Kiyoshi Fukumoto released a new freeware named Hiratuka No Igo last month.

http://www.vector.co.jp/soft/winnt/game/se508804.html

This program is known as HiraBot on KGS, and has 1d rank.
But I hate its own UI and be using it as a gtp engine under Drago.

I appended following settings to the file "engines.config" in the folder the "Drago.exe" exists.

[Hiratuka No Igo]
url = http://www.vector.co.jp/soft/dl/winnt/g ... 08804.html
connection = not.required
level = arg:-po *000
boardsize = not.required
chinese.rules = not.required
japanese.rules = not.handled
time.per.move = not.handled
total.time = not.handled
overtime = not.handled

If the comments on "HiratukaDlg.cpp" is right, level 1 means about 4k and level 15 means about 1d with this settings.

HiraBot is strong on KGS, it's hard to beat it for me,
but I feel it's easier to beat in an even game rather than with a 3-stone handicap.

New version has been released.

Hiratuka No Igo 2dan eno michi
http://www.vector.co.jp/soft/dl/winnt/g ... 09268.html

I attached English Translation Patch that I made.
Place English_Patch_For_Hiratuka10_34D-No11.exe in the same directory as Hiratuka.exe and run the patch.

Thanks for this, I had no idea bots that strong could be downloaded.

Does someone know if it is possible to play without having the data shown on the board ?

Strong go playing programs are readily available (and these days, by downloading rather than distribution on medium is the norm). So this is mildly curious.

a) Did you mean "free as in free beer"? Some of the stronger programs you have to pay for. Other programs are free (as in free beer as well as free licenses) but may require some work on your part.

b) Because the programs using a MCTS evaluator are computationally intensive how much "crunch power" your hardware has is relevant. So one of the things you would want to find out is "running on what" does the program have its advertised power (and/or at what playing speed, as time and crunch can always be traded one for the other).

In other words, how strong is this or that program when running on an ordinary home computer at normal playing speeds. Or, if what you have is more powerful than the average home computer, what the program would be capable of on that machine.

Yes, I should have been more precise and added "(could be downloaded) for free" to my first sentence.


Yes, I should have been more precise and added that by "that strong" I meant "strong enough to give me a more or less even game on my personal computer".

There is also a bot called DCNNigo on KGS that has ranks between 3k and 5k and it
seems to be based on Hiratuka bot as well
(GTP Engine for DCNNigo (white): Hiratuka version 10_34J-No3).

But presumably, this is a version that uses deep convolutional neural networks.

http://qiita.com/shima_x/items/bdb51b30e2022d5aa958

I don't know if that means the bot is actually learning go skills autonomously
from the games it plays on KGS.

Latest version, Hiratuka No Igo 3d
http://www.vector.co.jp/soft/winnt/game/se511063.html

500 megabytes for a go engine? That seems unbelievable.

You are puzzled by a large download?

Yes, gigantic for the program itself (the engine) but for a program to work it might require a large amount of data.

I wonder how you got it working. I used these settings, but it insists on showing it's own GUI even if run by drago, and then crashes on move 3. This happens every time.

headless' entry works for me. Downloaded latest version of Drago, and edited the engines.config accordingly. It shows the native client when calling the engine from Drago, but you can simply switch back to Drago and keep playing there. Doesn't crash for me, and the playing speed is quite astonishing.

The link is dead.. is there a new link where this bot can be downloaded?

I endorse the request.

Try http://www.vector.co.jp/soft/winnt/game/se512394.html

Just check the current user information for HiraBot, HiraMC1, or HiraMC2 on KGS for the current link. HiraBot is currently a 5d while the MC's are 4d on KGS.

This is an extremely interesting program since it runs on a single-cpu (admittedly high-end), windows PC, i.e. within reach of essentially anyone. According to the info HiraBot is running on an i7-3770k with a Nvidia GTX670 GPU while the two MC's are running on (sharing?) an i7-4790k (without gpu?). It implemented some form of neural net late last year and jumped 2 dan on KGS. The HiraBot version can be downloaded for free but is locked at the '1k' level (whatever that might mean at the moment). The unlocked version costs JPY 1,728 (about $16)!

_________________
Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

I found the link you posted too but I didn't find the Hirabot version you mentioned? Or is that Google Translate that didn't get that part?

Since 1k is more than enough for myself I would be very interested in that version, that page offers a downloadlink for a "Hiratuka10_36L-GPU.zip" so i'm downloading as we speak but I won't be able to tell if it's 1k...
Do note that this requires an NVIDIA Cuda capable GPU.

When I want to start I always get "cuda error". Anything one can do?

I guess you can't, as it requires a specific kind of GPU.
As Wauske wrote: "Do note that this requires an NVIDIA Cuda capable GPU."

On my PC it works (with Drago), GPU is NVidia GTX970.
Attached is Hiratuga(B) level 10 vs. Pachi11(W).
Pachi resigns.
Chinese scoring, Komi 7.5, Pachi with opening book and pattern files.