Nepo Adds Supercomputer to his WCC Team

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  • Nepo Adds Supercomputer to his WCC Team

    Nepo Adds Supercomputer to his WCC Team

    May 12, 2021

    From Leonard Barden in the Financial Times

    https://www.ft.com/content/8252e228-...8-d40e2cdcbaa4

    Ian Nepomniachtchi, the 30-year-old Muscovite who will challenge Magnus Carlsen for his world crown, has added a supercomputer to his team as the Russian chess champion aims for a glittering prize.

    Nepomniachtchi will have help from the Zhores supercomputer at the Skoltech Institute in Moscow, founded in partnership with MIT. World title matches often produce a narrow opening repertoire, like the Berlin Wall of Garry Kasparov vs Kramnik in 2002 and the Sveshnikov of Carlsen vs Fabiano Caruana in 2018. In these conditions, the computer comes into its own.

    Candidates Tournament success for Nepomniachtchi was down to his coping well with surprises in the first half, then avoiding defeat in the second half. In a recent interview, he also gives some homely advice: “Keep cool, chill, play some good chess and try not to be affected by emotions.”

  • #2
    To me it is a sad day in chess, when the WCC might be decided by which side uses the best Supercomputer.

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    • #3
      Well at least its out in the open. I wonder why that particular one? Probably because of sponsorship?

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      • #4
        He already used it to prepare for the candidates.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Ian Findlay View Post
          To me it is a sad day in chess, when the WCC might be decided by which side uses the best Supercomputer.
          Chess has had a memory component for a long time .Anand's mother realized this long ago.

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          • #6
            I think that one of the problems with the computer programs becoming so strong is that as soon as a player is out of his computer book he fears that his opponent might still be in his and as a result will look immediately for simplifications that tend to lead to draws rather than risk complications that might walk into a shot that the other computer may have found. We need to move to Fischerandom with the players not knowing the starting position until they sit down to play.

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            • #7
              Key to the success of chess (as a whole) is its ability to adapt.






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              • #8
                Originally posted by Neil Frarey View Post
                Key to the success of chess (as a whole) is its ability to adapt.
                That's quite interesting, there are 2 words there that need defining: "success" and "adapt".

                What is success in what you call "chess (as a whole)"?
                Is it just numbers of players in FIDE-rated tournaments worldwide?

                I'm involved in another thread here about chess problem composition. Can success in chess somehow be related to that topic?

                Does adaptation involve some new rule or rules? Brad Thomson suggested FischerRandom chess, I'm assuming he meant it to become the new standard chess. Would that bring success? Or would it take more than that?

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Pargat Perrer View Post
                  Brad Thomson suggested FischerRandom chess, I'm assuming he meant it to become the new standard chess. Would that bring success? Or would it take more than that?
                  The implementation of Fischerandom, with the specific permutation not known in advance, would take both computers and and the vast depths of opening preparation out of the game, and allow for chess to be played in earnest from move one. Nowadays chess is rarely exciting except at faster time controls, which inevitably lead to blunders and decisive games on a more regular basis than do slower time controls. But in the name of excitement and decisive results, some of the beauty is removed from the game insofar as wins as a result of what are often grotesque blunders are not aesthtically pleasing for posterity, irrespective of how exciting they may be in the moment. Chess resists moving to Fischerandom because everyone loves to study openings, for they are the easist part of the game and require only memory. Thus, even complete patzers can play like Kasparov, Fischer or anyone else, until such time as they have to start thinking for themselves. Chess would be a better game if all of us had to think for ourselves from move one.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Ian Findlay View Post
                    To me it is a sad day in chess, when the WCC might be decided by which side uses the best Supercomputer.
                    Not sure these supercomputer clusters are an advantage - Topalov used one - state-sponsored "Blue Gene" (? or something
                    like that - Rybka based) against Anand in 2010, although it helped him win the 1st game (as I recall), it was no match for Anand!

                    Karjakin in 2015 prepared similarly for Carlsen with a super-expensive state-sponsored super-computer, not much success!
                    (OK, that one went down to the wire, but still!)

