Eelco de Groot wrote:Hi Steve,
Yes,
This is just the Read.me that everone got, who downloaded the Rybka 1.0 Beta in 2005 or later. The Rybka 1.0 Beta was recently upgraded to Rybka 2.2n2, so I am not sure it can still be downloaded from Rybkachess.com but if not from there then surely from somewhere else.
Several Betatesters are also mentioned in the read.me, several of which are members here or where until recently, Günther Simon is no longer posting, Olivier Deville has already said some things here. Well at the least they should be able to say something about the strength of the earlier Beta versions. If Rybka 1.0 Beta was created literally overnight I think it would be a little suspicious.
Best Regards,
Eelco
Not exactly
Fabien was mentioned in the free version that beta testers and everybody could download but later
I remember that I could download rybka from the rybka site when the readme did not include names
I have in
C:\Downloads\Rybka v1.0betaw32\Rybka v1.0betaw32\readme.htm the following information when Fabien is not mentioned like the other authors
Contents & License
In this package, you will find the Rybka 1.0 Beta chess engine (dated Dec 4, 2005), as well as the Turk opening book by Djordje Vidanovic. Both versions of these components are free and can be used and transmitted without restriction.
Overview
This package is intended to be a free introduction to the Rybka engine. If you like the engine and would like to upgrade to the full commercial version, you can do so at our web site:
www.rybkachess.com
Rybka 1.0 Beta engine FAQ
How can I use this engine?
You must install it in a chess graphical user interface of your choice. If you are not familiar with this procedure, please follow our Rybka installation instructions.
What version of the engine is Rybka 1.0 Beta?
Rybka 1.0 Beta is an older release of the Rybka engine, dated December 5, 2005. It has been widely tested - you will find it on many computer chess rating lists, and it even saw action at the IPCCC in Paderborn at the end of December 2005.
Why should I update to the commercial version?
The commercial Rybka version includes my full-time development work on the engine since the release of Rybka 1.0 Beta. The following is a brief overview of the improvements as of March 15, 2006:
1) More efficient search
2) Improved endgame heuristics
3) Improved knowledge about transitions to the endgame
4) Additional middlegame heuristics
5) A number of improved analysis features, including multi-variation mode and tablebase support
6) Various bug and stability fixes
7) Inclusion of commercial Rybka opening book (by Jeroen Noomen)
The following improvements are still planned as part of Rybka 1:
1) Full support for the UCI & UCI2 protocol
2) Further improvements in analysis features
3) Further improvements to search & evaluation (and therefore strength of engine)
4) Inevitably, some more bug fixes
How much stronger is the commercial Rybka 1.2 version than the Rybka 1.0 Beta version?
It is best to leave such questions to the testers. There have been signficant enhancements since Beta 1 to the algorithms which determine playing strength. However, the Rybka 1.0 Beta version does give a fairly good introduction to the style and general approach of the engine.
Will this Rybka 1.0 Beta version expire after a certain time or constantly ask me to update to the commercial version?
No.
Turk opening book FAQ with Djordje
The Turk opening book included with this package has been created and hand-tuned by Djordje Vidanovic. It is in ".ctg" format, so it can only be used with the Chessbase family of graphical user interfaces.
How does this book differ from your Rybka Paderborn book?
This book is slightly bigger than the Paderborn book. Besides, it is not as deterministic as the Paderborn book, meaning that it offers more leeway for the choice of moves to the program. It is slightly guided (moves marked in green), and has about 335,000 positions.
What are the book's strong points?
I believe that the book's strong points could be its sharpness and, hopefully, its congruence with Rybka's playing style.
What are the book's weak points?
Again, its overall sharpness and its depth that may prove counter-productive.
What opening books can you recommend for other user interfaces (ie. Arena, etc)?
I haven't enough data regarding other interfaces. I might recommend the Gandalf book that runs in the Lokasoft interface. It may be the strongest of all I've seen. I find the Fritz 9 book very strong too and I believe that Alexander Kure has done a very good job there.
What other opening books can you recommend for the Chessbase interfaces?
Any future book by Jeroen Noomen
How should one use the Turk?
In [Edit, Openings book, Book options] please check book options "Use book" and "Tournament book", set variety of play only one mouse click to the right (about one fifth of the slider), influence of learn value about one mouse click to the left starting from the extreme right on the slider, and learning strength at zero (slider completely at the left) unless you would like to enable book learning, which might be counter productive in the long run. Set minimum games to 1, and maximum moves to 40