Commentary of rounds 1-6 at AEGON (Man vs. Machine) - aegoncom.zip (0/1)
Lonnie Cook
For interesting reading
Respectfully Yours,
Lonnie J. Cook
"Destroyer"on ICC
<lonni...@riconnect.com>
Famous last words,"...just one more game!"
Tim Mirabile
>To all,
>For interesting reading
It seems pretty silly to take an ordinary text file, zip it, and then post it
UU encoded.
Why not post it as ordinary text. Since you are using Free Agent, use
"File|Insert Text File..." (In this case it also helped to change the line
length in Options|Preferences from the default of 70 to 79.)
Anyway, here it is in a form everyone can read:
ROUND 1
Wednesday April 10
Anatoli Karpov opted in his games against FRITZ, the computer world
champion, for a strategic style of play. With success. The Russian won
his first game playing white. But it hadn't been that easy as he explained
afterwards. In the return match FRITZ once again defended well.
According to the FIDE world champion, the computer chose the best
way to draw the game. Through tactical means.
Jan Timman, lacking experience playing computers, didn't have an easy
time against MChess - the reigning micro computer world champion. In
both their encounters the Dutchman obtained clear advantages. Timman
blamed his current form crisis to be the cause of not securing the wins.
Both games were drawn.
Jeroen Piket on the other hand did have some experience against the
machines. On two previous occasions he participated in the AEGON
man-machine event. Giving up just a couple of draws. On this occasion,
the Dutchman was the only one to maintain a perfect score. In the first
game, The King played quite well until it reached the endgame. In the
second game Piket went for tactics. The King happily followed suit.
However, Jeroen had calculated deeper and won without too much
effort.
ROUND 2
Thursday April 11
Nine players and six computers still have the perfect score after the
second round of the 11th AEGON chess tournament. The computers
made clear that even for the strongest players it isn't that easy to win
against them. Despite that, mankind scored 27 points this round to even
the total score: 50 - 50.
Yasser Seirawan played his shortest computer game ever: he only
needed 19 moves. 'Comet was out of its book on move 8. Two moves
later it made a horrible decision which opened floodgates for my attack.
A piece sacrifice ensured me a smooth victory', said the American who
received hearty congratulations from Comet's operator.
John van der Wiel had to work a little bit harder for his victory. R30 had
a brilliant pawn sacrifice which entirely disturbed Van der Wiel's plans.
The Dutchman even got a worse position. When a Knight ending was
reached the program of Johan de Koning didn't understand the finer
points. John ended the game in a fine way.
Roberto Cifuentes wasn't entirely sure about the game's outcome.
Against Schach 3.0 a position arose of which he said: 'In a normal game
Black is close to resigning but here I'm the one who is afraid.' His fear
was unfounded. Schach's materialistic appetite and Roberto's fine
technique secured the point.
Worth mentioning are the draws of Larry Christiansen against Zarkov,
Sofia Polgar against Nimzo and Yona Kosashvili against Now, because it
was somehow unexpected.
Gert Ligterink had an unpleasant experience against Chessica. This
program developed by Frans Morsch, played every move instantly.
'Rather annoying' was Ligterink's comment. In a strategically won
position the Dutchman got carried along and played one move à tempo
as well. It cost him a pawn. Finally, it was time pressure that ruined a
drawn endgame.
Chess System Tal attracted a lot of attention when it sacrificed its Queen
on move 10. A rarity even in human chess. It was good enough for a
draw! Gert Jan Ludden played well by keeping the computer world
champion FRITZ at bay and got rewarded by half a point.
ROUND 3
Friday April 12
The grandmasters once again had to experience how strong the
computers are nowadays. But they were not the only ones. The
computers won the third round of the AEGON chess tournament with
superior power: 30.5-19.5
Halfway the tournament there are five players who have a perfect score.
Among the computers it is only Quest leading proudly with three points.
Quest played against David Bronstein immediately for the attack. It won
an exchange but the old master had compensation with two very strong
Bishops. Bronstein was able to engage the Dutch program for 30 moves
without allowing it to make any progress. In time trouble Quest finished
the game by a beautiful combination.
