2013 Tournament between Android Engines

[lucasart]

I'm looking forward to seeing the result!

Is the time control actually 1 second per move? Do all these engines support "fixed time" time controls? Or do you simply simulate it with a stop?

Don

Qualification rounds were played at 1 second per move, from both sides of one opening line. The actual group rounds will be played from both sides of many opening lines at 5 seconds per move. Last year I used 30 seconds per move, but less games. This year I favored playing a bit more games, and use the "wild" gambit games to make it more interesting (I hope).

The reason I use the less usual "fixed time per move" is embarrassing, but I never bothered to add a clock to my GUI. It is still on my to do list

Fortunately, that is very easy to do. All UCI requires is how much time is left on the clock and the increment which never changes.

All engines obey this time reasonably well (otherwise they were disqualified), although occasionally I see engines exceed it by a slight bit. There is no penalty for this.

I think the reason why Aart didn't do it is simply that he couldn't find room on the screen to put the clock. He has to cater for small phones too, not just tablets, so it was hard to find a good place for the clock, given that we need the board to occupy as much space as possible (a square whose side is the screen width ideally), and there's also the move notation below (or on the side if you rotate the phone 90 degrees).

[Don]

I'm looking forward to seeing the result!

Is the time control actually 1 second per move? Do all these engines support "fixed time" time controls? Or do you simply simulate it with a stop?

Don

Qualification rounds were played at 1 second per move, from both sides of one opening line. The actual group rounds will be played from both sides of many opening lines at 5 seconds per move. Last year I used 30 seconds per move, but less games. This year I favored playing a bit more games, and use the "wild" gambit games to make it more interesting (I hope).

The reason I use the less usual "fixed time per move" is embarrassing, but I never bothered to add a clock to my GUI. It is still on my to do list

Fortunately, that is very easy to do. All UCI requires is how much time is left on the clock and the increment which never changes.

All engines obey this time reasonably well (otherwise they were disqualified), although occasionally I see engines exceed it by a slight bit. There is no penalty for this.

I think the reason why Aart didn't do it is simply that he couldn't find room on the screen to put the clock. He has to cater for small phones too, not just tablets, so it was hard to find a good place for the clock, given that we need the board to occupy as much space as possible (a square whose side is the screen width ideally), and there's also the move notation below (or on the side if you rotate the phone 90 degrees).

But this is a must have feature. Aart probably just didn't get to it yet. Even if the clock does not appear, or it appears as an option it needs to be there.

I think one problem with Android is that you don't know what screen size will be used and of course the tiny form factor for phones. So it's a challenge, but it can be done. It does not have to be displayed to be done either although that makes it nicer.

[abik]

Five seconds-per-move tournament in Group D played from both sides of all positions in the Silversuite gambit opening suite. Congratulations to Crafty for its promotion to Group C.

Games available at the tournament site.

Code: Select all

                         1         2         3         4         5                                                  
1 crafty-235-android-ja  *         31.0-19.0 34.5-15.5 31.5-18.5 37.5-12.5  134.5/200  => TO C
2 cheng3 1.07 JA         19.0-31.0 *         25.0-25.0 30.5-19.5 33.0-17.0  107.5/200
3 Daydreamer 1.75 JA     15.5-34.5 25.0-25.0 *         26.5-23.5 30.0-20.0   97.0/200
4 scorpio-27-ja          18.5-31.5 19.5-30.5 23.5-26.5 *         29.0-21.0   90.5/200
5 GarboChess 3 (32-bit)  12.5-37.5 17.0-33.0 20.0-30.0 21.0-29.0 *           70.5/200

[abik]

Two upgrades: Arasan 15.1 to 15.2 and Rotor 0.7 to 0.8.

Five seconds-per-move tournament in Group C played from both sides of all positions in the Silversuite gambit opening suite. Congratulations to Toga II for its promotion to Group B (version 3.0 will play).

Games available at the tournament site.

Code: Select all

                        1         2         3         4         5                                                  
1 Toga II 1.4.1SE       *         30.0-20.0 33.5-16.5 36.0-14.0 37.5-12.5  137.0/200  => TO B
2 Arasan 15.2 JA        20.0-30.0 *         27.0-23.0 27.5-22.5 35.0-15.0  109.5/200
3 Texel 1.01 32-bit     16.5-33.5 23.0-27.0 *         29.5-20.5 35.0-15.0  104.0/200
4 crafty-235-android-ja 14.0-36.0 22.5-27.5 20.5-29.5 *         30.0-20.0   87.0/200
5 Rotor 0.8             12.5-37.5 15.0-35.0 15.0-35.0 20.0-30.0 *           62.5/200

[abik]

I think one problem with Android is that you don't know what screen size will be used and of course the tiny form factor for phones. So it's a challenge, but it can be done. It does not have to be displayed to be done either although that makes it nicer.

But this is a must have feature. Aart probably just didn't get to it yet. Even if the clock does not appear, or it appears as an option it needs to be there.

You are both right! Adding the clock itself is not hard, but finding a good place for its display that will work on all devices is a bit of a challenge. I agree it is a must have, and embarrassing I have not done it yet, but I simply don't have much hobby time nowadays.... As usual, stay tuned

[abik]

Toga II 1.4.1SE was upgraded to version 3.0, and it bulldozed its way to the top!

Five seconds-per-move tournament in Group B played from both sides of all positions in the Silversuite gambit opening suite. Congratulations to Toga II, again, for its promotion to Group A.

Games available at the tournament site.

Code: Select all

                  1         2         3         4         5                                                  
1 Toga II 3.0      *         26.5-23.5 33.5-16.5 46.0- 4.0 45.5- 4.5  151.5/200 => TO A
2 Gaviota v0.86    23.5-26.5 *         33.0-17.0 36.5-13.5 44.0- 6.0  137.0/200
3 DiscoCheck 4.0.1 16.5-33.5 17.0-33.0 *         32.5-17.5 41.5- 8.5  107.5/200
4 Rodent 0.18.0     4.0-46.0 13.5-36.5 17.5-32.5 *         31.5-18.5   66.5/200
5 Pepito v1.59      4.5-45.5  6.0-44.0  8.5-41.5 18.5-31.5 *           37.5/200

[abik]

The final group has started with Critter, Komodo, Stockfish, MinkoChess, and the latest Toga II.

[abik]

Just a quick update, things have been a bit hectic. But hopefully I will be able to post the final results of group A soon!

[Jim Ablett]

Arasan 15.5 Android JA

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/504 ... android-ja (direct link to engine)

Jim.

[abik]

Arasan 15.5 Android JA

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/504 ... android-ja (direct link to engine)

Jim.

Thanks as usual for the update Jim. Arasan 15.2 got second place in group C, so the update will not play in this tournament. Perhaps next year! Only group A is left....