Positional Test Set

[DmitriyFrosty]

Its mine set of 18 positional chess puzzles for chess engines. Max depth on each position is 40. If someone engine is manage to solve all positions, than, I don't know, this engine have amazing positional understanding.
Enjoy!
https://pixeldrain.com/u/3FBpEfSh

[peter]

Why is nr.11 a single best move position and why is Qd2 the solution?
1r6/8/1ppp1qkp/5pn1/2P2B2/2Q3R1/1P3PP1/6K1 w - - 0 1
Position is in STS-1500- suite as nr. 588 with first ranked move Qe1 and this one ranking of points is to be counted for alternatives:
Qe1=10, Qd3=16, Qc1=7, Qf3=17, Qe3=10, Qd2=4,
in Ferdinand Mosca's new evaluation it's given as nr.1488 like this:

1r6/8/1ppp1qkp/5pn1/2P2B2/2Q3R1/1P3PP1/6K1 w - - bm Qf3; id "STS(v15.0) AT.088"; c0 "Qf3=100, Qa3=1, Qb4=1, Qc1=1, Qc2=1, Qd2=1, Qd3=1, Qe1=1, Qe3=1, Qxf6+=1"; c7 "Qf3 Qa3 Qb4 Qc1 Qc2 Qd2 Qd3 Qe1 Qe3 Qxf6+"; c8 "100 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1"; c9 "c3f3 c3a3 c3b4 c3c1 c3c2 c3d2 c3d3 c3e1 c3e3 c3f6"; Ae "Stockish 15";

I don't have it my version of smaller STS-set with some kind of singularity of solutions, it can be used with MEA and different points for different solutions only but not as single best move position.
Most of the other positions are well known too, the only really hard and correct ones so far seem the composed studies like nr.9, which is nr.93 in Eret, a study by F. Simkhovich, of which the first move is cut off.
Thats the original studiy like it's given in HHdb:
[pgn][Event "3.hm L'Italia Scacchistica#241"] [Site "?"] [Date "1923.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Simkhovich=F"] [Black "(=0731.75c1f5)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "2br4/r2pp3/8/1p1p1kN1/pP1P4/2P3R1/PP3PP1/2K5 w - - 0 1"] [PlyCount "29"] [EventDate "1923.??.??"] {L'Italia Scacchistica/8.} 1. Nf7 Re8 $1 (1... Rf8 2. Rf3+ Kg6 3. Ne5+ Kg7 4. Rg3+ Kh7 5. Rh3+) 2. Nd6+ $1 exd6 3. Rf3+ Kg6 4. Rg3+ Kf7 5. Rf3+ Ke7 6. Re3+ Kd8 7. Rxe8+ Kxe8 8. a3 $1 Bb7 (8... Kf7 9. Kd1 Kf6 10. g3 Kf5 (10... Bb7 11. Ke1 Ra8 12. Kf1 Rh8 13. Kg2) 11. f3 Bb7 12. Ke1) 9. Kd1 (9. Kd2 {<or>}) 9... Kf7 10. Ke1 (10. Ke2 {<or>}) 10... Ra8 11. Kf1 $1 Rh8 12. Kg1 $1 Re8 13. Kf1 Kg6 14. f3 (14. g3 {<or>} Kf5 15. f3) 14... Kf5 15. g3 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]
As well as e.g. nr.12, a study by J. Randviir, Walter Eigenmann used it once in his Nightmare2- collection.
Original sources of test positions (if known) are good to be given in suites always too, regards

[DmitriyFrosty]

Qd2 is not an only move. Qe3 is also possible and its top sf choice. But Qd2 I like because it creates more pressure on blacks position, Qe1 and other moves also good, but I didn't see the point of this move, it move for me does nothing, on Qe1 you don't have a way to penetrate on e file, because e6, e7, e8 squares are protected. After Qd2 its not obvious how to respond with black, for example if you play Rd8 to protect pawn, than white can play Be3 threatening to take b6 pawn and in the same time to win the pinned knight with move f4. There some positions, such #9 that you mention and other 5-7 puzzles are self created and yes some positions I take from other suites. In future, I try to include more self-created puzzles or maybe would make set that consists only mine positions.

[CornfedForever]

I tend to think the 1923 position is a poor option for a positional test. There is too little material and the no real options that are even reasonable....more like a 'cookable study'.

[peter]

I tend to think the 1923 position is a poor option for a positional test. There is too little material and the no real options that are even reasonable....more like a 'cookable study'.

1923?

[DmitriyFrosty]

I tend to think the 1923 position is a poor option for a positional test. There is too little material and the no real options that are even reasonable....more like a 'cookable study'.

What do you mean by 1923 position?

[Ajedrecista]

Hello:

Maybe a problem from year 1923 that was being discussed in this thread?

https://yacpdb.org/#544835

Regards from Spain.

Ajedrecista.

[peter]

Hello:

Maybe a problem from year 1923 that was being discussed in this thread?

https://yacpdb.org/#544835

Regards from Spain.

Ajedrecista.

Probably, yet I don't think it's to be cooked and I don't see little material (for an endgame- study). The meaning of "positional" of course is a rather diffuse one. When Swaminathan an Corbit came along with Strategic Test Suite long time ago for the first time, the differences to tactical suites were mainly the short hardware- time to solve and the multiple solutions of the positions. In this meaning positions as difficult as the Simkhovic- study with single best move don't fit to this one concept of "positional" testing at all and my main objection to collections like this one is, (btw. for statistical meanings also much too small as a sample of course) there isn't any single hardware- TC to be used for all of them together reasonably, better use every single one position on its own, then you can compare as many parameters as you want, time to solution(s, here it's ok also to have multiple solutions of single position), time to best line(s), time to best eval(s), single thread single run or multiple runs SMP averaged, whatever.

Letting 18 positions of so much difference in tactical and or "positional" difficulty be run together in one suite won't give results to be compared to each other, not even between only two single engines.
Just my two cents, regards

[CornfedForever]

I tend to think the 1923 position is a poor option for a positional test. There is too little material and the no real options that are even reasonable....more like a 'cookable study'.

What do you mean by 1923 position?

The only diagram you see in this thread...post by Peter.