He just wants to play...and win!

by Davide Nastasio
1/16/2018 – This article is dedicated to some brilliant games played by Fritz 16, annotated nearly move-by-move by Davide Nastasio. In fact we can learn a lot from these engine vs engine games, especially when compared to our own mental chess dos and don'ts, and asking ourselves some questions as to why some moves — even apparently good ones — were not played. Often we hear the advice to study master games to improve our chess level, and if you watch these games, you'll gain a lot of insight and ideas for your next tournament!
Fritz 16 is looking forward to playing with you, and you're certain to have a great deal of fun with him too. Tense games and even well-fought victories await you with "Easy play" and "Assisted analysis" modes.

Fritz doing well at TCEC

I thought it could interest Chessbase readers to know that Fritz 16 has won Division 3 of the TCEC (Top Chess Engine Championship) for Season 11.

Full standings TCEC Division 3

  1. Fritz 16 — 18½ / 28
  2. Laser — 17½
  3. Nemorino — 14½
  4. Pedone — 14
  5. Defenchess — 14
  6. Senpai — 12½
  7. ChessBrainVB — 11
  8. Ethereal — 10

Fritz 16

The newest season has been adopted a league format, in which the engines are set in divisions (from 4th to Premier), and at the end of each division the top two engines will be promoted. You can find all the information on the official website which explains how the engines play against each other, and what are hardware features, as well as making all the games available.

This small article is merely to show some of the games I loved from this amazing engine, because Fritz 16's games are human like! In fact this new version of Fritz 16 uses also emoticons to show his mood!  

For example, in the first game we see a Jobava-Larsen style. Watch the game trying to guess the next move, and awe will arise!

 
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1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nge7 4.Nf3 e4 5.Ng1! This was the first move which impressed me, because in our chess-human brains we have tatooed: don't move a piece twice — find the right square where to develop each piece. And here we have a 3000-rated engine which violates immediately such principles. Nd5 6.c4 Nf6 7.Nc3 Bd6 The other engine also moves the pieces like a patzer blocking the development of its own pieces, or moving them more than once, still I'm sure it would outplay every human player. 8.Qb1 And now it begins the attack to the Pe4. Qe7 9.f4 0-0 10.Nge2 This knight has already monopolized the board playing three moves out of 10! Bb4 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.cxd5 Nd8 13.a3 Ba5 14.g4! Is this an attacking move? Is that a developing move? No, it's Fritz 16 flying high in the sky! d6 15.Ng3 Who cares to protect pawns? Nimzowitsch would say: they are soldiers, going to die on the frontline! c6 16.b4 By move 16 Black has three pieces on the back rank, two of which never developed, and the knight is shaking in fear! Bb6 17.Qxe4 The first soldier to die! Qh4 18.Be2 Bd7 18...Bxg4 Why didn't Black take the g4-pawn? 19.Bxg4 Qxg4 20.Nf5 And White is clearly better: the open g-file allows the rook to mount an attack with the Bb2 aiming at the enemy king, helped by the Nf5, and the Qe4 also pointing toward the kingside. 19.Rc1 cxd5 20.Qxd5 Bc6 21.Rxc6! An exchange sacrifice, the engine, like Petrosian, saw the skewer, but differently from an amateur, calculated the result would be positive... bxc6 22.Qh5 WHAT??? He just gave away the rook, and now is exchanging the most powerful attacking piece?? Qxh5 23.gxh5 Opening the file for the attack on G7. Ne6 Trying to protect g7, and clearing the 8th rank for helping the rooks to connect. 24.Nf5 Rfb8 25.Rg1 g6 26.Nxd6 Notice how the d6-pawn was hanging from few moves, but Fritz 16 didn't care about the material advantage per se, but was going with all he had against the enemy position, trying to weaken the kingside and mate the king. This is quite human like behavior! Kf8 27.f5 And again Fritz 16 goes crushing, and winning! gxf5 5 isolated pawns, two of which doubled... maybe Black needs to study Soltis' book on pawn structures... LOL 28.Nxf5 a5 29.b5! WOW!! Another human-like move, Fritz 16 wants to stop the counterplay, and gives up a pawn to keep the b-file closed! cxb5 30.h6 f6! This is also a nice move by Black, giving up a pawn to gain space for the king, which was immobilized. 31.Bxf6 Bd8 Trying to exchange a very active piece, the Bf6, for the Bb6 which was doing nothing from move ... well it is so far back in time that nobody can remember! 32.Bg7+ Ke8 33.Bxb5+! Rxb5 34.Nd6+ Kd7 35.Nxb5 White has a decisive advantage, now is just question of learning how to win. For those unsure, a great exercise is to practice this position against an engine. Rc8 36.Rf1 Be7 37.Rf5 Rc1+ 38.Kf2 a4 39.Bf6 Bxf6 40.Rxf6 Ke7 41.Rf5 Rd1 42.Rd5 Rh1 43.Kg2 Now we understand 38.Kf2, because while the rook would be used to protect the d-pawn, the king would protect the h-pawn. Ra1 44.h4 Nd8 45.Rd4 Nf7 46.Re4+ Kf6 47.Rxa4 Ra2 48.Rd4 Ke7 48...Nxh6 49.Kf3 Nf7 50.Rf4+ Kg6 51.h5+ Kg7 52.d4 White wins. 49.a4 Nxh6 50.Nc3 Ra1 51.Rb4 Nf7 52.Rb7+ Ke8 53.Kf3 Rh1 54.Nd5 h6 55.a5 Rf1+ 56.Ke2 Ra1 57.a6 Nd6 58.Rh7 Nf7 59.Rg7 Ra2 60.Rg6 h5 61.Re6+ Kf8 62.e4 Nd8 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Fritz 163151ChessBrainVB 3.6129811–02018A01TCEC Season 11 - Division 31

