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GUI question: Asymmetric time control

Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 10:44 pm
by rainhaus
Hi everyone,
ATC, I thought that was a basic option.
I am looking for a GUI where you can set individual time controls for each engine (UCI) in a match or tournament. So Shredder plays for example 40/20' and Stockfish with 5' Blitz. As far as I can see, it's not possible in Fritz and Arena. But it would be a good thing for testing and experimenting.
rn

Re: GUI question: Asymmetric time control

Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 10:50 pm
by Ozymandias
Maybe cutechess (the command line version does have that option).

Re: GUI question: Asymmetric time control

Posted: Sat May 19, 2018 11:49 pm
by pferd
I think Aquarium had an option to use asymmetric time controls, but I have not used it in three years...

Re: GUI question: Asymmetric time control

Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 2:20 am
by Matthias Gemuh
ChessGUI has it.

Re: GUI question: Asymmetric time control

Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 8:18 am
by peter
Hi Rainer!
rainhaus wrote: Sat May 19, 2018 10:44 pm As far as I can see, it's not possible in Fritz and Arena.
In Fritz you can add up to 200% for one side and in Arena you can define an engine's strenght in percentage. (Engine Management-Details-Special) Arena mangages this strenght-percentage by correcting the given TC for the chosen engine accordingly.

Re: GUI question: Asymmetric time control

Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 4:49 pm
by rainhaus
Ozymandias, Pferd and Matthias, thank you for your recommendations. As a dependent window(s)-junkie I always look for more comfortable alternatives before I go to the command line:)
I discovered the Aquarium 2010 in my dusty collection. There is actually an option "Some time for both players", where you can set any time control for each engine. Now I also know why the term asymmetric time control has stuck with me. This GUI is installed immediately, even if only the 3-5-men Nalimov work.

Re: GUI question: Asymmetric time control

Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 4:59 pm
by rainhaus
peter wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 8:18 am Hi Rainer!
rainhaus wrote: Sat May 19, 2018 10:44 pm As far as I can see, it's not possible in Fritz and Arena.
In Fritz you can add up to 200% for one side and in Arena you can define an engine's strenght in percentage. (Engine Management-Details-Special) Arena mangages this strenght-percentage by correcting the given TC for the chosen engine accordingly.
Hi Peter,
Well, this is a misunderstanding, so it's good that you mention these possibilities. The authors of Fritz and Arena probably also thought that there are enough options and parameters to preset a different playing strength of the engines. But I am in fact interested in the variable "type of time control". I would like to test the playing strength depending on the different types of time management. I hope to be able to present results soon, since this is possible with the programmes mentioned.

Re: GUI question: Asymmetric time control

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 7:33 pm
by hgm
WinBoard / XBoard allows you to specify time odds per engine, so that they get different times. I never saw any use for allowing the engines to play with different TC mode, though (e.g. sudden death vs. classical). Is there any use case for that?

Re: GUI question: Asymmetric time control

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 9:48 pm
by Matthias Gemuh
hgm wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 7:33 pm .... I never saw any use for allowing the engines to play with different TC mode, though (e.g. sudden death vs. classical). Is there any use case for that?
I thought about such a feature years ago for ChessGUI, but found it nonsensical. :wink: :roll:

Re: GUI question: Asymmetric time control

Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 12:08 am
by Leto
rainhaus wrote: Sat May 19, 2018 10:44 pm Hi everyone,
ATC, I thought that was a basic option.
I am looking for a GUI where you can set individual time controls for each engine (UCI) in a match or tournament. So Shredder plays for example 40/20' and Stockfish with 5' Blitz. As far as I can see, it's not possible in Fritz and Arena. But it would be a good thing for testing and experimenting.
rn
In Fritz you can give one engine up to 200% time advantage, but strangely this can only be done in the engine match section, not the tournament section. This means you are limited to just a one versus one. I'd personally find asymmetric time control in the tournament section of the Fritz GUI very useful, alas I doubt it'd ever happen.