Chessmaster Diamond User Guide (English) ready for uploading

Discussion of anything and everything relating to chess playing software and machines.

Moderator: Ras

JonP01

Chessmaster Diamond User Guide (English) ready for uploading

Post by JonP01 »

Hi all,

I would just like to let you know that I have finished my English language User Guide for the RFT Chessmaster Diamond (with P10 and P11 modules). I first began work on this guide several years ago, however, upon coming back to it recently I realised there was quite a bit of information missing from it. The updated guide includes very detailed instructions on how to swap the modules, when to swap the modules, how to use both modules during Match (sudden death) mode, etc. Whilst it does not explain all there is to know about this machine, I believe it now covers all the essentials that users would ever need.

I stress that this is not an English translation of the German user manual. It seems that no one fluent in both German and English has tackled such a project, although admittedly such a translation might have taken many weeks if not months to do, given the complexity and highly technical nature of the original user manual.

I should point out that for anyone unfamiliar with this machine, it contains an extremely weak program, even with the enhanced program contained in the endgame module. I think some of this has to do with very limited search extensions for checks and captures (excluding swap offs). Because of this, even at 3 minutes per move it will often fall for simple two move traps because there might be an intervening check or delaying capture before a piece is lost.

Secondly, there seems to be a bug in the program that causes it to start playing suicidal moves for no reason whatsover. This generally occurs if it is about to lose a piece. It will attempt to throw away another piece simply to delay the loss of the first one!

Here is an example of what I mean. This was a test game I was playing against it this morning:

8 
7 
6 
5 
4 
3 
2 
1 
abcdefgh

r2q1rk1/pppn1ppp/3pb3/8/4P1nP/2QB1NB1/PPP2PP1/2K1R2R b - - 0 1

In the above position with Chessmaster Diamond as black, play continued:

1....Bxa2
2. b3 Nc5
3. Kb2 Nxf3


Thirdly, if a situation arises where it happens to be in a clearly winning position come the endgame, it will actually often attempt to seek a draw via three-fold repetition. And to make matters worse, if the opponent does not play ball in wishing to repeat the position, Chessmaster Diamond will still continue repeating the position for it's own colour, even if it means leaving pawns en prise. In every endgame I have seen where it actually had a won position, it would drop pawns for no reason at all, other than the fact that it was trying to repeat the position for it's own colour whilst the opponent went on attacking the undefended pawns. Interestingly, it does not always repeat these blunders if the position is set up from scratch, even though the levels are the same and the time taken to move is the same. Sad, but true, I have not seen this machine win one single game yet, even against my weakest 4K machine, all because of the above mentioned problems.

Still, if you have one of these machines or wish to acquire one, you can download this manual which explains how to operate it.

I will be emailing it to Alain Zanchetta over the next day or two, so I hope it should be available for download within the next week or so.


Glad this project is over Regards

Jonathan
JonP01

Re: Chessmaster Diamond User Guide (English) ready for uploa

Post by JonP01 »

Incidentally, as regards the three-fold position repetition issues, I am working on a theory that it might be related to the best move functionality. I'm thinking perhaps there is a bug that causes some sort of conflict between the evaluation criteria for attempting to achieve a three-fold repetition and the evaluation for what is the absolute best move (afterall, if the unit is only allowed to make the absolute best move it can think of, it is always going to play that same move in the same position regardless of the number of repetitions - but only of course if there is a bug in the evaluation associated with repetitions. Perhaps it even might get the evaluations the wrong way round and is mistaking itself for the opponent! So I am currently trying some games where "best move" is disabled.

So far I can't see that it's playing strength is weakened by doing this (and in actual fact the vast majority of my machines have some degree of randomisation by default - the Excalibur machines being a notable exception). It will be interesting to see if it helps the problem at all. If it were not for this problem the unit would have an equal score against my Novag star Beryl.
Steve B

Re: Chessmaster Diamond User Guide (English) ready for uploa

Post by Steve B »

hi Jon

great work that RFT Manual
now that you are updating it i can actually try for the first time to use the modules
:wink:

still cant believe your gonna make me wait to download it from Alains site though


Sheesh Regards
Steve
Sigh..
JonP01

Re: Chessmaster Diamond User Guide (English) ready for uploa

Post by JonP01 »

Hi Steve,

As an extra special gift just to you, I shall email it :wink: I wasn't aware you had not mucked about much with the different modules. The openings library is very good - lots of variety. The endgame cartirdge actually goes in from the very first move out of library, even though the cartridge's name would suggest otherwise. I have thoroughly tested the unit with the endgame cartridge right from the opening, and it does indeed make the unit play stronger even from the very first move. Which is just as well! :? There is something very endearing about having to insert and remove cartridges all the time and press many buttons in a scrupulously orchestrated sequence just to get this baby to sing. This is labour intensive automation at it's best. I've been trying to find the punchcard recepticle but no luck so far :wink:

I have just completed a game where it played my Star Beryl (Beryl at 1 minute per move and Diamond at 3 minutes per move, since I wanted to see what happens when this thing gets an advantageous position). I am happy to say that Diamond won, actually played very well and no horrible bugs rearing their ugly heads. This was with "best" move disabled.

