Komodo Chess 9 – Faster, smarter, stronger

Komodo Chess 9 now on pre-order

Komodo is a chess program that is different from the rest. Its search makes greater use of extensions than any other top engine, which allows Komodo to often see deeper than the others, even if it is displaying a slightly lower search depth. The evaluation differs from its main rivals because it represents a blend of both automated tuning and the judgment of a grandmaster and computer expert (Larry Kaufman). Fully automated evaluations are subject to rather large sample error, and applying some chess judgment is beneficial, both in results and in the reasonableness of reported evaluations. Komodo is primarily known for superb positional play.

Of course it is also one of the the top few engines in tactical strength, but the programmers have not been willing to sacrifice positional play just to score better on tactical problem sets. All good engines are far stronger tactically than any human player, but when positional judgment is involved, top grandmasters are still superior. Therefore it makes sense to emphasize positional play rather than tactical skill; it is better to improve one's weakest point rather than just to further improve the strongest feature.

Komodo is especially useful for opening analysis, because its grandmaster programmer has always made sure that the program's evaluations agree in general with accepted theory. Komodo also excels in the evaluation of positions with material imbalance, which it handles more correctly than other top engines. The endgame of Komodo has been improved by the use of Syzygy tablebases (not included), which provide only the most essential information to save time and memory. Another unique feature of Komodo is its superior performance when using eight or more cores.

Komodo Chess 9 includes:

• The Komodo 9.01 engine, which can support up to 64 processor cores and 16 GB of hash memory;

• The Deep Fritz 64-bit program interface (+ 32 bit program interface);

• ChessBase PREMIUM Account: six months online access to Playchess.com, ChessBase live database, Let’s Check, Engine Cloud, Tactics Training.

System requirements

Minimum: Pentium III 1 GHz, 2 GB RAM, Windows Vista, XP (Service Pack 3), 7/8, DirectX9, 256 MB graphics card, DVD-ROM drive, Windows Media Player 9 and Internet access for program activation, access to Playchess.com, Let’s Check and program updates.

Recommended: PC Intel i7 (Quadcore), 4 GB RAM, Windows 8.1, DirectX10, 512 MB graphics card, 100% DirectX10-compatible sound card, Windows Media Player 11, DVD-ROM drive and Internet access for program activation, access to Playchess.com, Let's Check and program updates.

Price: Komodo Chess 9 including six months ChessBase Premium account: €79.90 (€59.93 on our special rebate day). Update from Version 8: €39,90 including six months ChessBase Premium (€29.93 on rebate day)

Order Komodo Chess 9 in the ChessBase shop now!