Investing on Deep Rybka 4

Hello All,

Do any of you have "Deep Rybka 4"?
It is a costly software, do you think it's really worth purchasing for improving your game?

My laptop is an old one, and won't support this at present, so purchasing Deep Rybka will imply purchasing a new laptop.

If you have Deep Rybka 4, please share in what way it has helped you to improve your game.

I prefer Houdini because it is free and said to be just as good if not better than Rybka.

I have lots of engines, my perception of Rybka wasn't great. Seemed to be too slow to me.

@Borgqueen: Yes Rybka will be slow because it requires a system requirement as below, and i think you don't have that :

Code:

System requirements:

Minimum: Minimum: Pentium III 1 GHz, 512 MB RAM, Windows Vista, XP (Service Pack 3), DirectX9 graphics card with 256 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, Windows-Media Player 9, internet access (playchess.com, updates and activation).


Recommended: PC Intel Core 2 Quad, 2.4 GHz, 3 GB RAM, Windows Vista or Windows 7, DirectX10 graphics card (or compatible) with 512 MB RAM or more, 100% DirectX10 compatible, soundcard, Windows Media Player 11, DVD ROM drive and internet access (playchess.com, updates and activation). The activation of the program requires internet access.

That's the reason i wanted to upgrade to a new one? Well, is there are predicted rating for Houdini? Can you forward me some relevant and good links for Houdini?

Ahhh...houdini also looks paid http://www.cruxis.com/chess/houdini.htm, i think you downloaded the trial version. That you can get for Rybka too, which i did, it is version 2.2 i guess.

I played Rybka against Crafty and Bringer, which are relatively strong. Rybka won all.

I'd suggest that if you are not using 64bit and a quad core or better there's really not much sense in going to a multi processor engine.

I stopped upgrading Rybka at v2.3.2. I think that for postional understanding Komodo is better (although they haven't offered a multi-processor version yet), and the search capabilities of Critter, Stockfish and Houdni are better than Rybka at present.

My experience is that there's not enough difference in the engines to worry about. I often run double rr tourneys with my four favorite engines to make a final decision on a plan of play and generally none of the engines dominate - any of the engines will dominate in good positions.

Stockfish, Critter, and Komodo are all free engines. I use Houdini for Deep Analysis in the Aquarium GUI, but it seems to be a bit drawish is some positions.

For training practice I reserve Hiarcs and subscribe to their opening book which seems outstanding so far. I run that on my very old 32 bit dual core laptop. This is a premium engine and book which I purchased because is seems to be the only combination that is being optimised for OTB players as opposed to beating other engines.

@PawnCustodian: That was great, indeed you have given all of us a good advice of the various engines and their usability at a particular situation.

Which version of Houdini you use? I guess the standard one right? As the pro one may not support in 32 bit environment.

I use Houdini 2c which supports up to 6 cores, more than I would ever need. As I understand the pro version is good in a 64bit windows environment, and will support up to 32 cores.

Regarding your initial question, how to use Rybka to improve, my approach has been as follows:

I use the multi-core engines for deep analysis in multi-variation mode to get a quick feel for the top candidate moves and verify any tactical nuances. (This was very helpful during the ICS Year 1 months 9-13 positional exercises to verify and gain insight into the book and alternative solutions).

I use the single-core engines for playing practice games, more than sufficient to learn humility.

I use Aquarium Interactive Deep Analysis (IdEA) which, relies on single-core engines, for opening study and development. I'm fortunate enough to have my dream setup which allows me to import anywhere from 1 to 100 games from Chess Base into IdEA for analysis (You can do the same with the databases provided with Aquarium/Houdini but without the database development capabilities of Chess Base). This has been useful with the ICS opening repertoire study to examine key positions. The approach overcomes the main problem of database statistics which rely only on game outcomes by identifying blunders, time losses, etc. and minimaxing checked outcomes. Any UCI engine can be used in Aquarium. Aquarium/Houdini is the best value software for independent study at the moment in my opinion.

@PawnCustodian: Have you used Chessmaster GM edition? How does it compare it with analysis part i mean with Houdini? Ofcourse Houdini is much stronger i know, but the illustration etc i mean when doing the analysis.

I have Chessmaster GM edition, and in rated play i don't see much in the analysis part.

I still use Houdini (v1.5 x64) over and above all other engines I have. Paid or not, it is still waaay better than I am or could ever hope to be, so meh, it suits me perfectly.

I know absolutly zero about any of the Chessmaster products. How does it compare to a program like Fritz?

The minimum essential capabilities for an ambitious players is a decent games database, flexible playing/training modes, a games/position analysis capability, ability to run engine competitions, access to endgame tablebases, and be capable of adding UCI compliant engines. Also I look for decent support forums on the internet, also an essential asset since there is a considerable learning curve with all of the programs.

It's not so much the engine anymore, there are dozens at or above the 3000 ELO level. One should really look at the capabilities of the GUI and support in deciding which program is best for their needs.

Totally agree with you. I use the chessbase gui myself. Seems very powerful to me... and it seems farily user-friendly :-)

@PawnCustodian: Can't compare it with Fritz, as haven't used it, but yes Chessmaster GM has all the points you mentioned

But i am thinking to fight with the strongest engine..so that's why started this discussion , although i know the Fruit or Bringer is enough to defeat me at the moment

http://computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/404/rating_list_all.html

There you go, plenty to choose from here...

May the Force be with you.

Nice list!