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The Komodo Files
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Danny Gormally decided it was finally time to work properly with a chess engine
The London Chess Classic did not go well for me. If you include the Super Rapidplay before the FIDE Open, I drew and lost a number of games I should have been strolling on paper. Clearly my chess was stuck in a rut. Probably had been for years to tell the truth. Perhaps it was time to jump on the gravy train and do what all the top players seem to be doing these days: work with an engine.
I asked Chess & Bridge if they could send me a copy of Komodo, which was rumoured to be one of the strongest engines around, if not the strongest. I remember this Icelandic GM telling me about it a couple of years ago at the Scottish Championships and had vowed to get my hands on it ever since. The DVD duly arrived through the post a day later. In trembling anticipation I loaded it up on my laptop.
It didn’t take long before I got an insight into Komodo’s fearsome strength. In a number of training games I was brutally savaged. Press "Ctrl +" to enlarge the comments in the following JavaScript replay board (and Ctrl-0 to switch back to normal).
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.Nbd2 Nd7 11.c3 Nc5 12.Bc2 Nxa4 13.Bxa4 bxa4 14.Qxa4 Qe8! 15.d4? exd4 16.cxd4 d5‼ 17.e5 17.exd5 Nb4 17...Nb4 18.Qb3 Qb5 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.
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Gormally,D | - | COMP Komodo | - | 0–1 | 2014 | C88 | Training Game, Alnwick | |
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In my second game in Hastings I was paired against John Anderson. I noticed his theoretical knowledge was fairly good and that he was playing the Slav pretty much every time against 1 d4. To prepare I played a number of training games against Komodo in the Geller variation of the Slav. I think that’s one of the advantages of using an engine. Think how tedious it must have been to prepare for games 40 years ago. You’d have had to lug around these huge great Informators and spend hours flicking through them and other opening manuals.
With the engine it’s just much quicker; you learn how to play an opening exponentially faster. I can charge up Komodo and just play some games with it. So I was playing the Anderson side, the black side of the Slav, and Komodo would take White, just so I could get a feel for how the computer handles the position. Once I felt I’d mastered one sub-variation, I’d move on to the next. Then the plan was to try and replicate Komodo’s play over the board. However, the reader may have already spotted a flaw in this plan...
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 b5 6.e5 Nd5 7.a4 e6 8.Ng5!? 8.axb5 Nxc3 9.bxc3 cxb5 10.Ng5 Bb7 11.Qh5 g6 12.Qg4 Bd5 8...h6! 8...Be7 9.h4! h6 10.Nge4 b4 11.Nb1 Ba6 12.Nbd2 c3 13.Nc4 Bxc4 14.Bxc4 9.Nge4 b4 10.Nb1 Ba6 11.Nbd2 Nf4! 11...c3 12.Nc4 Bxc4 13.Bxc4 cxb2 14.Bxb2 Be7 15.Qg4 0-0 16.0-0 Nd7 17.a5 12.Qg4 Nd3+ 13.Bxd3 cxd3 14.0-0 Qd5 15.Re1 Nd7 16.Nf3 c5! 16...Bc4 17.dxc5?! 17.Nd6+ Bxd6 18.exd6 c4 19.Qxg7 0-0-0 20.Qxf7 c3 21.bxc3 bxc3 22.Qxe6 Qxe6 23.Rxe6 d2 24.Nxd2 cxd2 25.Bxd2 17...Nxc5 18.Nd6+ Bxd6 19.exd6 Nb3 20.Bf4 Nxa1 21.Qxg7 0-0-0 22.Rxa1 d2? 22...Kb7! 23.Qxf7+ Ka8 23.Bxd2 Qxd6 24.Qxf7 Rd7 25.Rc1+ Kb7 26.Bxb4 Rxf7 26...Qxh2+! 27.Bxd6 Rd8? 27...Rd7! 28.Be5 Rc8 28.Ne5! Rg7 29.Bb4 29.Bc5!? Rd5 30.b4! Rxe5 31.Bd4 Rgg5 32.f4 Rd5 33.fxg5 Rxd4 34.b5 Bxb5 35.axb5 hxg5 29...Rd5?! 29...Rd4! 30.Bc3 Rxa4 30.Bc3 Rc7 31.Re1 Bc4 32.f4 32.a5 32...a5 33.Kf2 Bb3 34.g4? 34.Ra1! 34...Bxa4 35.g5 hxg5 36.fxg5 Be8 37.g6 a4! 38.h4 a3 39.bxa3?? 39.h5! a2! 40.h6 Rxc3 41.bxc3 Rxe5 42.Rxe5 a1Q 43.g7! Qb2+ 44.Re2 Qb6+ 45.Re3 39...Rxc3 40.g7 Rd2+ 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.
Gormally,D | - | Anderson,J | - | 0–1 | 2014 | D15 | Hastings | |
Please, wait...
So my first real experience of preparing with Komodo ended in near total disaster, although that wasn’t the machine’s fault. Only when I was forced to think for myself did the old human frailties come to the surface.
– Part two will follow soon. In it Danny tells us how he used Komodo
to work out a line virutally to checkmate after White's seventh move –
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Komodo Chess 8 – Bringing creativity back to chess

Komodo is a chess program that is different from the rest. Its search makes greater use of extensions than any other top engine, which results in a slightly lower average depth, but helps the actual playing strength significantly. It also allows Komodo to see deeper than any other engine, even if it is displaying a lower search depth.
The evaluation of Komodo differs from its main rivals because, unlike the automated tuning generally employed, Komodo's evaluation represents a blend of both automated tuning and the judgment of a grandmaster and computer expert (Larry Kaufman). The programming team have avoided terms and weights that don't make sense to him, even if they happen to test a bit positively. Automated evaluations are subject to rather large sample error, and applying some chess judgment appears to be beneficial, both in results and in the reasonableness of reported evaluations.


Komodo is primarily known for superb positional play. Of course it also one of the top few engines in tactical strength as well, but the programmers have not been willing to sacrifice positional play just to score better on tactical problem sets. It is generally recognized that all good engines are far stronger tactically than any human player, but that when positional judgment is involved, top grandmasters are still superior in many positions to any engine. 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.

Larry Kaufman of the USA is a man of many talents. Not only is he a grandmaster and the
2008 World Senior Champion, but he’s also a shogi expert and the brains behind Komodo 8!
Komodo is especially useful for opening analysis, because as an opening specialist Larry Kaufman has always paid close attention to checking whether the program's evaluations in the opening agree in general with accepted theory. Another point in which Komodo excels is the play and 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, which are considered the best for actual play and game analysis as they provide only the most essential information to save time and memory.
Another unique feature in Komodo is its superior handling of multiple processors, using a method that is quite different than the usual one. This is most noticeable when using eight or more cores. There is little doubt that Komodo 8 is and will remain the top rated commercial chess engine on most rating lists.
Komodo Chess 8 includes:

- The Komodo 8 engine, which can support up to 64 processor cores and 16 GB of hash memory
- The new Deep Fritz 64-bit program interface (+ 32 bit program interface)
- Online access to the world’s largest analysis database “Let’s Check”, with over 200 million extensively analyzed positions (free access to “Let’s Check” until December 31, 2016)
- Access to ChessBase engine cloud
- Premium membership to Playchess.com for six months
- Database with over 1.5 million games
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: €79.90 (€67.14 without VAT for customers outside the EU; $86.62 without VAT). Languages: English, German. ISBN: 978-3-86681-442-4; EAN: 9783866814424. Delivery: Download, Post
Order Komodo Chess 8 in the Chess & Bridge shop now!