7/15/2023 – While engines on powerful hardware are ever closer to chess perfection, draws tend to happen more and more. However, even perfection does not need to be dull, and at the 2023 World Computer Chess Championship, a spectacular game took place between Fritz running on 192 cores (!) and Stoofvlees using massive GPUs. See the video on this tactical slugfest!
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What is chess perfection? Put simply, it is a game where no move could have led to a loss is committed. Many assume that this also means the game will be boring, but as seen in the game below, while all roads may lead to Rome, they don't also have to pass through New Jersey.
The operators of both respective engines were kind enough to share the logs of the game so that the evaluations, times, and predictions could be seen from both sides. You will find some of this in the analysis of the incredibly entertaining game played in round four of the 2023 World Computer Chess Championship.
Fritz is running on 192 cores, overclocked at 3.5GHz (kindly provided by sponsor BOSTON) with 1.5 TB of Ram, while Stoofvlees, a powerful neural network that requires strong GPUs to perform at its best, is using no fewer than four RTX4090s. A clash of the titans!
You can also enjoy the analysis on the replayer below:
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1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.c3Nf65.d3d66.0-0a57.Re1Ba78.h30-09.Na3Ne710.d4Ng611.Bf111.Be3c612.Bf1Nxe413.dxe5Bxe314.Rxe3d515.c4Be616.Qe1Nc517.Rd1Qb618.cxd5Bxd519.Nc4Qc720.Nd4f621.exf6Rxf622.a3a423.Ne5Nxe524.Rxe5Raf825.f3Qb626.Qb4Qxb427.axb4Nd7½-½ Nihal,S (2673)-Sevian,S (2684) Sharjah Masters 6th 2023 (5)11...exd411...Re812.dxe5Nxe513.Nb5Bb814.c4c615.Nc3Nxf3+16.Qxf3d517.cxd5Nxd518.Nxd5½-½ Kadric,D (2601)-Sevian,S (2684) Sharjah Masters 6th 2023 (3)12.cxd4c613.Nb113.Nc4Nxe414.Rxe4d5=13...d514.e5Nh5Not obvious as it seems easily left out of the game with15.g3f6Grabbing the bull by the horns. Black not only plans to open the f-file, but is attacking White's center and space.16.Be3fxe517.dxe5d4!
Strong and incisive18.Bg5The point is that if18.Nxd4which seems to leave the Nh5 hanging, Black hasNxe5!19.Qxh5Bxd420.Bxd4Nf3+Picking up the rook or knight.18...Qc719.Nbd2Be620.Nh2
20...Rxf2‼ An astonishing move! And the rook is untouchable.21.Bd3It needs to be pointed out that not only had Fritz predicted this sequence, but was not the least bit worried and estimated itself at +0.83, while Stoofvlees was cool as a cucumber and thought White was a mere +0.22 with best play.So what happens if White takes with21.Kxf2d3+22.Be3The only other option here is22.Kg2Bd5+23.Nhf3Nxe524.Bf4Nxf4+25.gxf4Nxf326.Nxf3Qxf4and White is going to have to not only give up his material advantage of a rook, but pay up with interest.27.Bxd3Rf8and now if White tries to protect the knight with28.Rf1Qg5+29.Kh1Qg322...Qxe5
and suddenly the threat on g3 is absolutley deadly. White's last play to try to avoid disaster is23.Ne4But it is not enough. Look at this spectacular refutation!23.Qf3Rf823...Nxg324.Nxg3Rf8+25.Nf3Bb8 and everything is going down!21.Ne4Nxg322.Nxf2Nxf123.Nxf1Rf824.Nd3c521...Nxe522.Bxh7+Kxh723.Qxh5+Kg824.Kxf2Bf7!The only move that does not lose. Talk about a tightrope act.25.Qh4As extraordinary as the entire sequence was, both super comptuers, albeit vastly different types of engines, with one being a massive AlphaZero type nerual network running on 4 massive GPUs, and the other using 192 overclocked processors, they actually agreed on almost all the moves, even when there was more than one possibility. Here was one of the only divergences.Stoofvlees has anticipated25.Qd1though it would not change the outcome. Had it been played,Nd3+would have followed, and after26.Kg2Nxe1+27.Qxe1Qb628.Nhf3Re829.Qf1Qxb230.Re1Qxa2the game is an ultradynamic equality.25...Bd5Again the only move Black has that doesn't lead to a forced loss.26.Re4d3+27.Be3Bxe3+28.Rxe3Qb6Black will win another pawn and enter b2, since a move such as29.Qg529.b3loses toRf8+ and the rook on e3 is pinned.29...Qxb230.Rxe5It was only at this point that Fritz's optimism began to wane and the evaluation dropped to a modest +0.23.30.Qxe5Qxd2+31.Kf1Qxh230.Rd1is another choice that holds, but it is not as exciting as the move played.30...Qd4+The immediate30...Qxa1?would be a mistake since White now has
31.Rxd5!cxd532.Qxd5+Kh833.Nhf3and Black's exposed king against the Queen, two knights and even potential h4 and g4 means White has a clear advantage.31.Qe3Rf8+32.Nhf3Qxa133.Re8Qxa234.Rxf8+Kxf835.Qf4+Kg836.Qb8+Kh737.Qd6Bxf338.Qxd3+Be439.Qxe4+Kg840.Qe8+Kh741.Qh5+and although White chose to prolong the game here rather than repeat, it drew 25 moves later.Kg842.Qg5a443.Qd8+Kh744.Qd3+Kh845.Ke3Qa146.Qd8+Kh747.Qh4+Kg848.Qc4+Kh849.Kd3a350.Qh4+Kg851.Qe7a252.Qe6+Kh753.Kc2Qg154.Qe4+Kh855.Qh4+Kg856.Qc4+Kh757.Qxa2Qxg358.Qc4Qxh359.Qe4+Kh660.Qf4+Kg661.Ne4Qf562.Qd6+Kf763.Qd3Ke664.Ng3Qxd3+65.Kxd3g566.Ke4½–½
Albert SilverBorn 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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