New Giraffe (Sept 8)

[PHALANX OF PAWNS]

First off, I want to thank you Matthew for initiating such an innovative and important project, both in chess and psychology. I believe that once we find a successful way to emulate the human thought process (by various means) through computers, it will mark a shift to a new era in the intelligence of mankind, thus many changes will occur as a result. Giraffe is a very promising concept and this happens to be your creation, but perhaps such an enormous endeavor should be handled by a team of professionals. I was thrilled to see that your program has (allegedly) reached master strength! I am a very strong chess player, well over 2200(master strength) ELO, most certainly a great deal higher (I am a closet master who plans on using the surprise factor as a catalyst for future opportunity). I played Giraffe in a 30 minute game and learned much about it's progress, the first thing that I noticed was that Giraffe plays absolutely horrible in the opening!!! I gained a decisive advantage straight from the opening... After the opening debacle, Giraffe strengthens up and plays reasonably, it has no choice but to defend a terrible position(it does this very well and likely can beat the majority of chess players in this stage) . By this time however, my position is extremely strong and I have obtained an enormous space advantage, tactics seem to be everywhere... Here is the game and my own personal analysis, best of luck with the future of this project....I would love to supplement some ideas with this in the future!
[Event "Checking out Giraffe Engine"]
[Site "Tony's Apartment"]
[Date "2015.9.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anthony Harper"]
[Black "Giraffe Chess Engine"]
[TimeControl "30 min"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "oft "]

1.e4 a5?(One of the worst replies possible! 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bd3 Ng8?(Is this thing trying to provoke me??, Haha) 4.c4 Nf6 5.e5 Ng8??(Ok, even Nimzowitsch wasn't this radically hypermodern!!! This is a horrible start for black, any keen player can take advantage of this free space. Novices should proceed with care, as there are ways for white to overextend the center and therefore be prone to counterattacks!)) 6.f4 Nc6(Let the game begin,LOL) 7.Nf3 Nb4?!(This loses even more tempo and costs black more time for development) 8.Be2 g6 9.a3 Na6(black has accomplished next to nothing in the opening) 10.Nc3 c6 11.Be3 d6(Giraffe suddenly realizes that I have gained enormous amount of space and now attempts to take "jabs" at my established center) 12.O-O dxe5?(This trade only helps the dynamic possibilities of the white pieces) 13.fxe5 Bd7?!(A move without purpose)
14.Qb3!(Attack on f7!) Qb8 15.Ng5 Bf5 16.Rxf5! gxf5 17.Bh5 Nh6 18.c5 Kd8 19.Bxf7 Nc7 20.d5! a4 21.Qc4 e6 22.dxe6 Kc8 23.Rd1 Be7 24.Rd7 Ng4 25.Bf4
Bxg5 26.Bxg5 b5 27.Qd4 b4 28.axb4 a3 29.bxa3 Kb7 30.a4 h6 31.Be7 Rc8 32.h3 Nxe5 33.Qxe5 Ka6 34.Qe2+ Kb7 35.Qc4 Ra7 36.Bh5 Ka8
37.Bf3 Ne8 38.b5 Qe5 39.bxc6 Nc7 40.Nb5 Qe1+ 41.Kh2 Qe5+ 42.g3 Qb2+ 43.Bg2 Nxb5 44.Qxb5 Qxb5 45.axb5 Rg8 46.b6 Ra4 47.c7+ Re4
48.c6 Rc8(A crushing game where weaknesses were brutally exploited) 49.Rd8 Rxe6 50.Rxc8# 1-0
Opinion: Giraffe has some very glaring weaknesses, but these will surely dissipate with time and effort. Positional knowledge and defense were evident, but unfortunately when Giraffe was already in a terrible position. I believe that once the opening problems are fixed, Giraffe will be a very tough opponent for any human to beat. Good Luck!!

[carldaman]

Hi Anthony,

What version of Giraffe were you using? The earliest, untrained version did indeed play such horrible moves.

In contrast, the latest and strongest version from 090815 replies (after 1. e4) with 1..c5 and generally plays quite well in the opening.

