Note: [1] This is an edited version of the presentation by Ernst Heinz, delivered on June 18, 1999 at the Advances in Computer Games 9 Conference in Paderborn, Germany, q.v. the Proceedings of the ACG 9 Conference.
Note: [2] Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399, USA: eugenen@microsoft.com.
Note: [4] M.I.T. Laboratory for Computer Science (NE 43-228). 545 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA: heinz@mit.edu.
Abstract: Chess endgame tables should provide efficiently the value and depth of any required position during play. The indexing of an endgame’s positions is crucial to meeting this objective. This paper updates Heinz’ previous review of approaches to indexing and describes the latest approach by the first and third authors. Heinz’ and Nalimov’s endgame tables (EGTs) encompass the en passant rule and have the most compact index schemes to date. Nalimov’s EGTs, to the Distance-to-Mate (DTM) metric, require only 30.6 × 109 elements in total for all the 3-to-5-man endgames and are individually more compact than previous tables. His new index scheme has proved itself while generating the tables and in the 1999 World Computer Chess Championship where many of the top programs used the new suite of EGTs.
DOI: 10.3233/ICG-2000-23304
Journal: ICGA Journal, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 148-162, 2000
