Comments on the Revelation II dedicated chess computer

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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

SirDave wrote:
Steve B wrote: Guru Ravi Shankar Sends His Regards
Steve
Hey Steve, maybe Guru Dalai Lama sends his regards (although even then, I'm not sure he uses the term), but not the musician Ravi Shankar (sitar). :D

Norah Jones Regards,
Dave
:P
didnt think anyone would even know the Shankar Reference
he was well known many years ago
late 1960's..tumultous times ..
Vietnam protests and all that
showing our age a bit regards
Steve
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sje
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Post by sje »

ChessCollectorWannaBe wrote:
sje wrote:Instead of buying a Revelation II, I'll make my own Revolution I. I'll use my DGT board, its DGT pieces, a cheap Android tablet, some connection circuitry, and some of my own chess software with voice I/O.

All the custom stuff will go in a separate wood box which will connect to the board with a coiled USB cable. On the front of the box, a label:

Revolution I
Serial number 000001
I'd be happy to buy one with serial #000002 as soon as the system is available.
I'll change the name, but can't think of a good one at the moment.

It looks like using a Raspberry Pi instead of an Android tablet may be a better idea. The Raspberry Pi board is powerful enough to play decent chess, and it can connect to a user's HDTV via the HDMI port. Some new hardware would be needed for voice input, though.

It has been some time since a dedicated chess computer could use a television for output. There was a chess cartridge for the Atari 2600 video game console from long ago, and I seem to vaguely recall that there was another system since then.
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Theo
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Post by Theo »

sje wrote: It looks like using a Raspberry Pi instead of an Android tablet may be a better idea. The Raspberry Pi board is powerful enough to play decent chess, and it can connect to a user's HDTV via the HDMI port. Some new hardware would be needed for voice input, though.
Nobody needs a dedicated computer which plays decent chess nowadays, emulations is what counts :lol:
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Complicated!

Post by Shaun »

Hello All

Can anyone help me understand and apply the various engine 'options'? For example (in Hiarcs alone) 'UCI Limit Strength' ... ' and 'Position Leaning' and 'Optimistic Search' - there are many of these yet I understand very few. Does reducing the ELO level only create a weaker engine performance when reducing the 'Hash' 'Engine Speed' and 'Search Selectivity' values also?

'Futility pruning' sounds like an expression used by a gardener!

Ruud - you've created a brilliant and elegant machine, but I'm not quite sure how to get the best from it. It's like being in the seat of a brand new jet - I can understand the joystick and altimeter etc., but how to use everything else?

Comments most welcome!
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Post by paulhuk »

Hi Shaun,

I'm one of those on the waiting list so I can't speak from experience of owning the Rev II just yet. I do own a Mephisto Lyon Exclusive system which has some of the functions. Basically, adjusting the elo downwards will dumb down the performance overall and is the most straightforward way of limiting the strength of the program without needing to adjust anything else. You can further weaken Hiarcs by turning off hash which, when switched on allows Hiarcs to retain a short term memory of previous calculations during your move. With it off Hiarcs has to start analysing from scratch for each of his moves and hence plays a bit weaker. Turning the position learning function off presumably would prevent the program from learning from its positional mistakes which might make a small difference.

The most revolutionary way of slowing down its performance is with the new Engine speed setting. Here, by lowering engine speed you can significantly lower the strength of the program without having to resort to the handicap functions like the elo setting that some people find too compromised and artificial. Bear in mind that even with the engine speed set to its lowest level the program will still slaughter most average players. As a weak player I'm just grateful for the simple elo method of tailoring its strength, but stronger players will love this new method of weakening the program.

Playing around with the selective search/pruning functions essentially changes the relative strengths and weaknesses of the program. Increasing the selectivity (by choosing 'optimistic' for example) may allow the program to spend more time on analyzing fewer selected lines more deeply for better tactics. However, the higher selectivity may also lead to an increase in missed lines of opportunity and may also weaken positional play in certain games. Whether this weakens or strengthens play will depend on the type of position. Although why anyone would want to enhance the already monstrous tactical reach of Hiarcs is beyond me.

Lastly, each function can be turned up, down or off independently or together and the resulting play will depend of which combination you have selected.

