[comp.org.usenix] ANNOUNCEMENT: Computer ``Go'' Tournament at Phoenix USENIX Conference

jordan@ames.UUCP (Jordan Hayes) (04/14/87)

[ i'm posting this for peter ]

[ afterthought: i'm posting it for *both* peters ... i'm still bringing
  up 2.11 on the new USENIX machine, thus the posting from ames ... ]

-----

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                            PLEASE POST


                  The Fourth Annual Usenix
                   COMPUTER GO TOURNAMENT
                            and
                        CHAMPIONSHIP

           A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P Q R S T
       19  + + + + + @ + + + + + + + + + + + + +  19
       18  + + O O @ + @ O + + + + O @ + O + + +  18
       17  + O + + O @ + O + + O O + O @ + @ + +  17
       16  + + O O O @ @ O + + + O O @ + @ + + +  16
       15  + + + O + O @ O @ O + O @ + + + + + +  15
       14  + + + @ O O @ @ O @ @ @ + + + @ + + +  14
       13  + + + @ O + O @ O + + + + + + + + + +  13
       12  + + + + @ O O @ + @ + + + + + + + + +  12
       11  + O O + + + O @ + + + + + @ + + + + +  11
       10  + @ O + + + O + + + + + + + + @ @ + +  10
        9  + @ + O + + + + + + + + + + O + + + +  9
        8  + + @ @ O O O + + + + + O + + + O + +  8
        7  + @ + + @ @ + + + + + + + + O + + + +  7
        6  + @ O @ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +  6
        5  + @ O O + + + + + + + + + + @ + + + +  5
        4  + + O + + + @ + + @ + + + + + + @ + +  4
        3  + + + O + O @ + + + + + + + @ + + + +  3
        2  + + + + O + O @ + + + + + + + + + + +  2
        1  + + + + + O + + + + + + + + + + + + +  1
           A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P Q R S T



ANNOUNCEMENT

The fourth annual Usenix Computer Go Tournament will be held
on  Wednesday,  June  24th,  during  the  Summer 1987 Usenix
conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

All interested  parties  are  invited  to  submit  programs.
Programs  may  be  written  in  any  language as long as the
binary will run under a Unix operating system like 4.?  BSD.
The  tournament  rules will be essentially those established
for the first Usenix Computer Go Tournament (see below).

This event will be a ``championship''; the  winner  will  be
the   ``Usenix   Computer   Go  Champion''  until  the  next
championship is held (probably at the Usenix Conference  the
following summer).

Conference attendees may bring programs to submit with  them
as  long  as  they get in touch with Peter Langston NO LATER
THAN noon on  the  day  before  the  tournament  (preferably
earlier).   He  can be reached through the Usenix Conference
Office.  People who are unable to attend the conference  but
would  like  to  enter their programs can do so by sending a
compilable source to one of  the  addresses  below,  (or  by
taking  a  chance  and  sending an ``executable'' file which
may, or  may  not,  function  under  last  minute  operating
systems changes or machine changes, or ...)

The source code for the referee program to be used has  been
distributed  through  netnews  ``net.sources''  and  can  be
redistributed if interest warrants.

Comments or programs can be  sent  via  electronic  mail  to
bellcore!psl  or psl@BELLCORE.COM.  U.S. Mail should be sent
to:
        Peter Langston
        Bell Communications Research
        MRE 2D-396
        435 South Street
        Morristown, NJ  07960

-----


                           USENIX
                   COMPUTER GO TOURNAMENT
                           RULES

                    Revised April, 1986
                        P. Langston


*  A full size board will be used.  The board will be 19 x 19
   with  columns  labeled ``A'' through ``T'' (excluding ``I'')
   left to right, and rows labeled ``19'' through ``1'' top  to
   bottom.

*  Komi will be 5.5 points.  The second  player  gets  a  5.5
   point bonus.

*  There will be a time limit.  Each program will be  limited
   to a total of 60 minutes of accumulated ``user'' time.  If a
   program goes over the time limit it will only be allowed  10
   seconds   of   ``user''   time  for  each  move  (byo-romi).
   Subsequently, if a program uses  more  than  10  seconds  of
   ``user''  time  for  a  move it will immediately forfeit the
   game.

*  The programs  must  not  be  idle  unnecessarily.   If  10
   minutes  of  ``real''  time  elapse  with no increase in the
   current program's ``user'' time, it will be assumed that the
   program  is  stuck and the program will forfeit.  (This rule
   is  included  to  handle  cases  where   a   program   loses
   synchronization  or  is  doing  something  like:  ``for (;;)
   read(0, buf, sizeof buf);'')

*  There will be no forking (around).  Each program must be a
   single  process  and must not fork other processes.  Forking
   interferes with the timing mechanism and, like  any  attempt
   to evade or fool the timing, will result in a forfeit.

*  A ``referee'' program will be used.  The  tournament  will
   use  a ``referee'' program to execute each competing pair of
   programs.  There will be  no  command-line  arguments,  i.e.
   argc will be 1.  All communication with the programs will be
   via the standard input and standard output thus the programs
   must  understand  a  specific  set  of commands and generate
   output of a specific form.

a) All input commands to the competing programs will  be  in
   the form of lines of text appearing on the standard input
   and terminated by a newline.
b) The first line of input to each program  will  be  either
   ``black''  or  ``white''  (lower  case) to indicate which
   color the program will be playing  (and  thereby  whether
   the program plays first or second).
c) The placement of a stone will  be  expressed  as  letter-
   number (e.g. ``G7'', note capitalization).
d) A pass will be expressed as ``pass'' (lower case).
e) The command ``byo-romi''  (lower  case)  means  the  time
   limit  has  been  exceeded  and all further moves must be
   generated within the 10 second time limit.
f) All output from the competing programs  will  be  in  the
   form  of  lines  of  characters  sent  to  the ``standard
   output'', terminated by a newline, and had better  either
   be  flushed  after  every  line or be unbuffered to start
   with (e.g. ``setbuf(stdout, 0);'').
g) The placement of a stone must be expressed as  upper-case
   letter-number (e.g. ``G12'').
h) A pass must be expressed as ``pass'' (lower case).
i) Any output lines not beginning with ``A''  through  ``T''
   (excluding  ``I'')  or ``pass' will be considered garbage
   and ignored.

*  ``Bad'' moves are a forfeit.   Any  syntactically  correct
   but  semantically illegal move will be considered a forfeit.
   The three possibilities are: playing  on  a  non-empty  spot
   (occupied or off the board), ko violation, and suicide.

*  Play will end when both programs pass  in  sequence.   The
   programs   may   pass  at  any  time,  but  once  both  pass
   concurrently, the game is over.

*  The decisions of the judge will be final.  A  human  judge
   will  evaluate  each  game's  results and may fill in missed
   dame or may judge a  game  incomplete  if,  in  the  judge's
   opinion, too much is unresolved.  In general, Japanese rules
   will be used, (Nihon Kiin).

-----

Jordan Hayes
Technical Consultant
The USENIX Association, Berkeley CA	{ucbvax,decvax}!usenix!jordan