Komodo (chess)
| Developer(s) | Don Dailey, Larry Kaufman, Mark Lefler |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 6.0
/ October 2013 |
| Written in | C, C++ |
| Operating system | Linux, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Android |
| Type | Chess engine |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Official website |
Komodo is a UCI chess engine developed by Don Dailey, Mark Lefler, and supported by chess author and evaluation expert, Larry Kaufman. Komodo is a commercial chess engine but older versions (3.0 and older) are free for non-commercial use. It is consistently rated in the top three on most major chess engine rating lists.[1][2][3][4][5]
History
Komodo was derived from Don Dailey's former engine Doch in January 2010.[6] The first multiprocessor version of Komodo was released in June 2013 as Komodo 5.1 MP.[7] This version was a major rewrite and a port of Komodo to C++11. A single-processor version of Komodo (which won the CCT15 tournament in February earlier that year) was released as a stand-alone product shortly before the 5.1 MP release. This version, named Komodo CCT, was still based on the older C code, and was approximately 30 Elo stronger than the 5.1 MP version, as the latter was still undergoing massive code-cleanup work.[8]
With the release of Komodo 6 on 4 October 2013, Don Dailey announced that he is suffering from an acute form of leukemia, and will no longer contribute to the future development of Komodo.[9] On October 8, Don made an announcement on the Talkchess forum that Mark Lefler would be joining the Komodo team and would continue its development.[10]
Playing strength and style
Komodo is a very strong chess engine that is consistently rated in the top three on most major chess engine rating lists. It heavily relies on search and evaluation rather than depth and scaling, and thus has a distinctive positional style. Its forte is to play when there is nothing to play.[11] Komodo author Don Dailey describes it as such: "In positions that most engines would likely struggle or find it impossible to make progress, Komodo quietly prepares a break and ends up with the victory."[12]
Competition results
Komodo has played in the ICT 2010 in Leiden, and further in the CCT12 and CCT14. Komodo had its first tournament success in 2013, when it won the CCT15 with a score of 6½/7.[13] Komodo also fared very well in the nTCEC competition, where in Season 1, it lost only eight out of its 53 games and managed to reach Stage 4 (Quarterfinals), against very strong competition which were running on eight cores (Komodo was running on a single processor).[14]
Notable games
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
| 8 |          | 8 | |||||||
| 7 | 7 | ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
- Komodo vs Hannibal, nTCEC - Stage 2b - Season 1, Round 4.1, ECO: A10, 1-0 Komodo sacrifices an exchange for positional gain.[15]
- Gull vs Komodo, nTCEC - Stage 3 - Season 2, Round 2.2, ECO: E10, 0-1 Komodo wins a drawn middle-game position with subtle positional maneuvers, a token example of Komodo's deep positional understanding of the game.[15][16]
References
- ^ "CCRL 40/40 Rating List — All engines (best versions only)". computerchess.org.uk. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ^ "IPON Rating List". inwoba.de. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ^ "SWCR chess engine ratings list". amateurschach.de. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ^ "CEGT Best Versions". husvankempen.de. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ^ "CCRL 40/4 Rating List". CCRL. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Dailey, Don. "Komodo 1.0 JA by Don Dailey available". Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Dailey, Don. "Komodo 5.1 MP has been released". Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Dailey, Don. "Komodo CCT". Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Dailey, Don. "Komodo release". Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Dailey, Don. "Who is Don/Larry's new partner!?". Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Prakash, Om. "Hope for the new Komodo!". Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Dailey, Don. "Quiet game". Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Skinner, Peter. "CCT15 - Results". Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ "Komodo - Performance". Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Interesting Games from Season 2". Archived from the original on 25 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Chen, Franklin. "The computer plays the exchange sacrifice". Retrieved 26 October 2013.