                    In 2010, Anand's 'super clusters' were KKC (Kasparov, Kramnik, Carlsen), who helped him formidably.
                    These are Anand's thoughts on the super-computer advantage:

                    “It must be good for the player to have good hardware. The problem is that it often doesn’t tell you
                    what you want. You want it to find an improvement for white, and it may choose to find it for black instead.

                    “It is also insidious — it can stop you playing your favourite lines because of some obscure problems
                    somewhere. I would say computers are very useful — especially very powerful hardware — but if working
                    with the computer means you stop taking risks it’s of course going to kill you,” Anand said.

                    In that respect, human analysis has an edge, he said.

                    “With humans it is fantastic, because some of the things they tell you, you can almost relate to. You can
                    almost see how it is something you can apply at the board. In the last few days some of the suggestions
                    came from Vlady (Kramnik) — very intelligent suggestions, with his explanation of why you should do this or that.

                    “Or sometimes Garry (Kasparov) will tell you a story about the player, and it is some insight, which at a critical
                    moment it may help you to choose between two moves and that can be decisive. So it is a very, very different kind of help.

                    Of course these are some of the greatest players in chess, so you can’t really ask for more,” said Anand."

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                    • #11
                      As I have reached the age where my memory for specific opening lines is failing me I am willing to give Fischer Random a try. On the other hand having bishops on the wrong squares and knights starting on A1 or H1 makes me cringe. I guess even though Fischer Random maybe the way to go there are still alot of adjustments to make.

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                      • #12
                        Lovely insights from Anand. Thank you Francis.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Hans Jung View Post
                          Lovely insights from Anand. Thank you Francis.
                          Yes, thanks Francis. I just love how humble Anand is, even though he was so incredible.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Pargat Perrer View Post

                            That's quite interesting, there are 2 words there that need defining: "success" and "adapt".

                            What is success in what you call "chess (as a whole)"?
                            Is it just numbers of players in FIDE-rated tournaments worldwide?

                            I'm involved in another thread here about chess problem composition. Can success in chess somehow be related to that topic?

                            Does adaptation involve some new rule or rules? Brad Thomson suggested FischerRandom chess, I'm assuming he meant it to become the new standard chess. Would that bring success? Or would it take more than that?
                            Garry Chess On the AlphaZero Era

                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTxoV8DC48c

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Brad Thomson View Post

                              The implementation of Fischerandom, with the specific permutation not known in advance, would take both computers and and the vast depths of opening preparation out of the game, and allow for chess to be played in earnest from move one. Nowadays chess is rarely exciting except at faster time controls, which inevitably lead to blunders and decisive games on a more regular basis than do slower time controls. But in the name of excitement and decisive results, some of the beauty is removed from the game insofar as wins as a result of what are often grotesque blunders are not aesthtically pleasing for posterity, irrespective of how exciting they may be in the moment. Chess resists moving to Fischerandom because everyone loves to study openings, for they are the easist part of the game and require only memory. Thus, even complete patzers can play like Kasparov, Fischer or anyone else, until such time as they have to start thinking for themselves. Chess would be a better game if all of us had to think for ourselves from move one.
                              I am very impressed with this post. So impressed that I copied and pasted it into a file that i saved onto my computer, and I of course credited it to you Brad and also put the date you posted it.

                              I do like FischerRandom because of everything you mention. I think if FR became the normal standard chess in tournaments worldwide, there would be plenty of new themes brought into chess. With the standard opening, we have a set of themes that have become normal and repetitive in chess, such that each game is now a variation on a theme. For example, there is the Bxh7+ theme. Or there is the Qc2 / Rc1 theme. These themes are very numerous, but there are no new themes appearing in chess today imo. Everything in chess games today is variation on a previously seen theme. And some themes can go to moves in the mid-20s before the variation occurs.

                              With FR chess, new themes will emerge and at very early stages. It's inevitable because even castling is different. So that development would be very good.











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