How can I run an FRC (FischerRandom or Chess960) tournament?

[carldaman]

Of course WinBoard would also not have any problems running an FRC tourney. Whether with one or four CPUs. And you would not have to supply a list of opening positions (although you could, if you want to exercise more control over the), as WB would set up a random shuffle before every game. (But you can select to play each opening twice.)

Actually, I've had my hands full trying to run a FRC/chess960 tournament in Winboard.

I get various errors (even though I specified the same PGN file that worked under Fritz GUI) and the tournament won't start :

"Bad Position File"; "Position not found in file"; "Polyglot: pipex_exit(): @iF:child exited unexpectedly."

However, I can run individual chess960 matches in Winboard between engines that support it. Even here, unfortunately, I don't see where I can select the # of threads/CPUs or the amount of RAM. As a result, every game played under Winboard has been with a single processor and minimal RAM.

Any advice as to where in Winboard I can configure the engines to use all CPU power and more of the available RAM? (I use Winboard v4.6.2)

Thanks,
Carl

[carldaman]

OK, I was able to adjust the CPU and RAM under Common Engine Settings, but the CPU usage rarely goes above 50%. Could it be that ponder is on by default in Winboard?

Thanks,
CL

[carldaman]

heh, I'm replying to my own questions, but as I've just discovered, ponder was on by default and I turned it off.

So in final analysis, running a Winboard chess960 match is fairly easy , but the tournament feature seems buggy, in my experience.

[Matthias Gemuh]

... I've tried ChessGUI and it works, but it only uses 1 CPU per engine for chess960, for some reason.

1) Game / Engine Tournament / Chess960 ...
2) Options 2 / GUI Preferences ...
3) Engines 2 / "manage UCI Threads/Cores".

... and 4) GUI 1 / "lag-free Timing".

Matthias.

[carldaman]

Thank you, that worked!

... I've tried ChessGUI and it works, but it only uses 1 CPU per engine for chess960, for some reason.

1) Game / Engine Tournament / Chess960 ...
2) Options 2 / GUI Preferences ...
3) Engines 2 / "manage UCI Threads/Cores".

... and 4) GUI 1 / "lag-free Timing".

Matthias.

[carldaman]

I've spent more time playing around with Winboard and now I can see that selecting a .pgn file of chess960 positions was not the way to go; instead, as HG Muller suggested, it's best to just let WB choose the starting positions randomly. That has solved the problem.

I have to say that Winboard is a really neat GUI when everything works properly.

Regards,
CL

[pichy]

I've spent more time playing around with Winboard and now I can see that selecting a .pgn file of chess960 positions was not the way to go; instead, as HG Muller suggested, it's best to just let WB choose the starting positions randomly. That has solved the problem.

I have to say that Winboard is a really neat GUI when everything works properly.

Regards,
CL

And after all this time you found out that there is no better FRC engine than Critter 1.6a, with free engine like this who need to purchase a commercial engine

[carldaman]

I've spent more time playing around with Winboard and now I can see that selecting a .pgn file of chess960 positions was not the way to go; instead, as HG Muller suggested, it's best to just let WB choose the starting positions randomly. That has solved the problem.

I have to say that Winboard is a really neat GUI when everything works properly.

Regards,
CL

And after all this time you found out that there is no better FRC engine than Critter 1.6a, with free engine like this who need to purchase a commercial engine

Well, I think there hasn't been enough discussion of Critter 1.6's top spot in FRC chess. There are some out there, I'm sure, who would consider FRC/chess960 the true test of strength.

I'm currently running a chess960 match (using FritzGUI) between Houdini 2.0c and Critter 1.6a, 7m+5s, on my 3.3 ghz quad core w/ 512 MB RAM each engine, ponder off, tablebases on. Houdini got off to a good start and the score is +6-3=7 in its favor after 16 games. I'm cycling thru all the chess960 positions and a full match may take a long time. For now, here's the highlight of the match -- I watched with interest to see if/how Critter could make progress in a closed position that called for a swift K-side attack, but Critter didn't disappoint.

