This machine demolishes Magnus Carlsen
By Leif Erlend Johannessen
Houdini 3 is The Terminator among the many chess engines available at the moment.
It is estimated that it has an unprecedented monstrous rating of 3335. In comparison,
Magnus Carlsen recently landed a world record for humans on 2861. That means
the computer program is expected to win 99 (!) out of 100 games against the
world number one.
When Peter Svidler, who should be well known to Norwegian chess fans, was asked
which one player he would choose to represent Earth in a hypothetical match
against aliens, he answered "Houdini".
Houdini's father
Houdini's "father" is Robert Houdard, a Belgian structural engineer
with a peak rating of 2250 and chess engines as hobby. It is interesting to
hear him explain the secret behind Houdini:
-
I would like to pinpoint two key concepts: good evaluation and even better
selectivity. It's self-evident that good evaluation of a position is the
key for a good chess engine. Houdini is probably the best engine to evaluate
piece mobility and space control on the board.
-
Selectivity is another key feature in Houdini. Just like a human player,
an engine doesn't look at all the moves to the same depth. Potentially good
moves are examined exhaustively, whereas apparently weaker moves are only
given a quick, shallow look. Some moves are examined 40 or 50 plies deep,
other only five. Houdini has a good ability to identify which moves in the
position have some potential. It's similar to the instinct and experience
of a strong human chess player – looking at just a handful of moves
in a position, discarding nearly instantaneously and without thinking the
30 other moves.
Read more about the man behind Houdini at ChessBase.
Perfect sparring partner
Obviously, to challenge this program for a chess game is only suitable for
those with masochistic preferences. Instead Houdini should be used for training
purposes. With one click on the "spy" function you can have Houdini
looking over your shoulder while analysing one of your own games.
Just imagine: The world's strongest chess player is always there to analyse
your latest game with you, and it will never get tired! A warning though: Prepare
yourself for a brutally honest feedback on your own play. Abstract concepts
like "sympathy" or "constructive criticism" still remains
terra incognita for a computer.
Houdini is not only a tactical monster. With one mouse click the program will
give a strategic evaluation of a position and indicate the different plans and
ideas available to both sides, with pleasant-to-the-eye arrows and coloring.
With the "hotness" function you can ask the computer how "hot"
the position is and whether there are hidden tactical resources or combinations
present in the position. In addition, Houdini has access to a large database
and is therefore perfect for studying opening theory. At any moment you can
ask the computer to show the most important opening moves through green arrows.
Two novelties
Houdini 3 introduces two novelties compared to the previous versions. The first
one is called Let's Check and "is a completely new analysis function
which will revolutionise the chess world for years to come" (according
to the manual). The same popular positions are analysed by thousands of players
over and over again. This is in essence ineffective and Houdini 3 offers help.
Every position that has been analysed by anyone at any time is voluntarily saved
on a server. The possible engine variations are then available to everyone who
looks at this position. Whoever analyses a variation deeper than his predecessor
overwrites his analysis. This means that the Let’s Check information
becomes more precise as time passes. A bit like Wikipedia, where the articles
gradually take form. The system depends on cooperation. No one has to publish
his secret openings preparation. Using this function, however, all of the program's
users can build an enormous knowledge database.
Become a discoverer
When you store a variation in Let’s Check you can add your name to it.
If your analysis is later replaced by a deeper evaluation, his or her name is
then put in your place. Whoever analyses a position deeply for the first time
becomes the "discoverer", and the name is connected with that position
forever, even if other users make a deeper analysis. There is an honours list
for those who have won or discovered variations. Winning a variation is more
valuable, depending on how often it is visited and how deep the previous variation
was. Whether you are a beginner, a club player or a grandmaster – with
the help of "Let's Check" every chess player can contribute to this
database.
Analysing in the cloud
The other invention is as exciting and offers a groundbreaking innovation for
analysis with chess engines. Through the new server Engine-Cloud.com it is possible
to use the Internet to access chess engines that are running on other computers
and use them for your own analysis. It is also possible to run an engine on
your own computer and offer it to other users in the Cloud. Among the many benefits
I shall mention only a few:
-
This system offers many advantages to tournament players. They can travel
to a tournament with a relatively weak notebook. In between rounds they
can use Engine Cloud to analyse positions with the more powerful computers
that they have at home.
-
Chess engines are extreme applications that demand a computer’s complete
power. This means that a lot of energy is needed. If you work with a notebook
a lot you can use the computing power of other computers to prolong the
life of your battery and still use the maximum power for analysis. Another
advantage is that the fan doesn’t have to be used so much, so the
computer runs more quietly during the analysis.
