Answers.Body: <p>If you'd be willing to sponsor such an event, I'm sure Nakamura will do it.</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: sleepy
Answers.Body: <p>Not directly an answer to your question, but I suspect you'd be interested.</p>
  <p>If Nakamura were trying, he'd probably get a draw (at least as White). That's because AlphaZero does not have <a href="https://www.chessprogramming.org/Contempt_Factor" rel="nofollow noreferrer">contempt</a> and will happily enter drawing lines if it believes it has the worse position.</p>
  <p><a href="https://www.chessable.com/blog/2018/12/10/alphazero-google-david-howell-draw/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Check out what happened when a few other humans tried it</a>. The humans had White, played the Ruy Lopez, and lo and behold AlphaZero went into the Berlin Defence, accepted mass simplifications, and a draw. I'll just <a href="https://twitter.com/TelegraphChess/status/1072238758001606657" rel="nofollow noreferrer">quote IM Malcolm Pein</a>:</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>We were so lucky in game one. It was pretty much miraculous, as in we didn't just park the bus in the Berlin Defence, more like we were so lucky we even guessed exactly beforehand where in the car park we'd park it.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p><strong>Edit:</strong> actually, he might even win most games. That's because <a href="https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/23200/is-alphazero-deterministic/24575#24575">AlphaZero is nearly deterministic</a>, so all Nakamura has to do is memorize the games which AlphaZero lost and keep repeating them.</p>
  
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Answers.Text: It is true that most engines are pretty deterministic, so by memorization you can probably beat them pretty consistently. That's not really in the spirit of the question though. The lack of contempt is interesting though. I think if you randomize it's openings TCEC style then it would crush, but maybe you could indeed play some deep theoretical Berlin and hold on.
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Allure
Answers.Body: <p>A fair match without any handicap is just pretty pointless. You wouldn't ask Usain Bolt to race against a car, simply because &quot;What is the point?&quot;.</p>
  <p>The reason handicap matches are done is because there the result is in doubt. Will Nakamura beat Leela when starting up two pawns? Maybe, we don't know. That makes it interesting. Will he beat Leela or Stockfish with equal material in the normal starting position? No, he won't.</p>
  <p>What if we give him takebacks or more time? Well, that is a handicap. Time odds are not that unusual for a handicap match. And sure enough, if you take away enough time from the engine's thinking time it would be an interesting contest once again. But that then is a handicap match.</p>
  
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Answers.Text: It's worse than Usain Bolt vs a car, Bolt might win a 20-foot dash.  Nakamura would lose any fair match
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Answers.Body: <p>AlphaZero is Google owned. There is no way anybody but Google can run it. It's not designed for standard PCs.</p>
  <p>AlphaZero will beat Nakamura easily. It's like running a match between myself and Magnus Carlsen for the world title. Nobody wants to see it.</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: SmallChess
Body: <p>You know, both for entertainment and to analyze what moves he made were blunders/sub-optimal?</p>
  <p>Like, the handicap thing is not a real game, and also humiliating for the grandmaster.</p>
  <p>Like how would a fair game between nakamura and AlphaZero go anyways? Would he even get to the endgame?
  What if we gave him takebacks? As well as more time?</p>
  
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Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-28T10:35:40.543Z
Comments.Text: I strongly suggest editing, too much opinion now. E.g. references to interviews where GMs explicitely talk about a test match should exist. A handicap with knight has been played, the human winning 5:1. Also see: https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/23406/at-what-handicap-are-humans-as-good-as-computer
Comments.UserDisplayName: Hauke Reddmann
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Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-28T16:22:14.983Z
Comments.Text: Nakamura does play strong engines, here is his match with Komodo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIQDo0ReY10
Comments.UserDisplayName: Akavall
Tags: <engines>
Title: Why won't elite players like Nakamura play a (fair) game against AlphaZero just to see how it goes?
ThreadText: # Why won't elite players like Nakamura play a (fair) game against AlphaZero just to see how it goes?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2021-03-28)
  
  You know, both for entertainment and to analyze what moves he made were blunders/sub-optimal?
  
  Like, the handicap thing is not a real game, and also humiliating for the grandmaster.
  
  Like how would a fair game between nakamura and AlphaZero go anyways? Would he even get to the endgame?
  What if we gave him takebacks? As well as more time?
  
  **Tags:** engines
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: I strongly suggest editing, too much opinion now. E.g. references to interviews where GMs explicitely talk about a test match should exist. A handicap with knight has been played, the human winning 5:1. Also see: https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/23406/at-what-handicap-are-humans-as-good-as-computer  
  > **username_2**: Nakamura does play strong engines, here is his match with Komodo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIQDo0ReY10  
  
  ---
  
  ## 4 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2021-03-28. Score: 4
  
  If you'd be willing to sponsor such an event, I'm sure Nakamura will do it.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2021-03-28. Score: 4
  
  Not directly an answer to your question, but I suspect you'd be interested.
  
  If Nakamura were trying, he'd probably get a draw (at least as White). That's because AlphaZero does not have [contempt](https://www.chessprogramming.org/Contempt_Factor) and will happily enter drawing lines if it believes it has the worse position.
  
  [Check out what happened when a few other humans tried it](https://www.chessable.com/blog/2018/12/10/alphazero-google-david-howell-draw/). The humans had White, played the Ruy Lopez, and lo and behold AlphaZero went into the Berlin Defence, accepted mass simplifications, and a draw. I'll just [quote IM Malcolm Pein](https://twitter.com/TelegraphChess/status/1072238758001606657):
  
  > We were so lucky in game one. It was pretty much miraculous, as in we didn't just park the bus in the Berlin Defence, more like we were so lucky we even guessed exactly beforehand where in the car park we'd park it.
  
  **Edit:** actually, he might even win most games. That's because [AlphaZero is nearly deterministic](https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/23200/is-alphazero-deterministic/24575#24575), so all Nakamura has to do is memorize the games which AlphaZero lost and keep repeating them.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_5**: It is true that most engines are pretty deterministic, so by memorization you can probably beat them pretty consistently. That's not really in the spirit of the question though. The lack of contempt is interesting though. I think if you randomize it's openings TCEC style then it would crush, but maybe you could indeed play some deep theoretical Berlin and hold on.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2021-03-28. Score: 3
  
  A fair match without any handicap is just pretty pointless. You wouldn't ask Usain Bolt to race against a car, simply because "What is the point?".
  
  The reason handicap matches are done is because there the result is in doubt. Will Nakamura beat Leela when starting up two pawns? Maybe, we don't know. That makes it interesting. Will he beat Leela or Stockfish with equal material in the normal starting position? No, he won't.
  
  What if we give him takebacks or more time? Well, that is a handicap. Time odds are not that unusual for a handicap match. And sure enough, if you take away enough time from the engine's thinking time it would be an interesting contest once again. But that then is a handicap match.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_6**: It's worse than Usain Bolt vs a car, Bolt might win a 20-foot dash.  Nakamura would lose any fair match  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_7 on 2021-03-28. Score: 2
  
  AlphaZero is Google owned. There is no way anybody but Google can run it. It's not designed for standard PCs.
  
  AlphaZero will beat Nakamura easily. It's like running a match between myself and Magnus Carlsen for the world title. Nobody wants to see it.
  
  
  ---
  
  