Efficiently_updatable_neural_network

Efficiently updatable neural network

Efficiently updatable neural network

Neural network based evaluation function

An efficiently updatable neural network (NNUE, a Japanese wordplay on Nue, sometimes stylised as ƎUИИ) is a neural network-based evaluation function whose inputs are piece-square tables, or variants thereof like the king-piece-square table.[1] NNUE is used primarily for the leaf nodes of the alpha–beta tree.[2] While being slower than handcrafted evaluation functions, NNUE does not suffer from the 'blindness beyond the current move' problem.[3]

NNUE was invented by Yu Nasu and introduced to computer shogi in 2018.[4][5] On 6 August 2020, NNUE was for the first time ported to a chess engine, Stockfish 12.[6][7] Since 2021, all of the top rated classical chess engines such as Komodo Dragon have an NNUE implementation to remain competitive.

NNUE runs efficiently on central processing units without a requirement for a graphics processing unit (GPU).

The neural network used for the original 2018 computer shogi implementation consists of four weight layers: W1 (16-bit integers) and W2, W3 and W4 (8-bit). It has 4 fully-connected layers, ReLU activation functions, and outputs a single number, being the score of the board.

W1 encoded the king's position and therefore this layer needed only to be re-evaluated once the king moved. It used incremental computation and single instruction multiple data (SIMD) techniques along with appropriate intrinsic instructions.[4]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Gary Linscott (April 30, 2021). "NNUE". Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  2. [2]
    "Stockfish 12". Stockfish Blog. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  3. [3]
    "Stockfish - Chessprogramming wiki". www.chessprogramming.org. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  4. [4]
    Yu Nasu (April 28, 2018). "Efficiently Updatable Neural-Network-based Evaluation Function for computer Shogi" (PDF) (in Japanese).
  5. [5]
    Yu Nasu (April 28, 2018). "Efficiently Updatable Neural-Network-based Evaluation Function for computer Shogi (Unofficial English Translation)" (PDF).
  6. [6]
    "Introducing NNUE Evaluation". 6 August 2020.
  7. [7]
    Joost VandeVondele (July 25, 2020). "official-stockfish / Stockfish, NNUE merge".
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