Help with TBs

[Aaron]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Aaron at 19 May 2000 22:11:42:
I';ve finally decided to venture into the world of tablebases..Started downloading some 3-4 and 5 pieces sets..However is the format Knk.nbb.emd.emd etc..Is this wrong?? What does the second set of nbb stand for?
Thanks..

[Mogens Larsen]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Mogens Larsen at 19 May 2000 22:25:44:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Aaron at 19 May 2000 22:11:42:

I';ve finally decided to venture into the world of tablebases..Started downloading some 3-4 and 5 pieces sets..However is the format Knk.nbb.emd.emd etc..Is this wrong?? What does the second set of nbb stand for?
Thanks..

No the format is correct. For each piece combination, ie. knk, you need:
knk.nbb.emd, knk.nbw.emd and knk.tbs.emd. You can download all the 3- and 4-piece nalimov contained in a single zip-file from Corbits ftpsite.
ftp://38.168.214.175/pub/ (the name is Nalimov.zip, 27,5 Mb)
I generated and compressed them myself using the program tbgen from Hyatts site and downloaded a few 5-piece sets.
Sincerely,
Mogens

[Aaron]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 09:21:58:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Mogens Larsen at 19 May 2000 22:25:44:

I';ve finally decided to venture into the world of tablebases..Started downloading some 3-4 and 5 pieces sets..However is the format Knk.nbb.emd.emd etc..Is this wrong?? What does the second set of nbb stand for?
Thanks..

No the format is correct. For each piece combination, ie. knk, you need:
knk.nbb.emd, knk.nbw.emd and knk.tbs.emd. You can download all the 3- and 4->piece nalimov contained in a single zip-file from Corbits ftpsite.
ftp://38.168.214.175/pub/ (the name is Nalimov.zip, 27,5 Mb)
I generated and compressed them myself using the program tbgen from Hyatts >site and downloaded a few 5-piece sets.

So all i do is to download the whole thing, unzip it and adjust the various command lines for winboard or config files and I'm done?
What exactly is tbgen? Do i need it after downloading Nalimov?
Thanks

[Aaron]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 09:27:46:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 09:21:58:

You can download all the 3- and 4->piece nalimov contained in a single zip->file from Corbits ftpsite.

ftp://38.168.214.175/pub/ (the name is Nalimov.zip, 27,5 Mb)

Sorry is that Nalimov.zip or Nalimovc.zip? What's the difference?

[Pete Galati]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Pete Galati at 20 May 2000 09:32:39:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 09:21:58:

I';ve finally decided to venture into the world of tablebases..Started downloading some 3-4 and 5 pieces sets..However is the format Knk.nbb.emd.emd etc..Is this wrong?? What does the second set of nbb stand for?
Thanks..

No the format is correct. For each piece combination, ie. knk, you need:
knk.nbb.emd, knk.nbw.emd and knk.tbs.emd. You can download all the 3- and 4->piece nalimov contained in a single zip-file from Corbits ftpsite.
ftp://38.168.214.175/pub/ (the name is Nalimov.zip, 27,5 Mb)
I generated and compressed them myself using the program tbgen from Hyatts >site and downloaded a few 5-piece sets.

So all i do is to download the whole thing, unzip it and adjust the various command lines for winboard or config files and I'm done?
What exactly is tbgen? Do i need it after downloading Nalimov?
Thanks

tbgen is for making your own tablebases. I've never seen a need for it sinse they're allready made. Personally, I'd rather download them because they were made by someone with the backround for doing the job, not to mention that I hear that it makes some pretty heavy use of your computer. No, you don't need tbgen at all.
Pete

[Mogens Larsen]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Mogens Larsen at 20 May 2000 09:33:39:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 09:21:58:

So all i do is to download the whole thing, unzip it and adjust the various command lines for winboard or config files and I'm done?
What exactly is tbgen? Do i need it after downloading Nalimov?

Yes, it's that easy ). Use a simple dir like C:Tb and change the various config files. Very few engines needs a change in the WinBoard.ini. SOS does, but I think that's the only one.
It's a tablebase generator. You only need it if you want to create the tablebases yourself, so it is by no means essential. I created them myself, because I only had a 28.8 modem back then ).
Sincerely,
Mogens

[Mogens Larsen]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Mogens Larsen at 20 May 2000 09:40:12:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 09:27:46:

You can download all the 3- and 4->piece nalimov contained in a single zip->file from Corbits ftpsite.

ftp://38.168.214.175/pub/ (the name is Nalimov.zip, 27,5 Mb)

Sorry is that Nalimov.zip or Nalimovc.zip? What's the difference?