Regards,
CL

First off, I want to thank you Matthew for initiating such an innovative and important project, both in chess and psychology. I believe that once we find a successful way to emulate the human thought process (by various means) through computers, it will mark a shift to a new era in the intelligence of mankind, thus many changes will occur as a result. Giraffe is a very promising concept and this happens to be your creation, but perhaps such an enormous endeavor should be handled by a team of professionals. I was thrilled to see that your program has (allegedly) reached master strength! I am a very strong chess player, well over 2200(master strength) ELO, most certainly a great deal higher (I am a closet master who plans on using the surprise factor as a catalyst for future opportunity). I played Giraffe in a 30 minute game and learned much about it's progress, the first thing that I noticed was that Giraffe plays absolutely horrible in the opening!!! I gained a decisive advantage straight from the opening... After the opening debacle, Giraffe strengthens up and plays reasonably, it has no choice but to defend a terrible position(it does this very well and likely can beat the majority of chess players in this stage) . By this time however, my position is extremely strong and I have obtained an enormous space advantage, tactics seem to be everywhere... Here is the game and my own personal analysis, best of luck with the future of this project....I would love to supplement some ideas with this in the future!
[pgn]
[Event "Checking out Giraffe Engine"]
[Site "Tony's Apartment"]
[Date "2015.9.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anthony Harper"]
[Black "Giraffe Chess Engine"]
[TimeControl "30 min"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "oft "]

1.e4 a5?(One of the worst replies possible! 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bd3 Ng8?(Is this thing trying to provoke me??, Haha) 4.c4 Nf6 5.e5 Ng8??(Ok, even Nimzowitsch wasn't this radically hypermodern!!! This is a horrible start for black, any keen player can take advantage of this free space. Novices should proceed with care, as there are ways for white to overextend the center and therefore be prone to counterattacks!)) 6.f4 Nc6(Let the game begin,LOL) 7.Nf3 Nb4?!(This loses even more tempo and costs black more time for development) 8.Be2 g6 9.a3 Na6(black has accomplished next to nothing in the opening) 10.Nc3 c6 11.Be3 d6(Giraffe suddenly realizes that I have gained enormous amount of space and now attempts to take "jabs" at my established center) 12.O-O dxe5?(This trade only helps the dynamic possibilities of the white pieces) 13.fxe5 Bd7?!(A move without purpose)
14.Qb3!(Attack on f7!) Qb8 15.Ng5 Bf5 16.Rxf5! gxf5 17.Bh5 Nh6 18.c5 Kd8 19.Bxf7 Nc7 20.d5! a4 21.Qc4 e6 22.dxe6 Kc8 23.Rd1 Be7 24.Rd7 Ng4 25.Bf4
Bxg5 26.Bxg5 b5 27.Qd4 b4 28.axb4 a3 29.bxa3 Kb7 30.a4 h6 31.Be7 Rc8 32.h3 Nxe5 33.Qxe5 Ka6 34.Qe2+ Kb7 35.Qc4 Ra7 36.Bh5 Ka8
37.Bf3 Ne8 38.b5 Qe5 39.bxc6 Nc7 40.Nb5 Qe1+ 41.Kh2 Qe5+ 42.g3 Qb2+ 43.Bg2 Nxb5 44.Qxb5 Qxb5 45.axb5 Rg8 46.b6 Ra4 47.c7+ Re4
48.c6 Rc8(A crushing game where weaknesses were brutally exploited) 49.Rd8 Rxe6 50.Rxc8# 1-0
[/pgn]
Opinion: Giraffe has some very glaring weaknesses, but these will surely dissipate with time and effort. Positional knowledge and defense were evident, but unfortunately when Giraffe was already in a terrible position. I believe that once the opening problems are fixed, Giraffe will be a very tough opponent for any human to beat. Good Luck!!

[MikeB]

First off, I want to thank you Matthew for initiating such an innovative and important project, both in chess and psychology. I believe that once we find a successful way to emulate the human thought process (by various means) through computers, it will mark a shift to a new era in the intelligence of mankind, thus many changes will occur as a result. Giraffe is a very promising concept and this happens to be your creation, but perhaps such an enormous endeavor should be handled by a team of professionals. I was thrilled to see that your program has (allegedly) reached master strength! I am a very strong chess player, well over 2200(master strength) ELO, most certainly a great deal higher (I am a closet master who plans on using the surprise factor as a catalyst for future opportunity). I played Giraffe in a 30 minute game and learned much about it's progress, the first thing that I noticed was that Giraffe plays absolutely horrible in the opening!!! I gained a decisive advantage straight from the opening... After the opening debacle, Giraffe strengthens up and plays reasonably, it has no choice but to defend a terrible position(it does this very well and likely can beat the majority of chess players in this stage) . By this time however, my position is extremely strong and I have obtained an enormous space advantage, tactics seem to be everywhere... Here is the game and my own personal analysis, best of luck with the future of this project....I would love to supplement some ideas with this in the future!
[Event "Checking out Giraffe Engine"]
[Site "Tony's Apartment"]
[Date "2015.9.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anthony Harper"]
[Black "Giraffe Chess Engine"]
[TimeControl "30 min"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "oft "]

