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**[[Home]] * [[Engines]] * Merlin** || [[image:MerlinDisney.gif link="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin"]] ||~ || **Merlin**, a computer chess program developed in the late 70s and early 80s by four students from [[Vienna University of Technology]], [[Hermann Kaindl]], [[Helmut Horacek]], [[Marcus Wagner]] and [[Roland Schreier]], supported by project supervisor [[Werner DePauli-Schimanovich-Göttig]]. Merlin competed at various [[ACM North American Computer Chess Championship|ACM North American Computer Chess Championships]] and two [[World Computer Chess Championship|World Computer Chess Championships]] in the 80s, the [[WCCC 1983]] in New York and [[WCCC 1989]] in Edmonton, at the WCCC running on [[IBM 370]] compliant [[Siemens-System 7.800|Siemens 7.890 F]] (1983) and [[IBM 370|IBM 3090]] (1989) <ref>[[http://www.game-ai-forum.org/icga-tournaments/program.php?id=353|Merlin's ICGA Tournaments]]</ref>. It won the [[International Computer Chess Tournament 1984]] in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baarn|Baarn]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands|The Netherlands]] <ref>[[Jaap van Oosterwijk Bruyn]] (**1984**). //International Computer-Chess Tournament in the Netherlands//. [[ICGA Journal#7_2|ICCA Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2]]</ref>. || || [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney|Disney's]] version of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin|Merlin]] <ref>[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin|Merlin the wizard, from Wikipedia]]</ref><ref>The Merlin character from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_in_the_Stone_%28film%29|The Sword in the Stone]], the 1963 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney|Disney]] film, was eponym of the programs name</ref> ||~ ||^ || [[toc]] =Internals= As mentioned in [[Werner DePauli-Schimanovich-Göttig|Werner DePauli-Schimanovich's]] 2006 book //Europolis 6// <ref>[[Werner DePauli-Schimanovich-Göttig|Werner DePauli-Schimanovich]] (**2006**). //[[http://www.trauner.at/buchdetail.aspx?artnr=20199541|Europolis 6]]//. Informatik für Spiele und Verkehr. Extension der Mengenlehre, Herausgeber: Franz Pichler, [[http://www.trauner.at/Default.aspx|Universitätsverlag Rudolf Trauner]], ISBN 978-3-85487-946-6, (SG7) Merlin (ein ComputerChess-Programm) s. 171 (German), [[http://books.google.com/books?id=Gf4WibmHVbcC&pg=PA175&lpg=PA175&source=bl&ots=YPtaHAp3Z4&sig=DNRPh11heo8Q1zS3UOBe0qoCF-8&hl=en&ei=0GmnTMX1GMfJswaL-NivDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false|Google Books]]</ref> and the reprinted paper //Das Schachprogramm Merlin ...// by [[Helmut Horacek]] and [[Marcus Wagner]] <ref>[[Helmut Horacek]], [[Marcus Wagner]] (**1981**). //Das Schachprogramm Merlin, Verbesserung von Laufzeit-Effizient, Eröffnungsbibliothek und Bewertungsfunktion.// 4. Tagung "Berichte aus Informatik-Instituten" (German)</ref>, Merlin was initially based on the didactic program [[Chess 0.5]] by [[Larry Atkin]] and [[Peter W. Frey]], as published 1978 in [[Byte Magazine]], also written in [[Pascal]] <ref>[[http://www.computerhistory.org/chess/full_record.php?iid=doc-434fea055cbb3|The 6th World Computer Chess Championship, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada]], [[http://archive.computerhistory.org/projects/chess/related_materials/text/3-1%20and%203-2%20and%203-3%20and%204-3.1989_WCCC/1989%20WCCC.062302028.sm.pdf|pdf]] from [[The Computer History Museum]]</ref> except some time critical, often called routines, which were re-written in [[Assembly|CDC assembly]] by Wagner. Merlin was basically a [[Brute-Force|brute-force]] [[Depth-First|depth-first]] searcher with knowledge-based [[Selectivity|selectivity]] <ref>[[Hermann Kaindl]], [[Helmut Horacek]], [[Marcus Wagner]] (**1986**). //Selective Search versus Brute Force.