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By International Master Jimmy Liew

  Chess is dead, 

                Long live the computer!!

I remember when Fritz 1.0 first came out in the late 80’s . It was quite a primitive program back then Sure, it could beat 99.99 % of the population but for stronger players like myself, it became quite boring as I could regularly beat it.

 Fast forward to the present day, some twenty years later. The software programmers are much more experienced and  smarter now making huge improvements in search depth, move selection, tree pruning,  position assessment and large opening book which are the key concepts of developing a strong chess playing program. Add to that the huge explosion in computing power. Gordon Moore who co-founded Intel made an observation in 1965 that computing power doubles every 2 years (in the industry, this is subsequently referred to as Moore’s law). Today’s commercial chess programs are quite capable of beating even grandmasters. Once chess programs are allowed to compete with humans in regular tournaments (and this is already happening in smaller tournaments), believe me, all of us can give up and just become spectators at the game.

 While such programs are an invaluable aid to chess players, there have been cases where accusations of computer cheating have been hurled about even at the highest level. In the Kramnik-Topalov world championship match, the Topalov and his manager have accused Kramnik of cheating. Topalov himself has been under suspicion ever since his near meteoric rise culminating in the said championship match.

 However, a new style of chess playing has emerged where anything goes. You can use computers (in fact you are at a big disadvantage if you do not) as well as have other human assistants (grandmasters?). Throw in your dog as well, if you so wish. This type of chess is called freestyle.

 Freestyle is a very different game from normal chess competition. Everybody is using one or more computer so blunders which can occur over the board are non-existent. And with today’s computers and software programs, even tactical combinations can be seen way in advance. Deep opening preparation are normal, I have seen games where twenty-five opening moves were played before the real chess begins.

 A company called the PAL Group in the United Arab Emirates has been sponsoring a freestyle event which is now in its seventh edition. They offer a prize fund of USD16,000 with USD7,000 going to the winner. The event is a departure in that this is a 9 round Swiss whereas in the previous editions there was a Swiss qualifier with the top ten going at it in a round-robin.

 To be successful in this type of competition requires a number of factors. Top of the list is the computer hardware. Let’s face it, nothing beats raw processing power. It helps to have a small team of 2-4 members. A top game engine is a must, most of the players are running a version of Rybka. Matter of fact, the Rybka developer won the sixth tournament. You must be familiar with the strength and weaknesses of your particular engine. Sometimes the engine may not find the best move and experienced players know just when to step in and override the engine’s move. Most players have their own custom book preparations just waiting to catch those who are un-prepared. (Watch out for the next column where I analyse my game where I fell in to a prepared opening. My opponent sacrificed his queen for two minor pieces on the seventh move!)

 For the last two week-ends I have been competing in the 7^th PAL/CSS Freestyle tourney, which explains the absence of my regular column in themalaysian last week. Well, actually I compete just for the sake of competing. I am definitely in no danger of finishing anywhere in the top 20. I’m in some good company though, because I noticed one of India’s top GMs, Sasikaran, on the player starting list and he did not make any impression either in the tournament.

 I have a notebook with one single CPU running at 1.8Ghz and 1.5 Gb of memory plus a desktop using dual core chip and no opening preparation ( I just rely on Fritz’s opening book). This is seriously underpowered compared with the competition. Furthermore, rounds starts at 8:00 PM and 1:00AM (Malaysian time). A couple of times I actually fell asleep sitting at my computer during the game!

 As mentioned, next week I will analyse an amazing game I played in this event. So come back again …..