Are tablebases actually useful

Because tablebases only go up to 6 pieces (4 if you exclude kings) are they actually any use because you‘d be able to pretty much calculate how to win surely if there is that few a number of pieces... I was just wondering about any higher rated players than myself‘s opinion on using them?

  You write "...are they actually any use because you'd be able to pretty much calculate how to win surely if there is that few a number of pieces..."

Ok, here is an example K+B+N(White) vs. K (Black).  See  if you can calculate (without using the tablebase) the forced mate for White when the position on the board with White to move is:

White piece(s):

K at e1

B at f1

N at g1

Black Piece(s):

K at e8

@Yaroslavi well obviously in that example there would be hundreds of reasonable lines but the general idea would be force him to the edge towards a corner then have the knight covering the square next to the corner king covering 3 and bishop delivering the mate e.g. white Kg3 Ne2 Be4 Black Kh1

Blade_scopezz96 wrote:

@Yaroslavi well obviously in that example there would be hundreds of reasonable lines but the general idea would be force him to the edge towards a corner then have the knight covering the square next to the corner king covering 3 and bishop delivering the mate e.g. white Kg3 Ne2 Be4 Black Kh1

________________

Try it against a chess engine or someone. See if you can corral the Black K and deliver mate within 50 moves.

@Yaroslavl I tried using a diagram but it wouldn't work but the notations vs Stockfish from the Ke1 Bf1 Ng1 Ke8 are Ke2 Kf8 Ke3 Kg8 Bc4+ Kg7 Nh3 Kh8 Kf4 Kg7 Kf5 Kh8 Nf4 Kg7 Ng6 Kh6 Kf6 Kh7 Bb3 Kh6 Bg8 Kh5 Ne5 Kh6 Ng4+ Kh5 Kf5 Kh4 Kf4 Kh5 Bf7+ Kh4 Ne3 Kg1 Kg3 Kh1 Kf2 Kh2 Nf1+ Kh1 Bd5#

@Horace44 wrote: "...That's not too difficult if you know what you're doing..."

__________________________________________

Almost nothing is difficult if you know what you are doing. But in order to accomplish knowing what you are doing you have to know the steps in the clickable video attached in your sleep:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3EqM17jvOc

Your Stockfish engine more than likely  has some type of endgame tablebase programmed into it.  Take  a look at the clickable video I posted on post#8

Useful for what?  I'm sure an engine benefits greatly from knowing which positions at the end of PVs are won, drawn, and lost.

Every strong player knows that most R+p(s) endgames are drawn.  The  tablebase gives you for certain which ones are won and which ones are drawn.  In either case you will want to play the position out.  But, that extra measure of confidence knowing for certain whether the position is drawn or won and for which side is a big confidence booster

what is a tablebase?

mrhjornevik wrote:

what is a tablebase?

A tablebase is something which in 7 or less piece endgames tells you who should win if the rest is played perfectly and in how many moves and by what moves

But its basically like an opening book for the endgame because I know my openings are very good (probably not up to a titled level standard) and it‘s the same with the endgame I know I‘m very good at them it‘s just middlegames which are more complex because in the opening you can learn every possible opening from ruy lopez‘s to nimzo indian to caro-kann and all the rest and in and endgame you should generally be able to work out who is winning and how best to play to maximise your chances of winning using the endgame tactics such as opposition, getting rooks on the 7th,etc it‘s only middlegames where it gets complex and where if at any time in a game somebody might need help it‘d be the middlegame because they are more complex than endgames and openings

LongIslandMark wrote:

And please note, they are useful in study but not allowed in online play on this site.

Yh I think we all know mark

I've seen some pretty crazy endgames involving 6 pieces or less.

I'm not quite sure how easy this position is, but for you it might be obviously that even though black is to move, he is mated in 545 moves

How about four knights versus queen?

Sounds interesting, but practically a little limited

Engines can also use it in their calculations, meaning even with more pieces on the board tablebases helps to evaluate position properly

A practical example is K+2Bs vs. K+N.  For 300 years it was believed to be a dead draw.  Now thanks to computers it is known to be a forced win for the  K+2Bs.