Problem with Chest UCI

[David Dahlem]

I am having problems with Chest UCI version 5.1. It doesn't solve mates in Automatic, Special, or AutoTurbo mode for me. I've tried many positions, even some from the Chest database (ChestUCI.epd). I've tried many settings, also the default settings, but nothing works. Normal mode does work, but is slow on longer mates.

For this post, i selected a simple mate in 2 from the database. It is solved in Normal mode, but not the other modes. I've read the readme file, but can't understand what i'm doing wrong.

Below is the Chest output for this mate in 2. Any idea what might be wrong?

Code: Select all

(Normal Mode)

FEN: 2brrb2/8/p7/7Q/1p1kpPp1/1P1pN1K1/3P4/8 w - - 0 1 

Chest 5.1:
FEN: 2brrb2/8/p7/7Q/1p1kpPp1/1P1pN1K1/3P4/8 w - -   (6+10)
Position-Analysis:  C0/R0/K1/P5/X16   W:4/31
Problem found in Database:  #2; 00:00;
Search for Mate in 2 ...  (Hash=512MB)
   2	00:00	           0	0	+M2	Qh5a5
Search completed ...  (Time=0.00s)
Mate in 2 found !  (1 Solution in 00:00)
  2/2	00:00	         103	0	+M2	Qh5a5 Bf8e7 Qa5e5+


FEN: 2brrb2/8/p7/7Q/1p1kpPp1/1P1pN1K1/3P4/8 w - - 0 1 

Chest 5.1:
FEN: 2brrb2/8/p7/7Q/1p1kpPp1/1P1pN1K1/3P4/8 w - -   (6+10)
Position-Analysis:  C0/R0/K1/P5/X16   W:4/31
Problem found in Database:  #2; 00:00;
Search for Special-Mate [C0/R1/K1/P1/X14] in 2 ...  (Hash=512MB)
Search completed ...  (Time=0.00s)
No Mate in 2 found !  (00:00)


FEN: 2brrb2/8/p7/7Q/1p1kpPp1/1P1pN1K1/3P4/8 w - - 0 1 

Chest 5.1:
FEN: 2brrb2/8/p7/7Q/1p1kpPp1/1P1pN1K1/3P4/8 w - -   (6+10)
Position-Analysis:  C0/R0/K1/P5/X16   W:4/31
Problem found in Database:  #2; 00:00;
Automatic-Search for Special-Mate [C1/R0/K1/P1/X14] in 2 ...  (Hash=512MB)
Automatic-Search for Special-Mate [C2/R1/K1/P1/X14] in 2 ...  (Hash=512MB)
Automatic-Search for Special-Mate [C4/R1/K1/P1/X14] in 2 ...  (Hash=512MB)
Automatic-Search for Special-Mate [C8/R1/K1/P1/X14] in 2 ...  (Hash=512MB)
Automatic-Search for Special-Mate [C16/R1/K1/P1/X14] in 2 ...  (Hash=512MB)
Automatic-Search for Special-Mate [C0/R1/K1/P1/X14] in 2 ...  (Hash=512MB)
No Mate in 2 found !  (00:00)


FEN: 2brrb2/8/p7/7Q/1p1kpPp1/1P1pN1K1/3P4/8 w - - 0 1 

Chest 5.1:
FEN: 2brrb2/8/p7/7Q/1p1kpPp1/1P1pN1K1/3P4/8 w - -   (6+10)
Position-Analysis:  C0/R0/K1/P5/X16   W:4/31
Problem found in Database:  #2; 00:00;
AutoTurbo-Search for Special-Mate [C1/R0/K1/P1/X14] in 2 ...  (Hash=512MB)
AutoTurbo-Search for Special-Mate [C0/R1/K1/P1/X14] in 2 ...  (Hash=512MB)
No Mate in 2 found !  (00:00)

[F.Huber]

Hi David,

do you see this "...Special-Mate [C0/R1/K1/P1/X14]..." in each of your output?

You have manually set (maybe somtime ago) these parameter values in the options dialog, and so ChestUCI uses them of course and can't find the #2 because these parameters are not correct for this position.
Restore all these values to their default (usually 0) and it will work again ...

Regards,
Franz

[David Dahlem]

Thanks Franz. That did it!!

So the default button in the Arena configuration dialog has no effect, doesn't set these values to default (zero)?

[F.Huber]

So the default button in the Arena configuration dialog has no effect, doesn't set these values to default (zero)?

Well, usually it does!
But I don't know which Arena version you're using (I still use 1.1), and maybe you have permanently changed the defaults anytime in the past!?

You can open the file ChestUCI.ini and look which values it includes. If it's not the 'original' file anymore, the easiest way to restore the defaults is to just delete this file and ChestUCI will create it again at the next start (with the internal default values).

But as I already said: I don't know if your Arena version may have stored different 'default' values anywhere (in the registry or in any own config file).

[David Dahlem]

I'm also using Arena 1.1. I understand now. The default button loads the values from the ChestUCI.ini file instead of from internal default values. So if i change these values to solve some special mate, then i have to remember the default values and reset them manually, right?

To make it easier on my faulty memory, i'll make a backup of the default ChestUCI.ini file.

[F.Huber]

To make it easier on my faulty memory, i'll make a backup of the default ChestUCI.ini file.

Ok, here's a good trick for your faulty memory:
1) first delete your existing ChestUCI.ini
2) start ChestUCI in Arena and manually change the values in the UCI options dialog which you would like to give other than the default values (e.g. HashSize, EgtbPath, TextViewer, CpuInfo, ...)
3) then close the engine
4) and now go to Engine>Mangage>Details, select ChestUCI and enter "/INI:1" (without quotes) in CommandLineOptions in Arena

From now on ChestUCI never stores any parameters that you have changed, and really EVERYtime you click on 'Default' these default parameters are restored, regardless what Arena might have stored in the registry.

This method (with /INI:1) is indeed the most comfortable way to work with ChestUCI in Arena and it is described in the files English.txt (but of course that would require that someone really reads such files ).

[David Dahlem]

Thank you Franz. Sounds like the perfect solution for my faulty memory.

[David Dahlem]

A wish for the next version of Chest: display a pv of the line Chest is currently considering.

[F.Huber]

A wish for the next version of Chest: display a pv of the line Chest is currently considering.

Well, with the method Chest is working this feature won't be feasible.
And there will be no further ChestUCI version at all ...

[David Dahlem]

And there will be no further ChestUCI version at all ...

I hope that "wink" smiley means there WILL be further versions of ChestUCI.

Otherwise -