Your Top Chess engines of the 2000's

[DomLeste]

I should've done a poll but i want other people's input. I like to know which engine version from the 2000's has had the most impact in computer chess during this last decade. No clones this is nostalgic post back in the day before clones

Top Chess engines of 2000-2009

Some examples

Fruit
Rybka 1.0 beta
Junior 7.0
Shredder 7.04
CM9000
Chesstiger 14 or 15..im too young
Fritz
Hiarcs
Rebel 12

[F. Bluemers]

I should've done a poll but i want other people's input. I like to know which engine version from the 2000's has had the most impact in computer chess during this last decade. No clones this is nostalgic post back in the day before clones

Top Chess engines of 2000-2009

Some examples

Fruit
Rybka 1.0 beta
Junior 7.0
Shredder 7.04
CM9000
Chesstiger 14 or 15..im too young
Fritz
Hiarcs
Rebel 12

Change the lyrics to a clone is a clone so people can understand it from the horses mouth the experts of chess programmers. Not armchair experts

well,as you are the expert,you don't need a poll
Just tell us what we have to think

[DomLeste]

I'm trying to contribute to this forum and you go off another tangent. This is not about you or I here. I didn't state anywhere i was an expert didn't you see the humour in my clone post. I want other peoples opinions on this subject. Now go to a coffee shop and chill.

Some jokes & satire are lost via online communication....Why so serious

[Frank Quisinsky]

Hi Dom,

nice question ...

01. In the first WB times I have the most fun with ...
Phalanx, king attacker and nobody know why
TheCrazyBishop and his config file, my first big job

02 / 03. Later in WB times ...
Zarkov / Crafty ... nice matches !!
Like John Stanback and of course his great engine Zarkov.
Crafty and the Support from Bob over years.

04. AnMon comes ... the red day in my calendar !!
Each year I am thinking on it ... the E-Mail Prof. Dr. Djorde Vidanovic give me the information about AnMon and so many great hours ... today also !!

And absolutly clear "My NUMBER 1"
The program I played the most games,
means "I" played the most games.

05. SSEChess
Also an engine I played a lot of games ...
I can win ... GREAT !!

06. Shredder 3 WB comes ... I know the secret WB option.
I like it from the first moment.
Stefan don't know that I know ...
Like the work Stefan do all the years from the first moment.
Shredder 3 have a perfect Winboard support and nobody know.

Shredder is today one of my 3 favorits.

07. Glaurung
Also today one of my absolutly three favorits.
Like the playing style.

Number 1 = AnMon
Number 2 = Glaurung
Number 3 = Shredder

I like ...
Ktulu (nice endgame), Smarthink (good aggressive middlegame). Ktulu is without tablebases one of the strongest in the World (endgame).

And for sure ... a lot of other developements.

Example Sjeng:
In some versions I dislike the passive playing style but the latest one are great (means the playing style).

I am an attacker ... and like aggressive engines!

At the moment from the newer one:
Spark 0.3, Doch 09.980 and Bison 9.11 seems to be interesting for me.

In times before WinBoard ... OK older as in your question!
Nimzo 2000 (like the own first Windows GUI and the engine)
DOS: Tjes ... short time as commercial available, Kallisto, WChess and Mephisto Gideon

I dislike:

1. Chess Tiger ... more or less things the programmer have written ...
Example: The commercial programmers will each time have an advantage compare to the freeware.

2. Chess Server

I never have but many years a big interest on it ...
ChessWizard ... I saw only games.
The first engine with ~ 2.750 in a GM tourney.

GUIs:
WinBoard, Arena, Shredder

Database:
Clear the Number 1: ChessBase

Learning:
Clear the Number 1: Chess Academy by Wit Braslawski

Many fun I have with SwissChess (tourney organisation).

