TalkChess.com

They are about the science of computer Chess. Unlimited options - no constraints as in the basement/garage/home tournaments and we play full
games so bugs in your endgame code will be revealed.

The science of computer Chess is what advances the field. In the next ACCA, some will be using 24 cores and 32 cores and 20 or more GB of hash. I will be using a new
algorithm that I created for distributed computing and will be using at least 6 computers that will contain 24 or more processors total. You can't do this kind of
testing and advance the state of the science with the basement tournaments.

On top of that, the strength of your program is not an issue. You'll be in a live online chat with the other authors of a wide range of experiences. Any problems
you are having they have had and fixed before.

CRoberson wrote:They are about the science of computer Chess. Unlimited options - no constraints as in the basement/garage/home tournaments and we play full
games so bugs in your endgame code will be revealed.

Good one, thanks.
Fact is your pathetic tournament has absolutely nothing to offer except for this desperate advertisement, flame war in another thread and made up "rules".

On top of that, the strength of your program is not an issue. You'll be in a live online chat with the other authors of a wide range of experiences. Any problems
you are having they have had and fixed before.

Wait, I know this. I can chat with other authors in those "basement tournaments". A bit more often than once in a year.
People who test our engines frequently deserve a lot more respect.
So, what are you advertising really?

mar wrote:

CRoberson wrote:They are about the science of computer Chess. Unlimited options - no constraints as in the basement/garage/home tournaments and we play full
games so bugs in your endgame code will be revealed.

Good one, thanks.
Fact is your pathetic tournament has absolutely nothing to offer except for this desperate advertisement, flame war in another thread and made up "rules".

No need to be rude...

By the way, I agree with Charles, there are lots of good things about live online tournaments. In fact, they are the ones I enjoy the most, by a long long stretch. Different people have different tastes.

On top of that, the strength of your program is not an issue. You'll be in a live online chat with the other authors of a wide range of experiences. Any problems
you are having they have had and fixed before.

Wait, I know this. I can chat with other authors in those "basement tournaments". A bit more often than once in a year.

HGM's are monthly.

Miguel

People who test our engines frequently deserve a lot more respect.
So, what are you advertising really?

There is no reason to be negative about either type of event. (And I have not seen a flame war about this one.) Both have their place, and both can be fun. I immensely liked ChessWar, which qualifies as a home tourney, but had a good and well-visited chat. The monthly on-line blitz is also always a very pleasant event.

An on-line event typically is a bit more 'intense', because all games are played simultaneously. So as a participant, your engine is playing all the time, and you don't have to wait a day or so for your next game. For the audience it often means they observe multiple games at the same time. You are done in one evening or two days, rather than dragging it out for a month or more.

As to 'rules', I think there is no real difference. Any tournament needs rules, and these are always 'made up' by the one that organizes it. The difference is that in a home tourney the rules might not be made public; the one who conducts it just applies them as he sees fit.

michiguel wrote:No need to be rude...

No need to belittle other tournaments.

To be fair to Charles, he pops into TLCV quite frequently to watch Ares playing in tournaments that I run.

As stated though, there is a place for all kinds of tournaments, and those run by home testers can still provide valuable information to the engine authors.

mar wrote:

michiguel wrote:No need to be rude...

No need to belittle other tournaments.

Nobody belittled any other tournaments. I stated facts: there are things that can't be tested by the basement tournaments. These types of events allow
the testing of those things. Many times new people have entered the online events and found bugs that never revealed themselves in the basement tournaments.

I suppose it is possible that you found the term basement tournament derogatory. It is not meant that way; the term has been in use for over a
decade to describe those types of events. It makes more sense than garage, due to basements are normally cooler than garages and computers don't like
heat.

Over a decade back, the online events tested multiprocessor algorithms and some people thought that was useless, because most people didn't have such
computers in their homes. Those events led to all being ready when the rest of the people bought multiprocessor computers. There still seems to be people here that think
the entire forum is about what they can put on their computer in their home right now. The forum is about the past, present and future of computer Chess.

Houses here typically do not have basements. (Swampy soil...) So for me they are usually 'attic tournaments'!