In the second game we have more of a Wesley So approach!

 
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1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6 6.Bf4 Bb4 7.Ndb5 e5 Blocking White's control over c7 and d6, which could give Black some trouble. 8.Bg5 0-0 9.a3 Bxc3+ 10.Nxc3 Now White has the bishop pair advantage. Human GM level players treasure such advantage, but as we will see in this game Fritz 16 gives it away right away. Another point to notice is the repositioning of the knight on b5. On b5 it was becoming useless, but on c3 it fights for the center: d5 and e4. h6 11.Bxf6 And here Fritz 16 shows a deep understanding of the position. The knight on c3 was trying to fight for d5 and e4, but now that the f6-knight is not there anymore, White has control over these two squares. The next step is to fight for the control of d4 and e5! Qxf6 12.e3 Ne7 13.Be2 Qb6 14.0-0 d6 14...Qxb2 15.Na4 Qxa1 16.Qxa1 And White wins. 15.Qd2 Be6 16.Rfd1 The fight begins for the domination of the backward d6-pawn. One side wants to block it, or kill it, the other push it! Rad8 17.Rac1 Also this move is quite interesting. The c-file could open, and White could be in the position to take control of the 7th rank. Hence the need to centralize the rook. Notice how many things we can learn from games between engines. Especially when one of the two engines, Fritz 16, has top class understanding. a6 18.Na4 Qc6 19.Qa5 White not only defends the knight on a4, but also begins, like a Python, to constrict his victim, in this case gaining control of another square in enemy territory. f5 Is this counter-attack on the kingside justified? 20.b3 Kh7 21.f4 e4 Pay attention to the dance of the squares, how before White had control of e4 and d5, and how it changed at every pawn push. Bronstein in his famous masterpiece: Zurich 1953, mentions how his understanding of weak squares changed. Here we see White trying to dominate the dark squares, like b6, d6, e5-d4. 22.b4 Qe8 23.Nb6 Nc6 24.Qa4 Qf7 Black can try to get rid of the d6-pawn weakness pushing it to d5. 25.g3 Ne7 Notice how all the Black pieces are supporting the push d6-d5. 26.Kf2 Ng8 Black needs to push the d6-pawn, but is not in a rush, because if executed at the wrong moment, White could create a passed pawn on the queenside. 26...d5 27.b5 dxc4 28.bxa6 bxa6 29.Nxc4 White should be better, the game now will focus on creating a passed A pawn. 27.Qa5 g5 Is this the wrong plan? Has Black the right to attack, or trying to open the kingside? 28.b5 axb5 29.cxb5 Qf6 30.Qb4 White is relentless, creating a passed pawn on the queenside. gxf4 31.exf4 d5 Black now has two central passed pawns — this game is becoming quite exciting! 32.Qd4 Rf7 33.a4 Qxd4+ 34.Rxd4 Notice the importance of what White did. The d5-pawn is blocked from advancing, and also the e3-pawn is blocked, in a sense. All these pawns are on light squares making the Black light-squared bishop inactive. Nf6 35.a5 Kg7 36.Ke3 Total blockade of the enemy passed central pawns. Re7 37.Rb4 Rd6 38.Kd4 Ng4 39.Bxg4! An important exchange. The Be6 is passive, the Nf6 was quite active, and could create problems in White's territory, hence the need to eliminate such a trouble-maker. fxg4 40.Rb3 White needs to avoid the e4-pawn advance. Rd8 41.Rbc3 Rf8 42.Rc7 Rff7 43.Rxe7 Rxe7 44.f5 Bxf5 45.Nxd5 Re8 46.Rc7+ Kg6 47.Rxb7 Now the game is over. e3 48.Rb6+ Kg7 49.Nxe3 Re4+ 50.Kd3 Bh7 51.Nc4 Re8+ 52.Kd4 Re4+ 53.Kc5 Bg8 54.Nd6 Re5+ 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
Fritz 163151Ethereal 8.7729451–02018A33TCEC Season 11 - Division 312

