Arasan 18.0

[jdart]

Arasan 18.0 is available from http://www.arasanchess.org.

Changes in Arasan 18.0:
1) Add refutation table, similar to Gull & Rodent. This is global and
refutations are produced in the phase of move generation after killers.
2) Major restructuring to support automated parameter tuning. Internal
scores are now in millipawns (1/1000 pawn).
3) Changes to material balance scoring: in particular, better evaluation
of some "near draw" situations.
4) Detect K vs K+B+wrong color pawns as draw with >1 pawn (on same file).
5) When in UCI analysis mode, output a move even in legal draw situations
(except stalemate).
6) Changes to reduced-strength mode. Instead of randomizing eval, now
at low strength settings the program will select sub-optimal moves
occasionally.
7) Changes to time management when search fails low.
8) Changes to king safety scoring and tuning of related parameters.
9) Change conditions for static null pruning and razoring. Adjust
razor margins.
10) LMR changes: reduce only by full ply increments. Adjust LMR
reduction formula.
11) Replace eval-dependent null depth reduction with a strictly depth-
dependent formula.
12) Fix GUI bug: changing strength setting during a game was not working.

This version is measurably stronger than 17.5 in my testing, but not by a large amount.

--Jon

[Sean Evans]

Hi, why not release it under iOS and Android?

[jdart]

I don't even have an iOS device and have limited experience with Android development. The source is available, feel free to roll your own.

--Jon

[fern]

Thank you Jon. As always I will play your engine, each day stronger and stronger. Maybe one of these days it will the full point against me ..

joking...

Fern

[Sean Evans]

I don't even have an iOS device and have limited experience with Android development. The source is available, feel free to roll your own.

--Jon

Umm... your engine your roll.

[Frank Quisinsky]

Hi Jon,

oh wonderful.
Need new test material or I can't sleeping!



I will start the test next week, around Tuesday!
Thanks again for your work all the years and the new version.

Best
Frank

[Graham Banks]

Arasan 18.0 is available from http://www.arasanchess.org....

Thanks Jon. I'll put it into Division 3 shortly.

[Sean Evans]

John, why did you originally write Arasan and why do you keep updating the program?

If your answer is so humans can play against it your PC version is a waste of time. No humans can beat Arasan on modern PC hardware anymore. Your best option is to put use the platforms iOS and Android, so people can play it on their mobile tablets and cell phones. These are the devices humans play chess programs on, not Windows for PC's.

Thanks,

Sean

[Henrik Dinesen]

John, why did you originally write Arasan and why do you keep updating the program?

If your answer is so humans can play against it your PC version is a waste of time. No humans can beat Arasan on modern PC hardware anymore. Your best option is to put use the platforms iOS and Android, so people can play it on their mobile tablets and cell phones. These are the devices humans play chess programs on, not Windows for PC's.

Thanks,

Sean

Guess I'm not human then

Henrik

[Sean Evans]

John, why did you originally write Arasan and why do you keep updating the program?

If your answer is so humans can play against it your PC version is a waste of time. No humans can beat Arasan on modern PC hardware anymore. Your best option is to put use the platforms iOS and Android, so people can play it on their mobile tablets and cell phones. These are the devices humans play chess programs on, not Windows for PC's.

Thanks,

Sean

Guess I'm not human then

Henrik

Henrik less than one-percent of the population of chess players would have even a chance at beating Arasan on an Intel iCore 7, so stop fibbing

No on would use Arasan as an analysis engine when K9 and SF are available, it would make a great addition to iOS and Android, that is certainly the future for mid-strength engines

Thanks

Sean