[computer-go] Please have your bot resign, for your own good

[Jacques Basaldúa]

The problem is avoiding that an inferior program wins a lost position
on time extending the number of moves. If you could choose, what side
would you prefer to be? As a human, there is no doubt. But as a program
it is even better: the strongest program. Because computers can play faster
than humans.

It is so much easier to make a strong program manage its time better
than to make a weak and fast program stronger. Therefore, I propose
a silly idea:

Introduce a bot (I suggest the name "mosquito") *intentionally* that
tries to exploit time weakness. Just an ultra blitz player that plays some
good looking move at 1 ply without search and never resigns. If your
program loses games against mosquito you have to improve your time
management.

If there is a mosquito (annoying but otherwise harmless insect) always
present in the system, serious programs will have extra motivation
to care about time management.

Of course, its only a half serious proposal. And the problem with the
Philippines won't be solved, perhaps it just a mater of increasing the
1/4 sec extra time to 1/3 or something like that. Of course that is not
fair, because it is an advantage for those with better connections, but
that cannot be avoided. Working with 16 cores is a much bigger
advantage and is not avoided either.

Jacques.