Human versus Machine

Anyone interested in human-computer matches might check my new book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1549916785/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507440936&sr=1-25&refinements=p_n_publication_date%3A1250226011 (paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0768G8R2C/ref=sr_1_46?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507441224&sr=1-46&refinements=p_n_publication_date%3A1250226011 (ebook)

also available on amazon.uk(search by author and title), amazon.de, etc.

Amply commented and diagrammed games.

Seems like the first book with extensive coverage of a large number of winning games against the top engines.

Kasparov, Carlsen and Nakamura still have not written one.

One thing I wonder is why routine books like for example a book treating the Budapest Gambit in the most usual of ways, a book entitled
something like 'Tactics in the Budapest Gambit', or 'Winning Tactics in the Budapest Gambit', that actually just takes ready-made samples
out of some game database, filters the games, and then shows some very obvious tactical solutions, shallow at that, would get much more
attention than a book treating a completely new, original and unsurveyed subject, like the way a human can beat the top engines?

After all, the book about the Budapest(which, btw., might be altogether lost with perfect play) is extremely routine and unoriginal, one could change it
for any good database, while the other book treats topics that have not been treated before.

Why would anyone prefer the first book, any guess?

Has the modern world become so zombied into following routine and repetitiveness, that it would not like anything new?

In the past, people used to cherish new and unchartered waters, but not any more?

In the past, writers who offered something new were highly respected and sought after, but not now?

Comparing 'The Secret of Chess' and 'Human versus Machine: How to beat Stockfish and Komodo',
I wrote the latter much quicker, the former took whole 4 months, but the interesting thing is
how notions presented in 'The Secret of Chess' are visible in the games showcased in 'Human versus Machine'.

For example, the games exhibit patterns and notions like:

- twice backward shelter pawn on f7
- pointed chains
- white and black KID structures
- fully closed sides of the board, etc., etc.

all of which could be found in 'The Secret of Chess'.

Of course, it is actually the other way round: the many thousands of games(over 50 000, to be clear)
I have played against engines and top engines and the knowledge I derived from them are reflected
in the knowledge presented on the pages of 'The Secret of Chess'.

That is how I verified that knowledge: by playing an infinite number of games against the very top,
and it seems to work.

If anyone would like to consider the games in 'Human versus Machine' as fake ones, well,
you simply don't have a point, looking at the specific positions, you will not find even a single one
that even distantly resembles any human or engine game you could find in any database.

There are simply no such games and positions, so who came up with the concept and system?
Also, checking evaluations, you will easily see the games are for real. Current Stockfish development version still does not understand most of them.

Again, why would beating Stockfish and Komodo be less interesting than reproducing a routine game from a public database?

Part II of the book is out:

https://www.amazon.com/Human-Versus-Machine-Stockfish-Komodo-ebook/dp/B076T7BVX5/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1509083087&sr=1-1

(both paperbacks and ebooks included, just switch between versions)

Also available on other amazons, uk, de, etc.(search by author and title)

In this edition, games against Stockfish DD, Stockfish 5, 6 and Komodo 10 are represented.

7 or 8 different openings featured, basically boiling down to 4 main winning pawn structures:

- Stonewall Attack(Stonewall Defence): pawns on d4-e3-f4, d5-e6-f5 for black
- King's Indian Attack(King's Indian Defence): pawns on d3-e4-f5, d6-e5-f4 in the standard KID for black
- Central chain structure, arising out of the Queen's Pawn Game, Torre Attack(or out of the possible Slav for black): pawns on c3-d4-e5, c6-d5-e4 for black
- Central bind structure, arising out of the English Opening(Sicilian Defence for black): pawns on c4-d3-e4, c5-d6-e5 for black

It is not easy to beat the top engines, so take a look at the games and explanations.
Maybe, you will find that interesting.

Page count has risen from 165 to 238, so I guess this hints at more closely contested/longer

games, which would suppose higher overall quality.

Deep Thinking by Kasparov

Yeah, many things in common with 'Deep Thinking', but that is even deeper.

