Paris 09 Dedicated Chess Computer Tournament

[Steve B]

Many of us authors turn the resign/draw options off during tournaments.
I haven't even coded in resign and draw options (except for the
regulation ones).

The reason: it is a programming contest. There is plenty of
room in a chess program for coding and design errors. Resigning
is just giving up on your work and assuming that the opponent
doesn't have any bugs to reveal. As you've seen here, resigning
can give your opponent a lucky break.

Interesting viewpoint from a seasoned competitor who is also a program author
thanks Charles

in a tournament then..if Telepath is way down in material...say a Q for example..
you would still play on until Telepath detected a forced mate?
how about clearly drawn positions where you are headed for a 50 move draw? you play that out until you hit 50?

of course i am not the programmer of any computer merely the operator ..and i have none of the blood ,sweat and tears that a program author has in a program.. however i guess i have some sweat in dragging a big computer to a tournament hall

anyway..your point is still valid

Sobering Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

The second game V the Grenadier featured some very sprightly play on Donningers part
both computers were out of book by move 6

GAME TWO

[Date "2009.4.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Fidelity Mobile Master(CE)"]
[Black "Tiger Grenadier"]
[Time Control "30 Sec./Avg."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.O-O c6 7.Qxc4 Be7
8.d4 O-O 9.Nc3 Nb6 10.Qd3 Ng4 11.h3 Nf6 12.e4 c5 13.Be3 cxd4 14.Bxd4 Bd7
15.Rac1 Rc8 16.e5 Nfd5 17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Nd2 Bb4 19.a3 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 Be7
21.f4 Bc6 22.Kh2 Qd7 23.Qb3 Ba4 24.Qe3 Bd8 25.b3 Bb5 26.a4 Bc6 27.Nf3
Bc7 28.Ng5 Qf5 29.a5 Na8 30.Qd2 h6 31.Nf3 a6 32.Bb2 Qg6 33.Nd4 Rd8 34.f5
Qh7 35.Nxc6 bxc6 36.Rxc6 Qxf5 37.Bxd5
[d] n2r2k1/2b2pp1/p1R4p/P2BPq2/8/1P4PP/1B1Q3K/8 b - - 0 37

37..Bxa5!?
sporting play by the Grenadier!
down a P and saddled with a poorly placed N.. the Grenadier sacs a B to deflect Whites Q from defending its exposed K
the Mobile totally overlooked this

38.Qxa5 Qf2+ 39.Bg2 Rd2
40.Qxd2 Qxd2 41.Rc8+ Kh7 42.Bc1 Qe1 43.Bxa8 Qxe5

[d] B1R5/5ppk/p6p/4q3/8/1P4PP/7K/2B5 w - - 0 44

the smoke clears..
White is ahead R+B+B v Q+P
A +2 advantage in material
the Mobile rates this as +1.85 and the Grenadier -1.52
the problem with these sorts of positions is that with the White K Exposed the game can easily drift into a perpetual

44.Bb7 Qe2+ 45.Bg2 f5
46.Rc7 Kg8 47.h4 h5 48.b4 Kh8 49.Bg5 Kg8 50.Bf4 Kf8 51.Bd6+ Kg8 52.Bc5
Qe5 53.Re7 Qb2 54.Kh3 Qb3 55.Re5 Qd3 56.Rd5 Qe2 57.Rd8+ Kh7 58.Kh2 Qc2
59.Rd5 Kg8 60.Rd7 a5 61.Kh3 f4 62.Rd8+ Kh7 63.Rd4 Qf5+ 64.Kh2 fxg3+
65.Kxg3 Qe5+ 66.Rf4 axb4 67.Be4+ Kg8 68.Bxb4 g5 69.hxg5 Qxg5+ 70.Kf3 Qb5
71.Be7 Qf1+ 72.Kg3 Qe1+ 73.Kg2 Qe2+ 74.Kh1 Qe1+ 75.Kg2 Qe2+ 76.Kh1 Qe1+
77.Kg2 1/2-1/2

FINAL POSITION
[d] 6k1/4B3/8/7p/4BR2/8/6K1/4q3 b - - 0 77
And a Perpetual draw it is
surprisingly good play by the Grenadier against a higher rated opponent
i wonder if deeper searching PC Engines see a win for White starting from move 71??

