MVV/LVA and SEE - what do they mean?

[Peter Kappler]

Sorry for asking a dumb question, but it's clear that this has been
a long thread, and my news server doesn't have the previous articles.
Could someone please be kind enough to give a brief definition of SEE
and MVV/LVA? I've been working on a chess program for about a year
and a half, and these acronyms are new to me.

Thanks,
Peter Kappler

[Robert Hyatt]

In article <41t7u2$b...@kerb.computize.com>,

SEE=Static Exchange Evaluator. A procedure that looks at the pieces
bearing on a specific target square, and statically decides exactly how
much capturing the piece on that square will win or lose, without regards
to any other squares or pieces that might be hung while defending this
square.

MVV/LVA=Most Valuable Victim/Least Valuable Attacker, which means you
order capture moves based on capturing the most valuable piece under attack,
with the least valuable piece you have attacking that piece. It breaks
down if you have a pawn hanging, and a rook attacked by a queen, but
defended by anything. It would be better to take the pawn which is
undefended (and which SEE understands here) instead of first trying QxR
which loses material since the rook is defended. However, it's very
fast, and very simple to implement, particularly in hardware.

--
Robert Hyatt Computer and Information Sciences
hy...@cis.uab.edu University of Alabama at Birmingham
(205) 934-2213 115A Campbell Hall, UAB Station
(205) 934-5473 FAX Birmingham, AL 35294-1170