Which Chess Program? Fritz 8, Hiarcs 9, etc...

Archived from groups: rec.games.chess.computer (More info?)

Ruud wrote:
> Chessbase-engines all use the same interface.

Isn't the Fritz interface different? Otherwise, they use similar
interfaces and engines if they are of the same generation. E.g. I have
Junior 8 and Hiarcs 8. For engines, Junior 8 uses ChessProgram8 but
Hiarcs8 uses ChessProgram7. You can mix and match: any ChessBase
engine (and a few others) will work with any Chessbase interface.

Dan

....
>
> "Jonathan Lonsdale" <jon-news123@123jlonsdale.net> schreef in bericht
> news:Zc2ne.4129$%21.3932@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net...
> > Time to trade in my ancient Fritz 5.32! I'm looking for a new program to
> > analyse my games and do training against. Is there much between the
> > various engines that ChessBase offer? It seems I can get Fritz 8 for £20
> > off Amazon while the others are closer to £40 off specialist chess
> > vendors.
> >
> > Am I right in thinking the interface all offer the same functionality
> > offered by the Fritz 8 interface:
> > http://www.chessbase.com/fritz8/
> >
> > I'm running on an Athlon XP 2200 with 1 GB RAM if that makes any
> > difference.
> >
> > --
> > Remove numbers from email address to reply
> >

Archived from groups: rec.games.chess.computer (More info?)

Ruud wrote:
> Chessbase-engines all use the same interface.

Isn't the Fritz interface different? Otherwise, they use similar
interfaces and engines if they are of the same generation. E.g. I have
Junior 8 and Hiarcs 8. For engines, Junior 8 uses ChessProgram8 but
Hiarcs8 uses ChessProgram7. You can mix and match: any ChessBase
engine (and a few others) will work with any Chessbase interface.

Dan

....
>
> "Jonathan Lonsdale" <jon-news123@123jlonsdale.net> schreef in bericht
> news:Zc2ne.4129$%21.3932@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net...
> > Time to trade in my ancient Fritz 5.32! I'm looking for a new program to
> > analyse my games and do training against. Is there much between the
> > various engines that ChessBase offer? It seems I can get Fritz 8 for £20
> > off Amazon while the others are closer to £40 off specialist chess
> > vendors.
> >
> > Am I right in thinking the interface all offer the same functionality
> > offered by the Fritz 8 interface:
> > http://www.chessbase.com/fritz8/
> >
> > I'm running on an Athlon XP 2200 with 1 GB RAM if that makes any
> > difference.
> >
> > --
> > Remove numbers from email address to reply
> >

Archived from groups: rec.games.chess.computer (More info?)

Chessbase-engines all use the same interface. The nice thing about it is
the chess media system, so you can get tv- and radio-broadcasts and
trainings on internet.
As to quality of chess-engine play, there's not much between fritz and
hiarcs, but shredder9 seems to be a little better, as is junior9.
The ranking lists on the chessbase server is:
shredder9 2655
shredder8 2632
fritz8 2585
junior9 2581
chesstiger15 2570
hiarcs9 2560
fritz7 2552

These ratings are based on engine vs. engine matches, so they show the
strength between them..
The multi-processor versions of the engines are a bit stronger.

So, 20,- pounds price difference is nice, but make sure you get a
registration number with it, or some functions on internet won't work.

"Jonathan Lonsdale" <jon-news123@123jlonsdale.net> schreef in bericht
news:Zc2ne.4129$%21.3932@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net...
> Time to trade in my ancient Fritz 5.32! I'm looking for a new program to
> analyse my games and do training against. Is there much between the
> various engines that ChessBase offer? It seems I can get Fritz 8 for £20
> off Amazon while the others are closer to £40 off specialist chess
> vendors.
>
> Am I right in thinking the interface all offer the same functionality
> offered by the Fritz 8 interface:
> http://www.chessbase.com/fritz8/
>
> I'm running on an Athlon XP 2200 with 1 GB RAM if that makes any
> difference.
>
> --
> Remove numbers from email address to reply
>

Archived from groups: rec.games.chess.computer (More info?)

Ruud wrote:
<snip>
> As to quality of chess-engine play, there's not much between fritz and
> hiarcs, but shredder9 seems to be a little better, as is junior9.
> The ranking lists on the chessbase server is:
> shredder9 2655
> shredder8 2632
> fritz8 2585
> junior9 2581
> chesstiger15 2570
> hiarcs9 2560
> fritz7 2552
>
> These ratings are based on engine vs. engine matches, so they show the
> strength between them..
> The multi-processor versions of the engines are a bit stronger.
>
<snip>
Why focus on engine-strength?
Isn't the independent style of the engines, and the purpose of it's use
more important factors, than just mean engine-engine power?

HD

Archived from groups: rec.games.chess.computer (More info?)

