3 ms·

I have a few ML-related demos on my blog that I created in school to help me to understand some fundamental concepts. I have pointed to them during interviews a

by salamo 4y ago

I have a few ML-related demos on my blog that I created in school to help me to understand some fundamental concepts. I have pointed to them during interviews and I think they helped to demonstrate a depth of knowledge that words alone could not.

pncnmnp 4y ago
Hey, I enjoyed reading your article on Alphabet Chess (https://lukesalamone.github.io/posts/alphabet-chess/ https://lukesalamone.github.io/posts/alphabet-chess/). The idea seems quite unique, but I can understand how it could lead to positions where the engine may consider the position to be almost equal, but it could be objectively worse for one of the players. It would be interesting to compare this variant with Fischer Random Chess. According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer_random_chess#White's_advantage) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer_random_chess#White's_a..., > It has been argued that two games should be played from each starting position, with players alternating colors, since the advantage offered to White in some initial positions may be greater than in classical chess. However, ..... on average a Fischer Random starting position is 22.2% less unbalanced than the standard starting position. Here's a Reddit post from October 2022 (https://old.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/yeregq/fischer_random_all_960_starting_positions/ https://old.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/yeregq/fischer_rando...) that states the following: > Mean centipawn advantage for white - 36.82 Standard deviation - 13.79 Most "unfair" positions with +0.79 advantage If I am interpreting your diagram correctly, it appears that Fischer Random Chess provides more balanced positions.
- salamo 4y ago
  Hey, thanks for reading my post, I'm glad you liked it! I would say the purpose of alphabet chess is to be unequal, but in a semi-predictable way. That's why streamers will use the "egg opening": it puts them at a disadvantage and brings everyone out of "book". > positions where the engine may consider the position to be almost equal, but it could be objectively worse for one of the players That is a good point, centipawns aren't the best metric for the subjective experience of playing. Engines are really good at defending, finding the "only move" defense where a human will struggle. And the mental work of finding "only moves" is pretty taxing. If you put someone under that kind of pressure for long enough, they will break. The analysis is also flawed because it doesn't take into account the fact that the opponent is also playing a word. If I know that my opponent must play a "G" move on his next turn, I should play a move to take advantage of that fact. Stockfish's game tree is not eliminating impossible moves and will tend to overrate the opponent's position. (As a concrete example, suppose I can make a move M1 where the opponent's only move to not lose immediately is an F move, but if the opponent plays it they are at an advantage. In this situation the opponent must play a G move, a fact which a human might be able to guess. Stockfish will not play M1, but instead play a different move M2 that at least maintains equality. So the stockfish evaluation is pretty flawed.)

by salamo 4y ago

pncnmnp 4y ago

Hey, I enjoyed reading your article on Alphabet Chess (https://lukesalamone.github.io/posts/alphabet-chess/ https://lukesalamone.github.io/posts/alphabet-chess/). The idea seems quite unique, but I can understand how it could lead to positions where the engine may consider the position to be almost equal, but it could be objectively worse for one of the players. It would be interesting to compare this variant with Fischer Random Chess. According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer_random_chess#White's_advantage) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer_random_chess#White's_a..., > It has been argued that two games should be played from each starting position, with players alternating colors, since the advantage offered to White in some initial positions may be greater than in classical chess. However, ..... on average a Fischer Random starting position is 22.2% less unbalanced than the standard starting position. Here's a Reddit post from October 2022 (https://old.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/yeregq/fischer_random_all_960_starting_positions/ https://old.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/yeregq/fischer_rando...) that states the following: > Mean centipawn advantage for white - 36.82 Standard deviation - 13.79 Most "unfair" positions with +0.79 advantage If I am interpreting your diagram correctly, it appears that Fischer Random Chess provides more balanced positions.

salamo 4y ago
Hey, thanks for reading my post, I'm glad you liked it! I would say the purpose of alphabet chess is to be unequal, but in a semi-predictable way. That's why streamers will use the "egg opening": it puts them at a disadvantage and brings everyone out of "book". > positions where the engine may consider the position to be almost equal, but it could be objectively worse for one of the players That is a good point, centipawns aren't the best metric for the subjective experience of playing. Engines are really good at defending, finding the "only move" defense where a human will struggle. And the mental work of finding "only moves" is pretty taxing. If you put someone under that kind of pressure for long enough, they will break. The analysis is also flawed because it doesn't take into account the fact that the opponent is also playing a word. If I know that my opponent must play a "G" move on his next turn, I should play a move to take advantage of that fact. Stockfish's game tree is not eliminating impossible moves and will tend to overrate the opponent's position. (As a concrete example, suppose I can make a move M1 where the opponent's only move to not lose immediately is an F move, but if the opponent plays it they are at an advantage. In this situation the opponent must play a G move, a fact which a human might be able to guess. Stockfish will not play M1, but instead play a different move M2 that at least maintains equality. So the stockfish evaluation is pretty flawed.)