Francesca Chess Engine: Why no love?

[BrendanJNorman]

Hey guys,

I have long been a fan of this engine ever since seeing some guy on Youtube calling it (the "diet" version) "perhaps the finest chess engine ever made" (yeah that's certainly an exaggeration) and testing it myself.

It plays in a really nice and human-like manner with nice positional feel and still a skillful ability to attack when the time is ripe.

It's probably only about the level of a strong IM or weak GM, but it's a fantastic training partner for strongish humans or even other engines (sub-2900).

The other day I installed it in the Fritz GUI (via wb2uci) and it worked great in a tournament I am running.

Here are some results from the first 5 rounds.

Francesca Diet 0.19

1. vs Deep Frenzee 3.0 - WIN

2. vs Strelka 1.8 - DRAW

3. vs Thinker 5.1c Passive - DRAW

4. vs Deep Fritz 11 - DRAW

5. vs Chess Tiger 14.0 - DRAW

So it not only plays in a nice "realistic" way (that looks like I'm watching a high-rated game on ICC), but it holds down some 2600-2800 engines in the process.

I don't know why nobody talks about it.

[fern]

You just incited me to download it.....

Fern

[BrendanJNorman]

Awesome fern!

Drop your email here and I'll shoot you over the WB2UCI version.

Save you some time.

Let me know what you think of it.

[Guenther]

Awesome fern! :D

Drop your email here and I'll shoot you over the WB2UCI version.

Save you some time.

Let me know what you think of it. :)

http://talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 83&t=36943

There is not much talk about it because you are at least 6 years too late
and it was very popular a decade and more ago, before the forum moved.

Fern even seems to have problems with his memory ;-)

If you want to catch up here some links:
(the forum software has problems with https links, thus one in brackets)

http://www.open-aurec.com/wbforum/searc ... mit=Search

[https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searc ... :relevance]

http://www.stmintz.com/ccc/index.php?te ... a&search=1

[fern]

Ok, pal, this is it:
ferdinanvd@gmail.com

[fern]

Fern even seems to have problems with his memory ..."

No, my friend, my memory is so good that I do not waste it memorizing trivia as if this or that program appeared this or that year.
My problems are related only with my D....

Fern

[BrendanJNorman]

Ok, pal, this is it:
ferdinanvd@gmail.com

Sent to your gmail.

Please do share the games if you play against her!

Brendan

[supersharp77]

Hey guys,

I have long been a fan of this engine ever since seeing some guy on Youtube calling it (the "diet" version) "perhaps the finest chess engine ever made" (yeah that's certainly an exaggeration) and testing it myself.

It plays in a really nice and human-like manner with nice positional feel and still a skillful ability to attack when the time is ripe.

It's probably only about the level of a strong IM or weak GM, but it's a fantastic training partner for strongish humans or even other engines

So it not only plays in a nice "realistic" way (that looks like I'm watching a high-rated game on ICC), but it holds down some 2600-2800 engines in the process.

I don't know why nobody talks about it.

Tested this one extensively (in Fritz and Chesspartner Gui's)
some of the older vesions don't work in Fritz....(only diet works well)
none of the versions (old or new..diet or reg) work in the Shredder Gui
he had a hash limit on the older engines and it may only work with the authors engine book...otherwise a very solid 2500-2600 chess engine
not sexy but very very solid...AR

[BrendanJNorman]

Hey guys,

I have long been a fan of this engine ever since seeing some guy on Youtube calling it (the "diet" version) "perhaps the finest chess engine ever made" (yeah that's certainly an exaggeration) and testing it myself.

It plays in a really nice and human-like manner with nice positional feel and still a skillful ability to attack when the time is ripe.

It's probably only about the level of a strong IM or weak GM, but it's a fantastic training partner for strongish humans or even other engines

So it not only plays in a nice "realistic" way (that looks like I'm watching a high-rated game on ICC), but it holds down some 2600-2800 engines in the process.

I don't know why nobody talks about it.

Tested this one extensively (in Fritz and Chesspartner Gui's)
some of the older vesions don't work in Fritz....(only diet works well)
none of the versions (old or new..diet or reg) work in the Shredder Gui
he had a hash limit on the older engines and it may only work with the authors engine book...otherwise a very solid 2500-2600 chess engine
not sexy but very very solid...AR

Solid is the new sexy! I have too many tactical engines!

Oh and the diet version is my favourite anyway...

[silentshark]

Hey Brendan,

Thanks for the kind words. Francesca is no longer in active development (think it was 2011 when I last played round with this stuff). Who knows, perhaps someday I will get 'the bug' again, and start looking at computer chess stuff again.

Life is pretty busy - that's my excuse for not developing.

Plus, I always wanted to make time for a proper re-write, a Francesca 2.0, if you will, but that time never materialised

All the best,
Tom King