Computer Chess
Tournaments
These are some tournaments I've run off between some of the best
chess-playing programs around.
Method
I use a Visual Test program I've written to automate the actual
playing process, so I generally run off one game a night while a
tournament is in progress. Anyone who's interested in the Visual Test
source is welcome to it, but it's not going to be any use to you unless
you have Visual Test, and even then you'd need to tailor it to your own
system.
Both programs/engines play on the same PC. Tournaments prior to 2002
were played with permanent brain options off. I went to some lengths to
prevent programs stealing CPU time from each other, lowering the
priority of the program not on the move. I now have a dual-processor
machine, so more recent tournaments are played with permanent brain on.
I tend to leave programs on their factory settings, but I do make the
following adjustments -
Contempt values are set to 0.
Both resignation and draw offers are disabled, though earlier
tournaments were run with early resigning.
Hash tables are equalised. Programs that don't have a setting equal to
what I use are set to the next level down.
I prefer variety in openings, so in tournaments prior to 2002 I tended
to set the books as wide as I could without the program playing what I
deemed to be silly openings. For programs that could base what they
play on statistics, I often created books based on a common source
database. Others I left with their own book. More recently I've
generally had the programs use their own book on tournament mode, but
with a little extra variety.
Tournaments
All tournaments are 10 program double round robin, with a time control
of 40 moves in 2 hours, repeated ad infinitum.
2004
The most recent tournament was won by Shredder 8, followed closely by
The King 3.33 (from Chessmaster 10th Edition) and then Deep Sjeng 1.6.
Other participants – List 512, Fritz 8, HIARCS 9, Junior 8, Chess Tiger
15, Crafty 19.17, Aristarch 4.50.
Crosstable
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Games
The earlier tournament was won convincingly by Junior 8, followed Fritz
8 and then Shredder 8. Other participants – HIARCS 9, Crafty 19.08,
Aristarch 4.41, Ruffian 1.05, Rebel 12, List 512, Chess Tiger 15.
Crosstable
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Games
2003
2003’s only tournament was won by Fritz 8, followed closely by Shredder
7 and then Chess Tiger 15. Other participants – Aristarch 4.21, Junior
8, HIARCS 8, Crafty 19.03, Nimzo 8, Chessmaster 9000, Gandalf 5.1.
Crosstable
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Games
2002
2002’s second tournament was won by Chess Tiger 15, followed closely by
Fritz 7 and then Shredder 6 (Paderborn ). Other participants –
Chessmaster 9000, Gandalf 5.1, Nimzo 8, Junior 7, Crafty 19.01, HIARCS
8, Aristarch 4.4.
Crosstable
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Games
The first tournament of 2002 was the first run on a dual processor
computer. Fritz 7 won, HIARCS 8 second, with Chess Tiger 14 and
Shredder 6 (Paderborn version) sharing third. Other participants -
Gambit Tiger 2, Junior 7, Nimzo 8, Gandalf 5.1, Chessmaster 8000, SOS
.2 for Arena.
Crosstable
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Games
2001
The second tournament of 2001 was won jointly be Gambit Tiger 2 and
Junior 7. Fritz 7 came in third. Other participants - Chess Tiger 14,
Chessmaster 8000, SOS, Nimzo 8, Shredder 6, HIARCS 7, Crafty 18.11.
Crosstable
Games
The first tournament of 2001 was won by Chess Tiger 13, with Junior 6
second and Shredder 5 third. Other participants - HIARCS 7, Gambit
Tiger 1, Fritz 6, Nimzo 8, Gandalf 4, YACE 0.23, Chessmaster 8000.
Crosstable
Games
2000
The tournament of 2000 was won by Chess Tiger 12, with Fritz 6 second
and Junior 6 third. Other participants - HIARCS 7, Chessmaster 6000,
Shredder 4, Crafty 17.11, Nimzo 7, Chess Genius 6.5, Goliath Light.
Crosstable
Games
1999
In 1999 the priority lowering wasn't fully in place, so the results are
a little more suspect. This was won by Shredder 3, Nimzo 99 second and
Junior 5 third. Other participants - HIARCS 6, Fritz 5, Comet A98,
Chessmaster 6000, Chess Genius 6, WChess 2000, Zarkov 5.
Crosstable
Games
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