Schooner Version 2.2 Release

[Damir]

Any idea how to create Schooner as UCI engine? I see it is using Winboard/Xboard protocol which I am unfamiliar with...

Any tips that can be helpful to me step by step ?

[tmokonen]

Any idea how to create Schooner as UCI engine? I see it is using Winboard/Xboard protocol which I am unfamiliar with...

Any tips that can be helpful to me step by step ?

Schooner 2.2 has native UCI support.

[Damir]

ohh ok. I just read in the readme file that it is Winboard Xboard engine.

[tmokonen]

ohh ok. I just read in the readme file that it is Winboard Xboard engine.

Yeah, originally it was winboard/xboard only, but the latest versions support UCI as well. Dennis does recommend running it as a winboard engine, but from what I have read before you use the Fritz interface, so I guess you would have to use UCI in that case.

[Rebel]

Ok, you are right. I ve missed the latest statement from Ed Schroeder. Sorry for that.

Yes, my bad.

I corrected the main list, was able to add more engines (among them Vajolet, Laser, Chiron) due to some MEA changes by Ferdy.

The correct list for Schooner is at - http://rebel13.nl/html/schooner.html

[D Sceviour]

ohh ok. I just read in the readme file that it is Winboard Xboard engine.

Yeah, originally it was winboard/xboard only, but the latest versions support UCI as well. Dennis does recommend running it as a winboard engine, but from what I have read before you use the Fritz interface, so I guess you would have to use UCI in that case.

I added UCI support as a courtesy for those who cannot access xboard protocol GUI's. However, xboard has far more features. You can find some of them in the console by entering "help".

[Gary Internet]

FastGM's 10+6 list says that Schooner 2.2 is now the 7th best AB engine out there. Better than Fizbo, Andscacs, Laser, Defenchess, Fritz and Shredder. 65 Elo improvement. Nice going It would be really good to see it particpating in TCEC and CCC, provided it can run on Linux and cope with big hardware.

http://fastgm.de/10min.html

[D Sceviour]

FastGM's 10+6 list says that Schooner 2.2 is now the 7th best AB engine out there. Better than Fizbo, Andscacs, Laser, Defenchess, Fritz and Shredder. 65 Elo improvement. Nice going It would be really good to see it particpating in TCEC and CCC, provided it can run on Linux and cope with big hardware.

http://fastgm.de/10min.html

Schooner 2.2 was expected to be about the same strength as Laser, but it is not even close to the big three. Schooner might be the strongest CECP xboard engine. That is correct that Schooner is an alpha/beta engine. I have a lot of new ideas still yet to try, but there are no plans to get involved with NN or GPU's.

Schooner is tested on a 16/32 core i9. This has helped testing easier and progress faster than a 4-core. There is no BMI2 instruction build though. There was no apparent gain in doing so. I am still not sure whether the BMI2 failure is the i9 native hardware, or the software.

The Windows and Linux executables are posted free for entertainment purposes, and to share with other chess programming enthusiasts. I have no interest in tournament competition at this time, although I still play on Graham Banks tourney's and the monthly ICS.

[Gary Internet]

Denis, although you have no interest in tournament play, would you be upset if TCEC or CCC downloaded Schooner from the website and used it in tournament play without consulting you?

[D Sceviour]

Denis, although you have no interest in tournament play, would you be upset if TCEC or CCC downloaded Schooner from the website and used it in tournament play without consulting you?

There is no way to stop anyone from posting material about chess engines on other domains. In the case of TCEC and CCC, they do ask permission from the authors before posting, and that is good. However, they expect participation from the authors. Schooner is a private engine. I am not part of a development team other than the general chess programming community. Additional support and consultation is not always available. Therefore, tentatively I would say TCEC and CCC should not use the engine without consultation.

There are domains such as fastgm.de that post results without permission of the authors. The test results from fastgm.de are fine because it is shown for entertainment purposes and there is no malicious or discourteous intent. Many thanks. However, I recommend that all domain operators receive permission from chess authors before posting test or tournament results. For example, Graham Banks achieves this by sending an email to the engine authors before beginning a tournament on CCRL.

To the friends of Schooner: I would like to hear your comments and suggestions about someone else running and supporting Schooner on other sites. There may be unforeseen problems. In the case of TCEC and CCC, they need someone available for additional support.