1.e4 a5?(One of the worst replies possible! 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bd3 Ng8?(Is this thing trying to provoke me??, Haha) 4.c4 Nf6 5.e5 Ng8??(Ok, even Nimzowitsch wasn't this radically hypermodern!!! This is a horrible start for black, any keen player can take advantage of this free space. Novices should proceed with care, as there are ways for white to overextend the center and therefore be prone to counterattacks!)) 6.f4 Nc6(Let the game begin,LOL) 7.Nf3 Nb4?!(This loses even more tempo and costs black more time for development) 8.Be2 g6 9.a3 Na6(black has accomplished next to nothing in the opening) 10.Nc3 c6 11.Be3 d6(Giraffe suddenly realizes that I have gained enormous amount of space and now attempts to take "jabs" at my established center) 12.O-O dxe5?(This trade only helps the dynamic possibilities of the white pieces) 13.fxe5 Bd7?!(A move without purpose)
14.Qb3!(Attack on f7!) Qb8 15.Ng5 Bf5 16.Rxf5! gxf5 17.Bh5 Nh6 18.c5 Kd8 19.Bxf7 Nc7 20.d5! a4 21.Qc4 e6 22.dxe6 Kc8 23.Rd1 Be7 24.Rd7 Ng4 25.Bf4
Bxg5 26.Bxg5 b5 27.Qd4 b4 28.axb4 a3 29.bxa3 Kb7 30.a4 h6 31.Be7 Rc8 32.h3 Nxe5 33.Qxe5 Ka6 34.Qe2+ Kb7 35.Qc4 Ra7 36.Bh5 Ka8
37.Bf3 Ne8 38.b5 Qe5 39.bxc6 Nc7 40.Nb5 Qe1+ 41.Kh2 Qe5+ 42.g3 Qb2+ 43.Bg2 Nxb5 44.Qxb5 Qxb5 45.axb5 Rg8 46.b6 Ra4 47.c7+ Re4
48.c6 Rc8(A crushing game where weaknesses were brutally exploited) 49.Rd8 Rxe6 50.Rxc8# 1-0
Opinion: Giraffe has some very glaring weaknesses, but these will surely dissipate with time and effort. Positional knowledge and defense were evident, but unfortunately when Giraffe was already in a terrible position. I believe that once the opening problems are fixed, Giraffe will be a very tough opponent for any human to beat. Good Luck!!

Giraffe would never play e4 a5?? if it was set up correctly. My guess is that you are missing the NN files. Where ever you have the giraffe exe, you must also the NN files. They are eval.net and meval.net, those two files have all the knowledge - without those two files, Giraffe has zero knowledge.

[Guenther]

[Event "Checking out Giraffe Engine"]
[Site "Tony's Apartment"]
[Date "2015.9.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anthony Harper"]
[Black "Giraffe Chess Engine"]
[TimeControl "30 min"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "oft "]

1.e4 a5?(One of the worst replies possible!

Sorry, your setup must be wrong. I guess you miss the meval/eval.net files.

[matthewlai]

Matthew,

Very interesting project and good luck with your thesis. I did compile a native Mac x86-64 bit version and played a short match against current developmental Crafty using a random , equal, alternating color book.

Code: Select all

ResultSet-EloRating>mm
00:00:00,00
ResultSet-EloRating>ratings
Rank Name             Elo    +    - games score oppo. draws 
   1 Crafty 25.0_TR   144  160  160    20   88%  -144    5% 
   2 Giraffe         -144  160  160    20   13%   144    5% 
ResultSet-EloRating>

Current Crafty is testing out at in the 3000-3050 range - so this is actually a very good result - as limited as it is with only 20 games. Giraffe saw 200 nps consistently on my machine, and occasionally spiked to around 400K/nps (x5690 i7 3.46 Ghz)

I did have a chance to watch Giraffe play a few of these games. My first thought - without hesitation , is that Giraffe appears to have very solid evaluation - I assume that's from being NN. It may be possible to incorporate that in traditional engines. because of it's solid evaluation and relative slow search, I suspected that it may test slightly better at faster time controls than slower time controls. The above 20 game set was ran at 1/1. Today I ran a 200 game set at 3/5 .

