Limit the number of moves ahead Chessmaster looks when it analyzes a game? Or if not, is there another engine that can import Chessmaster games that has this feature?

I know it's great that Chessmaster can see mate in 12, but that is far beyond my abilities. Once upon a time, I was probably about a 1200 player. Now I vary between 800-950 playing against the Chessmaster personalities (actually, I vary between about 50 and 950 depending on what it thinks my rating is when I log on, but that's a different issue...).

I believe if I could consistently see 3 moves ahead, I would greatly improve my game. And as I don't think I've ever seen either a CM personality or a human opponent on CM Live follow CM's line farther that that anyway, it seems a good number to me.

Sorry for rambling. To get back to the original question, I'd like to be able to have a game analyzed with an engine looking only 3 moves ahead when it makes it decisions and rating the moves. Is that possible?

I could be wrong, but I don't think that's possible under Chessmaster. The only thing available is to limit the number of seconds that Chessmaster spends analyzing each move.

quote:

Originally posted by KHollister:
I could be wrong, but I don't think that's possible under Chessmaster. The only thing available is to limit the number of seconds that Chessmaster spends analyzing each move.

Are there any other chess engines that can import chessmaster games that could do this?

Even if I set the time down as low as 3 seconds it still looks many moves ahead.

Chess evaluation is based in lines not in the number of moves...but I don't understand where is the problem:you can just look to the first three moves and ignore long term plans!

quote:

Originally posted by roaringking87:
Chess evaluation is based in lines not in the number of moves...but I don't understand where is the problem:you can just look to the first three moves and ignore long term plans!

I suppose I could do that. This thing is just frustrating me more and more.

I loaded up some saved games that I had played online here and gave it 30 seconds to analyze each move. Then when I go back and try the lines it suggests, I get the blunder alert going off :roll:

There is a way you could limit it to only look 3 moves ahead, but your whole concept is totally wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by ebutaljib:
There is a way you could limit it to only look 3 moves ahead, but your whole concept is totally wrong.

Could you enlighten me as to how to do this please?

quote:

Originally posted by ebutaljib:
There is a way you could limit it to only look 3 moves ahead, but your whole concept is totally wrong.

Well don't leave us hanging...

Tell us...

Please...


Damn, you were about 10 secs too quick for me mouser...

Game--Set up personality

Select the Chessmaster personality and set 'maximum depth' to 6 plies (= half moves = 3 moves). I suggest you set selective search to 0 (since it will look only 3 moves ahead it may as well go through all 3 moves combinations)

Save the personality.

Close Chessmaster.

Go to C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Chessmaster Grandmaster edition\Data\Users\YOURNAME folder and open the YOURNAME.ini file.

Under [mentor] add the line

personality=PERS_NAME


where PERS_NAME is the name of the personality that you want to use for all mentor features (Game Analysis, Advice, Solve for Mate and the Mentor Lines window).



As I mentioned, your whole concept is totally wrong and Chessmaster will just suggest bad moves (because the game ends for him after those 3 moves)

Ok, I set up a personality called Mentor, changed maximum depth and selective search as you selected, and added the line personality=Mentor in the .ini file. I left the book and rating as it came (Chessmaster's book and rating).

If I'm understanding you correctly, all the other personalities will play as they always have, but the post game mentor analysis will now only look 3 moves deep.

If I want to change this later, I can do so by just going back to mentor and changing the max depth, say to 10 for 5 moves.

Is that correct?

Edit: I understand what you are saying about it suggesting poorer moves, but suggesting moves based on factors that I will never be able to consider in a game situation isn't really helping me either. If (when?) my calculating skills improve, then I can go back and increase the depth of the analysis - if I understand all this.

This procedure only affects mentor features, everything else is the same. A dumb down Chessmaster is your mentor now

If you want to revert it to normal, then just delete that personality= line from your ini file.


If you want to increase the depth to 5 moves, then justr edit the "mentor" personality and set the depth to 10. You don't have to do anything else.


Modify your mentor personality however you please and the settings will take afect immediatelly.

quote:

Originally posted by ebutaljib:
This procedure only affects mentor features, everything else is the same. A dumb down Chessmaster is your mentor now

If you want to revert it to normal, then just delete that personality= line from your ini file.


If you want to increase the depth to 5 moves, then justr edit the "mentor" personality and set the depth to 10. You don't have to do anything else.


Modify your mentor personality however you please and the settings will take afect immediatelly.

Thank you much for the help

Ok, I've tried it and had it reanalyze games I already had printed out. Performed as expected, giving 3 move lines when suggesting other moves.

It also doesn't take nearly the time it can. I set it for 30 secs/move (same as the original analysis) but it hardly takes 3. But the moves suggestions aren't very different - though I understand that just one misplaced move can cost the game, or at least greatly weaken your position.

Now for another question if I may:

What do those functions under personalities mean? The manual doesn't mention them at all, help in the game just prints out the manual, and I can't seem to find the information by googling.

Specifically, what does selective search do?

I notice Chessmaster is set at 14, while the max is 16, but you say 0 makes it look at all possibilites. The only references I can find refer to 9000, but none of them really explain what it is or what it does.

And is there a place online somewhere that contains all these nuggets of wisdom? (I suppose explaining sliders in the game in the game's manual was too obvious or something - sorry, getting cynical again).

Thanks again for your help.

It uses only a couple of seconds because that is how long it takes for a computer to calculate all 6 plies combinations. It has nothing more to do so it goes forward. If you would play against this personality it would always move after a couple of seconds no matter what time controls are. That is also why opponents rated below 1000 (and some higherr rated ones) move instantly - because they have a very limited maximum depth.


Most of the settings are self explanatory.

"selective search" means selective search When set to zero it will calculate all possible variations, even the obviously bad ones. This is called brute force (in reality Chessmaster doesn't perform true brute force calculation even if selective search is set to 0). With selective serch it will discard the bad lines and will only calculate the potentially good lines - thus reaching the greater depth as in brute force aproach. It can happen that sometimes an engine will dismiss a good move which at first glance looks bad, but in long term selective search outperforms brute force. You can read more about it here.


"Contempt for draw" decides how likely the personality is to draw the game. If set to maximum (to the right) it will take draw even when its evaluation is in it's favour. If moved to the left it will refuse the draw even in worse position.


"Transposition table" also known as hashtables. You can set how much RAM you assign to the engine. Computer stores the calculated variations into the hashtable and retrieves them if needed. For todays computers the hashtables are set really low. You can slide it up to maximum 256 MB - but even that is ridicouslly low. (computer freaks play with 2 or 4 GB hash in the engine room on playchess)


"Pondering"
If pondering is off the engine calculates only when it is it's turn. If ponder is set on, it will calculate on opponents time too.


"Endgame databases" also known as tablebases
It is similary then the opening book, but it is used in the endgame. When there are very little pieces on the board (5 or less, including kings) it will play perfectly from the tablebases (it will announce mate in 27 or something like that).



I believe other parameters are self explanatory.