(1) I was thinking more of opening books, I would think a tablebase is more of a calculating device, so no different from an engine, so we're probably not disagreeing.
(2) Good!
Actually it is really enjoyable beating someone at CC when they have obviously just believed the software...
Engine and database use in Correspondence Chess
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Re: Engine and database use in Correspondence Chess
A tablebase is not a calculating device; it is more like looking up a logarithm table. (If such things are ever used nowadays.)Kevin Thurlow wrote: ↑Sun Sep 30, 2018 5:09 pm(1) ... I would think a tablebase is more of a calculating device, so no different from an engine, so we're probably not disagreeing.
An engine operating without a tablebase in a 7-man (or fewer-man) ending is often wrong, saying +3 in certain types of positional draw for example. A correctly constructed tablebase says Win or Draw, and indicates a move that brings about that result.
If there is a unique winning/drawing move, it shows that. In a position where the outcome is a clear draw or win, it may suggest a totally silly move which would not be the best practical chance in an over the board game.
Tim Harding
Historian and FIDE Arbiter
Author of 'Steinitz in London,' British Chess Literature to 1914', 'Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography', and 'Eminent Victorian Chess Players'
http://www.chessmail.com
Historian and FIDE Arbiter
Author of 'Steinitz in London,' British Chess Literature to 1914', 'Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography', and 'Eminent Victorian Chess Players'
http://www.chessmail.com