Code: Select all

ResultSet-EloRating>ratings
Rank Name             Elo    +    - games score oppo. draws 
   1 Crafty 25.0_TR   177   60   60   200   89%  -177    9% 
   2 Giraffe         -177   60   60   200   11%   177    9% 

A little bit worse, not really significant.

My favorite part about Giraffe is that plays it very human like moves. More so than any other engine I have seen. May not be always be the best move - but certainly it would be a good sparring partner for most of us and you can set it to play very fast.

This a game where both sides played without a book at 1/1.

[pgn][Event "Computer Chess Game"]
[Site "Michaels-Mac-Pro.local"]
[Date "2015.09.15"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Giraffe"]
[Black "Crafty 25.0_TR"]
[Result "0-1"]
[TimeControl "60+1"]
[Annotator "1. +0.12 1... +0.21"]

1. e4 {+0.12/15} e5 {+0.21/18 2.5} 2. c4 {+0.27/14 1.8} Bc5 {-0.21/17 2.5}
3. Nc3 {+0.25/15 3} Nf6 {-0.17/18 1.9} 4. Nf3 {+0.34/14 3} Ng4 {-0.15/20 5}
5. d4 {+0.03/15 1.9} exd4 {-0.15/18 1.8} 6. Nxd4 {+0.05/15 2.1} O-O
{-0.21/19 13} 7. h3 {+0.69/14 2.2} Nxf2 {-0.24/16 3} 8. Kxf2 {+1.49/16 2.0}
Qf6+ {-0.25/16 4} 9. Ke3 {+1.51/16 2.2} Nc6 {-0.25/15 1.4} 10. Ne2
{+1.61/15 1.8} Re8 {-0.54/14 1.4} 11. Rg1 {+1.30/13 2.1} Qe5 {-3.23/15 1.5}
12. Qd3 {-4.01/15 2.1} f5 {-3.22/15 1.3} 13. Rh1 {-4.66/14 1.7} fxe4
{-5.14/14 6} 14. Qd1 {-5.68/13 1.6} Nxd4 {-5.29/13 1.9} 15. Nxd4
{-6.43/14 2.0} Rf8 {-5.02/15 1.8} 16. Ke2 {-6.88/15 1.5} Bxd4
{-5.02/13 1.2} 17. Be3 {-6.89/15 2.5} c5 {-5.27/14 1.6} 18. Bxd4
{-7.25/14 2.1} cxd4 {-5.39/13 1.6} 19. Qb3 {-7.38/14 3} d3+ {-6.30/14 1.2}
20. Ke1 {-7.98/15 2.3} Qg3+ {-9.04/15 3} 21. Kd1 {-8.46/15 1.8} Qe3
{-8.52/18 1.5} 22. Bxd3 {-8.99/16 2.3} exd3 {-8.62/17 1.1} 23. Re1
{-9.22/15 1.6} Rf1 {-10.00/18 1.2} 24. Rxf1 {-9.30/18 2.1} Qe2+
{-10.00/16 1.1} 25. Kc1 {-9.31/18 2.2} d2+ {-10.00/15 1.1} 26. Kb1
{-9.30/17 2.8} Qxf1+ {-10.39/14 1.2} 27. Kc2 {-9.38/18 2.5} Qxa1
{-10.15/15 5} 28. c5+ {-9.40/17 2.7} Kh8 {-10.74/15 2.3} 29. Kxd2
{-9.42/16 1.4} b6 {-10.74/13 1.0} 30. Qd5 {-9.46/14 2.4} Qxb2+
{-13.52/12 1.0} 31. Kd1 {-9.56/15 2.2} Bb7 {-13.65/12 1.0} 32. Qxb7
{-9.73/14 2.6} Rf8 {-15.26/11 1.8} 33. Qa6 {-9.81/14 1.4} b5
{-327.52/14 2.8} 34. Qxb5 {-9.93/13 2.5} Qxb5 {-327.56/14 0.9} 35. Kd2
{-9.95/12 1.7} Re8 {-327.58/13 0.2} 36. g4 {-9.94/11 1.8} Qc4
{-327.62/9 0.1} 37. a4 {-29.99/11 2.5} Re2+ {-327.64/7 0.1} 38. Kd1
{-29.99/12 1.5} Qc2# {-327.66/5 0.1}
{Xboard adjudication: Checkmate} 0-1[/pgn]

Here's a game played at TC 3/5 with an opening position. As an FYI, Crafty won from the black side in about 50 less moves. May not be a truly equal position.

