tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post7821031995207411277..comments2024-02-24T12:16:34.475-05:00Comments on Path to Chess Mastery: Computer Resources - July 2012 updateChessAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02231584333139931889noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post-67476893345153268192012-07-05T09:28:29.969-04:002012-07-05T09:28:29.969-04:00Tim, I've noticed Rybka 2.3.2 (last free versi...Tim, I've noticed Rybka 2.3.2 (last free version of the engine) gives suggestions which I find to be very human-like in many positions (especially quiet ones). I also like his more "restrained" evaluations. I think it's quite good for any 'normal' position, or anything positional middlegame.<br /><br />However, I'm not sure Rybka is top-notch in endgames and in positions where a lot of brute-force calculation is required. I've found Stockfish to be very efficient in attacking positions, but I'm still looking for the best engine in endgame situations (though of course, they are all very decent at finding good moves, just that their evaluation can be completely wrong sometimes...)Laurent Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05371507031711622435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post-60756207966201001472012-07-05T09:23:17.702-04:002012-07-05T09:23:17.702-04:00Besides preparing for opponents, when they have ga...Besides preparing for opponents, when they have games in the database, I use it mainly to review my openings after training games : I copy/paste my game in ChessTempo and just browse through the tree to see what strong players are playing in the line I have been using. I sometimes download a game by a strong player on the way for further study, if I feel it has some educational value (usually it requires the first diverging moves to make sense for me or catch my imagination, else it’s probably too complicated/sophisticated for me and I leave it aside). I don’t download additional games too often, as studying them takes time, and I usually prefer to use annotated sources for that.Laurent Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05371507031711622435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post-5132105764057742832012-07-04T23:31:26.623-04:002012-07-04T23:31:26.623-04:00I would like to suggest ChessPad as a an super bas...I would like to suggest ChessPad as a an super basic chessdatabase tool. The software is free, minimalistic and easy to use. I use it for all my corrgames,BRF Fågelsångenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06303373959787978980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post-26140590905544190302012-07-04T22:54:05.956-04:002012-07-04T22:54:05.956-04:00The experience I've had with chess engines is ...The experience I've had with chess engines is limited to Houdini, Fritz and Rybka 2.4, but I can give you my impressions of them.<br /><br />-- Fritz is very tactically strong (of course) but tends to over-value material and therefore doesn't evaluate positional compensation very well.<br /><br />-- Houdini (both 1.5 and 2.0) does the best job I've seen of incorporating the intangibles in a position evaluation, as well as finding ingenious ways to attack and generally be active with the pieces. I've mentioned before on this blog how Houdini actually agreed with some of my own analysis and disagreed with Fritz's on some past game analysis, so in that respect it has been more "human" in its assessments. Endgames are also a strength of it (including without tablebases)<br /><br />-- I felt comfortable with Rybka 2.4 (when I was using it in Aquarium for a stretch) and its evaluations. It didn't seem too artificial and usually came up with reasonable and humanly understandable alternatives in non-forcing positions, which I think is the real test of any engine. I think Houdini is a little more "creative" (if that quality can be applied to a engine).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post-5199932835943822422012-07-04T22:34:49.407-04:002012-07-04T22:34:49.407-04:00Houdini is great! But sometimes its lines are so t...Houdini is great! But sometimes its lines are so tactically deep that it doesn't really help. Junior is one of my favorite engines, in some ways it is better for OTB analysis as it seems to be a tad bit more sacrificial and speculative than other engines. For instance: In my study of Spielmann's book Junior tends to like Spielmann's sacrifices a bit better than most of the other engines.Tommyghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04836893561110796499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post-47234210150741722942012-07-04T22:32:22.220-04:002012-07-04T22:32:22.220-04:00ChessTempo also has the great material search whic...ChessTempo also has the great material search which is awesome for finding training positions!!<br /><br />Scid vs PC also has material search.<br /><br />Chessadmin: I use the material search (and in Scid vs PC, coupled with the maneuvers buttons) to find neat positions to do mini-styokos on.Tommyghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04836893561110796499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post-1683081557305391522012-07-04T17:06:05.799-04:002012-07-04T17:06:05.799-04:00Have you noticed any differences between the main ...Have you noticed any differences between the main engines ChessAdmin? Right now I run Rybka 2.2 and it seems to give me semi-reasonably non-computer lines. Is Houdini better? I had Toga on SCID and it's lines were inane most of the time, at least to a human. Not all engines are created equally for sure.Tim Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14453322043071827645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post-73844078543285733792012-07-04T16:34:31.531-04:002012-07-04T16:34:31.531-04:00Interesting resource, thanks for the info. There a...Interesting resource, thanks for the info. There are a lot more resources on the net than I could begin to list (or try myself), so seeing informed comments by users is helpful. Would welcome any specific comments on how you employ the online database as part of your study/training.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post-29338997408416582042012-07-04T15:47:26.735-04:002012-07-04T15:47:26.735-04:00Correction : actually ChessTempo Database has a &#...Correction : actually ChessTempo Database has a 'position search' function : what's missing is a 'pawn structure' search functionLaurent Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05371507031711622435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393640898640561043.post-1188544851096461332012-07-04T15:43:45.479-04:002012-07-04T15:43:45.479-04:00I would like to add a fourth option for database s...I would like to add a fourth option for database software to your recommendations : the ChessTempo online Database may be a good solution for some players<br /><br />Here are the main advantages over your choices :<br />- no need for maintenance (it's updated monthly by the site owner)<br />- low fee (ChessTempo Gold Membership is 35$/year and includes many more tools, such as the very good tactics trainers)<br />- very easy to use (basic search and tree browsing are very intuitive, while all the advanced search functions are put together in a single search mask<br /><br />Of course, there are a few drawbacks compared to the pro tools :<br />- no position search<br />- no merge function<br />- downloaded games have to be handled in .pgn format<br /><br />All in all, I think this option could be interesting for players who don't want to invest too much money in a database tool just yet, but would like to see how they could use the database features in their training regimen. I have been a paying member of the site for 2 years, and I'm very happy with the service as a whole.Laurent Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05371507031711622435noreply@blogger.com