[Event "tourn47-HoudiniCritter-FRC8"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.06"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Critter 1.6a 64-bit gtb"]
[Black "Houdini 2.0c x64"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "0.11;-0.11"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "brqbknrn/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/BRQBKNRN w GBgb - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "137"]
[EventDate "2012.07.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[Source "Doe"]

{Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30GHz 3292 MHz W=20.3 plies; 5,421kN/s; 17,
028 TBAs B=20.5 plies; 5,118kN/s} 1. f4 {[%eval 11,20] [%emt 0:00:19]} b5 {
[%eval -11,20] [%emt 0:00:30]} 2. Nf2 {[%eval 13,19] [%emt 0:00:15]} c5 {
[%eval -11,20] [%emt 0:00:14] (d6)} 3. e4 {[%eval 12,20] [%emt 0:00:13] (b3)}
f6 {[%eval -23,19] [%emt 0:00:14]} 4. Ne3 {[%eval 12,19] [%emt 0:00:10] (b3)}
Nf7 {[%eval -22,19] [%emt 0:00:17]} 5. O-O {[%eval 3,19] [%emt 0:00:15]} Ng6 {
[%eval -22,19] [%emt 0:00:44]} 6. g3 {[%eval -1,18] [%emt 0:00:11] (f5)} O-O {
[%eval -15,20] [%emt 0:00:22]} 7. c4 {[%eval 0,19] [%emt 0:00:11]} b4 {[%eval
-14,20] [%emt 0:00:10] (e5)} 8. b3 {[%eval 0,20] [%emt 0:00:10]} e5 {[%eval
-17,19] [%emt 0:00:09]} 9. f5 {[%eval 0,20] [%emt 0:00:42]} Ne7 {[%eval -14,20]
[%emt 0:00:11]} 10. a4 {[%eval 0,20] [%emt 0:00:29]} Bb6 {[%eval -14,21] [%emt
0:00:10] (Bb7)} 11. Qc2 {[%eval 0,19] [%emt 0:00:12] (Be2)} d6 {[%eval -13,20]
[%emt 0:00:16] (Qc7)} 12. Nd5 {[%eval -3,19] [%emt 0:00:12]} Qd7 {[%eval -8,20]
[%emt 0:00:18]} 13. Kg2 {[%eval 6,20] [%emt 0:00:33] (Ng4)} Nd8 {[%eval -6,20]
[%emt 0:00:56] (Rbc8)} 14. Qd3 {[%eval 8,19] [%emt 0:00:11] (Ng4)} Ndc6 {
[%eval -4,19] [%emt 0:00:19]} 15. Ng4 {[%eval 7,20] [%emt 0:00:08]} Nd4 {
[%eval -5,21] [%emt 0:00:08] (a5)} 16. Nxe7+ {[%eval 7,21] [%emt 0:00:09]} Qxe7
{[%eval -6,19] [%emt 0:00:00]} 17. Ne3 {[%eval 7,22] [%emt 0:00:49]} Qd7 {
[%eval -3,22] [%emt 0:00:20]} 18. Bxd4 {[%eval 13,22] [%emt 0:00:14]} cxd4 {
[%eval -4,22] [%emt 0:00:07]} 19. Nd5 {[%eval 13,23] [%emt 0:00:20]} a5 {
[%eval -1,22] [%emt 0:00:09] (Ba5)} 20. Bh5 {[%eval 14,22] [%emt 0:00:27]} Bc6
{[%eval -1,22] [%emt 0:00:07] (Rfc8)} 21. Qf3 {[%eval 14,21] [%emt 0:00:08]
(Qe2)} Rfc8 {[%eval -1,22] [%emt 0:00:14]} 22. Qg4 {[%eval 14,21] [%emt 0:00:
07]} Kf8 {[%eval 5,23] [%emt 0:00:37] (Bd8)} 23. Qh4 {[%eval 14,20] [%emt 0:00:
07]} Bd8 {[%eval 10,22] [%emt 0:00:15]} 24. Rf3 {[%eval 23,20] [%emt 0:00:19]