[pgn][Event "Computer Chess Game"]
[Site "Michaels-Mac-Pro.local"]
[Date "2015.09.15"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Crafty 25.0_TR"]
[Black "Giraffe"]
[Result "0-1"]
[TimeControl "180+5"]
[FEN "1r1q1rk1/2pbppbp/p1np1np1/1p4B1/2PPP3/1PN2P2/P2QN1PP/2R1KB1R w K - 0 1"]
[SetUp "1"]

{--------------
. r . q . r k .
. . p b p p b p
p . n p . n p .
. p . . . . B .
. . P P P . . .
. P N . . P . .
P . . Q N . P P
. . R . K B . R
white to play
--------------}
1. d5 {+0.24/20} b4 {+0.22/17 10} 2. dxc6 {+0.48/22 9} bxc3 {+0.06/18 13}
3. Nxc3 {+0.48/20 7} Bxc6 {+0.10/17 12} 4. Be2 {+0.41/20 47} Ba8
{-0.06/15 8} 5. c5 {+0.62/18 11} dxc5 {+0.48/16 11} 6. Na4 {+0.95/18 8} Nd7
{+0.52/17 9} 7. Be3 {+1.03/18 6} Qc8 {+0.33/16 13} 8. O-O {+1.14/20 6} Rd8
{-0.66/16 9} 9. Rfd1 {+1.10/20 6} Bb7 {-1.10/16 12} 10. Qa5 {+1.12/18 7}
Be5 {-1.20/16 7} 11. f4 {+1.42/20 6} Bg7 {-1.62/17 10} 12. e5 {+1.38/20 6}
e6 {-1.44/17 13} 13. Nxc5 {+1.34/20 8} Nxc5 {-1.46/18 9} 14. Qxc5
{+1.35/20 11} Rxd1+ {-1.25/18 13} 15. Bxd1 {+1.28/20 5} c6 {-1.08/17 11}
16. Kf2 {+1.33/20 12} Bf8 {-0.77/16 7} 17. Qa5 {+1.35/19 5} h5
{-0.94/16 10} 18. Be2 {+1.28/19 9} Kh7 {-0.97/15 12} 19. g3 {+1.43/19 9} c5
{+0.00/17 7} 20. Qb6 {+1.36/21 5} Bd5 {+0.00/18 11} 21. Qa7 {+1.36/19 5}
Rb7 {+0.13/17 12} 22. Qxa6 {+1.50/19 5} Qc7 {-0.11/17 6} 23. Qd3
{+1.53/19 9} Ra7 {-0.03/16 7} 24. a4 {+1.37/19 15} Rb7 {-0.22/17 10} 25.
Rc3 {+1.37/17 5} Rb4 {+0.18/16 11} 26. Qd1 {+1.23/19 6} Qb6 {-0.02/16 10}
27. Qa1 {+1.17/18 10} Bxb3 {+0.74/16 6} 28. a5 {+1.20/19 4} Qc6
{+1.06/17 8} 29. Qc1 {+1.32/20 7} c4 {+1.75/16 6} 30. Rxb3 {+0.76/25 11}
Rxb3 {+1.33/19 6} 31. Qxc4 {+0.71/24 4} Qxc4 {+1.04/20 9} 32. Bxc4
{+0.75/27 7} Rc3 {+1.36/20 7} 33. Bf1 {+0.57/29 21} Bc5 {+1.24/18 6} 34.
Bxc5 {+0.57/27 4} Rxc5 {+1.38/18 5} 35. a6 {+0.54/26 6} Rc3 {+1.69/18 3}
36. Ke2 {+0.38/23 11} Rc1 {+1.42/19 6} 37. Bg2 {+0.54/23 6} Rc2+
{+2.54/19 5} 38. Kf3 {+0.46/23 4} Kg7 {+2.63/20 5} 39. Bf1 {+0.29/23 5} Kf8
{+2.89/18 5} 40. Ke4 {+0.18/22 15} Ke8 {+2.50/17 3} 41. Bb5+ {+0.00/23 7}
