lab@qubix.UUCP (Q-Bick) (07/14/85)
[Somehow I managed to convince da boss that net.chess is technical :-]
Was playing /usr/games/chess and found the computer making a move I
cannot explain (White == Q-Bick, Black = Vax 4.2BSD):
1. p-k4 P-K4
2. b-b4 N-QB3
3. p-q3 B-B4
4. n-qb3 N-KB3
5. b-kn5 O-O
6. n-q5 P-QR4 <-- Why ?? (perhaps just "?" :-)
7. bxn PxB
8. q-r5 P-Q3
9. q-r6 B-QN5 + <-- Futility sets in
10. k-q1 ?! <-- Only because I "know" what Black will
B-KN5 + do next (from playing him before).
11. n-kb3 BxN+ ?? <-- "Here, White, mate me in four!"
I find no explanation for Black's 6th move. I also wonder about the
possibilities of 11. ... P-KB4 Not that Black can come close to drawing
(12. nxkbp+, qxn; 13. qxq), but it does create more possibilities.
Replies by mail preferred. If sufficient response, I will summarize and
post.
--
The Ice Floe of the Q-Bick
{amd,decwrl,sun,idi,ittvax}!qubix!lab
You can't settle the issue until you settle how to settle the issue.stern@bnl.UUCP (eric) (07/18/85)
> Was playing /usr/games/chess and found the computer making a move I > cannot explain (White == Q-Bick, Black = Vax 4.2BSD): > > 1. p-k4 P-K4 > 2. b-b4 N-QB3 > 3. p-q3 B-B4 > 4. n-qb3 N-KB3 > 5. b-kn5 O-O > 6. n-q5 P-QR4 <-- Why ?? (perhaps just "?" :-) The chess program has a command that lets you know what it thinks it is doing (sort of). If you say "test", it will print out a list of all moves and their values in its evaluation algorithm. I haven't figured out what it all means, but the first five columns are summed to get a total "positional" evaluation. Moves are listed in decreasing order in this positional evaluation. Another column is set negative if a computer's piece can be taken. I don't fully understand what the actual value of this column does. The chess program also has a bunch of other undocumented features that I wonder if anybody knows about. I reproduce here the help file I set up for our system. Typing an empty line prints the board. White pieces are lower case and Black pieces are upper case. Moves are entered in descriptive notation, such as p-k4, n-kb3 pxp, q-r5+ or in algebraic notation like e2e4, g1f3, e4d5. Other commands available: score Gives a list of moves so far. first As the first move, lets you play black alg Switch to algebraic notation clock Give the time each player has used so far save Save the game in the file chess.out restore Restore the game from the file chess.out remove Take back one move hint The machine tells you what it thinks your best move is setup Sets up the board with a position entered from the keyboard. Pieces are entered starting with row 8, and moving across files from A-H. Black pieces are uppercase (K,Q,R,B,N,P), and white pieces are lowercase letters (k,q,r,b,n,p). Entering a piece inserts in on the current square and moves the current square over one in the entering order given above. Each row is entered on one line. Typing a space moves over to the next square, typing a digit moves over that number of squares. Typing return, moves to the next row. All eight rows must be entered. Eric G. Stern stern@bnl.arpa ...!philabs!sbcs!bnl!stern