jonathan@alberta.UUCP (Jonathan Schaeffer) (10/14/84)
I think you are being unfair in your comments to your game against Phoenix. Firstly, Phoenix does not play speed chess; it has no speed chess mode. You played Phoenix where I set the depth to 3 ply searches so that its moves would come back within a few seconds. (In fact, from the listing of the game I have, Phoenix used only 3 minutes for the entire game). Secondly, since I was interested in getting the game over quickly, I turned thinking on the opponent's time off after the 4th move (check the game listing I gave you). Third, whereas Phoenix was making moves in a few seconds, you chose to take considerably more time than that to respond. There was no clock used. If there was, you would have lost on time before move 10. Phoenix plays the French defence often and in fact does quite well with it. It is not in nature a passive program, but with only 3 ply searches it is hard to be aggressive and make sound moves at the same time. Phoenix managed to draw with Belle and Nuchess in the ACM tournament. I can assure you that it was not due to its "passive style". In fact, but for an unfortunate loss in the last round, Phoenix would have placed second in the tournament. Jonathan Schaeffer author of Phoenix