Kd8 {+2.90/18 6} 42. h3 {+0.00/25 4} Rb2 {+3.16/18 2.8} 43. Bd3
{+0.00/25 4} Kc7 {+3.24/19 7} 44. Kd4 {+0.00/25 4} Kb6 {+3.24/19 8} 45. Ke3
{+0.00/28 4} Rg2 {+3.24/18 4} 46. Kf3 {+0.00/28 5} Rh2 {+3.24/17 2.8} 47.
h4 {+0.00/29 4} Rd2 {+3.24/18 6} 48. Be2 {+0.00/29 4} Ra2 {+3.26/20 3} 49.
Ke3 {+0.00/29 5} Ra3+ {+3.26/22 6} 50. Bd3 {+0.00/33 4} Kc5 {+3.26/22 4}
51. Ke4 {+0.00/25 4} Ra4+ {+3.26/21 10} 52. Ke3 {+0.00/36 4} Ra5
{+3.25/20 4} 53. Be2 {+0.00/34 4} Ra3+ {+4.19/19 3} 54. Bd3 {+0.00/39 4}
Kd5 {+5.98/19 2.7} 55. Ke2 {-1.93/26 6} Kd4 {+6.10/20 3} 56. Bb5
{-1.91/26 8} Rxg3 {+6.08/21 10} 57. Be8 {-1.93/25 6} Re3+ {+6.04/20 5} 58.
Kf2 {-1.98/25 6} Ra3 {+6.26/19 2.8} 59. Bxf7 {-2.32/24 6} Ke4 {+6.30/20 3}
60. Bxe6 {-2.28/24 8} Kxf4 {+6.64/21 8} 61. Bd7 {-2.31/24 11} Ra2+
{+6.95/17 2.8} 62. Kf1 {-2.32/25 10} Kxe5 {+7.79/20 8} 63. Bb5 {-2.40/25 3}
Kf4 {+7.96/20 4} 64. Bc4 {-4.41/23 8} Ra1+ {+8.10/19 3} 65. Kf2
{-5.62/22 8} Kg4 {+8.12/18 3} 66. Kg2 {-5.91/23 7} Kxh4 {+8.62/19 6} 67.
Bb5 {-6.83/22 6} Ra2+ {+9.01/20 7} 68. Kf1 {-7.17/22 5} Kg3 {+9.09/18 3}
69. Bc4 {-8.97/23 5} Ra1+ {+9.52/19 6} 70. Ke2 {-8.97/10} h4 {+9.53/19 4}
71. Kd3 {-8.97/20 8} h3 {+9.60/19 9} 72. Kc2 {-9.69/18 6} h2 {+9.78/19 4}
73. Bd5 {-9.20/15 6} Rxa6 {+9.80/18 4} 74. Kd3 {-327.25/16 5} Rd6
{+9.84/16 3} 75. Kc4 {-327.47/31 3} Rxd5 {+9.88/16 9} 76. Kxd5
{-327.49/23 0.3} h1=Q+ {+9.90/15 4} 77. Kd6 {-327.51/23 0.6} g5
{+9.93/14 5} 78. Kc5 {-327.51/23 0.3} Kf4 {+9.96/15 4} 79. Kd6
{-327.53/23 0.3} Qb7 {+29.98/15 4} 80. Kc5 {-327.55/23 0.2} g4
{+29.98/15 5} 81. Kd6 {-327.57/23 0.1} g3 {+29.99/14 5} 82. Kc5
{-327.59/23} g2 {+29.99/14 5} 83. Kc4 {-327.61/23} g1=Q {+29.99/14 5}
{White resigns} 0-1[/pgn]

[d]5b2/1rq2p1k/4p1p1/2pbP2p/5P2/1P1QB1P1/P3BK1P/2R5 b - - 2 23

On the 23rd move - White is looking pretty good, a pawn up +1.5 - but it was all downhill from here. But Giraffe appears to know that things are not as bad as they look and its score reflects a more balanced game.