I believe Nalimovc.zip is the one you need, since it stands for Nalimov compressed. It's probably bigger, because zip does a better job of compressing uncompressed Nalimov than compressed ones. Sorry.
Sincerely,
Mogens

[Aaron]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 09:47:19:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Mogens Larsen at 20 May 2000 09:40:12:

You can download all the 3- and 4->piece nalimov contained in a single zip->file from Corbits ftpsite.

ftp://38.168.214.175/pub/ (the name is Nalimov.zip, 27,5 Mb)

Sorry is that Nalimov.zip or Nalimovc.zip? What's the difference?

I believe Nalimovc.zip is the one you need, since it stands for Nalimov >compressed. It's probably bigger, because zip does a better job of compressing >uncompressed Nalimov than compressed ones. Sorry.

No problem, I'm downloading Nalimovc . I figured that the newer one is better
IS there anywhere where there are detailed instructions about Tablebases on the net? How to use them etc etc..Maybe you can put something up on your webpage..?

[Mogens Larsen]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Mogens Larsen at 20 May 2000 09:49:39:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Pete Galati at 20 May 2000 09:32:39:

tbgen is for making your own tablebases. I've never seen a need for it sinse they're allready made. Personally, I'd rather download them because they were made by someone with the backround for doing the job, not to mention that I hear that it makes some pretty heavy use of your computer. No, you don't need tbgen at all.
Pete

As far as I can recall tbgen is very easy to use and virtually foolproof. It does take some time to generate 3- and 4-piece on my old machine (and 5-piece is impossible), but it's cheaper and almost entertaining, but not quite ). You don't need a "background" to do it, just patience and the ability to avoid screwing things up. The latter is the difficult part.
Sincerely,
Mogens

[Mogens Larsen]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Mogens Larsen at 20 May 2000 09:54:58:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 09:47:19:

No problem, I'm downloading Nalimovc . I figured that the newer one is better
IS there anywhere where there are detailed instructions about Tablebases on the net? How to use them etc etc..Maybe you can put something up on your webpage..?

There's also a few text files, which explains some of the zipfiles. Nalimovc.txt shows that it is the compressed Nalimov. Newer isn't always better ).
Hmm.. not a bad idea and maybe instructions on how to generate the tablebases yourself. I'll think about how it can be implemented this weekend.
Sincerely,
Mogens

[Aaron]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 10:04:07:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Mogens Larsen at 20 May 2000 09:54:58:

No problem, I'm downloading Nalimovc . I figured that the newer one is >>better

There's also a few text files, which explains some of the zipfiles. >Nalimovc.txt shows that it is the compressed Nalimov. Newer isn't always >better ).

Actually I read the txt files already..But i may be wrong but most seems to be compressed..Only that one is for crafty16.0 and the other for crafty16.5 and above??

Anyway, it's done now..I wonder if there's anyway to see if i got the setup correct beyond testing each engine using a preset endgame position..

[Mogens Larsen]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Mogens Larsen at 20 May 2000 10:12:15:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 10:04:07:

Actually I read the txt files already..But i may be wrong but most seems to be compressed..Only that one is for crafty16.0 and the other for crafty16.5 and above??
Anyway, it's done now..I wonder if there's anyway to see if i got the setup correct beyond testing each engine using a preset endgame position..

Yep, that is true, except that Nalimov.zip contains the uncompressed ones. If you download and unzip you'll see.
You could try starting Amy, Comet and Crafty in textmode (doubleclicking on executable), because they'll tell you if they find the tablebases.
Sincerely,
Mogens

[Aaron]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 10:18:13:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Mogens Larsen at 20 May 2000 10:12:15:

Anyway, it's done now..I wonder if there's anyway to see if i got the setup >>correct beyond testing each engine using a preset endgame position..

You could try starting Amy, Comet and Crafty in textmode (doubleclicking on >executable), because they'll tell you if they find the tablebases.

Thanks a lot for your help. It works..cool..Now since I still have space, I'm going to download some of the 5 piece TBs..They will still work right? Even if I don't have the full 5 piece set..

[Mogens Larsen]

Geschrieben von: / Posted by: Mogens Larsen at 20 May 2000 10:57:54:
Als Antwort auf: / As an answer to: Re: Help with TBs geschrieben von: / posted by: Aaron at 20 May 2000 10:18:13:

Thanks a lot for your help. It works..cool..Now since I still have space, I'm going to download some of the 5 piece TBs..They will still work right? Even if I don't have the full 5 piece set..

Thank you. Yes, they'll work fine and you can check the same way as before. But downloading 5-piece sets is tricky business, since they're quite big in size. It's better to download a couple of the big and important ones (the 5-piece sets with pawns, especially kppkp) instead of knnkn. But if you've got limited space like I, it's better than nothing.
Sincerely,
Mogens