Houdini elbows past Rybka to win computer chess challenge

Chess blog for latest news and trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011

Hi everybody,

Have you ever sat across an opponent before a chess game and wondered what machine he used at home to prepare against you? When someone mentions chips you think not of coffee and tea-time but a computer chess program?

Speak to any chess player and they would name top chess players like Vishy Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Vassily Ivanchuk, Rybka and Houdini in the same breath. Human or machine? It's the strong chess that counts in the end. No wonder then, we kept track of the recent-ly concluded Thoresen Computer Engines Competition. Houdini, a free program, managed to elbow past Rybka - the winner of four computer world chess championships.

The competition was a double round-robin, and it used the Bilbao Scoring System in which each win counts as 3 points and each draw as 1. Houdini finished with 24 points and Rybka with 23.

Stockfish, another free program, finished third, with 20 points, while Ivanhoe and Critter, yet another free program, tied for fourth and fifth, with 17 points each, though Ivanhoe was fourth on a tie-breaker. Rounding out the field were Shredder and Naum, which each scored 12 points, and Hiarcs, which ended with 11.

What makes the contest even more interesting for us flesh-and-blood chess players is that the chips-and-circuits players had different playing styles as well - depending upon how they have been designed and programmed. Definitely these 'guys' are better than humans but not perfect at chess. Chess has not been 'solved' yet. What a relief and we feel smug about it somewhat. You can find some interesting articles and comments at this link of the website that organized the tournament.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com