💡📝H. G. Muller wrote on Mon, Jun 14, 2021 12:07 PM UTC:
I made some modificaions to the AI of the Interactive diagram. In particular, I simplified the Quiescence Search. This because it was prone to search explosion in variants with super-powerful pieces (such as hook movers and multi-capturers). The new QS only always searches capture of the last-moved piece when it is worth less than the attacker, or when it is unprotected. Other captures are only searched if there is enough remaining depth; new captures (i.e. those not possible 2 ply earlier) require a depth of 1/2 ply, other captures a full ply. This puts a limit to how long an exchange can continue.
This new QS is weaker then it was (but faster, and in complex situations far faster). To partly compensate that the default search depth is now 2.5 ply instead of 2 ply, and the depth can be adjusted in steps of 0.5 ply (from 2 to 4 ply).
I also slightly improved the positional bonuses for centralization; the bonus for that is now flatter in the horizontal directions, and pieces with a forward orthogonal slide but no distant other forward moves (such as Rooks and Lances) are exempt from the bonus. This avoids the annoying Rb1 after Nc3, then followed by Rc1 after Bd2, and prevents amassing all pieces on the central two files.
I made some modificaions to the AI of the Interactive diagram. In particular, I simplified the Quiescence Search. This because it was prone to search explosion in variants with super-powerful pieces (such as hook movers and multi-capturers). The new QS only always searches capture of the last-moved piece when it is worth less than the attacker, or when it is unprotected. Other captures are only searched if there is enough remaining depth; new captures (i.e. those not possible 2 ply earlier) require a depth of 1/2 ply, other captures a full ply. This puts a limit to how long an exchange can continue.
This new QS is weaker then it was (but faster, and in complex situations far faster). To partly compensate that the default search depth is now 2.5 ply instead of 2 ply, and the depth can be adjusted in steps of 0.5 ply (from 2 to 4 ply).
I also slightly improved the positional bonuses for centralization; the bonus for that is now flatter in the horizontal directions, and pieces with a forward orthogonal slide but no distant other forward moves (such as Rooks and Lances) are exempt from the bonus. This avoids the annoying Rb1 after Nc3, then followed by Rc1 after Bd2, and prevents amassing all pieces on the central two files.