(Rf2)} Be7 {[%eval 17,20] [%emt 0:00:20] (Ba8)} 25. d3 {[%eval 28,21] [%emt 0:
00:17] (Bg4)} Qd8 {[%eval 11,19] [%emt 0:00:10] (Rb7)} 26. g4 {[%eval 44,20]
[%emt 0:00:08] (Rf2)} Kg8 {[%eval 51,21] [%emt 0:00:31] (Bxd5)} 27. Bg6 {
[%eval 72,18] [%emt 0:00:08]} h6 {[%eval 51,19] [%emt 0:00:00]} 28. Nxe7+ {
[%eval 81,19] [%emt 0:00:17] (Qh5)} Qxe7 {[%eval 36,16] [%emt 0:00:03]} 29. Qh5
{[%eval 72,17] [%emt 0:00:00]} Rc7 {[%eval 46,18] [%emt 0:00:15] (Rf8)} 30. h4
{[%eval 94,20] [%emt 0:00:08] (Rbf1)} Qf8 {[%eval 62,19] [%emt 0:00:06] (Ra7)}
31. Rg3 {[%eval 117,19] [%emt 0:00:07] (g5)} Bb7 {[%eval 96,18] [%emt 0:00:06]
(Kh8)} 32. g5 {[%eval 125,22] [%emt 0:00:07]} Kh8 {[%eval 106,22] [%emt 0:00:
16]} 33. Rg1 {[%eval 125,23] [%emt 0:00:07]} Ba8 {[%eval 106,23] [%emt 0:00:07]
(Rd8)} 34. Kh3 {[%eval 125,23] [%emt 0:00:07]} Bc6 {[%eval 106,24] [%emt 0:00:
07] (Bb7)} 35. Qg4 {[%eval 125,23] [%emt 0:00:07]} Ra8 {[%eval 109,24] [%emt 0:
00:20] (Qg8)} 36. Kg2 {[%eval 132,21] [%emt 0:00:11] (Bh5)} Qe7 {[%eval 109,20]
[%emt 0:00:05] (Rd8)} 37. Kf2 {[%eval 132,22] [%emt 0:00:07] (Bh5)} Rac8 {
[%eval 109,21] [%emt 0:00:05] (Rg8)} 38. gxh6 {[%eval 141,21] [%emt 0:00:30]}
gxh6 {[%eval 108,19] [%emt 0:00:00]} 39. Bh5 {[%eval 132,24] [%emt 0:00:06]}
Ra8 {[%eval 115,23] [%emt 0:00:05] (Bb7)} 40. Qd1 {[%eval 135,20] [%emt 0:00:
06] (Qg6)} Qf8 {[%eval 115,22] [%emt 0:00:05]} 41. R3g2 {[%eval 132,22] [%emt
0:00:06] (Ke1)} Rac8 {[%eval 115,23] [%emt 0:00:05] (Rh7)} 42. Qc1 {[%eval 163,
22] [%emt 0:00:06] (Qg4)} Rb7 {[%eval 127,20] [%emt 0:00:08] (Rh7)} 43. Rg6 {
[%eval 153,20] [%emt 0:00:05] (Rg3)} Rh7 {[%eval 127,24] [%emt 0:00:06]} 44. c5
{[%eval 228,21] [%emt 0:00:19] (Rg8+)} d5 {[%eval 141,20] [%emt 0:00:06]} 45.
Rg8+ {[%eval 190,18] [%emt 0:00:06] (Bf3)} Qxg8 {[%eval 85,1] [%emt 0:00:00]}
46. Rxg8+ {[%eval 228,19] [%emt 0:00:00]} Rxg8 {[%eval 71,19] [%emt 0:00:13]}
47. exd5 {[%eval 217,20] [%emt 0:00:09] (Bg6)} Bxd5 {[%eval 32,18] [%emt 0:00:
01]} 48. c6 {[%eval 205,19] [%emt 0:00:00] (Bg6)} Rc8 {[%eval 143,18] [%emt 0:
00:06]} 49. Qc5 {[%eval 206,20] [%emt 0:00:03]} Bxc6 {[%eval 150,20] [%emt 0:
00:05]} 50. Qd6 {[%eval 241,21] [%emt 0:00:11]} Rg7 {[%eval 161,22] [%emt 0:00:
13]} 51. Qxf6 {[%eval 241,19] [%emt 0:00:00]} Bd5 {[%eval 169,22] [%emt 0:00:
16]} 52. Bd1 {[%eval 247,20] [%emt 0:00:04]} Kg8 {[%eval 179,22] [%emt 0:00:14]
(Re8)} 53. Qxe5 {[%eval 286,19] [%emt 0:00:05]} Rd8 {[%eval 183,20] [%emt 0:00:
07] (Rg2+)} 54. Bf3 {[%eval 303,20] [%emt 0:00:06] (Qxd4)} Rgd7 {[%eval 240,18]