Rebel AEGON caused a sensation by drawing Rafael Vaganian.
Vaganian sacrificed a couple of pawns to create an attack. Rebel
defended very accurately and nicely freed itself. Much to the operator's
delight it easily made a draw.
Jonathan Speelman scored his third consecutive victory at the expense
of Virtual Chess. 'I had to work extremely hard', the Englishman sighed.
With a smile he added, 'but fortunately there are still areas we are better
at`.
Yasser Seirawan who had lost against Hiarcs last year, didn't make the
same mistake twice. The English program slipped in the opening and the
middle game. It was positionally lost when Seirawan went after its King
successfully.
John van der Wiel's special opening strategy 1.e3 against Frenchess paid
off. He obtained the kind of position you really would like to have
against a computer. 'The gentle massage', as Van der Wiel explained.
When Frenchess' Queen entered John's position he had prepared a warm
reception. The computer could only safe her majesty by losing a piece.
Roberto Cifuentes won a pawn against Isichess with a six-move deep
combination. 'This is a real dream to play such a position against a
computer.' A double Bishop ending a pawn up was played to perfection
by the grandmaster.
Also Rob Hartoch was in an attacking mood. He sacrificed two pawns
against Rebel 7. 'At least I can say that I killed myself', the
International
Master said happily during the game. Hartoch needed a little help from
his opponent but did win and remains a contender for first prize.
ROUND 4
Monday April 15
Three grandmasters remain in the lead after the fourth round of the
AEGON chess tournament. They are closely followed by three
computers and four colleages at half a point. The computers increased
their lead over mankind by winning once again: 27-23.
John van der Wiel scored his fourth victory at the expense of Now. This
American program impressed by attacking the Kingside at the right time.
'I felt the heat coming' Van der Wiel stated. However the grandmaster
didn't have to sweat for too long. The computer didn't continue its best.
Then it sacrificed a piece instead of opting for being tortured with equal
material. 'A typical emotional decision' John said smilingly after he had
won nicely.
Also Roberto Cifuentes was successful. Against Zarkov, Cifuentes
placed all his pieces on the ideal squares but victory didn't come easy.
The computer clearly went wrong in the endgame. Much to the regret of
operator Remy de Ruijsscher, who saw the mistake coming but hoped in
vain Zarkov would play the better move.
Yasser Seirawan faced Nimzo which was programmed in such a way
that it wouldn't play g5 in the particular opening that arose. What the
computer chose instead wasn't an improvement. Seirawan munched two
pawns and remains in the lead due to a smooth victory thereafter.
Rob Hartoch was one of the first to finish. The international master
arrived a little late for his game due to taking a wrong exit at the
freeway.
His nervousness increased when he found out his opponent WChess has
around a 2400 Elo-rating. When the opening didn't go to his liking he
quickly offered a draw. 'Before it would be too late'. Much to his delight
the operator accepted.
Shortly after that Rafael Vaganian walked around as well. His game
against Chessica took only 1,5 hours. The program misplayed the
opening at move 10. Vaganian exchanged some pieces and had an easy
time with the ensuing endgame.
Jonathan Speelman battled Quest, the only computer which had won
every game sofar. The Englishman got a nice quiet position where
nothing awful could happen. 'I got a clear advantage but managed to
mess it up when I tried to convert it'. The Knight ending was played until
two bare Kings remained.
Rebel AEGON and FRITZ are among the pursuers. Rebel AEGON won
a terrific game against Larry Christiansen. FRITZ drasticly punished a
disastrous opening's set-up by Gert Jan de Boer.
ROUND 5
Tuesday April 16
All fans of human kind will be delighted that it is now certain that a
Carbon based lifeform will at the very least share victory in this 11th
AEGON chess tournament. Grandmasters John van der Wiel and Yasser
Seirawan are leading with just one more round to go a point ahead of the
top monster Quest. The computers lead the overall standings by 16
points. They won the fifth round by the narrowest margin: 25.5 - 24.5.
It is quite unusual for both participants to enjoy the game simultaneously.
