🚀 go-pugleaf

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About a week ago the 5 MHz Fidelity Challenger which I had ordered
from the USCF arrived and I was rather disappointed with its play
against me, I felt it was playing rather like a class D player
instead of the class A or expert which was indicated. Rather than
list its games against me (even though I've always wanted to have my
games published) I set it up to run against my old Challenger 9 from
several years ago, the results are interesting:
(both were set at 40 moves in 2.5 hours)

White: 5 MHz Chal 12   Black: 2? MHz Chal 9
1 e4 e5  2 Nc3 Nf6  3 f4 d5  4 fe Ne4  5 Nf3 Be7  6 d4 o-o  7 Bd3 f5
8 (out of book) o-o Nc3  9 bc c5  10 Ba3? (immediately) Qa5 11 Bb2
Nc6  12 Re1? Be6 (immed.)  13 Qd2 Qa4  14 a3 Rae8?  15 Be2 Na5  16
Ld3 Nc4  17 Lc4? Qc4  18 Rac1 Qb5  19 Rb1 Rc8  20 Qf2 Qa4  21 Bc1 Rc7
22 Re2 cd?!  23 Nd4 Lc5 (immed.)  24 Rb3 Bd7  25 e6 Bb5  26 Re1 Bc4
27 Rb1 Ba4?  28 Ra1 Bd4  29 Qd4 Qc2?!  30 Bf4! Rc6  31 Qa7 Rc3
32 Qb7 Qb3  33 Qd7 Qa3  34 Be5 Rc7  35 Qc7 Rf6  36 e7 Qe7  37 Qe7
Rf7  38 Qe6 h7  39 The 5 MHz Challenger announced mate in four.

White: Chal 9   Black: 5 MHz Chal 12
1 Nf3 d5  2 c4 d4  3 g3  (out of book)Nc6? 4 Bg2 e5  5 d3 Nf6 6 o-o Bd6
7 Bg5 o-o  8 Nbd2 h6  9 Bf6 Qf6  10 Ne4 Qe7  11 Rc1 Bb4? 12 a3 Ba5?
13 b4 f5  14 Ned2 Bb6  15 c5 e4  16 Nh4 e3  17 Ng6?! Qg5  18 Bd5 Rf7
19 Bf7 Kf7  20 Nf8 Kg8  21 Nf3 Qf6  22 cb ef  23 Rf2 ab  24 b5 Nd8
25 Ng6 Qg6  26 Rc7 f4  27 Nd4 fg  28 Rg2 Qd6  29 Qb3 Kh8  30 Qc3 gh
31 Kh1 Qf6  32 Rg7 Bh3  33 Rg8 Kh7  34 R2g3 Bd7  35 R8g7 Qg7  36 Rg7
Kg7  37 Qc7 Nf7  38 Qd7 Ra3  39 Nf5 Kf6  40 Qe7 Kf5  41 Qa3 h5 
42 e4 Kg6  43 Kh2 h4  44 Qe7 Ng5  45 Qb7  And I assumed that not
even the Challenger 9 could lose this position.


My conclusion is that probably the 5 MHz machine would eventually
win the majority of games in a match but that the older machine is
definitely the finer chess player.
The 5 MHz machine's faults are: tends to accept the 'bad bishop',
accepts bad pawn structure without compensation, unable to find a
non-destructive move in positions in which constructive moves are
difficult to find, on the other hand it seems much better
tactically.

In the above games, the older Challenger 9 quickly gained winning
advantages but in both cases lost a good deal of its advantage due
to the 'horizon effect'. For me the solution is somewhat simple: I
can have to two machines play in 'consultation' against me.

But a deeper problem is why the software was modified away from
playing good 'classical' chess to more powerful, deeper searching of
tactical possibilities; this second option would give it a higher
rating when measured against other machines but I think an improving
beginner would find the 5 MHz Machine far easier to beat than the older
Fidelity Challenger 9. Thus while it could be claimed that it is a
stronger machine, it seems to be a much weaker player.