

The situation:
In Tony's test, RomiChess Ninja Girl 1, did as well or better against the five top engines and worse against many of the lower engines. This was due to the new 'Ninja' code causing Romi to not only play better but also be much more aggressive, which would gain points against stronger engines (many opportunities to gain more points) but play too risky against lesser engines (many opportunities to loose more points) and not win by as big a percentage. The solution that I came up with was to make the 'Ninja' code smarter and to tone down the aggression.
The opponent:
Hamsters is a sort of nemisis for Romi. Romi beats higher rated opponents with bigger margines than it does Hamsters. That is the main reason that I test against Hamsters. Hamsters 0.2 also, 'does a number' on a lot of very high rated programs, making it a very interesting opponent to test against. While it is true that Ninja Girl 1 scores about 70% against Hamsters 0.2 using the very fine DWD book, it is also true that the best score so far in a Sherwin50.pgn match has been 62.5%. Romi would play the first 50 games with about a +5 record and would gain about another +18 from the second 50 games for an average of about 61.5 points.
The thrill of victory:

Romi finished the first 50 games with a +15 score and games 51 and 52 made the margin +17! Romi played some magnificent chess!!
The agony of defeat:

Okay, I guess that +11 in the last 48 games is not exactly defeat

The excuse:
Because, Romi has no 'material draw' code or endgame knowledge and a cadre of other useful code, such as king safety code she looses a few half points and full points that should not be lost. Reducing Romi's aggression has caused many games to last much longer and not be decided untill the endgame. As a result the draw percentage for this test doubled. Half point after half point was lost, wins turned into draws and draws into losses at an alarming rate in the second half of the match (some in the first half as well).
The dodge:
Still, 64 points in a Sherwin50.pgn match is a new record against Hamsters 0.2 and I am very happy for that--I think I am, anyway!


The plan:
Vamp back up the aggression a bit, get 70% in a Sherwin50.pgn match against Hamsters 0.2 and then test against the latest version of Hamsters.
The logic:
Hamsters will be world champion someday--well runner-up anyway!

The results:
RomiChessNG2 - Hamsters2 : 64.0/100 50-22-28 (011==11===1=1==111=011111000=011=111==0010111011==11===1=01010=1011011==1110111=11=101=11100100=1==0) 64% +100