Best tactics?

[kasinp]

Is there a clear leader among top engines in terms of tactical ability?

I tried some of the best on several (20-30) really hard positions and have found Rybka WinFinder to be really quick in finding solutions.

Deep Fritz 10.1 also did very well, but I would love to hear from someone who did a more systematic test. Oh, and by the way - I was a bit surprised to notice that while clearly stronger overall, Fritz 11 seems no match for Fritz 10 in this department.

Anyhow, responses appreciated!

PK

[Graham Banks]

Is there a clear leader among top engines in terms of tactical ability?

I tried some of the best on several (20-30) really hard positions and have found Rybka WinFinder to be really quick in finding solutions.

Deep Fritz 10.1 also did very well, but I would love to hear from someone who did a more systematic test. Oh, and by the way - I was a bit surprised to notice that while clearly stronger overall, Fritz 11 seems no match for Fritz 10 in this department.

Anyhow, responses appreciated!

PK

Have a look here:
http://www.talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18891

[Mike S.]

WinFinder is very fast for the winning side, but not as good if a defensive move has to be found (and/or a deep opponent's threat has to be met etc.). It has an asymmetrical character, just in the sense of the engine name.

WinFinder has the top result in my little tactical test suite, because most positions are "bm" (best move) and only a few are "am" avoid move or about finding difficult defenses. Examples where it has problems compared to other engines:

[D]r1b1Rbk1/pp3p2/2npN2p/2qp2p1/8/1QPB3P/PP3PPB/6K1 b - - 0 23
23...Bxe6 is the toughest defense (the simple 23...fxe6 loses quicker).

[D]2kr3r/ppp3pp/2pbbn2/4N3/3Pp3/2P3Pq/PP1NQP1P/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 12
12.Nxe4 is wrong (am test).

You can find a results overview (XLS) for the Quicktest with 24 tactical positions online at:



http://members.aon.at/computerschach/quick/quicke.htm
(see bottom of page for the download links)

But it is from old hardware, and mainly old engines but from more than 70 engines. - Anyway, based on such results I consider Hiarcs and The King as fastest if it's about "pure" combinational play, but overall attacking and defensive tactics. But for tactical winning moves, Rybka WinFinder seemes cleary better. I didn't make systematical tests recently, but from "rough impressions" it seems to me that the latest Glaurung and Bright versions are tactically very fast, too. These two support multiprocessing.

But I think, there are many engines in a narrow margin of tactical top speed. Also, if it is above a certain level, further differences are not very important anymore, for the general strength and other things are much more important. For example, Shredder 9 and Rybka 232a are not among the fastest tacticians, but both were/are leading the rating lists after their releases, each.