[d] 5b2/5p1k/2q1p1p1/P3P2p/1rp2P2/1bR1B1P1/4BK1P/2Q5 w - - 0 30

Developmental crafty gives up the exchange to grab that pesky pawn - but it's also a loss position and Giraffe plays like a chess master technician from this point forward to win the game.

Cool! Thanks for your analysis!

I thought it would do better in fast games as well, but for some reason, it actually seems to do better at longer time controls from tests. Maybe it's just too myopic in fast games, and get outplayed in tactics (more often).

[matthewlai]

First off, I want to thank you Matthew for initiating such an innovative and important project, both in chess and psychology. I believe that once we find a successful way to emulate the human thought process (by various means) through computers, it will mark a shift to a new era in the intelligence of mankind, thus many changes will occur as a result. Giraffe is a very promising concept and this happens to be your creation, but perhaps such an enormous endeavor should be handled by a team of professionals. I was thrilled to see that your program has (allegedly) reached master strength! I am a very strong chess player, well over 2200(master strength) ELO, most certainly a great deal higher (I am a closet master who plans on using the surprise factor as a catalyst for future opportunity). I played Giraffe in a 30 minute game and learned much about it's progress, the first thing that I noticed was that Giraffe plays absolutely horrible in the opening!!! I gained a decisive advantage straight from the opening... After the opening debacle, Giraffe strengthens up and plays reasonably, it has no choice but to defend a terrible position(it does this very well and likely can beat the majority of chess players in this stage) . By this time however, my position is extremely strong and I have obtained an enormous space advantage, tactics seem to be everywhere... Here is the game and my own personal analysis, best of luck with the future of this project....I would love to supplement some ideas with this in the future!
[Event "Checking out Giraffe Engine"]
[Site "Tony's Apartment"]
[Date "2015.9.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anthony Harper"]
[Black "Giraffe Chess Engine"]
[TimeControl "30 min"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "oft "]

1.e4 a5?(One of the worst replies possible! 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bd3 Ng8?(Is this thing trying to provoke me??, Haha) 4.c4 Nf6 5.e5 Ng8??(Ok, even Nimzowitsch wasn't this radically hypermodern!!! This is a horrible start for black, any keen player can take advantage of this free space. Novices should proceed with care, as there are ways for white to overextend the center and therefore be prone to counterattacks!)) 6.f4 Nc6(Let the game begin,LOL) 7.Nf3 Nb4?!(This loses even more tempo and costs black more time for development) 8.Be2 g6 9.a3 Na6(black has accomplished next to nothing in the opening) 10.Nc3 c6 11.Be3 d6(Giraffe suddenly realizes that I have gained enormous amount of space and now attempts to take "jabs" at my established center) 12.O-O dxe5?(This trade only helps the dynamic possibilities of the white pieces) 13.fxe5 Bd7?!(A move without purpose)
14.Qb3!(Attack on f7!) Qb8 15.Ng5 Bf5 16.Rxf5! gxf5 17.Bh5 Nh6 18.c5 Kd8 19.Bxf7 Nc7 20.d5! a4 21.Qc4 e6 22.dxe6 Kc8 23.Rd1 Be7 24.Rd7 Ng4 25.Bf4
Bxg5 26.Bxg5 b5 27.Qd4 b4 28.axb4 a3 29.bxa3 Kb7 30.a4 h6 31.Be7 Rc8 32.h3 Nxe5 33.Qxe5 Ka6 34.Qe2+ Kb7 35.Qc4 Ra7 36.Bh5 Ka8
37.Bf3 Ne8 38.b5 Qe5 39.bxc6 Nc7 40.Nb5 Qe1+ 41.Kh2 Qe5+ 42.g3 Qb2+ 43.Bg2 Nxb5 44.Qxb5 Qxb5 45.axb5 Rg8 46.b6 Ra4 47.c7+ Re4
48.c6 Rc8(A crushing game where weaknesses were brutally exploited) 49.Rd8 Rxe6 50.Rxc8# 1-0
Opinion: Giraffe has some very glaring weaknesses, but these will surely dissipate with time and effort. Positional knowledge and defense were evident, but unfortunately when Giraffe was already in a terrible position. I believe that once the opening problems are fixed, Giraffe will be a very tough opponent for any human to beat. Good Luck!!

Thanks!

