Author: Vincent Lejeune
Date: 02:15:39 12/01/05
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Like for other engines, you have to know his strengh and his weaknesses to use it at best as possible. To analyse games I recommend you to use a 4 cpu machine with 4 engines at same time (my prefered set would be : Shredder 9 (soon 10) + TogaII 1.1 (or fruit 2.2) + Fritz 9 + Hiarcs 10) On December 01, 2005 at 04:00:30, Mig Greengard wrote: >3n3k/bp3pp1/8/8/R1Q2R2/6p1/B2p1PP1/q1rn2K1 w - - 0 1 > >Plokhodnikov, 1971 > >Was somewhat surprised to find that most engines need a while to solve this >puzzle since every move is a check. More than a minute, over five minutes in >some cases. I think Toga II 1.1 was the fastest, solving it on my Athlon 64 3800 >in around 40 seconds. (The original composition was given as mate in 21, but the >comps find a faster way.) > >I'm not an unreserved fan of this engine yet, but it is intriguing and well >worth a look beyond its scores against other programs (yes, there is such a >thing). It certainly doesn't seem worse than the other top programs. Since 99% >of my program usage is as an analytical assistant for GM games for reports and >newsletters, I mostly want fast tactics as I favor my own positional eval. In >this I don't find Toga better than Junior 9, inferior in most cases when it >comes to suggesting interesting tactical lines, Junior's specialty. > >It is quite good in endgames for an engine despite apparently not accessing EGTB >in the search. Does its cousin Fruit 2.2 do this? Probably not particularly >relevant in play but it's essential for better endgame analysis. (e.g. >Minasian-van Wely from the first round in the FIDE World Cup the other day. Toga >has no idea that endgame is totally drawn, even when it's down to bishops.) > >Like many players I know, I have my own informal test suite I use to evaluate >both new programs and new hardware. They are mostly games I have annotated >deeply (and/or have been so annotated by others) and know very well, and it's >useful to see if new engines find the best moves or see the value of certain >paradoxical ideas. And also how long it takes, of course, since speed is of the >essence in a working environment. I've found the latest editions of Kasparov's >"My Great Predecessors" books handy for this because he and his team also >thoroughly computer-check lines. (Famously not so well in Vol. 1.) This avoids >annoying refutations and Garry is also more interested in pointing out good >moves that aren't just flashy tactics a computer finds instantly. A good test >suite can be made just by thumbing through the books and looking for exclam >moves. > >What are the most highly recommended positional test suites in circulation, btw?
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