1.5-.5 Regards
Steve

FULL PGN..
[Date "2009.4.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Fidelity Mobile Master(CE)"]
[Black "Tiger Grenadier"]
[TimeControl "30 Sec./Avg."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.O-O c6 7.Qxc4 Be7
8.d4 O-O 9.Nc3 Nb6 10.Qd3 Ng4 11.h3 Nf6 12.e4 c5 13.Be3 cxd4 14.Bxd4 Bd7
15.Rac1 Rc8 16.e5 Nfd5 17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Nd2 Bb4 19.a3 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 Be7
21.f4 Bc6 22.Kh2 Qd7 23.Qb3 Ba4 24.Qe3 Bd8 25.b3 Bb5 26.a4 Bc6 27.Nf3
Bc7 28.Ng5 Qf5 29.a5 Na8 30.Qd2 h6 31.Nf3 a6 32.Bb2 Qg6 33.Nd4 Rd8 34.f5
Qh7 35.Nxc6 bxc6 36.Rxc6 Qxf5 37.Bxd5 Bxa5 38.Qxa5 Qf2+ 39.Bg2 Rd2
40.Qxd2 Qxd2 41.Rc8+ Kh7 42.Bc1 Qe1 43.Bxa8 Qxe5 44.Bb7 Qe2+ 45.Bg2 f5
46.Rc7 Kg8 47.h4 h5 48.b4 Kh8 49.Bg5 Kg8 50.Bf4 Kf8 51.Bd6+ Kg8 52.Bc5
Qe5 53.Re7 Qb2 54.Kh3 Qb3 55.Re5 Qd3 56.Rd5 Qe2 57.Rd8+ Kh7 58.Kh2 Qc2
59.Rd5 Kg8 60.Rd7 a5 61.Kh3 f4 62.Rd8+ Kh7 63.Rd4 Qf5+ 64.Kh2 fxg3+
65.Kxg3 Qe5+ 66.Rf4 axb4 67.Be4+ Kg8 68.Bxb4 g5 69.hxg5 Qxg5+ 70.Kf3 Qb5
71.Be7 Qf1+ 72.Kg3 Qe1+ 73.Kg2 Qe2+ 74.Kh1 Qe1+ 75.Kg2 Qe2+ 76.Kh1 Qe1+
77.Kg2 1/2-1/2

[CRoberson]

Many of us authors turn the resign/draw options off during tournaments.
I haven't even coded in resign and draw options (except for the
regulation ones).

The reason: it is a programming contest. There is plenty of
room in a chess program for coding and design errors. Resigning
is just giving up on your work and assuming that the opponent
doesn't have any bugs to reveal. As you've seen here, resigning
can give your opponent a lucky break.

Interesting viewpoint from a seasoned competitor who is also a program author
thanks Charles

in a tournament then..if Telepath is way down in material...say a Q for example..
you would still play on until Telepath detected a forced mate?
how about clearly drawn positions where you are headed for a 50 move draw? you play that out until you hit 50?

of course i am not the programmer of any computer merely the operator ..and i have none of the blood ,sweat and tears that a program author has in a program.. however i guess i have some sweat in dragging a big computer to a tournament hall

anyway..your point is still valid

Sobering Regards
Steve

You must understand there are some rule differences in the online
tournaments that Telepath enters. The primary difference is that these
tournaments are "fully automated - no human intervention".So, I
have to let Telepath get mated - it is the rule not the choice.

In the last CCT, Telepath was on its way to be mated by Scorpio,
but Scorpio ran into a design issue that several of us (especially
Bob) had warned them about. They ignored us and Scorpio couldn't
pull off a forced mate against Telepath. It eventually crashed
and ran out of time. Telepath was given a draw due to lack of
mating material. This is a clear loss on Scorpio's part due to a
design/programming error. That is part of the reasoning behind
the rule of fully automated matches.

