Winboard Forum

What is the best version of Polyglot to use now?

If using the latest version from http://alpha.uhasselt.be/Research/Algeb ... t-release/ on October 2, 2010, does one _have_ to use the options in the Winboard menus, or can you still put all your engine options in your xxx.ini file for each engine?

Right now, I have everything in engine specific ini files like below:

Code: Select all

[PolyGlot]
EngineName = Rybka 4
EngineDir = D:\Chess\Rybka
EngineCommand = DeepRybka4x64.exe

#Log = true
#LogFile = rybka.log
ScoreWhite = true
#KibitzMove = true
#KibitzCommand = whisper
Book = true
BookFile = D:\Chess\polyglot\books\happy2700.bin
BookRandom = true
BookLearn = true

[Engine]
Max CPUs = 2
Hash = 1024
NalimovPath = D:\Chess\Crafty\tb
NalimovCache = 64
NalimovUsage = Normally
Ponder = true


Would have to switch most of the Engine options to the Winboard dialogue? Or can I continue using them as I have been without being overruled?

Thanks,

Peter

Hi Peter

I am using here the latest version of Michel's polyglot, and I still have my ini files for each UCI engine. Fonzy's polyglot is fine too, as a matter of fact.

I am not too used yet to new Winboard features, so I am not sure whether or not Winboard will overrule some settings.

Sidenote : in your polyglot.ini, the line Ponder = true is useless

Olivier

The hash size and number of cores will always be overruled by the setting in the WinBoard Common Engine Settings dialog with Michel's versions. But they are remembered in the winboard.ini file, so you only have to set them once, and then they apply to all engines simultaneously. For people who dislike using menus, they can do it by editing the winboard.ini file, in stead of the polyglot.ini files. For the EGTB cache size and Polyglot book settings, it will depend on how you invoke Polyglot. If you let WinBoard do it automatically, by usng the -fUCI or -sUCI parameter, it will also overrule these, as a part of the automatic invocation of Polyglot, where they are transferred together with engine name and directory. If you invoked Polyglot 'by hand' by naming it explicitly in the engine command line, these parameters are ignored in WB 4.4.x, (as they are not transferred through the protocol interface), and thus the values specified in the polyglot.ini will prevail.

WinBoard will never overrule any of the other engine options. The menu dialogs there merely work as a convenient way to _edit_ the poyglot.ini files. Just change the parameter through the menu, and press "save" in the Polyglot options.

There is a way to instruct setting of engine options from the WinBoard command-line. This could be useful for those using WinBoard in batch mode, or invoking it through a tournament manager. These are

-firstOptions "name1=value1,name2=value2"
-secondOptions "name3=value3,name4=value4"

With these options, winboard will set the options with the mentioned names to the mentioned value as soon as the spcified engine announces them.

If you are upgrading from an existing configuration of installed engines (in the winboard.ini file) and polyglot.ini files, I think Michel's Polyglot's will automatically use the polyglot.ini files given to them as argument. I am not sure if any changes you would make through the menu dialogs would be written back into those files, or that a copy would be made to a standard place (the _PG folder) first. In Version 1.4.38x which I supplied with the 4.4.x distribtion it saved into the original files.

Olivier Deville wrote:Hi Peter

I am using here the latest version of Michel's polyglot, and I still have my ini files for each UCI engine. Fonzy's polyglot is fine too, as a matter of fact.

I am not too used yet to new Winboard features, so I am not sure whether or not Winboard will overrule some settings.

Sidenote : in your polyglot.ini, the line Ponder = true is useless

Olivier

Are there any other options I can remove, or possibly add to make it stronger?
I normally just set hash sizes/processors and let it fly with a Polyglot book that I have made from 2700+ GM games.

Somnus wrote:

Olivier Deville wrote:Hi Peter

I am using here the latest version of Michel's polyglot, and I still have my ini files for each UCI engine. Fonzy's polyglot is fine too, as a matter of fact.

I am not too used yet to new Winboard features, so I am not sure whether or not Winboard will overrule some settings.

Sidenote : in your polyglot.ini, the line Ponder = true is useless

Olivier

Are there any other options I can remove, or possibly add to make it stronger?
I normally just set hash sizes/processors and let it fly with a Polyglot book that I have made from 2700+ GM games.

Well apart from hashsize, number of cores and tablebases settings I always use default settings from the author. Other people like to tweak engines by playing with settings, but not me

For Rybka I am using Jeroen Noomen's book thru the Aquarium Book Adapter utility. It works fine, but needs SyncStop = true in polyglot.ini.

Olivier

Olivier Deville wrote:Sidenote : in your polyglot.ini, the line Ponder = true is useless

Olivier

How do you get UCI engines to ponder under polyglot and winboard ? None of the ones I have tried will ponder.

Tuvoc wrote:

Olivier Deville wrote:Sidenote : in your polyglot.ini, the line Ponder = true is useless

Olivier

How do you get UCI engines to ponder under polyglot and winboard ? None of the ones I have tried will ponder.

Hi Tuvoc

This is strange : nothing special to do

If pondering is implemented, the engine will ponder under Winboard+polyglot. The only case you have something to add is when the author forgot to add Ponder in UCI options. In that case CanPonder = true is needed in the polyglot options.

Olivier

How do you get UCI engines to ponder under polyglot and winboard ? None of the ones I have tried will ponder.

Be sure "Ponder Next Move" is ticked in the General Options dialog.