Sorry, no engines but I have to write it

Best
Frank

[Howard E]

On the fun/entertainment contribution to chess are the two programs Rebel and Chessmaster. Largely due to their configurability. Rebel especially has so many interesting parameters that virtually any engine strength or style is conceivable.
I dabbled in an engine called Mx4 and came up with probably the worst personality of all - it played dull and was not too strong. In a sense I performed a lobotomy on poor Prodeo (Rebel)! Good thing I didn't call it "Prodeo Exner".
Chessmaster too continues to entertain with all the different personality tweaks and tournament variations.
I also admire Shredder for its consistency - a strong program that is always updated.
Finally I use Rybka exclusively for analysis because of its strength.

[tomgdrums]

I should've done a poll but i want other people's input. I like to know which engine version from the 2000's has had the most impact in computer chess during this last decade. No clones this is nostalgic post back in the day before clones

Top Chess engines of 2000-2009

Some examples

Fruit
Rybka 1.0 beta
Junior 7.0
Shredder 7.04
CM9000
Chesstiger 14 or 15..im too young
Fritz
Hiarcs
Rebel 12

As I have only been really studying and playing chess for two years and utilizing and following chess engines for a year I feel a little sheepish abut commenting on this but I am going to anyway.

Top chess engine can mean a lot of thing: Strongest?, Best?, Most Interesting?, Most important to development etc. etc.

It seems that Fruit set a really high standard early on and that a lot of engines have built upon that engine.

Junior shocked a lot of people with it's famous move against Kasparov.

Fritz just became wildly popular.

Rybka raised the bar as to what could be possible for an engine in terms of strength.

My favorite engine is Shredder because I think that it is the complete package: Great GUI, Strong and consistent engine, great support, constantly improving and VERY stable!!!

That being said I would say the top engine of the 2000's would have to go to Rybka (with fruit being a close second). It just seems that Rybka turned everything upside down when it came out. It changed the playing field completely!! Nowadays an engine that is 2700 is considered "weak".

Shredder is my favorite (not to mention my probably obvious soft spot for Junior) but I think Rybka is the top engine of the 2000's.

[tomgdrums]

I like ...
Ktulu (nice endgame), Smarthink (good aggressive middlegame). Ktulu is without tablebases one of the strongest in the World (endgame).



Best
Frank

Is Ktulu 8 or 9 a good engine to analyze endgames with? Is it as good as Shredder (or better?) I love studying endgames and setting up a position and playing against a good engine for endgames.

Does Smarthink respond to the limit strength feature in the Shredder GUI?

Thanks!

[Vinvin]

Nobody can avoid Rybka for his strength, despite this fact I like :

1) Gambit Tiger for his sacrifice style
2) Chessmaster for his tactical games
3) Rebel for his "I don't know what made it so strong" in the early 2000's

I should've done a poll but i want other people's input. I like to know which engine version from the 2000's has had the most impact in computer chess during this last decade. No clones this is nostalgic post back in the day before clones

Top Chess engines of 2000-2009

Some examples

Fruit
Rybka 1.0 beta
Junior 7.0
Shredder 7.04
CM9000
Chesstiger 14 or 15..im too young
Fritz
Hiarcs
Rebel 12

[Frank Quisinsky]

Hello Tom,

I am not at home and can't test Smarthink, means can't answer of your question to SmarThink.

About Ktulu:
Ktulu don't support any of the available endgame databases like Nalimov, egbbs.

I think in 60-70% of endgames will Ktulu give you a 90% "perfect" result for endgame studies. In other endgames Ktulu isn't better as the other available top engines without endgame databases.

Its the big topic for the programmer of Ktulu (Rahman Paidar). He like endgames and give this topic in his developement in the past clearly the most time.

The reason that Ktulu is under the TOP 15 engines in the World so far (1 CPU, 32bit). Means that Ktulu can be better in playing strength but tactic and king safty is the biggest problem for Ktulu.

A very interesting engine, completly other playing style as all other chess engines. If you like endgames, you will like Ktulu

Best
Frank

[acase]

I think I would add Ruffian on here. It caused quite a stir here when it was first released (and some thought it was a clone of Fritz ).