Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Endgames with DTC value greater than 240

In my previous version of program, I used one byte for storing DTC (distance to conversion) value. The biggest number allowed was 240. I used number greater than 240 for house keeping purpose. At that time, I was hoping there would not be DTC value too big and planned on solving it only when it is necessary. It is necessary! When I was building krn*kr* endgames, there were a few endgames exceeding this limit. I have done the changes to the code and solved the problem, but I didn't have their corresponding statistic pages until today. In the rook endgame list, you should be able to find:

krnbkrbb
krnekrbe
krnekre

These three endgame databases have DTC value greater than 240. The krnbkrbb endgame even has order upto 81 -- the biggest I have ever seen. You can enjoy them through the autoplay function of interactive Javascript board. It's mind boggling to me, and I could not understand them at all. :-) However, you are welcome to study it and post your comments.