Komodo vs. GM Robert Hess

[yolin]

Dear Larry,

Thank you very much for these matches. I watched a couple of games live and I enjoyed these tremendously. I found the commentary of Robert Hess entertaining and very instructive - (I am a bit surprised there seems to be relative little interest??).

Thanks again!

Yolin

[lkaufman]

Dear Larry,

Thank you very much for these matches. I watched a couple of games live and I enjoyed these tremendously. I found the commentary of Robert Hess entertaining and very instructive - (I am a bit surprised there seems to be relative little interest??).

Thanks again!

Yolin

Chess.com said the Hess match was the most watched of any handicap match to date, so I guess there is enough interest to continue.

[APassionForCriminalJustic]

Are you sure that you are okay with Komodo looking NOT like Komodo from a marketing perspective? I mean the matches are pretty dull in what the engine plays because you've handicapped it to such an extreme. Man versus Machine matches just aren't what they used to be it seems. I don't really see the point personally; it doesn't prove much. Human chess will always be disgustingly weaker, FAR less accurate, and based more on good teaching and theoretical knowledge than anything else.

[APassionForCriminalJustic]

Dear Larry,

Thank you very much for these matches. I watched a couple of games live and I enjoyed these tremendously. I found the commentary of Robert Hess entertaining and very instructive - (I am a bit surprised there seems to be relative little interest??).

Thanks again!

Yolin

Well in the end I personally don't think that the matches mean much. Hess is like an ant on Komodo’s shirt in chess strength. But there comes a point where the handicap simply gives nothing good for the engine - making it look far different than the beautiful chess that it can play. Let's see Magnus go out there and play a 2500+ player with his F7 pawn missing; he would walk the other way.

I am not even surprised that Hess struggled to win with completely superior positions. He is human. Four draws are a good result for him.

[lkaufman]

Are you sure that you are okay with Komodo looking NOT like Komodo from a marketing perspective? I mean the matches are pretty dull in what the engine plays because you've handicapped it to such an extreme. Man versus Machine matches just aren't what they used to be it seems. I don't really see the point personally; it doesn't prove much. Human chess will always be disgustingly weaker, FAR less accurate, and based more on good teaching and theoretical knowledge than anything else.

There have been quite a few handicap games in which Komodo has played really beautifully. The final game with Hess was such, in my opinion. Komodo found a way to sacrifice a second pawn in an awful position to somehow whip up so much counterplay that Hess had to play many perfect moves just to hold the draw. But in general, the smaller handicap games with top rated players are more interesting, and we recognize this by offering larger prize money for smaller handicap matches. One good thing that the handicap matches do is to establish what handicaps are appropriate for what rating levels, so players can estimate their own rating by the handicap they take against Komodo. Another point is that the results show that the rating list ratings like 3300 or 3400 are quite realistic, not inflated at all. Komodo has now played 23 games against Grandmasters at 45' + 15" at pawn and move or two, or Exchange (both colors), or two pawn handicaps including a2, without a single loss. In other words, playing 23 clearly lost positions against GMs without a loss. This is probably even more remarkable than playing 33 or more games against Stockfish in TCEC without a single loss. The only wins by humans have been at knight odds or at c2 + f2 odds, out of 48 total games.

[JJJ]

I didn't find the game, where they are plz ?

[lkaufman]

I didn't find the game, where they are plz ?

I think chess.com plans to post an article or video about the match soon, which may have the games. I had some computer problems which messed up saving some of the games myself so I'll have to get them from chess.com.

[simon]

I didn't find the game, where they are plz ?

I think chess.com plans to post an article or video about the match soon, which may have the games. I had some computer problems which messed up saving some of the games myself so I'll have to get them from chess.com.

Earlier matches have had live moves on komodochess.com along with a chat window. Is that planned for future matches?

[lkaufman]

I didn't find the game, where they are plz ?

I think chess.com plans to post an article or video about the match soon, which may have the games. I had some computer problems which messed up saving some of the games myself so I'll have to get them from chess.com.

Earlier matches have had live moves on komodochess.com along with a chat window. Is that planned for future matches?

We will normally do this; we didn't do it this time because chess.com was having the GM do live commentary on his own game and were partly sponsoring the match. If it's a match we are hosting, we will do this, if chess.com is hosting it, we'll consult with them.