Carl, Michael, and Guenther are right. Your copy of Giraffe is most certainly having trouble finding eval.net and meval.net, which contain almost all of Giraffe's knowledge. Those files must be in the working directory when the engine is run (some GUIs have working directory as a separate setting).

I will make it more user-friendly in the next version (and have it refuse to run without those files).

[James Constance]

Very interesting project - I look forward to reading your thesis. I played a couple of blitz games against it and found it enjoyable to play against. It was interesting that it played a Sicilian without a book - made it seem much more human!

[pgn]
[Event "Blitz 4m+2s"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.09.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Constance, James"]
[Black "Giraffe w64"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb3 Nf6 6. Nc3
Nc6 7. Be2 a6 8. a4 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Be3 Be6 11. Kh1 Nb4
12. f4 a5 13. f5 Bxb3 14. cxb3 d5 15. exd5 Nfxd5 16. Bg1
Nf4 17. Bf3 Nc6 18. Qxd8 Rfxd8 19. Rad1 g6 20. fxg6 hxg6
21. Bb6 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Ra6 23. Bf2 Ne6 24. Rd7 Bc5 25. Bh4
Rb6 26. Bd5 Bd4 27. Bf6 Kf8 28. Bxc6 bxc6 29. Ra7 Rb8
30. Rxa5 e4 31. Nxe4 Bb6 32. Re5 Bc7 33. Rxe6 fxe6 34. Nc5
Kf7 35. Bd4 Rd8 36. Bg1 Rd2 37. g3 e5 38. h4 Rxb2 39. Be3
Bb6 40. Kg1 Bxc5 41. Bxc5 Rxb3 42. Kf2 Rb2+ 43. Kf3 Ra2
44. Ke4 Ke6 45. Kf3 Kd5 46. Bf2 e4+ 47. Ke3 Rxa4 48. g4 c5
49. h5 gxh5 50. gxh5 Ra3+ 51. Ke2 Rh3 52. Be1 Rxh5 53. Ke3
c4 54. Bc3 Rh3+ 55. Kd2 Rd3+ 56. Kc2 Rxc3+ 57. Kxc3 e3
58. Kc2 Kd4 59. Kd1 Kd3 60. Ke1 c3 61. Kd1 c2+ 62. Kc1 e2
63. Kb2 e1=Q 64. Ka2 Kc3 65. Ka3 Qa1# 0-1[/pgn]

[M ANSARI]

Maybe it does have a book of some sort I think. I mean if it is learning from millions of games then certainly it would seem that opening play will quickly weed out bad opening lines as they lose.

I always thought that eventually advances in storage hardware and storage software and advances in lightning quick access to that storage will make CPU calculation in chess engines obsolete or worth very little. We will reach a situation where all lines have already been checked and a simple deviation from a line will either cause a loss or draw. The fact that there are more possible moves in the start position than there are atoms in the universe is widely stated, but not every iteration of moves needs to be calculated ... only ones that avoid a draw or loss. This dramatically reduces the number of possible moves and I can see this happening in say 20 years.

[matthewlai]

Maybe it does have a book of some sort I think. I mean if it is learning from millions of games then certainly it would seem that opening play will quickly weed out bad opening lines as they lose.

I always thought that eventually advances in storage hardware and storage software and advances in lightning quick access to that storage will make CPU calculation in chess engines obsolete or worth very little. We will reach a situation where all lines have already been checked and a simple deviation from a line will either cause a loss or draw. The fact that there are more possible moves in the start position than there are atoms in the universe is widely stated, but not every iteration of moves needs to be calculated ... only ones that avoid a draw or loss. This dramatically reduces the number of possible moves and I can see this happening in say 20 years.

That is an interesting way to think about it. It's true that it has looked at opening positions more often, just because they statistically appear more often in the training set (which is uniformly-sampled from games).

The equivalent of that would be an eval function that is tuned more on opening positions. I don't think it really counts as book - difference being ability to generalize.

When you are playing out of a book, if you just take a book position and change it slightly, the book information becomes useless.

In this case, Giraffe will be able to play well, too. Playing "1. a3" would get most engines out of books very quickly, and may be good against engines that don't focus on positional eval, but is probably a very bad idea against Giraffe.

The learning in Giraffe is not based on lines/moves. I know some engines do that kind of learning (eg. Crafty), but Giraffe doesn't.

[Henk]

How does Giraffe gets its chess knowledge ? Where does it come from ?