Mephisto Roma

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Mephisto Roma, a set of dedicated chess computer modules by Hegener & Glaser released in 1987 for their Mephisto module systems, like its predecessor Mephisto Dallas as 68000 and 68020 versions @ 12 and 14 MHz with 16 and 64 KiB of RAM respectively. Thus, the program was the further development of Richard Lang's Mephisto series, winning the third consecutive title at the WMCCC 1987 in Rome (Roma in Italian), again the site eponym of the computer modules. The Manufacturers Championship was a duel between Hegener & Glaser and Newcrest Technology, where three Mephisto Roma on 68020 @ 25 or 28 MHz outclassed three CXG Sphinx with a Intelligent Software program by David Levy and Mark Taylor, running on a 68020 as well, with a stunning 9:0 result - while the games were more closely than the results suggested. The cheaper Roma II 68000 module was released two years later.

=Features= Kaare Danielsen praised Lang's programs in general in his ICCA Journal report of the Rome WMCCC, where Psion, still Lang's development base for his Mephisto programs, also won the Software group : Clearly, Richard Lang has produced the strongest microcomputer program in the world. It searches 4-5 plies brute force plus up to 6-7 plies selective search. The program contains a lot of chess knowledge, which is used both in the tree and to create piece-value-tables. The chess knowledge was obtained from chess masters, who analyzed games played by the program. The program has an asymmetric evaluation function, which emphasis safety (has rules like 'do not start a wild attack, but worry a lot if the opponent does so'). The program searches about 4000 nodes per second on a 28 MHz 68020, but this includes a thorough analysis at every node, including a swap-off evaluation (static analysis of captures instead of a capture search).

=Improvements= Monsieur Plastique recalled the original Mephisto Dallas to Roma evolution was considered to be an extremely small one. Improvements of middlegame and endgame and Blitzchess mentioned in the introduction of the Roma manual look like a plain translation from the German Dallas manual.

=UCI Engine= Courtesy of Ed Schröder and Richard Lang, Mephisto Roma is available as emulated UCI engine.

=See also=
 * Demonology
 * Mephisto Almeria
 * Mephisto Dallas
 * Psion

=Publiations=
 * Kaare Danielsen (1987). The 7th World Microcomputer Chess Championship, Rome, Italy, September 14-20, 1987. ICCA Journal, Vol. 10, No. 3
 * Göran Grottling (1987). Mr. Lang, wo bleibt die Tiefe? Ein Interview mit Richard Lang. Modul 4/87, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (German, translation from Swedish PLY magazine)

=Forum Posts=
 * Mephisto Roma 68020 elo by chesspcmac, Hiarcs Forum, July 06, 2012
 * Mephisto Roma 68000 by dedicate computers, Hiarcs Forum, June 19, 2014
 * Roma 32 32 Bit vs Dallas 32 Bit by Ricardo Rodulfo, Hiarcs Forum, August 31, 2015 » Mephisto Dallas

=External Links=
 * Mephisto's ICGA Tournaments (including Roma)
 * Module Roma II from The Spacious Mind
 * Mephisto Roma 68000 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
 * Mephisto Roma 68020 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
 * Mephisto Roma II from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
 * Mephisto Roma II (Module) from Kurt´s Schachcomputer Homepage by Kurt Kispert (German)
 * Mephisto Roma 32 from Museo Español de Computadoras de Ajedrez (Spanish)
 * Back to the 80's with UCI by Ed Schröder

=References=

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