If you could only purchase one openng book for your computer chess engine, which of the following would it be
Rybka 4
Fritz/Chessbase
Hiarcs 13
Which chess engine do you have?
Do you use your engine mostly to play against or analyze your games?
Fritz with Fritz PowerBook is the industry standard and generally a good all around combination. If you are looking for really in-depth analysis and have a computer worthy of using Rybka than Rybka/Rybka Opening Book would be your best bet. If you want to play and analyze in a more human type environment I would suggest the new Hiarrcs/Hiarcs Professional Opening Book. Hiarcs will play in a more human style than the Rybka/Shredder grinding down.
Hope that helps!
I have Rybka Aquarium 4, Fritz 12 and Chess Assistant 11 w/Rybka 4. I’m interested in completeness of the oping book regarding over the board games–not correspondence which I consider a form of computer game at this point.
The Rybka 4 book is about half the price of the Fritz Powerbook 11 and the Hiarcs 13 that just came out.
The gold standard for chess engine against humans, would be the Fritz Powerbook. Its one of the biggest books out there, and very well designed.
-There are free opening books available that are positively huge, but I have no idea on the quality of the books.
Now, for engine -vs- engine matches, in the Rybka forum, the members say that the Rybka 4 book, and the Hiarchs 13 book are both pretty much at the high end. Both recieved very positive reviews. But remember, books designed for engine -vs- engine matches are deliberately smaller, only incorporating the lines of play that have the best historical and statistical results.
The Rybka 4 book looks to be making a serious run at Fritz. For my purposes, since it costs less than half the Fritz price, I’ll buy it.
Do you mean Fritz 12 default book, or the Fritz Powerbook?
As I’d mentioned, Fritz Powerbook was never really intended for engine -vs- engine matches, although I think there are 2 books on the CD, and one of them is designed for engine -vs- engine matches, from what I understand, it was more an afterthought rather than designed from the ground up as an engine -vs- engine book. Rybka 4 and Hiarchs 13 books were both specifically designed just for engine -vs- engine matches and tournaments.
Another thing with Fritz Powerbook is that you also get a database with every game that the powerbook was culled from.
Really, the Fritz Powerbook “small” book is just made by trimming the larger opening book by excluding all games where the opponents are rated under 2550. So it really was just an afterthought. Rybka 4 and Hiarchs 13 books were designed with opening lines that are best suited against other engines. So they exclude many lines that grandmasters rated 2550+ might play.
Fritz Powerbook.
Are you referencing the Rybka 4 Book by Jiri Dufek or the earlier Rybka 3 Book by Noomen?
I don’t have Rybka 4. I didn’t know Rybka 4 originally shipped with the Rybka 3 book, if thats what your implying. In any event, I’m just relaying information gleaned from the Rybka Forum, and in that case, the question I’d asked recently (about the best opening books), would be refering to the current Rybka 4 book. I’d only posted the question a few weeks ago.