[%emt 0:00:05]} 55. Bxd5+ {[%eval 286,17] [%emt 0:00:00]} Rxd5 {[%eval 235,17]
[%emt 0:00:00]} 56. Qe6+ {[%eval 344,19] [%emt 0:00:02]} Kf8 {[%eval 352,23]
[%emt 0:00:12]} 57. Qxh6+ {[%eval 360,22] [%emt 0:00:07]} Kf7 {[%eval 354,22]
[%emt 0:00:04]} 58. Qg6+ {[%eval 410,21] [%emt 0:00:09] (Qh7+)} Kf8 {[%eval
371,24] [%emt 0:00:10]} 59. Kg3 {[%eval 410,20] [%emt 0:00:00]} R5d7 {[%eval
393,21] [%emt 0:00:05] (R5d6)} 60. Qa6 {[%eval 419,18] [%emt 0:00:05]} Rd5 {
[%eval 419,21] [%emt 0:00:09]} 61. Qh6+ {[%eval 565,19] [%emt 0:00:04] (Qf6+)}
Kg8 {[%eval 560,20] [%emt 0:00:04]} 62. f6 {[%eval 594,20] [%emt 0:00:02]} R5d7
{[%eval 607,23] [%emt 0:00:08]} 63. Qg6+ {[%eval 698,20] [%emt 0:00:06]} Kf8 {
[%eval 583,21] [%emt 0:00:00]} 64. h5 {[%eval 698,19] [%emt 0:00:00]} Rf7 {
[%eval 646,21] [%emt 0:00:09]} 65. h6 {[%eval 698,22] [%emt 0:00:02]} Rdd7 {
[%eval 621,19] [%emt 0:00:00]} 66. Kg4 {[%eval 820,20] [%emt 0:00:07] (Qf5)}
Rc7 {[%eval 760,20] [%emt 0:00:09]} 67. Qf5 {[%eval 820,18] [%emt 0:00:00]} Kg8
{[%eval 931,18] [%emt 0:00:08]} 68. Qxa5 {[%eval 988,19] [%emt 0:00:08]} Kh7 {
[%eval 1084,19] [%emt 0:00:07] (Kh8)} 69. Qf5+ {[%eval 1222,18] [%emt 0:00:02]}
1-0

[carldaman]

[D]1rrq2k1/4b1pp/2bp1p2/p2NpP1B/PpPpP1PQ/1P1P1R2/6KP/1R6 w - - 0 27

Here, 27.Bg6! was played and Critter put the game away very nicely.

CL

[pichy]

I've spent more time playing around with Winboard and now I can see that selecting a .pgn file of chess960 positions was not the way to go; instead, as HG Muller suggested, it's best to just let WB choose the starting positions randomly. That has solved the problem.

I have to say that Winboard is a really neat GUI when everything works properly.

Regards,
CL

And after all this time you found out that there is no better FRC engine than Critter 1.6a, with free engine like this who need to purchase a commercial engine

Well, I think there hasn't been enough discussion of Critter 1.6's top spot in FRC chess. There are some out there, I'm sure, who would consider FRC/chess960 the true test of strength.

There might be those that would not consider FRC/Chess960 the true test of strength, but I consider it the best way of testing the real strength of engines, since there is no opening advantage as long as you let both engines play each side of the same opening

PS: I will simply post this results, if anybody doubt which is the current FRC leader:
http://www.computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/404FRC/