CCRL update (9th Jan 2009)

[Graham Banks]

The latest updates of the CCRL Rating Lists and Statistics are available for viewing at:
http://www.computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/4040/ (40/40)
http://computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/404/ (40/4)
The live link to the 40/4 list given below is currently the most up to date for that list.

The lists sometimes get updated during the week and these updates can be viewed here:
http://www.computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/4040.live/ (40/40)
http://computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/404.live/ (40/4)
However, no game downloads are available from these live links.

The links to the various rating lists can be found just beneath the default Best Versions list.
For example there is a 32-bit Single CPU list.

Our 40 moves in 40 minutes repeating and 40 moves in 4 minutes repeating are both adjusted to the AMD64 X2 4600+ (2.4GHz).

Currently active testers are:
Graham Banks, Ray Banks (FRC only), Shaun Brewer, Kirill Kryukov, Dom Leste, Tom Logan, Wassim Saeed, Charles Smith, George Speight and Gabor Szots.
Currently inactive testers are:
Sarah Bird, Andreas Schwartmann, Joshua Shriver, Chris Taylor, Martin Thoresen and Chuck Wilson.

Be aware that in the early stages of testing, an engine's rating can often fluctuate a lot.
It is strongly advised to also look at the many other rating lists available in order to get a more accurate overall picture of an engine's rating relative to others.


40/40 Notes


4CPU 64-bit Engines

Rybka 3 remains unchallenged at the top, but has had it's lead slashed to 70 elo by Naum 4.
There is a further gap of 60 elo back to Deep Fritz 11, which is in third spot with a small edge over Zappa Mexico II.
There is a good distance back to Deep Sjeng WC2008 and Deep Shredder 11.
Hiarcs 12, Toga II 1.4.1SE and Bright 0.4a (private), come in next and are very evenly matched in strength.
Thinker 5.4a Inert is still in the early stages of testing, while none of the many strong Toga derivatives have been tested in this category.

The relative ratings of the 2CPU engines that have been well tested are pretty much the same as their 4CPU counterparts.


Single CPU Engines

Rybka 3 has a comfortable lead in this category also, although Naum 4 has narrowed the gap considerably.
Zappa Mexico II and Fritz 11 come in next, narrowly ahead of Thinker 5.4a Inert, Deep Sjeng WC2008, Shredder 11 and Toga II 1.4.1SE. The latest version of Thinker doesn't seem to be much stronger than the previous version.
Hiarcs 12.1 is further back still, but comfortably ahead of Fruit 2.3.1, Loop 13.6 and Bright 0.4a (private). Whether or not Hiarcs 12.1 is an improvement in strength remains to be seen.
Strong engines which are still in the early stages of testing are Cyclone 2.3, Grapefruit 1.0b, Glaurung 2.2 and Stockfish 1.2.


Free Single CPU Engines

Rybka 2.2n2 holds onto its spot as the top free engine, with Thinker 5.4a Inert not living up to expectations.
Toga II 1.4.1SE isn't too far behind, but could well be challenged by Cyclone 2.3 and Grapefruit 1.0b, which are still in the early stages of testing.
Glaurung 2.2 and Stockfish 1.2 look likely to move ahead of Fruit 2.3.1.
Spike 1.2 Turin and Bright 0.3a are further back, but clearly stronger than the next group that includes Twisted Logic 20080620, Crafty 22.8, Frenzee Feb08 and Delfi 5.4.

CCRL tests a wide range of free engines, ranging right down to the 2000 elo level. The intention is to get well over 200 games for each of these engines.
Tournaments involving these engines can be followed in our public forum.


Blitz Notes

There are well over 350,000 games in the 40/4 database and it is well worth a visit.


FRC Notes

Ray currently restricts his testing to FRC only, and tests only those engines that can play FRC through the Shredder Classic GUI.
If engine authors have a new and stable version of their engine that will run under this GUI, they should contact Ray if they wish to see it tested.

Rybka 3 has a big lead over Naum 4, which in turn has a similarly big lead over the evenly matched Shredder 11 and Deep Sjeng WC2008.
Hiarcs 12.1 comes in next, comfortably ahead of Glaurung 2.2.

For FRC the best list to look at is the pure list.
http://www.computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/404FRC/


Stats/Presentation Notes

The LOS (likelihood of superiority) stats to the right hand side of each rating list tell you the likelihood in percentage terms of each engine being superior to the engine directly below them.

All games are available for download by engine, by month or by ECO code.
ELO ratings are now saved in all game databases for those engines that have 200 games or more.

Clicking on an engine name will give details as to opponents played plus homepage links where applicable.

Custom lists of engines can be selected for comparison.

An openings report page lists the number of games played by ECO codes with draw percentage and White win percentage. Clicking on a column heading will sort the list by that column.

An exciting new development coming soon will be the optional inclusion of engine logos, flags and continent pictures beside each engine name in the rating lists.
An example of what this will look can be seen here in Kirill's special free engines project - KCEC site
The engine logo will function as a link to selection of all engines from the same family. The country flag will be a link to selection of all engines from the same country. The continent picture is a link to selection of all engines from the same continent.