Fritz 18: Adaptive play and spoon-fed brilliancies

by Albert Silver
11/19/2021 – Fritz 18 has been released, bringing a fantastic opponent so that now you have an engine that will adapt to your play, try to make it a fun and engaging opponent, and even set you up with a brilliancy or more if the situation allows. This is not merely hype, but the result of feedback from players who have tried it, from weak amateurs to grandmasters themselves.

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Fritz 18 is on its way, and understandably the question is what it brings to the table. By now you may have heard about its new ready-to-play Easy Game mode, providing an accessible opponent for players of all strengths. But does the hype really live up to the reality? The short answer is an unwavering yes.

The Easy Game functionality has been around since Fritz 16, and while certainly usable when it first appeared, it was rudimentary. The heart was in the right place, but the execution did not quite live up to its ambition. Fritz 18 takes giant strides forward in the right direction. Not only does it carefully gauge your play, adapting its moves to your strength, but it will deliberately try to give you chances in creative ways. 

One of these ways will be to carefully calculate the various continuations available, and if it spots a potential tactic, AKA brilliancy, it may set that opportunity up for you. If you miss it, it will tell you you missed something, and if you have active hints, it will warn you. 

The other way is more subtle, and in some ways the more impressive of the two. While playing, it is judging your skill level, regularly updating your in-game performance. It will strive to keep the game interesting for you, without crushing you or just giving it all away (i.e. "Here, take this bishop, so you have a chance against me"). 

As a player, I immediately put it to the test. I have made many attempts in the past to play engines at a comfortable rate for a playable game, and not one seemed remotely enjoyable. In fact, some ten years ago, a friend rated 2300+ FIDE asked me for suggestions, and the best I came up with was for him to set the engine to play a move in 0.1 seconds, while he played a long standard game. Even this turned out to be insufficient to balance things out. And remember, this was over ten years ago

The first game I tested tuned out to be incredibly easy. Clearly the engine was evaluating my play, calibrating itself. When we played a second game, it was a striking and fascinating experience. The game remained balanced throughout, with the engine easing up on the accelerator at timely moments. The most important factor was that I didn't actually notice it, except at the very end, when it went out of its way to avoid a draw and let me play for a win. The ultimate question was: would I repeat the experience? Yes, without question. I would rate it as enjoyable, and I am not alone. 

Unsurprisingly, the new program was sent out to a range of players to test and give feedback, from weak amateurs to full-fledged grandmasters. One such was a young super-talent, GM Leon Mendonca, who played several games and summarized his experience:

"Fritz 18 is arguably the best program right now for training and mainly playing purposes. The big difference with this version of Fritz is that you can actually play a competitive game against it without getting crushed. It gives you opportunities to fight for an advantage and win the game. You can also play a certain position against it to check out the replies you could possibly face in a tournament game. I would recommend Fritz 18 to players of all levels as the program is designed to adapt to a players strength."

Young not-yet-GM Leon, back in January 2020, with two of his trainers

Here are four games Leon played against Fritz 18. You can start an engine in the replayer (fan icon) and compare the moves the new Fritz plays against the ones of a traditional engine.

