Post
by Nelson Hernandez » Sun Jun 13, 2010 7:15 pm
Look, I have more than my share of disappointments and heartburns with Rybka 4, Vas's project management skills, his tendency to make promises that he won't keep, his procrastination, his insularity, his apparently hedonistic tendencies which drive him to work on whatever gives him the most self-gratification rather than taking care of the meat-and-potatoes aspects of chess development.
The neglect of time management, for instance: not sexy yet an absolutely core function that needed careful, scientific calibration. The ignoring of bishop underpromotion: a totally trivial omission in terms of ELO, but conceptually the kind of thing that comes across like chalk screeching on a blackboard for analysts and problem-developers. It would take him maybe five minutes to resolve that issue. And then there's the unthinkable, unbelievable loss of Rybka 3 source code. (The British have a great word for this kind of thing: this kind of code development is "shambolic" rather than systematic.) No doubt all of you have valid gripes as well. I've provided only a partial list.
Yet, I get a sense that in spite of his very evident human flaws the guy gets a bum rap. Carefully consider his position. He has not held a regular job in seven years. Full stop. In human terms, do you recognize what that means? He has to make a living with Rybka; he has no choice in the matter, because after a CV like the one he's built, and given his age (40) most conventional companies would feel trepidation about hiring him. They'd worry not about his talent, but about his ability to conform to a regular, systematic routine. Secondly, you have consider that he is not like you or me in other ways. You guys should have seen him the first time I linked up with him on Skype last December. He looked like he hadn't shaved or had a haircut in six months. I am not saying this is a critical point, but it is still a data point that you need to factor in there somehow. He's outside the mainstream; he doesn't think like you or me. He is untethered from convention, and that fact certainly leads to misunderstandings and cognitive dissonance between him and us, his customer base. Do you remember that throwaway line of his in his interview with me about how he worked for Ford Motor Company and was walking around the office in his bare feet? What does that tell you?
Now consider that this guy, who routinely paints outside the lines, is in effect the CEO of the Rybka operation. He runs corporate communications. He runs research and development. He has his hand in every major decision. Imagine how scary it would be for shareholders if he was leading a publicly-traded corporation!
Yet taking all things into consideration, Vas has to run his operation as he sees fit. If he didn't have full control he'd quit, because it wouldn't be fun anymore.
He also has to come up with a product menu that maximizes profits, not just for him, but for every company that is affiliated with Rybka.
And he has to do this while battling relentless software piracy and dealing with the most critical, contentious, neurotic, most perpetually dissatified customer base anybody has ever seen. Think about it. If Vas came up with a program that was omniscient, that was as good as 32-man EGTBs but with features that could additionally identify the most difficult winning line for humans and computers to spot, what would the response be? 1) rampant global piracy, 2) the entire chess establishment roaring in anger at how he had destroyed the game. What would Vas get? Relatively little money for such a monumental achievement and his face on the cover of European magazines as the destroyer of chess. Late-night comedians might crack jokes about him. After a couple of weeks of tumult he would fade into obscurity.
Looking at all the facts and trying to put myself in his shoes--er, bare feet--I conclude that he is doing the best he can, given his palette of talents and weaknesses. We can feel exasperation, but in the end he is a very talented and spectacularly free human being trying to make a decent living for himself, his wife and soon-to-be child. You have to feel sympathy for him. Consider what he has done. His program, even with all the things we wish it did better, has been on top for nearly five straight years. How many people in this world are at the top of anything for five years running? It almost defies human nature.
That's my apologia for Vasik Rajlich, not an angel, but a man very unlike the rest of us whom we all ought to respect while making big allowances for his idiosyncrasies, and ultimately, his humanity.
