I was referring to matches against pro players. It's going to be a while before
a computer can win even games against pros, therefore we must assume that any
such matches will involve the program taking a handicap.
My personal preference is the strongest possible opponent. When reviewing games
that I have won against computer programs, I find that tweaking just one
computer move would often destroy my position; hence, I was getting false
feedback, believing my position to be superior when in fact it was terribly
weak.
Play against devastatingly strong opponents (from my point of view) has
motivated me to discover (and hopefully repair) weaknesses in my reading
skills. Playing against opponents of my level only encourages me to be a little
trickier - to push problems beyond the horizon of my opponent's skills (and
often my own).
Terry McIntyre <terrymcint...@yahoo.com>
Any system of entrusting the government to judge and correct its own abuses is
the same as appointing the accused criminal as his own judge and jury: don't
expect many convictions.
-- Allen Thornton, Laws of the Jungle
________________________________
From: David Fotland <fotl...@smart-games.com>
To: computer-go <computer-go@computer-go.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 7, 2009 11:06:37 AM
Subject: RE: [computer-go] bots and handicaps (Re: New CGOS)
I can’t really agree with this statement. My customers tell me
they would much rather play a challenging even game against an opponent of
their level, than a challenging handicap game against a much stronger or much
weaker opponent. This is why version 12 of Many Faces has levels that are
calibrated
to be about 3 stones apart, so there is always a level that does not require a
handicap, unless you are weaker than 20 kyu or stronger than 1 dan.
Until computer programs rise to the level of even play against pros,
human-computer matches will be handicap games. It makes sense to develop the
ability to play handicap games well. It would be sad if a program with a seven
stone handicap frittered away its advantage instead of hoarding it jealously.
Terry McIntyre
<terrymcint...@yahoo.com>
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