I realize this is not the whole story but hopefully its a start. Hope you enjoy your new wonder machine,

Envious regards,

Paul H
Shaun
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Post by Shaun »

Paul, many thanks for the info. I went for the non-emulated version. So I don't have the 'speedbar', I think Ruud called it. In its present form it is rather complex, juggling ELO, hash, engine speed etc. If you are in the Midlands, you're welcome to pop round. What set are you going for?

All the Best

Shaun
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Post by paulhuk »

Hi Shaun, I've PM'ed you.

Paul
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Post by Wardy »

I'm a few weeks into Revelation II ownership and it has to be said it's made the rest of my collection second rate to play against. All of my collection bar the Rev are now in deep storage, this is probably the only drawback against ownership!

What I do wish we had was a manual for all the emulations as a single volume..........especially as I put all of mine away before pulling the manuals out :(

I'm even working on getting Gavon to work with it via bluetooth so my USB DGT board can also go into storage. Picochess already works perfectly with the Rev II.

If you're after one machine to replace them all then a Rev II with emulations on board is the way to go, it actually starts to look cheap for the options that it opens up to you...............and I don't say that lightly.
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Harvey Williamson
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Post by Harvey Williamson »

From the latest SSDF ratings list:
Another new entrant on our list is the manually tested Revelation Hiarcs 13.3,
Mark Uniacke's version of Hiarcs 13.3 made for Ruud Martins Revelation board.
It's the strongest dedicated chesscomputer we have ever tested and with its
rating of 2798 after 103 games played, it has positioned itself 93 points
over its nearest rival, Revelation Shredder 12!
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Post by xchessg »

Harvey Williamson wrote:From the latest SSDF ratings list:
Another new entrant on our list is the manually tested Revelation Hiarcs 13.3,
Mark Uniacke's version of Hiarcs 13.3 made for Ruud Martins Revelation board.
It's the strongest dedicated chesscomputer we have ever tested and with its
rating of 2798 after 103 games played, it has positioned itself 93 points
over its nearest rival, Revelation Shredder 12!
If I'm not mistaken, this is about the 500 Mhz Revelation... On the latest Rev II, the same programs run about 60% faster... That could put Hiarcs on Rev II well over 2800 in the list.

Xavier
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

Harvey Williamson wrote:From the latest SSDF ratings list:
Another new entrant on our list is the manually tested Revelation Hiarcs 13.3,
Mark Uniacke's version of Hiarcs 13.3 made for Ruud Martins Revelation board.
It's the strongest dedicated chesscomputer we have ever tested and with its
rating of 2798 after 103 games played, it has positioned itself 93 points
over its nearest rival, Revelation Shredder 12!
Yes
when i played that 10 game match Vs. Rybka and Rev I Hiarcs 13.3 won it 8.5-1.5 ...i knew then.. it was the strongest dedicated chess computer the world has ever known
but 90+ stronger then Rev I Shredder...now that surprises even me


Numero Uno Regards
Steve
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ricard60
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Post by ricard60 »

There is more. After the close 10 game match Rev II (loaded with Hiarcs 14.1) vs Mysticum (loaded with houdini 1.5a) strongest dedicated chess machine ever made not for sale these 2 monsters probably played near 2900 elo. Why? in the latest ssdf list Fritz 10 is rated 2845. I played a 10 game match Mysticum v.s Fritz and Mysticum won the match 6-4.
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Post by Harvey Williamson »

ricard60 wrote:There is more. After the close 10 game match Rev II (loaded with Hiarcs 14.1) vs Mysticum (loaded with houdini 1.5a) strongest dedicated chess machine ever made not for sale these 2 monsters probably played near 2900 elo. Why? in the latest ssdf list Fritz 10 is rated 2845. I played a 10 game match Mysticum v.s Fritz and Mysticum won the match 6-4.
2900 sounds about right and similar to the 2931 rating Hiarcs on a Pocket PC scored in a GM tournament in Argentina.
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chesspcmac
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new files

Post by chesspcmac »

I see a bunch of new BETA files to download from the revelation site. What are these files about? Whats new? Piece recognition? Im away from my rev II right now so i cant check the changes. What are they?

Thanks guys

wondering Regards

Mike
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

Strangely. The Piece recognition file is not really a file
it cannot be downloaded

ooo11111 Regards
Steve
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