Why on Earth are there so many Stockfish rip-offs?

[Graham Banks]

Pretty sad really, especially when some have the programming skills to write an original engine.

Note that I don't include Shashchess in this criticism because a genuine attempt has been made by those involved to add Sashin theory into it.

[cpeters]

Because it's easy to do so and gets you fame (entry in search-engines like 'google' and 'bing').

Basically a combination of the availability* of the well documented code/open development and the self-importance of certain humans and a mostly clueless audience (they're the worst with their stupid feedback, which lets the eshlong of the dilettantes grow).

*Blame the Linux Thorwaldts (for git) and greedy microsoft corp. for github (to leech code and train their Gespenster-AI).

N.B.
You did mean the clownes, didn't you?

[towforce]

Pretty sad really, especially when some have the programming skills to write an original engine.

Note that I don't include Shashchess in this criticism because a genuine attempt has been made by those involved to add Sashin theory into it.

There's an opportunity here to create a website at which a chess engine can be uploaded. The web server will then decompile it, and give a score on how similar it is to Stockfish.

[supernova]

Pretty sad really, especially when some have the programming skills to write an original engine.

Note that I don't include Shashchess in this criticism because a genuine attempt has been made by those involved to add Sashin theory into it.

Hi Graham, I understand where you're coming from, and I appreciate the nod to ShashChess for incorporating Shashin theory. However, I have to share a more nuanced view based on my hands-on experience with the "derivative" (*). Unfortunately, my attempts to use ShashChess in match scenarios have been a bit of a struggle.

I've tried combining multiple features like MCTS, the Sashin options, and ChessDB (as well in Ponder = On) but this setup consistently leads to time losses due to the engine freezing up. I've documented these issues on this forum (viewtopic.php?t=78738&start=310) and, regretfully, haven't received any feedback despite reporting these problems multiple times across versions since 35.3.

While I respect your opinion and value CCRL as a reference, my experience forces me to view ShashChess (*) similarly to other derivative engines. For me, the engine's value is significantly undermined by these reliability concerns. That being said, if the ShashChess responsible were to tackle and resolve these stability issues, I'd be more than happy to reassess and potentially see eye-to-eye with you to some extent.

I hope sharing my firsthand experience encourages the ShashChess responsible to focus on ironing out these wrinkles, which would undoubtedly enhance the derivative's overall appeal.

Regards, Arthur Matheus.

[chessica]

Eduard Nemeth alias Solista writes here no more and I cannot ask him whether
he has a list of his published engines and what his first engine was called.
That's why I'm asking now if anyone has information on this, so a list of all his
engines would be nice to read here. His latest keration is called Omega.

[supernova]

Eduard Nemeth alias Solista writes here no more and I cannot ask him whether
he has a list of his published engines and what his first engine was called.
That's why I'm asking now if anyone has information on this, so a list of all his
engines would be nice to read here. His latest keration is called Omega.

This is completely off-topic to mention. Graham is referring to ShashChess and discussing what happens with other clones or derivatives. 'Solista' seems to 'produce' almost a new one weekly under different names—over 20 in a year. I think you would be better to carefully review Graham's message. Thanks.

[cpeters]

ironing out these wrinkles

Wrinkles?
viewtopic.php?p=976568#p976568
It's advertised as this:

Each bot accurately simulates the playing strength of its respective Elo range!

None of these bots (they're still online) accurately simulates the playing strength of its respective Elo range - time to redo/work on it. I do however like the weird idea of this mess of a fork (I don't play with it; just glancing).

His latest keration is called Omega.

Yes. Finally! The -END- of this nonsense.

[supernova]

ironing out these wrinkles

Wrinkles?
viewtopic.php?p=976568#p976568
It's advertised as this:

Each bot accurately simulates the playing strength of its respective Elo range!

None of these bots (they're still online) accurately simulates the playing strength of its respective Elo range - time to redo/work on it. I do however like the weird idea of this mess of a fork (I don't play with it; just glancing).

His latest keration is called Omega.

Yes. Finally! The -END- of this nonsense.

I’m sorry to say that taking only fragments of my message can lead to it being taken out of context. The term "wrinkles" refers to all the issues explained in my message here: viewtopic.php?t=78738&start=310, so there’s no need to repeat them. Thanks.

[cpeters]

Thanks.
I repeat: more than just the fragment "wrinkles". You were pleased to use the term "wrinkles" to describe something which I think is essentially kaputt.
Yes. Thanks.

[supernova]

Thanks.
I repeat: more than just the fragment "wrinkles". You were pleased to use the term "wrinkles" to describe something which I think is essentially kaputt.
Yes. Thanks.

To clarify again, I used the term "wrinkles" to encapsulate the various issues encounted. In essence, we are acknowledging these challenges as part of a broader conversation. However, I must reiterate that my choice of wording was based on my context of experienced issues, particularly regarding their lack of resolution by the "responsible" of Shashchess.

Best regards.