 
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1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 Nf6 4.Bb2 c5 5.g3 b6 A blunder which is excused as Fritz is getting used to the player's strength 6.Bg2 6.bxc5 bxc5 7.Nxd4! cxd4 8.Bg2 is winning 6...Bb7 7.0-0 g6?! 7...Nbd7 8.Qb3 8.bxc5 bxc5 9.e3 is natural and equally good 8...Nbd7!? 9.bxc5 e5 10.cxb6 axb6 11.d3?? Clearly a strategical blunder. 11.e3 and Black is lost. His king is too weak 11...Bc6 12.Ba3 Bc5 13.Bxc5 Nxc5 14.Qb4?! as it turns out later, the queen is misplaced 14.Qb2 14...Qc7 15.Nbd2?! 15.Na3 0-0 16.Nb5 would've given me more control over the queenside 15...Ra4 16.Qb2 0-0 17.Nb3 Rfa8 18.Rfb1 Qd6 19.Nfd2?
19.Nxc5 bxc5 20.Nd2 19...Ne6! Fritz 18 fights back! 20.Bxc6 Qxc6 21.Nf3 Nd7 I think Black got decent compensation and the position should be around equal. 22.Nbd2 not the most accurate. I should have kept the knight on b3 Nec5 Somehow it is now difficult to get Nb3 23.Qc2 From here on I was okay with a draw but Fritz continues the game! 23.Nb3? Nxd3 23...f6 24.Nb3 Nb7 25.Nbd2 Ra3 26.Rb3 R3a6 27.Rbb1 Kg7 28.Rb4 Nbc5 29.Rb5 Ra3 30.Nb1 R3a4 31.Nbd2 Ra3 32.Nb1 R3a7 33.Nbd2 Qd6 34.Kg2 Kg8 35.h4 Qc6 36.Kg1 Ra6 37.Kh2 R8a7 38.Kg1 Qa8 39.Kh2
39...Rxa2?! This gives me some breathing space Fritz should have improved his position a bit more as it is difficult for me to come up with moves 39...Kg7 40.Rxa2 Rxa2 41.Rb2 Ra3 42.Nb1 Ra4 43.Nfd2 f5 44.Nb3 Kg7?! 44...Ne6 45.Nxc5 bxc5 46.Nd2 it seems equalish now Ra1 47.Rb1 Ra4 48.Nf3 Qc6 49.Qb2 Ra7 50.Nd2 Qa6 51.Qc2 Nf6 52.Rb5 Qa2
53.Rb7+ Simple and elegant Kg8 54.Rb8+ Kf7 55.Rb7+ Ke6 56.Rb6+ Kf7 57.Rb7+ Ke6 58.Rb6+ Kf7 59.Rb7+ Kg8 60.Rb8+ Kg7 61.Rb7+ Kf8 62.Rb8+ Ke7 63.Rb7+ Ke6 An interesting game where I got a big advantage out of the opening but Fritz fought back and even got an a preferable position, until it gave me enough counterplay to hold a draw.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Mendonca,L-Grandmaster (Fritz)-½–½2021A09Fritz 18 Easy Game
Mendonca,L-Grandmaster (Fritz)-1–02021E99Fritz 18 Easy Game
Grandmaster (Fritz)-Mendonca,L-0–12021B19Fritz 18 Easy Game
Grandmaster (Fritz)-Mendonca,L-0–1 B51Fritz 18 Easy Game

Leon, and many other friends, are clearly having a lot of fun with Fritz 18. And they are sending us games? You can do the same: send us your most brilliant efforts against the computer. And your impressions on what it is like to play against Fritz 18.

Using Easy Game

When you first start up Fritz 18, you are first shown the opening menu screen. Just click on Easy Game.

It will open the screen to a fairly familiar scene if you have ever used this mode before. Of note is that at the bottom right is a large colourful area with a big smiling yellow rook, and some curious checkboxes.

These are fairly self-explanatory. "Automatic Hints" means it gives you a hint during your turn without actively being requested. If the hint is not enough, you can click the Next Hint button for a different hint.

Click and Check is so that when you click a piece on the board, it will give you a hint as to the better and worse choices while you keep the mouse button pressed.

Clicking on the Qc4 shows that c2 would be the worst choice. As it stalemates.

Finally, Talk is to hear out loud voice comments.

On the farther right side is a list of pieces left on the board with coloured balls. This is the piece heatmap. If you just look at it without passing your mouse over, it will tell you what pieces are well-placed or not. The darker the green the better, and red is a no-no.

If you actually move your mouse over the pieces, it will then highlight the colours on all the  individual pieces on the board.

Starting a game

You might find this part obvious and unnecessary, but a few words can make your first foray a bit smoother. Before starting a game, choose a level. 

The levels can be quite striking in their range, so be warned. A first game with "Club Player' saw this opening arise after two moves:

 

On the other hand, a second game with "Strong Club Player", saw a much more normal Alekhine Defense even though it took its time playing the moves.

After choosing your Level, start a game with the colour you want:

What to expect

After two games, one gets a good taste for what it will be like. Club Player turned out to be unusually weak, but perhaps this was because it was still building a profile of my playing strength. Regardless, I saw this moment arise:

 

Here the engine just played 1...c5, allowing the capture of material with 2. a3. Before it played its move, I saw its analysis predicting 1...a5 to save the knight. So it saw it, and deliberately left the chance open to me.

In the second game, I selected Strong Club Player, and this time the game seemed much more like a normal game. I did not feel overwhelmed or underwhelmed. At one stage, this move came up:

 

I played 1. a6 with the idea of wrecking the queenside pawns for active play. It took with 1...Nx6 allowing me the planned tactic 2. Rxa6!. I don't know if this was a planned 'brilliancy' I was allowed to play, but it was nice to not feel everything I tried was prevented 10 moves in advance.

As the game reached its end, I saw more clearly the power of the new functionality. In this position, it is clear that Black can now just end the game by repeating checks with the rook, from which I cannot escape.

