The test positions clearly can come from gamesbob wrote:Doesn't matter. Change ordering so that you search checks first. That will help most tactical positions go by faster. But the program will play worse overall. The rule is that changing ordering can change the time, but not the score, with normal alpha/beta. Of course with today's programs the scores can change a bit too. But faster needs to be faster in game positions. Using non-game test positions will most likely distort the result, and in the wrong direction.Uri Blass wrote:I talked about change that is only in order of movesbob wrote:Classic mistake. Just change null-move R=5 and you will get that result (faster time to depth 12). Or change your reduction factor to 3 or 4 or 5. Ditto. Is the program actually stronger? almost certainly not. Is it faster to depth 12? significantly faster.Uri Blass wrote: The probabilty is dependent on the change that you make
so you cannot give a general answer to it(different changes mean different apriory knowledge).
Here are 2 examples.
1)Suppose that you do some change in the order of moves and find based on test suite of 1000 positions that the program is 5% faster in getting depth 12.
I think that you can be almost sure that the change is an improvement even without games.
R=5 in null move is a different type of change.
I did not claim that getting depth 12 faster is always better but if you get depth 12 faster only by changing the order of moves(no change in extensions or reductions) then you probably have an improvement.
Uri
I did not think about tactical suite.
If the target is only to get depth 12 and not to find a specific move then it does not make sense to use tactical test suite.