g8f6 f1d3 f8d6 d1e2 c8e6 c2c4 d5c4 d3c4 d8e7 e1g1 e8g8 b1c3 f8e8 c1d2 b8c6 a1e1 e6c4 e2c4 e7d7 d2g5 d7f5 g5f6 f5f6 c3e4 f6f5 e4d6 c7d6 e1e8 a8e8 f1e1 e8e1 f3e1 f5g6
info depth 36 seldepth 52 score cp 22 time 1267532 nodes 2414628228 nps 1904000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e6 d2d4 d7d5 e4d5 e6d5 g1f3 g8f6 f1d3 f8d6 d1e2 c8e6 c2c4 d5c4 d3c4 d8e7 e1g1 e8g8 b1c3 f8e8 c1d2 b8d7 f1e1 d7b6 c4e6 e7e6 e2e6 e8e6 e1e6 f7e6 a1e1 a8e8 c3b5 b6c4 b5d6 c7d6 d2f4 f6d5 f4g3 c4b2 g3d6
info depth 37 seldepth 49 score cp 23 time 1582672 nodes 3013845253 nps 1904000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e6 d2d4 d7d5 e4d5 e6d5 g1f3 g8f6 f1d3 f8d6 d1e2 c8e6 c2c4 d5c4 d3c4 d8e7 e1g1 e8g8 b1c3 f8e8 c1d2 b8d7 f1e1 d7b6 c4e6 e7e6 e2e6 e8e6 e1e6 f7e6 b2b3 h7h6 a1e1 a8e8 h2h4 a7a6 f3e5 f6d5 c3d5 b6d5 e5f3 d5f6
info depth 38 seldepth 54 score cp 22 time 2067250 nodes 3931601982 nps 1901000 tbhits 0 hashfull 1000 pv e2e4 e7e6 d2d4 d7d5 e4d5 e6d5 g1f3 g8f6 f1d3 f8d6 d1e2 c8e6 c2c4 d5c4 d3c4 d8e7 e1g1 e8g8 b1c3 f8e8 c1g5 b8c6 c4e6 e7e6 e2e6 f7e6 a1c1 f6d5 g5d2 h7h6 a2a3 d5f4 d2f4 d6f4 c1e1 a8d8 g2g3 f4g5 f3g5 h6g5

Default is 16MB, yes.

This is the expected behavior, and there are a few things to touch on which I expect apply to all engines here.

Firstly, increasing the hash causes more memory pressure, which slows down the engine. When I run on 16GB hash, I will often start at 5mnps, and work my way up to 50mnps within the first 30 seconds of search. This is usually not seen in TCEC conditions, except for Komodo, due to their more general usage of tables (I think, don't hate me Mark)

Secondly, you might expect that with more hash slots, you would need LESS nodes to reach a certain depth. The idea being that by having too few slots in the table, we throw away work which will then need to be redone, causing us to use more nodes to reach the depth. This could be true under some conditions, but Ethereal and many other engines will often search "deeper" when there are many table entries. So while the reported depth is still the same for a given depth, the search with a larger hash table has done a "more full", "higher quality", "less pruned", ..., search of the position.

[CMCanavessi]

Great info, thanx!

[arunsoorya1309]

I saw in TCEC chat that Andrew grant has been banned and Ethereal will not be competing in TCEC Season 13. This is really sad and a big loss. I hope the organizers reconsider