Here just reposting a brief reply of mine to a disbelieving member from a chess forum
(so that people are aware in what way a human may get an advantage against the top engines in the 4 mentioned structures):

Forum member wrote:
It does not make much sense to play king's Indian defense as the computer is especially strong in sharp positions
Playing the stonewall as white is known to be bad as it almost guarantees black a way to trade off his light squared bishops leaving white permanantly crippled and as black it is supposed to be good only under certain circumstances, which you will not get very often.
It's incredibly difficult, if not impossible to get the c6, d5, e4 pawn structure as black in the opening if white doesn't play badly and even if you do get it, you get positions similar to the Caro-Kann and French, which are both well respected and it's hard to see any fantastic advantage you obtain in getting these structures.
The 'central bind structure' is playable as white, but doesn't give much advantage and with white playing properly, it's very difficult to get as black.
However, the computer does have difficulty in playing against the king's Indian attack-like setup you mentioned before (with e4, e6, d3, d5, nc3, d4) and I think that you can get an advantage against it. But an advantage is all and I fail to see how anyone besides another engine can convert it into a win against such powerful defenders.


The king's Indian Defence involving d6-e5-f4 pawns is a closed one and far from sharp, so that is precisely the position a human would like to get.
KID=KIA with black, so if the KIA is good, the KID is good too. One tempo is not of such a critical significance at the current level of top engines.
Concerning the Stonewall Attack, indeed, white has fully equal, draw, at most, if black plays Bf5 early on to trade light square bishops, but, fortunately, even current Stockfish development still prefers e6 and Bb7/a6(not Komodo though).
c6-d5-e4 is not that hard to get, both Stockfish and Komodo like a line like 1. d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 g6!(this is the trick, definitely strongest continuation) 5. e3 Bg4!(again, best) 6. h3(that is how top engines play) Bg4 7. Qf3(bishop pair lacking, but the queen is very displaced here) e6, then Bd6/g7, and at some point e6-e5 break is pushed.
de5 is rarely good, so there are excellent chances black will push e5-e4 later on, getting the abovementioned structure.
Of course, as the game is closed, engines see nothing, black will get decisive advantage only 20 moves later after a lot of regrouping.
On the contrary, the central bind is best possilbe disposition for white at all, as 1. c4 is definitely white's best possible move.
For example, 1. c4! e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e4!(g3 first, followed by Bg2 is also possible), and white gets big advantage, not sure if winning though.
With black, you can get that for example from the Sicilian, Nimzovich-Rossolimo variation(see the game I just posted), as top engines still prefer 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Nc3? Later black plays Bg7 and e5, and the bind is there. Very simple.

Nothing to compare. Stockfish does not see it is lost until 5-7 moves before mate.

You can very easily generate fens of the positions that interest you, and then check

with Stockfish.

I understand your desire to have things ready-made, but I don't know if anyone is selling

pgns these days, be it annotated or not. Is someone doing that?

I don't know how many people would dare comment on Stockfish lines.

Usually, it is the other way round: people, even GMs, are using Stockfish to

show them the lines and annotate their games.

Paying is one thing, what I was asking is whether there is a practice

of doing this: is someone selling pgns, how much would one be worth and through

what channels should one sell(certainly, Amazon does not provide such an option)?

Another thing is, that I have no annotated pgns available, so I must be copy-pasting from

different files for all the games. Certainly, not a great fun, if you will have a single customer.

Anyway, there is still a lot of time ahead to experiment with options, one first has to beat

Stockfish 10, 11, etc., and then there will be some great fun.

Well, I know some people are doing this, for example I read comments praising

Joerg Hickl for offering a download of some games in addition to the book.

I don't know how effective/conceptually right that is, have not quite thought on that.

So far, I see, not many people are doing this on Amazon, but I will have to think about it.

I am quite new to online sales and am proceeding with caution.

There are different people and different tastes.

For me, the rule of thumb should be that books are books

and pgns pgns.

Yeah, Capablanca sometimes played closed positions.

Actually, he was the first one of the older generation who did so.

The idea is good, but in reality very few people do books and videos at the same time, unless

they are a big enterprise.

It is either the one, or the other.

You understand that requires much additional effort and profiling.

Oops, I forgot to say you should look 600 times in and out, as I have 600

good comments.

You should buy high-end computer and become self-employed.

In this way, you will not run the danger of damaging you hardware

or someone bumping into you while commuting.

If you aren't a GM or an IM or at least a FM, then readers won't take you seriously. Honest truth.

Anyway the topic of Man vs Machines, has been decided long ago. There is no point of playing against the machines, instead we use the machines for self improvement.

Then move to a free country.

I am much much stronger than any grandmaster, possibly excluding Carlsen.

Then how am I able to beat the machines?

Hey, LilBoat, the games are there.

Besides, I did not waste my life, I wasted Komodo's life.