-
Powerful computers cost a lot of money. By using Engine Cloud you can pay
a small fee to use top engines running on extremely powerful hardware.
-
If you own fast hardware and top engines you can use Engine Cloud to offer
your resources to other users for a small fee.
In addition, several of the engines offered in the "Cloud" are free
for use.
Epilogue
We asked Magnus Carlsen's manager, Espen Agdestein, about the possibility of
a match between Magnus and a computer. In general he is not too enthusiastic
about the idea, but won't rule out that it can happen later. Magnus considers
engines primarily as a tool, not an opponent. Computers are there all the time
in training and preparation.
|
|
Leif Erlend Johannessen, born 1980, became Norway's fifth International
Grandmaster when received his title in 2002. He has yet to win the Norwegian
championship – the closest came is second place in 1999, after losing
the play-off 0-2 to Berge Østenstad. He did win the Norwegian blitz
chess championship the same year however.
Johannessen, often nicknamed "Leffi", writes the column "Leffis
lille lure" (Leffi's little smart one) for the official Norwegian
chess magazine Norsk Sjakkblad. He is also a lawyer and seems to have
put in less time in chess over the last few years.
Johannessen is an honorary member of the Portuguese amateur team Mata
de Benfica and played in the Portuguese First League Team Championship
in the season 2006/2007 and 2008/2009 for this team. |
Nettavisen was the
first Norwegian online newspaper that was not derived from a pre-existing real-life
newspaper. It started up on 1 November 1996. TV
2, the largest commercial television station in Norway, bought the Nettavisen
web site in 2003. Today Nettavisen is the 8th largest website in Norway, with
about as many daily visitors as Aftenposten, Norways largest traditional newspaper.
An unbeatable combination: the world's strongest chess engine
running on the world's finest chess interface
Give in to the magic of this program! Only two years ago the Houdini chess
engine stormed to the top of the ranking lists, and since then has been the
uncontested number one chess engine in the world. The secret of its success:
Houdini introduces pure magic into the game of chess! The engine of Belgian
programmer Robert Houdart finds tricks in places where the other engines can
see nothing.
The new version, Houdini 3, goes even further, providing the chess world with
yet another increase in playing strength: at least 50 Elo points, thanks to
a host of improvements in its search algorithms. They manifest themselves in
different ways, in various phases of the game. In the opening Houdini 3 demonstrates
an even more subtle understanding of space and activity; in the middlegame the
program spots quicker than before when pieces are in danger of being dominated;
and in the endgame the right evaluations and solutions to problems are found
much sooner thanks to a faster, deeper search. During the course of this new
development and the fine tuning of the engine Houdini played, believe it or
not, ten million test games!
Houdini 3 is supplied with the latest Deep Fritz 13 chess interface and thus
puts at your disposal all the training and analysis functions of the world's
premium chess program. Included in the package are a one-year classic membership
to the chess server Playchess.com, online access to the world’s largest
analysis database “Let’s Check”* and the use of the ChessBase
Engine Cloud.
Houdini 3 includes:
- The Houdini 3 engine
- The DeepFritz 13 user interface in Windows Office 2010 standard
- The DeepFritz 13 database management system
- Classic membership of Playchess.com for twelve months
- The ChessBase Engine Cloud
- The ChessBase "Let’s Check" function (until 31.12.2015)
- A database with over 1.5 million games
Houdini 3 Standard multiprocessor version
Supports up to six cores and four GB of hash + 12 months Playchess.com
(classic)
ISBN 978-3-86681-336-6 – EAN 4027975007229. Price: 79.90€
Houdini 3 Pro multiprocessor version
Supports up to 32 cores and 256 GB of hash + 12 months Playchess.com (classic)
ISBN 978-3-86681-337-3 – EAN 402797500723-6. Price: 99.90€
System requirements: Minimum: Pentium III 1 GHz, 1 GB RAM,
Windows Vista, XP (Service Pack 3), DirectX9 graphics card with 256 MB RAM,
DVD-ROM drive, Windows Media Player 9 and Internet access to activate the program,
Playchess.com, Let’s Check, Engine Cloud and updates. Recommended: PC
Intel Core i7, 2.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, Windows 7 (64 bit) or Windows 8 (64 bit),
DirectX10 graphics card (or compatible) with 512 MB RAM or more, 100% DirectX10
compatible sound card, Windows Media Player 11, DVD ROM drive and Internet access
to activate the program, Playchess.com, Let’s Check, Engine Cloud and
updates.
You
can order Houdini 3 here for €79.90 – or in the Pro
version for €99.90 here