It would be nice to think this solves the problem, but this is seeimingly one very cantankerous chess program. In any event...



You'll be pressing down more keys than in the Diabelli Variations Regards


Jonathan
Steve B

Re: Chessmaster Diamond User Guide (English) ready for uploa

Post by Steve B »

thanks Jon for emailing it

thanks also for this great review/analysis/study of the RFT CMDiamond for us
a classic Holz schachcomputer for which there is virtually nothing written about in the English language
not only the manual.. but anything in general

Arrow slanted down and to the left Regards
http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/in ... isplay.jpg
Steve
JonP01

Re: Chessmaster Diamond User Guide (English) ready for uploa

Post by JonP01 »

Hi Steve,

Well I do wish I could have had some better things to say about the actual program, but when all is said and done it still plays chess far, far better than any program I could hope to write.

And it does have it's good points. Whilst tactically very weak it gives an impression of having short term plans. For example, building up pressure on a particular point in the opponent's position. Most other weak programs, on the other hand can sit there doing absolutely nothing at all if the position is not tactical. Plus it does show good positional sense. And if those endgame bugs don't surface, then it's endgame is very much above par in relation to it's peers.

When one considers that the program can only examine something in the order of 30 positions per second on average, I guess one has to be impressed that it can play passable chess at all. It would actually play much better if the processor had been an 8 Mhz Z80 equivalent rather than the 4 Mhz one. This is a case of where the processor improvement would be more than the sum of it's parts. In any case, it would be very interesting to match this machine up against something like the very first Mephisto Brikette.

The machine is also distinguished by it's superb build quality. In my opinion it is at least the equal of any holz Mephisto - perhaps even better because it uses hall sensors rather than reed switches.

Telling it like it is Regards

Jonathan
Steve B

Re: Chessmaster Diamond User Guide (English) ready for uploa

Post by Steve B »

JonP01 wrote:Hi Steve,

Well I do wish I could have had some better things to say about the actual program, but when all is said and done it still plays chess far, far better than any program I could hope to write.


Jonathan
Wiki shows the lead programmer of the RFT Cmaster and Cmaster Diamond to be an East German by the name of Rüdiger Worbs
i doubt this guys ever programmed any other chess computers and i dont really know how good he was to begin with
he probably wound up in a Gulog somewhere before the Berlin wall fell

of course the other two RFT computers the SC1 and SC2 were Ron Nelson clones

DDR Regards
Steve
Alainza

Re: Chessmaster Diamond User Guide (English) ready for uploa

Post by Alainza »

Hi Steve,
Steve B wrote:hi Jon

great work that RFT Manual
now that you are updating it i can actually try for the first time to use the modules
:wink:

still cant believe your gonna make me wait to download it from Alains site though


Sheesh Regards
Steve
Sigh..
it is available now regards,

Alain
JonP01

Re: Chessmaster Diamond User Guide (English) ready for uploa

Post by JonP01 »

I have just finished my final tests on the Chessmaster Diamond program. Unfortunately disabling best move has no effect on the three-fold repetition issues. In 4 test games where Chessmaster Diamond achieved won endgame positions (it's own evaluations of these positions were between +2.0 and +4.0 - an evaluation that HIARCS on my Palm agreed with), it did whatever was possible to force a three-fold repetition of the position. If it fails to get a three-fold repetition the first try, it will just keep trying and trying and trying and trying...even though there is a clear way to win with proper play. But one can't really award the game to Diamond at this point beause the win is still many moves away and it would still be possible for it to make a mistake or get outplayed.

If the relevant positions are set up from scratch, it does not attempt to find a draw, but after perhaps 6 moves, it will again try to seek a draw via repetition.

So there are some serious issues with this program and I can truthfully say that it is one of the very few machines I have tried that seems incapable of winning a game unless it is so far ahead in materal that it almost walks into a mating net or a clear forced mate sequence. Either that or you have to keep setting the position up from scratch every 6 moves or so.

Whilst this is of course very disappointing, this experience does have an upside. It makes the stalemate bug in the Saitek Maestro look very insignificant indeed. At least the Saitek bug only strikes on the very last move in the game, after the Maestro has announced (correctly) the forced mate.