Your tournaments are a bit like the ICGA tournaments where
humans are involved in making the moves. Even there, the machines
must play a game out unless a machine has EGTB's and announces
mate or both have EGTB and announce force draw. In the automated
online events, we let them play out because it goes very fast
when both programs have EGTB.

Think about it: who deserves the win - the MM or CD's machine?
I say the MM. The program is supposed to be able to play a full
game well, not just the opening and middle game.

[Steve B]

Think about it: who deserves the win - the MM or CD's machine?
I say the MM. The program is supposed to be able to play a full
game well, not just the opening and middle game.

actually some dedicated tournaments are a bit different then other chess computer tournaments
the goal is to compete as both the operator AND the computer
so the operator can choose the opening..make draw offers ..and i have even heard of operators manipulating the playing levels during the game to give a computer more time for more complex positions and pressing the MOVE key for obvious moves such as recaptures ..etc
Some computers allow the user to change the style of play..apply different weights to pieces..change mobility ,and search algorithms..etcetc
so some operators tinker with these parameters when operating a computer
of course the operator must at all times make the move indicated by the computer and no other move
personally i do try to choose openings that i think favor the particular computer i am operating at the moment and i do make draw offers and i do resign before mate
i never really manipulate the time or engine parameters though

Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

The CXG Sphinx Dominator will be the second Morsch program to be competing in Paris(other is Bravo)
Rated 1948 it is only 1 Elo less then the Mobile
it has an opening book of 8000+ moves

Game One saw the D out of book first at move 5

GAME ONE..

[Date "2009.4.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "CXG Dominator"]
[Black "Fidelity Mobile Master(CE)"]
[Time Control "30 Sec/Avg"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Ng5 b5 5.Ncxe4 Nxe4 6.Nxe4 bxc4 7.Qa4 c6
8.d4 Qb6 9.Nc3 Qb4 10.Qxb4 Bxb4 11.e4 d5 12.Bd2 Be6 13.Be2 Bxc3 14.bxc3
dxe4 15.O-O Nd7 16.Bf4 O-O 17.Rfb1 Nb6 18.Rc1 f6 19.Rab1 Rac8 20.Bd6
Rfd8 21.Be7 Rd7 22.Ba3 Rcd8 23.Bc5 Na4 24.Bb4 Rb7 25.h3 Rdb8 26.Ra1
[d]1r4k1/pr4pp/2p1bp2/8/1BpPp3/2P4P/Pn2BPP1/R1R3K1 w - - 0 27

26.. Nb2 !The N is headed for d3 and the win of another pawn

27.Bd6 Rd8 28.Bg3 Rd5 29.Rcb1 Rdb5 30.Bd6 a5 31.Re1 Nd3 32.Red1 Rb2
33.Bf1 Nxf2 34.Re1 f5 35.Re2 Nd3 36.Ba3 Rxe2 37.Bxe2 f4 38.Kh2 Kf7
39.Bd1 Kf6 40.Be2 Kg5 41.Kg1 e3 42.Kh2 Rb5 43.Be7+ Kg6 44.Ba3 c5 45.dxc5
Nxc5 46.Bxc5 Rxc5 47.Rf1 Kg5 48.h4+ Kf5 49.g3 Kf6 50.a3 Re5
51.gxf4 Rd5 52.Kg3 Rd2 53.Kf3 Bg4+ 54.Kxg4 Rxe2 55.Kf3 Rc2 56.Kxe3 Rxc3+
57.Kd4 Rxa3 58.Kxc4 a4 59.Kb4 Ra2 60.Rc1 Rh2 61.h5 Rxh5 62.Kxa4 Rh4
63.Rc4 Kf5 64.Kb5 Rxf4 65.Rc5+ Kg6 66.Rc6+ Rf6 67.Rc3 h5 68.Rc4 Kh6
69.Rc8 g5 70.Rh8+ Kg6 71.Kc5 h4 72.Kc4 Kg7 73.Rh5 Rf5 74.Kd4 Rb5 75.Ke4
Ra5 76.Kd4 Rf5 77.Ke4 Rb5 78.Kd4 Kg6 79.Rh8 Rb4+ 80.Ke5
Rf4 81.Ke6 Rf3 82.Rg8+ Kh5 83.Ke5 h3 84.Rh8+ Kg4 85.Ke4 Ra3 86.Ke5 Kg3
87.Rd8 h2 88.Rd1 Rf3 89.Kd4 Kg2 90.Ke4 Rf1 91.Rd2+ Kg1
92.Rxh2 Kxh2 *
FINAL POSITION
[d] 8/8/8/6p1/4K3/8/7k/5r2 w - - 0 93