But this is what happened to the programmers of Turning Point and
Rafael Vaganian. This new program is playing its first games here at
AEGON and had already impressed by scoring 3 points before today's
round. Vaganian bamboozled the computer with a nice pawn sacrifice.
Much to the programmers' and the grandmaster's amusement the
program thought the position to be equal due to a possible perpetual
check. However, all involved knew better. Turning Point swiftly got
mated.
John van der Wiel had to deal with a Petroff defense against Rebel
AEGON. It was rather exceptional that, according to Van der Wiel, 'the
computer outplayed me in theoretical knowledge'. For a long time Rebel
held its ground until one of the computer's weaker sides, the
horizon-effect, appeared. In its calculations it thought it was winning a
pawn. But it couldn't see far enough ahead. It met something nasty after
Van der Wiel had shed wood. A few moves later when it did become
clear to the computer, Van der Wiel already had an overwhelming
position.
Yasser Seirawan had a rather easy game against FRITZ. The computer
world champion blundered in the opening on move nine. It went by force
into an ending which practically speaking was completely lost. The
American grandmaster finished the job with his well-known precision
while entertaining the programmer by explaining his own thought proces
at the same time.
Roberto Cifuentes was stopped in his quest for the title by the
computer...Quest. The grandmaster was initially enjoying the game. 'With
every move I increased my positional advantage. I changed Queens for a
better pawn structure and won a pawn. Suddenly I woke up. I had two
moves. The professional, boring one which would win or the beauty that
goes for the gallery. I had a nice audience and choose the latter one`. It
was a mistake and Quest knew exactly how to draw.
The victories of Hans Ree on Hitech and Jonathan Speelman on MChess
were quite remarkable. Both computers went horribly wrong. Hitech
which `sees` about 100,000 positions a second overlooked mate in two,
while MChess turned a slightly better Knight ending into a lost one in one
move.
ROUND 6
Wednesday April 17
Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan is the proud winner of the 11th AEGON
chess tournament. He didn't lose a single game nor did he allow the
machines to get away with even half a point. Mankind has been saved.
The computers however won the overall standings convincingly.
Professor Jaap van den Herik's knowledgable prediction at the first day
of the event, was to the point. The machines did indeed win with the
terrific score of 162.5 - 137.5. However, on the top boards, the
grandmasters still proved to be superior over the technical monsters.
Occassionally a small?! accident happened but they scored a total of
41.5 points out of the six rounds, nearly 77 percent. This is even better
than the combined achievements of Anatoli Karpov, Jeroen Piket and Jan
Timman at the openings ceremony when they challenged the strongest
computers. Their result of 4.5 out of 6 equalled 75 percent.
The final round was exciting since two grandmasters were still fighting
for first place. Both of them had to play a Dutch chess program.
Yasser Seirawan was offered the opportunity to play one of his favorite
openings against Nightmare N. The computer did him a great favor by
castling right into Seirawan's attack. The computer's horizon didn't allow
it to realize that its King was busted after that. Two moves later its
evaluation went down rapidly. Now it saw how hopeless its position had
become. The programmer resigned on move 21.
John van der Wiel, winner of the AEGON tournament in 1991 and 1995,
had the best intentions to win this year as well. But against Quest
something went awry after the opening. The Dutchman had to exchange
the wrong Bishop which led to an unpleasant position. "The only way to
undertake something looked rather suicidal. I must admit I was tired but
not tired of life." Van der Wiel made a peace proposal on move 27.
Frans Morsch, Quest's programmer accepted with delight. Quest played
its best AEGON tournament ever. It won three times and drew three
times against grandmasters. It finished as the best computer with 4.5
points.
Seven grandmasters scored only three points. Their result was below
their expected score. Only Larry Christiansen and Rafael Vaganian won
against respectively FRITZ and Arthur. Jonathan Speelman and David
Bronstein found their equals in The King and Kallisto. While Hans Ree,
Roberto Cifuentes and Yona Kosashvili had to agree that Zarkov, Now
and Nimzo played superior this round.
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| Tim Mirabile <t...@mail.htp.com> |
| PGP Key ID: B7CE30D1 |
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