Fritz (chess)
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Fritz is a German chess program developed by Frans Morsch and Mathias Feist and published by ChessBase. There is also a version called Deep Fritz that is designed for multi-processing.
The latest versions of the consumer products are Deep Fritz 10 (released November 2006) and Fritz 11 (released November 2007). The latest version came with stellar recommendations by chess superstar, Josh Whiteskin, who said that "Fritz is like a woman that you can't get with. It just drives you to think in ways you've never thought before."[1]
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[edit] History
Morsch and his friend Ed Schröder produced a chess program in the early 1980s. In the early '90s, the German company ChessBase asked 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.
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 25 November-5 December 2006 Deep Fritz played a six game match against Kramnik in Bonn. Fritz was able to win 4–2[2][3][4][5], including one incredible blunder by Kramnik.[6]
On the November 3, 2007 SSDF rating list, Fritz 10 placed fifth with a rating of 2856, five points below Junior 10.1, and 79 points below #1 ranked Rybka 2.3.1.[7] Fritz 9.0 is thirteenth on the same list, rated 2803.[7]
In the January 2009 editions of three rating lists, Fritz 11 places in the top three.
[edit] Fritz and Chesster
Fritz and Chesster is a series of introductory chess programs based on the Fritz engine. Each program provides basic tutorials and games based around one aspect of chess, allowing children to learn the basic rules easily without overwhelming them with too many options at once.
Games are based around 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.
[edit] See also
- Anti-computer tactics
- Brains in Bahrain
- ChessBase
- Chess engine
- Computer chess
- IBM Deep Blue
- List of chess video games
- Pocket Fritz
[edit] References
- ^ "Chess champion loses to computer". BBC News. December 5, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6212076.stm. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
- ^ "Chess champion loses to computer". BBC News. December 5, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6212076.stm. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
- ^ "New chess duel Man vs Machine", Chessbase, 3 January 2006
- ^ "The Duel: man vs. machine: Kramnik vs. Deep Fritz", Official site
- ^ "Kramnik vs Deep Fritz: Computer wins match by 4:2", Chessbase, 5 December 2006
- ^ Susan Polgar: Blunder of the century? Biggest blunder ever?
- ^ a b "The SSDF Rating List". Swedish Chess Computer Association. 2007-11-03. http://ssdf.bosjo.net/list.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
[edit] External links
- ChessBase homepage (developers of Fritz)
- Fritz player profile at ChessGames.com
- Play through the Garry Kasparov vs. X3D Fritz 2003 games
- Rustam Kasimdzhanov vs Accoona
- Fritz 9 Review
- Fritz 10 GUI Update (software installer for Microsoft Windows)