I Resigned for the D here

Bring on Fritz Regards
Steve

FULL PGN:
[Date "2009.4.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "CXG Dominator"]
[Black "Fidelity Mobile Master(CE)"]
[Time Control "30 Sec/Avg"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Ng5 b5 5.Ncxe4 Nxe4 6.Nxe4 bxc4 7.Qa4 c6
8.d4 Qb6 9.Nc3 Qb4 10.Qxb4 Bxb4 11.e4 d5 12.Bd2 Be6 13.Be2 Bxc3 14.bxc3
dxe4 15.O-O Nd7 16.Bf4 O-O 17.Rfb1 Nb6 18.Rc1 f6 19.Rab1 Rac8 20.Bd6
Rfd8 21.Be7 Rd7 22.Ba3 Rcd8 23.Bc5 Na4 24.Bb4 Rb7 25.h3 Rdb8 26.Ra1 Nb2
27.Bd6 Rd8 28.Bg3 Rd5 29.Rcb1 Rdb5 30.Bd6 a5 31.Re1 Nd3 32.Red1 Rb2
33.Bf1 Nxf2 34.Re1 f5 35.Re2 Nd3 36.Ba3 Rxe2 37.Bxe2 f4 38.Kh2 Kf7
39.Bd1 Kf6 40.Be2 Kg5 41.Kg1 e3 42.Kh2 Rb5 43.Be7+ Kg6 44.Ba3 c5 45.dxc5
Nxc5 46.Bxc5 Rxc5 47.Rf1 Kg5 48.h4+ Kf5 49.g3 Kf6 50.a3 Re5
51.gxf4 Rd5 52.Kg3 Rd2 53.Kf3 Bg4+ 54.Kxg4 Rxe2 55.Kf3 Rc2 56.Kxe3 Rxc3+
57.Kd4 Rxa3 58.Kxc4 a4 59.Kb4 Ra2 60.Rc1 Rh2 61.h5 Rxh5 62.Kxa4 Rh4
63.Rc4 Kf5 64.Kb5 Rxf4 65.Rc5+ Kg6 66.Rc6+ Rf6 67.Rc3 h5 68.Rc4 Kh6
69.Rc8 g5 70.Rh8+ Kg6 71.Kc5 h4 72.Kc4 Kg7 73.Rh5 Rf5 74.Kd4 Rb5 75.Ke4
Ra5 76.Kd4 Rf5 77.Ke4 Rb5 78.Kd4 Kg6 79.Rh8 Rb4+ 80.Ke5
Rf4 81.Ke6 Rf3 82.Rg8+ Kh5 83.Ke5 h3 84.Rh8+ Kg4 85.Ke4 Ra3 86.Ke5 Kg3
87.Rd8 h2 88.Rd1 Rf3 89.Kd4 Kg2 90.Ke4 Rf1 91.Rd2+ Kg1
92.Rxh2 Kxh2 *0-1

[Steve B]

Game two saw both computers out of book by move three
a solidly played game by both sides with no glaring blunders

GAME TWO..

