Available from 4 August, 2008
* Estimated rating: 3150
* Leads all independent computer chess rating lists
* Takes full advantage of all Rybka features
* Unprecedented analysis features: Infinite analysis, blunder check, game
analysis, interactive deep analysis (IDeA)
* Handicap play (Elo-level 900-3100; material handicaps)
* Fischerandom/Chess960 support
* State of the art chess trees (fast, powerful, compact)
* Engine matches and tournaments
* Rybka 3 UCI includes versions for 32 Bit and 64 Bit processors
* A database with 3 300 000 games
* On-line access to Nalimov endgame tablebases (3-6 pieces)
* UCI Engine for connection to Fritz, ChessBase, etc.
* Chess Internet Resource Server: Weekly updates, exchange data
* Free broadcast and Playing zone
Interactive Deep Analysis with Rybka Aquarium
We have heard from the developers of both Rybka 3 (see last month's column) and Rybka Aquarium, the new Rybka user interface (see the April column). Now it's time to get a sneak preview of what Aquarium is capable of. We'll only examine one of it's many interesting features, but it's a feature that will be of great help for the serious chess player.
What is Interactive Deep Analysis? Aquarium is in a class of its own when it comes to advanced analysis. It offers comprehensive game analysis and of course infinite analysis - both with features not found in other chess software - and then there is Interactive Deep Analysis (IDeA) which is the subject of this article. As Rybka Aquarium will not be released until later this summer and some of the implementation details may still change, I will concentrate only on some of the major features of IDeA instead of giving a detailed step by step description. The purpose of IDeA is to dig deeply into a position and return as much information about it as possible. IDeA keeps its analysis in a tree structure which is unlimited in size and the user can browse at will, even while the analysis is in progress. Besides having a live view of how the analysis is evolving the user can also direct the analysis into the most interesting positions by excluding or adding positions and variations to the analysis queue. In short IDeA is is highly selective search controlled by Aquarium (and by the Aquarium user). Interesting lines are analyzed deeply but weak moves are only considered briefly or not at all. There is no doubt that Interactive Deep Analysis is a very powerful tool in the hands of the serious chess player. Let's start by seeing what IDeA looks like in action.
Caption: Interactive Deep Analysis in progress
When IDeA is running it displays four windows:
1)The familiar board window, showing the current position.
2)The tree window. No, this is not the opening book window! Instead, the tree window allows you to monitor the progress of the analysis and browse the variations.
3)The status window shows basic information and statistics about the analysis, such as the name of the engine, how many positions have been analyzed and how long it has been running.
4)The notation window allows you to examine the position and the analysis results while it is running.
The above description of the IDeA windows only tells half the story. It is pretty accurate if you run IDeA unattended, for instance in overnight analysis, and in fact IDeA will produce very valuable analysis when running on "auto-pilot." I expect that this simple use of IDeA will be preferred by many users, but if you are a serious chess player you may have your own views about which moves and variations are important and should be emphasized in the analysis. If you are that type of a player then you'll appreciate the interactive part of IDeA which is described later in this article.
Rybka 3: The World's Strongest Chess Engine
* Current Computer Chess World Champion* Estimated rating: 3150
* Leads all independent computer chess rating lists
Utilize the full power of Rybka 3 with Aquarium: Designed for Rybka
* A graphical user interface (GUI) designed for Rybka* Takes full advantage of all Rybka features
* Unprecedented analysis features: Infinite analysis, blunder check, game
analysis, interactive deep analysis (IDeA)
* Handicap play (Elo-level 900-3100; material handicaps)
* Fischerandom/Chess960 support
* State of the art chess trees (fast, powerful, compact)
* Engine matches and tournaments
* Rybka 3 UCI includes versions for 32 Bit and 64 Bit processors
* A database with 3 300 000 games
* On-line access to Nalimov endgame tablebases (3-6 pieces)
* UCI Engine for connection to Fritz, ChessBase, etc.
* Chess Internet Resource Server: Weekly updates, exchange data
* Free broadcast and Playing zone
System requirements: IBM-compatible PC, 256 MB Ram, Hard Disk (4Gb of free disk space), CGA graphics, Windows 2000/XP/Vista.
Articles by Dadi Jonsson about Rybka 3 Aquarium
Language versions: English and German versions are available.
Interactive Deep Analysis with Rybka Aquarium
We have heard from the developers of both Rybka 3 (see last month's column) and Rybka Aquarium, the new Rybka user interface (see the April column). Now it's time to get a sneak preview of what Aquarium is capable of. We'll only examine one of it's many interesting features, but it's a feature that will be of great help for the serious chess player.
What is Interactive Deep Analysis? Aquarium is in a class of its own when it comes to advanced analysis. It offers comprehensive game analysis and of course infinite analysis - both with features not found in other chess software - and then there is Interactive Deep Analysis (IDeA) which is the subject of this article. As Rybka Aquarium will not be released until later this summer and some of the implementation details may still change, I will concentrate only on some of the major features of IDeA instead of giving a detailed step by step description. The purpose of IDeA is to dig deeply into a position and return as much information about it as possible. IDeA keeps its analysis in a tree structure which is unlimited in size and the user can browse at will, even while the analysis is in progress. Besides having a live view of how the analysis is evolving the user can also direct the analysis into the most interesting positions by excluding or adding positions and variations to the analysis queue. In short IDeA is is highly selective search controlled by Aquarium (and by the Aquarium user). Interesting lines are analyzed deeply but weak moves are only considered briefly or not at all. There is no doubt that Interactive Deep Analysis is a very powerful tool in the hands of the serious chess player. Let's start by seeing what IDeA looks like in action.
Caption: Interactive Deep Analysis in progress
When IDeA is running it displays four windows:
1)The familiar board window, showing the current position.
2)The tree window. No, this is not the opening book window! Instead, the tree window allows you to monitor the progress of the analysis and browse the variations.
3)The status window shows basic information and statistics about the analysis, such as the name of the engine, how many positions have been analyzed and how long it has been running.
4)The notation window allows you to examine the position and the analysis results while it is running.
The above description of the IDeA windows only tells half the story. It is pretty accurate if you run IDeA unattended, for instance in overnight analysis, and in fact IDeA will produce very valuable analysis when running on "auto-pilot." I expect that this simple use of IDeA will be preferred by many users, but if you are a serious chess player you may have your own views about which moves and variations are important and should be emphasized in the analysis. If you are that type of a player then you'll appreciate the interactive part of IDeA which is described later in this article.