Fritz (chess)

Fritz
Genres Chess
Developer(s)
  • Frans Morsch (up to 13)
  • Gyula Horváth (14)
  • Vasik Rajlich (15 and onwards)
Publisher(s) ChessBase
Platforms PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, Windows
Latest release Fritz 16
November 12, 2017

Fritz is a German chess program developed by Vasik Rajlich (engine) and ChessBase (user interface).

The latest version of the consumer product is Fritz 16, which has been based on Rybka since version 15. This version supports 64-bit hardware and multiprocessing by default.

History

In the early 1990s, the German company ChessBase asked the Dutch chess programmer Frans Morsch to write the Fritz chess programs (called Knightstalker in the USA). In 1995, Fritz 3 won the World Computer Chess Championship in Hong Kong, surprisingly beating a prototype version of Deep Blue. This was the first time a program running on a commodity PC defeated the supercomputers and mainframes that had previously dominated this event.

In 2002, Deep Fritz drew the Brains in Bahrain match against the classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik 4–4.

In November 2003, X3D Fritz, a version of Deep Fritz with a 3D interface, drew a four-game match against Garry Kasparov.

On June 23, 2005, in the ABC Times Square studios, the AI Accoona Toolbar, driven by a Fritz 9 prototype, drew against the then FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov.

From November 25 to December 5, 2006 Deep Fritz played a six-game match against Kramnik in Bonn. Fritz was able to win 4–2.[1][2][3] In this match, Kramnik blundered away game 2, allowing a mate in one.[4]

In September 2010 SSDF rating list, Deep Fritz 12 placed sixth with a rating of 3110, 135 points higher than Deep Junior 10.1, and 103 points lower than No. 1 ranked Deep Rybka 3 x64. Deep Fritz 11 is eighth on the same list, with a rating of 3073.

On the December 2010 edition of the CCRL rating list, Deep Fritz 12 placed sixth with an Elo rating of 3088, 29 points higher than Deep Junior 11.1a x64, and 174 points lower than No. 1 ranked Deep Rybka 4 x64. Deep Fritz 11 is also sixth on the same list, with a rating of 3097. Fritz has not kept up with modern advances, attaining only 14th on the 2013 CCRL rating list and not participating in any world championships since 2004.

The 2013 release of Deep Fritz 14 switched engines from the original author Frans Morsch to Gyula Horváth, author of Pandix. A long time participant in world computer championships since 1984, Pandix was substantially rewritten in 2009, and has been a strong contender since then.

Fritz 15 was released on November 25, 2015 with many new features, including switching to Vasik Rajlich's famous Rybka engine.[5]

Fritz 16 was released on November 12, 2017 with a shift towards catering for players who want to play against the computer with a chance of winning. This version again uses the Rybka engine.[6]

Fritz and Chesster

Fritz and Chesster
Platform(s) Windows Vista, Windows XP, Mac, Nintendo DS
Mode(s) Single-player, 2 players in Fritz and Chesster 2 and 3 after playing King Black

Fritz and Chesster is a series of introductory chess programs based on the Fritz engine. Each program provides basic tutorials and games based on one aspect of chess, allowing children to learn the basic rules easily without overwhelming them with too many options at once.

Games follow Prince Fritz, the son of King White, and his cousin Bianca, as Chesster the rat (among others) teaches them the fundamentals of chess so that they can defeat King Black.

There are three programs available in the series:

  • Learn To Play Chess With Fritz and Chesster covers all the rules of chess, from basic moves to castling and stalemate.
  • Learn To Play Chess With Fritz and Chesster 2: Chess in the Black Castle covers chess strategy and tactics, chess openings, and endgames.
  • Learn To Play Chess With Fritz and Chesster, part 3: Chess for Winners contains opening schemes, tactics, recognizing checkmates, endgame training, and key squares.

Reception

The editors of Computer Games Magazine nominated Fritz 6 for their 2000 "Classic Game of the Year" award.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chess champion loses to computer". BBC News. December 5, 2006. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  2. ↑ "New chess duel Man vs Machine", Chessbase, 3 January 2006
  3. ↑ "Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Computer wins match by 4:2", Chessbase, 5 December 2006
  4. ↑ Susan Polgar: Blunder of the century? Biggest blunder ever?
  5. ↑ "Come and get it – Fritz 15 released!". Chess News.
  6. ↑ "Fritz 16 - your companion and trainer". Chess News.
  7. ↑ Staff (February 8, 2001). "Computer Games Magazine announces nominees for annual best in computer gaming awards". Computer Games Magazine. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
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