[Date "2009.4.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Fidelity Mobile Master(CE)"]
[Black "CXG Dominator"]
[Time Control "30 Sec./Avg"]
[Result "1/2-1/2*"]

1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nxe4 Bf5 4.Ng3 Bg6 5.d4 e6 6.Bb5+ c6 7.Bc4 b5 8.Be2
Nf6 9.Nf3 Bd6 10.Ne5 Bxe5 11.dxe5 Qxd1+ 12.Bxd1 Nd5
13.O-O Nd7 14.f4 O-O 15.Bd2 Rfc8 16.Rc1 N7b6 17.b3 a5 18.Bh5 Bxh5
19.Nxh5 a4 20.c4 axb3 21.axb3 Ne7 22.Be3 Nd7 23.Rfd1 Nf5 24.Bf2 Nf8
25.cxb5 cxb5 26.Rxc8 Rxc8 27.Ra1 Ne7 28.Ng3 Nfg6 29.Ne2 h5 30.g3 Nf5
31.Nd4 Nxd4 32.Bxd4 h4 33.Kg2 Rc2+ 34.Kh3 hxg3 35.hxg3 Ne7 36.Kg4 Nf5
37.Rd1 Kf8 38.Kh3 Ke7 39.Rd3 Nxd4 40.Rxd4 Rc5 41.Rd3 Rd5 42.Re3 Kf8
43.Kg4 Ke8 44.Kf3 Ke7 45.Ke2 Kd8 46.b4 Ke7 47.Rd3 Kd7 48.Ra3 Rd4 49.Rb3
Kc6 50.Rc3+ Kb6 51.Rb3 Kc7 52.Ke3 Rc4 53.Kd3 Kd7 54.Rb2 Kd8 55.Ke3 Ke7
56.Rb3 Ke8 57.Ke2 g5 58.Kf3 gxf4 59.gxf4 Kd7 60.Ke3 Ke7 61.Rb2 Kf8
62.Kf3 Kg7 63.Rg2+ Kh6 64.Rh2+ Kg6 65.Rg2+ Kh7 66.Rh2+ Kg8 67.Rb2 Kf8
68.Rb3 Kg7 69.Rb1 Kh6 70.Ke3 Kg6 71.Rg1+ Kh7 72.Rh1+ Kg7 73.Rg1+ Kf8
74.Rb1 *1/2-1/2
FINAL POSITION
[d] 5k2/5p2/4p3/1p2P3/1Pr2P2/4K3/8/1R6 b - - 0 74

The Mobile Master has been showing Evals of 0.00 for the past several moves while the Dominator was showing +.28
the game is clearly drawn and i called an end to further hostilities

1.5-.5 Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

The only programmer that will be represented in Paris that the Mobile Master has not yet faced is the Father of all Commercial Chess Programmers himself..Ron Nelson

he will be represented by the Excalibur Grand Master which has a 3000 line opening book and an active Elo of 1857

In both games the GM achieved superior positions out of the opening but underestimated the power of passed pawns which resulted in two losses...
Game One

[Date "2009.4.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Excalibur GM"]
[Black "Fidelity Mobile Master(CE)"]
[Time Control "30 Sec./Avg.-"]
[Result "0-1*"]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Rc1 Bf5
8.e3 Bd6 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Nd7 11.Nf3 O-O 12.a4 Rfe8 13.O-O a6 14.Ne2
b5 15.Qc2 Rac8 16.axb5 axb5 17.Ra1 Ra8 18.Kh1 c5 19.dxc5 Bxc5 20.Rad1
Bd6 21.Rxd5 Ne5 22.Nxe5 Rxe5 23.Qd3 Rxd5 24.Qxd5 Rd8 25.Nc3 Bxh2 26.Ne4
Qh4 27.Qg5 Qxg5 28.Nxg5 Be5 29.Nf3 Bf6 30.Rc1 b4 31.b3 Bc3 32.Kh2 f5
33.Kg3 h5 34.Nh4 Rd5 35.Kf4 Rd2 36.Rf1 Rb2 37.Nxf5 Rxb3 38.Kg5 Ra3
39.Kxh5 b3 40.Kg6 b2 41.Ne7+ Kf8 42.Nd5 Ra1 43.Nxc3 Rxf1 44.Kg5 Rc1
45.Ne4 b1=Q 46.Kf4 Qb8+ 47.Kf5 Qb5+ *0-1