 

I played normal moves, expecting it to take the draw each time. Instead it would deliver a check, with me thinking "here goes...", but then chose a non-drawing move to play on. Little by little it let me gain the advantage for no reason other than to give me a chance to play and try to win it. It did not do this in some overtly humiliating way ("here, take my knight"), making the game quite enjoyable, even if I knew it was by the grace of its design.

Here is the entire game from end to end:

 
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1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Nd7 7.c4 N5b6 8.Nc3 Bxf3 9.Bxf3 c6 10.Qe2 dxe5 11.dxe5 Bb4 12.Rd1 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Qe7 14.a4 Qc5 15.Ba3 Qxc4 16.Bd6 Qxe2 17.Bxe2 Nc8 18.Bc7 Ncb6 19.c4 Nc5 20.a5 Nbd7 21.Bf3 0-0 22.Ra2 Rfc8 23.Bd6 Re8 24.a6 Nxa6 25.Rxa6 bxa6 26.Bxc6 Red8 27.c5 27.Be7? Nxe5 28.Bxd8 Nxc6 27...Rac8 28.Bb7 f6 29.f4 fxe5 30.fxe5 Nb8 31.Bxc8 Rxc8 32.Ra1 Nd7 33.Rxa6 Nxc5 34.Rxa7 Nd3 35.g3 Rc2 36.Re7 g5 37.Rxe6 Re2 38.Re7 Re1+ 39.Kg2 g4 40.e6 Re3 41.Re8+ Kg7 42.e7 Re2+ 43.Kg1 Re1+ 44.Kg2 Re6 45.Rf8 Re2+ 46.Kg1 Re1+ 47.Rf1 Rxf1+ 48.Kxf1 Kf7 49.Ke2 Nb2 50.Bc5 Ke8 51.Ke3 Na4 52.Ba3 The idea of 52.Bd4? to capture the knight, fails to h5 53.Kd3 Kxe7 54.Kc4 Kd6 52...Kf7 53.Kf4 Nc3 54.Kxg4 Nd1 55.Bc5 Nc3 56.Kf5 Na4 57.Ba3 Ke8 58.Kf6 Nc3 59.Kg7 Nb5 60.Bc5 Nc7 61.Kxh7 Kf7 62.h4 Ne8 63.Kh6 Nf6 64.Ba3 Ne4 65.g4 Ng3 66.Kg5 Ne2 67.h5 Nd4 68.Kf4 Nb5 69.Bc5 Nc7 70.Bd6 Nd5+ 71.Ke5 Nxe7 72.Bxe7 Kxe7 73.g5 Ke8 74.g6 Ke7 75.h6 Ke8 76.Kf6 Kd7 77.g7 Kd6 78.g8Q Kc5 79.h7 Kb4 80.h8Q Kc3 81.Qc8+ Kb4 82.Qh4+ Kb3 83.Qhc4+ Kb2 84.Qb8+ Ka3 85.Qcb3# 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Silver,A-Strong Club Player (Fritz)-1–02021B05Fritz 18 Easy Game

It is early days, but I strongly suspect that players of many levels will be able to enjoy a good game now, and use it as a proper part of training.

Order Fritz 18 now – use "Download" to get it in one day


Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.

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OmNamaShivaYa OmNamaShivaYa 3/17/2023 10:49
Is it possible to switch engines in easy game mode?
Leavenfish Leavenfish 11/22/2021 11:54
Sadly, it seems there is no functionality if either Easy nor Friendly mode to force the program to follow a simple CTG book line...how is one to 'truely' practice openings one actually plays...the whole experience is kind of cheapened. Please fix this...and quickly.
Popper4 Popper4 11/20/2021 02:32
I must admit I was going to give F18 a miss this time, as I have F15 -F17 already. However I could not resist the 24 hr bargains, so I purchased it along with Big Database 2022 and saved £50. I am really thrilled with F18 particularly with the Hints Facility which I really enjoy using. I still use Chessmaster X1 as well because of the natural language commentary, so how about adding something similar in the next version?
Frederic Frederic 11/20/2021 01:53
There is a 421-page manual available online: http://help.chessbase.com/F18-eng.pdf. Just the index is nine pages long. But we will be providing step-by-step tutorials on our news page in the coming weeks. In the meantime please send us your most brilliant (and entertaining) games...
orris2k orris2k 11/19/2021 10:15
I downloaded the English version of the F18 manual from this address: http://help.chessbase.com/F18-eng.pdf
MartinBChess MartinBChess 11/19/2021 09:25
Well thanks for explaining the piece heatmap because nowhere in the program is it explained.
Why is the inbuilt help so poor, especially with no user manual.
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