// [[ICGA Journal#9_3|ICCA Journal, Vol. 9, No. 3]]</ref> , using [[Extensions|extensions]] as well as [[Null Move|null move]] to [[Null Move Pruning#ThreatDetection|determine threats]] <ref>[[Hermann Kaindl]] (**1983**). //Searching to Variable Depth in Computer Chess.// Proceedings of [[http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/%7Eley/db/conf/ijcai/ijcai83.html|IJCAI 83]], pp. 760-762. Karlsruhe. [[http://ijcai.org/Past%20Proceedings/IJCAI-83-VOL-2/PDF/039.pdf|pdf]]</ref> . =See also= * [[Various Classifications#Arthur|Arthurian legend]] * [[Various Classifications#Bird|Bird]] * [[Chess 0.5]] * [[Various Classifications#Comics|Comics]] * [[Various Classifications#Magic|Magic]] * [[Myrddin]] * [[Vienna University of Technology]] =Namesakes= * [[Merlin (GB)|Merlin]], the early chess program by [[Jeff Rollason]] from 1976 <ref>[[http://www.aifactory.co.uk/newsletter/2005_02_treebeard_chess.htm|Treebeard - A new way to do Chess - AI Factory newsletter article Summer 2005]], mentions [[Merlin (GB)|Merlin]] and [[Rasputin]]</ref> * [[Merlin (HU)|Merlin]], a [[Chess Engine Communication Protocol]] compatible chess engine by [[Balázs Jako|Balázs Jákó]] <ref>[[http://www.hun-digital.hu/merlin/index_en.html|Merlin Chess Engine]]</ref> =Publications= * [[Helmut Horacek]], [[Marcus Wagner]] (**1981**). //Das Schachprogramm Merlin, Verbesserung von Laufzeit-Effizient, Eröffnungsbibliothek und Bewertungsfunktion.// 4.Tagung Berichte aus Informatik-Instituten (German) <ref>reprinted in [[Werner DePauli-Schimanovich-Göttig|Werner DePauli-Schimanovich]] (**2006**). //[[http://www.trauner.at/buchdetail.aspx?artnr=20199541|Europolis 6]]//. Informatik für Spiele und Verkehr. Extension der Mengenlehre, Herausgeber: Franz Pichler, [[http://www.trauner.at/Default.aspx|Universitätsverlag Rudolf Trauner]], ISBN 978-3-85487-946-6, (SG7) Merlin (ein ComputerChess-Programm) s. 171 (German)</ref> * [[Helmut Horacek]], [[Marcus Wagner]] (**1982**). //Das Programm Merlin - Unterschiede zu konventionellen Schachprogrammen//. [[http://www.oegai.at/journal.shtml|OeGAI Journal]], 1982 (German) * [[Hermann Kaindl]] (**1983**). //Searching to Variable Depth in Computer Chess.// Proceedings of [[http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/conf/ijcai/ijcai83.html|IJCAI 83]], [[http://ijcai.org/Past%20Proceedings/IJCAI-83-VOL-2/PDF/039.pdf|pdf]] * [[Hermann Kaindl]], [[Helmut Horacek]], [[Marcus Wagner]] (**1986**). //Selective Search versus Brute Force.// [[ICGA Journal#9_3|ICCA Journal, Vol. 9, No. 3]] * [[Hermann Kaindl]] (**1988**). //Useful Statistics from Tournament Programs//. [[ICGA Journal#11_4|ICCA Journal, Vol. 11, No. 4]] » [[Search Statistics]] =External Links= * [[http://www.game-ai-forum.org/icga-tournaments/program.php?id=353|Merlin's ICGA Tournaments]] * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin|Merlin the wizard, from Wikipedia]] * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Arthurian_characters|List of Arthurian characters from Wikipedia]] * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophetiae_Merlini|Prophetiae Merlini from Wikipedia]] * [[http://www.arthuriana.co.uk/n&q/myrddin.htm|Myrddin & Merlin: A Guide to the Early Evolution of the Merlin Legend]] from [[http://www.arthuriana.co.uk/index.html|Arthuriana]] by [[http://www.arthuriana.co.uk/contact.htm|Thomas Green]] * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_%28bird%29|Merlin (bird) from Wikipedia]] * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_%28comics%29|Merlin (comics) from Wikipedia]] * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_the_Magician_%28comics%29|Merlin the Magician (comics) from Wikipedia]] * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_%28disambiguation%29|Merlin (disambiguation) from Wikipedia]] * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coming_of_the_King|The Coming of the King from Wikipedia]] * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_in_the_Stone|The Sword in the Stone from Wikipedia]] =References= <references /> =What links here?= [[include page="Merlin" component="backlinks" limit="40" ]] **[[Engines|Up one level]]**