FINAL POSITION
[d] 5k2/6p1/8/1q3K2/4N3/4P3/5PP1/2r5 w - - 0 48

I resigned for the GM here which was showing an Eval of -9.5

GAME TWO

[Date "2009.4.26"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Fidelity Mobile Master(CE)"]
[Black "Excalibur GM"]
[Time Control "30 Sec./Avg.-"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O e4
7.Ng5 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Re8 9.Qc2 d5 10.Ba3 h6 11.cxd5 Qxd5 12.Nh3 Bxh3
13.Bxh3 Qh5 14.Bg2 Qxe2 15.Rfe1 Qa6 16.Qb3 Ne5 17.d4 Nd3 18.Reb1 Qa5
19.c4 Qd2 20.Rf1 Rab8 21.Rad1 Qa5
22.Rb1 b6 23.Bxe4 Nxf2 24.Bg2 N2e4 25.Bb4 Qg5 26.Qd3 Rbd8 27.Rfe1 Qf5
28.Rf1 Qd7 29.d5 c6 30.Bxe4 Nxe4 31.Qa3 cxd5 32.cxd5 Nf6 33.d6 a5 34.Bd2
Qxd6 35.Qxd6 Rxd6 36.Bf4 Rc6 37.Rbc1 Rce6 38.Rfd1 Re2 39.a4 Ng4 40.Bc7
Nxh2 41.Bxb6 Nf3+ 42.Kf1 Nd2+ 43.Kg1 Ne4 44.Bxa5 Ra2 45.Ra1 Rxa1 46.Rxa1
Nxg3 47.Kg2 Nf5 48.Bc3 Re3 49.Be1 h5 50.Bf2 Re2
51.a5 h4 52.Kf3 Rc2 53.a6 Rc3+ 54.Kf4 Rc2 55.Be1 g6 56.a7 Rc8 57.a8=Q Rxa8
58.Rxa8+ Kg7 59.Bc3+ f6 60.Ra7+ Kg8 61.Kg4 Ne3+ 62.Kxh4
g5+ 63.Kh5 Nd5 64.Kg6 Nf4+ 65.Kxf6 Nd5+ 66.Kg6 Kf8 67.Bg7+ Ke8 68.Kxg5 Ne7
69.Bf6 Nc8 70.Rh7 Nd6 71.Kh5 Kf8 72.Be7+ Kg8 73.Kg6 Nf5
74.Bf6 Ne7+ 75.Rxe7 Kf8 76.Re4 Kg8 77.Re8# 1-0

FINAL POSITION
[d] 4R1k1/8/5BK1/8/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 77

2-0 Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

Some statistics from the Training match ...

Fidelity Mobile Master with Fide ECO Modules..
15 games played
Overall Score 9.5-5.5
Score as White 5-3
Score as Black 4.5-2.5
Performance ELO 2049

Score by Opening...
c4 4-0
d4 3-2
e4 1.5-1.5
Nf3 0-1
Nc3 1/2-1/2
b3 1/2-1/2

Some Conclusions..

The Mobile achieved a performance rating of 100 points higher then its established rating(2049 v 1949)
the Eco modules clearly have a significant impact on the performance of the Master however i doubt that they add that many points
my guesstimate would be no more then 10-15 Elo.. if even that much

it seems the master is a true master of the English(1.c4) scoring a perfect 4-0 playing either W or B
the 1.d4-1.e4 openings ended up close at 4.5-3.5
and it scored 1-2 in the irregular openings(1.b3,1.Nf3 and 1.Nc3)

Overall Conclusion..
Mobile Master will play with Fide Eco Modules
and ..
We Shall Be Seeing Much Of The English In Paris Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

With only two weeks to go before the Tournament it is time to outfit the Mobile Master in Full Metal Jacket

Mobile Master with FIDE Modules and the all important Impact Chess Printer to record the games:





Typical Print out of Diagram and Move List:


Battle Worthy Regards
Steve

[Spock]

Very nice ! Have fun