But Fritz 16 plays many different openings, showing us how to play them too in the process. The next two games are Sicilian and Caro-Kann.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.e5 Ng4 7.Bxc6 dxc6 8.Qe2 0-0 9.h3 Nh6 10.Ne4 Nf5 11.c3 11.Nxc5 Nd4 12.Qe4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 13.Nb3 13.Nd3?! Bf5 14.Qe3 Qxe3 15.dxe3 Rfd8 16.Rd1 Bxe5 Black is slightly better, 13...Qxe5 14.Qxe5 Bxe5= Black has the bishop pair advantage, but the position is far from being developed, and it wouldn't make sense to give a 10 moves line. 12...Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3 Bxe5= 11...b6 12.Rd1 Qd5 13.d4 cxd4 Now Black got rid of the doubled pawns on the c-file, while creating an object of attack in the backward d4-pawn. 14.cxd4 Ba6 15.Qxa6 Qxe4 16.Qd3 Qd5 17.Bf4 Rad8 18.Qe2 Bh6 19.Bxh6 Nxh6 20.b4 Nf5 21.Rac1 Rc8 22.Rc3 Rfd8 This was typical also for Karpov — his rooks magically would always find a place on c1/d1 or c8/d8. 23.Qc2 Ng7 24.Rc4 Ne6 The queen is not a good blockader, because it is a very powerful piece. Practically a pawn value is 1, a queen 9, to keep a 9 for blocking 1, is like playing without the queen — clearly a losing situation. Now notice how Fritz 16 safely switches the queen from blocking the d4-pawn to the knight. The knight is the perfect blockader, because while doing so, it also threatens many squares, especially in the center. 25.a4 Rc7 26.Re1 Kg7 27.Rd1 a6 28.h4 h6 29.Rd2 Nf4 30.Rc3 Qe6 31.Qc1 Nd5 32.Rb3 Ra8 33.a5 Rb7 34.Rdb2 bxa5 35.bxa5 Rb5 36.g3 36.Rxb5?! cxb5 37.Rc2 b4 And the passed pawn begins to walk! 36...Rxa5 If White would have taken on b5, Black's pawn structure would have improved. Instead here Black still has two isolated pawns. 37.Rc2 Rb5! Beautiful and a typical human GM move. Black doesn't care about defending the c6-pawn, but improves the position of the rook attacking the enemy rook, while freeing the square in front of the a6-pawn, thus gaining a tempo. 38.Rxc6 Qg4 39.Qa3 Rab8 40.Rxb5 axb5 And Black has a passed pawn! 41.e6 fxe6 42.Ne5 Qd1+ 43.Kg2 Qxd4 44.Nf3 Qe4-+ The situation is becoming dangerous for White... 45.Qa7 Rd8 46.Rc1 Ra8 47.Qd4+ 47.Qxa8?? Ne3+ 48.fxe3 Qxa8-+ Black wins 47...Qxd4 48.Nxd4 b4 49.Nxe6+ Kf6 50.Nd4 Ra3 51.Rc6+ Ke5 52.Nc2 Rd3 53.Rc5 b3 Obviously this is an endgame, pawns need to be pushed. Every inch they gain, brings a player toward victory. 54.Nb4 Rd1 55.Rb5 b2 56.Nxd5 b1Q 57.Rxb1 Rxb1 58.Nc3 Rb3 59.Ne2 g5 60.h5 Ke4 61.g4 e6 62.Ng1 Kf4 63.Ne2+ Kxg4 0–1
  • 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
Pedone 1.72477Fritz 1631510–12018B31TCEC Season 11 - Division 317
Senpai 2.02881Fritz 1631510–12018B10TCEC Season 11 - Division 311

No matter how it will go for Fritz 16 from here, I was happy to analyze these brilliant games, learn a lot from them, and share them with other chess enthusiasts.

Fritz 16 is looking forward to playing with you, and you're certain to have a great deal of fun with him too. Tense games and even well-fought victories await you with "Easy play" and "Assisted analysis" modes.

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Davide is a chess aficionado who regularly reviews books and DVDs.

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