"HD" <HDChess@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:mtene.31$Xi.10@news.get2net.dk...
> Ruud wrote:
> <snip>
>> These ratings are based on engine vs. engine matches, so they show the
>> strength between them..
>> The multi-processor versions of the engines are a bit stronger.
>>
> <snip>
> Why focus on engine-strength?
> Isn't the independent style of the engines, and the purpose of it's use
> more important factors, than just mean engine-engine power?

Yeah - this is what I'd really like to hear about. I'm sure all these
engines are statistically strong enough to wipe me off the board! I'm more
interested in peoples' subjective impression. What kind of gaming experience
do they give you. How about the flavour of the analysis.

For instance I've heard that Hiarcs offers the most human-like play and is
very positional whereas Junior specialises in material compensation. I also
read an article on how various engines were being used to analyse a typical
KID position. Most wanted to bolster the queenside with b6 but only one
wanted to play the thematic g5 continuing on the kingside.

I've used Fritz for tactical analysis but never really played against
computers much. Ideally I'd like a style approximating what I'd expect from
a strong experienced human player but that's probably expecting too much! If
it's all a much of muchness then I guess I might as well save myself some
cash and just go for Fritz 8 off Amazon.

If you want to rave about your favourite engine then I'd love to hear!

--
Remove numbers from email address to reply

Archived from groups: rec.games.chess.computer (More info?)

Better play gives more beautifull combinations.

"Jonathan Lonsdale" <jon-news123@123jlonsdale.net> schreef in bericht
news:0onne.14937$RG2.7187@newsfe6-gui.ntli.net...
> "HD" <HDChess@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:mtene.31$Xi.10@news.get2net.dk...
>> Ruud wrote:
>> <snip>
>>> These ratings are based on engine vs. engine matches, so they show the
>>> strength between them..
>>> The multi-processor versions of the engines are a bit stronger.
>>>
>> <snip>
>> Why focus on engine-strength?
>> Isn't the independent style of the engines, and the purpose of it's use
>> more important factors, than just mean engine-engine power?
>
> Yeah - this is what I'd really like to hear about. I'm sure all these
> engines are statistically strong enough to wipe me off the board! I'm more
> interested in peoples' subjective impression. What kind of gaming
> experience do they give you. How about the flavour of the analysis.
>
> For instance I've heard that Hiarcs offers the most human-like play and is
> very positional whereas Junior specialises in material compensation. I
> also read an article on how various engines were being used to analyse a
> typical KID position. Most wanted to bolster the queenside with b6 but
> only one wanted to play the thematic g5 continuing on the kingside.
>
> I've used Fritz for tactical analysis but never really played against
> computers much. Ideally I'd like a style approximating what I'd expect
> from a strong experienced human player but that's probably expecting too
> much! If it's all a much of muchness then I guess I might as well save
> myself some cash and just go for Fritz 8 off Amazon.
>
> If you want to rave about your favourite engine then I'd love to hear!
>
> --
> Remove numbers from email address to reply
>

Archived from groups: rec.games.chess.computer (More info?)

I use Shredder 9 UCI and am very happy with it. There is also a
Chessbase version of Shredder 9 I think.

Archived from groups: rec.games.chess.computer (More info?)

Jonathan Lonsdale wrote:
<snip>
>><snip>
>>Why focus on engine-strength?
>>Isn't the independent style of the engines, and the purpose of it's use
>>more important factors, than just mean engine-engine power?
>
>
> Yeah - this is what I'd really like to hear about. I'm sure all these
> engines are statistically strong enough to wipe me off the board! I'm more
> interested in peoples' subjective impression. What kind of gaming experience
> do they give you. How about the flavour of the analysis.
>
> For instance I've heard that Hiarcs offers the most human-like play and is
> very positional

Not untrue, especially Hiarcs 8 Bareev that commes with Hiarcs 9.

> whereas Junior specialises in material compensation.

True, but also more "human" than most engines. While Junior per
definiton isn't that good in endgames, Junior 9 is clearly improved.

> I also
> read an article on how various engines were being used to analyse a typical
> KID position. Most wanted to bolster the queenside with b6 but only one
> wanted to play the thematic g5 continuing on the kingside.
>
Gambit Tiger 2.0 (that came with Chess Tiger 14.0) is one known for that
- others may do that too, but that needs to seen and mentioned.

> I've used Fritz for tactical analysis but never really played against
> computers much. Ideally I'd like a style approximating what I'd expect from
> a strong experienced human player but that's probably expecting too much! If
> it's all a much of muchness then I guess I might as well save myself some
> cash and just go for Fritz 8 off Amazon.
>
> If you want to rave about your favourite engine then I'd love to hear!
>
Shredder still gets most of it's points in the endgame, but it's a
fascinating all-round program.

You could get some impressions by loggin into Playschess.com via their
free client program (download from: http://www.playchess.com/), and
visit the engine room as a guest. There you can watch some games with
different programs, or maybe get one yourself!?

HD