Update Information: March 25, 2016 (Updates)
Engine Updates
Sourceforge
- "We're sorry -- the Sourceforge site is currently in Disaster Recovery mode"
all sourceforge sites are down for me
Andscacs 0.86 (UCI)
mp (32 cores max); multi-PV; Win32/64
- "Should be clearly stronger, probably over 3100 CCRL with one core"
- there have been several silent updates, the version number is unchanged
http://www.andscacs.com/
Fischerle 0.9.70 SE (UCI)
cross-platform Java jar file & Win32/64; own GUI
- added singular extensions
- "I expect it to be slightly stronger at faster time controls"
http://www.stuckardt.de/index.php/schachengine-fischerle.html
Fizbo 1.7 (UCI)
mp; Win; Linux64; supports Syzygy egtbs
- "estimated increase in playing strength is >50 Elo"
http://sites.google.com/site/fizbochessengine/
Komodo 9.42 (UCI)
commercial; mp (64 threads); FRC; multiPV; Win32/64, Linux32/64, Mac; own GUI (Tarrasch Chess GUI); supports Syzygy egtbs
- two bugfixes, updating is recommended
- "the Elo gain is probably in the five to fifteen range"
- "the bugfix is more important for MP tests than for single core"
http://komodochess.com/
OBender 03.2016 (XB)
C source; own GUI (Echoboard/Winboard); Linux64, Win
http://www.serg-nifont.narod.ru/obender.html
Shield 1.2 (UCU)
Win64
https://sites.google.com/site/shieldchessengine/
Chess News
Livius 1.1 Chess Viewer Client
new Qt-based TLCV-compatible client by Martin Sedlak
observe live chess games broadcast from a TLCV-compatible server
- Win builds only, source code available
http://www.crabaware.com/livius (Win build)
https://github.com/kmar/livius (source)
Chess Programming Blogs
Tarrasch blog: https://triplehappy.wordpress.com/2016/03/21/where-to-from-here/ (please cheer him up!)
Updated Wiki Pages
Nothing new today
Bonus Notifications (recent releases of free stuff)
Warnings:
- do not install unwanted toolbars, etc.
- alpha releases have new features; crashes and bugs are to be expected
- beta releases have new features; they may contain bugs or crash
- release candidate software may contain minor bugs; crashes are rare
NOTE: I had an argument with Microsoft. They thought they owned my computer, I thought I did. Microsoft won by cheating, they clobbered my sys admin settings. All future updates of Windows-only software will no longer be listed here.
Adobe Flash Player 21.0.0.197
free cross-platform flash video player for browsers
- Flash is in undisputed first-place as the most common avenue of infection
- Adobe bundles unwanted 3rd party crapware, beware!
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
Alpine 3.3.3
independent Linux distro; XFCE desktop; #57 in popularity
http://www.alpinelinux.org/
Antergos 2016.03.20
Arch-based Linux distro; GNOME, Cinnamon, Razor-qt & Xfce desktops; #24 in popularity
- this is a monthly snapshot of a rolling-release distro
http://www.antergos.com/
Blender 2.77
free, open source, cross-platform 2D/3D video creation suite
model - shade - animate - render - composite - interactive 3D
http://www.blender.org/
CMake 3.5.1
cross-platform, open-source build system for C/C++
https://cmake.org/
Curl 7.48.0
cross-platform, open-source tool & library to access URLs using all major protocols
https://curl.haxx.se/
Ghostery 6.1 For Firefox
free browser addon; alerts you about web bugs, ad networks and tracking widgets on every web page you visit;
"See who's tracking your web browsing and block them"
http://www.ghostery.com/download
Google Chrome 49.0.2623.108
popular cross-platform web browser
https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/?
Java 8, Update 77
update of Java runtime environment and development kit (JRE or JDK)
- it is important to disable the Java plugin in your browser, or bad things may happen to you!
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html
MariaDB 10.1.13 Stable
open source fork of MySQL; completely compatible w/MySQL; w/extra DB engines & extra features
"MariaDB is a binary drop-in replacement for MySQL"
MariaDB restores several significant features that Oracle has dropped from MySQL
- gaining popularity from MySQL, a work-alike competitor with fewer features
- 5.x version stays in sync with MySQL 5.x; version 10 is an improved version of it
http://kb.askmonty.org/ (homepage)
http://kb.askmonty.org/v/mariadb-versus-mysql-features (extra features vs MySQL)
http://kb.askmonty.org/en/what-is-mariadb-100 (What is MariaDB 10?)
http://downloads.mariadb.org/mariadb/10.1.13/ (MariaDB 10.1.13 page)
LXLE 14.04.4
Linux distro based on Lubuntu; LXDE desktop; #17 in popularity
http://lxle.net/
phpMyAdmin 4.6.0
web admin to view/change MySQL/MariaDB databases; interactive commandline SQL; import/export, etc.
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/index.php
PyDev 4.5.5 for Eclipse
open source Python IDE for Eclipse; can be used for Python, Jython, and IronPython development
http://pydev.org/
Q4OS 2.0.3
Linux distro based on Debian (Stable); Trinity desktop; #38 in popularity
http://q4os.org/
Swift 2.2
open-source, general-purpose programming language from Apple
- intended to replace/improve Objective-C language
- intended to become cross-platform, but only OSX & Linux are currently supported
- Linux version is incomplete (missing Swift Core Library) and mostly community-supported
https://swift.org/
Thunderbird 38.7.1
Mozilla's excellent open source email program
http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/ (homepage)
Vala/Genie 0.32.0 Stable
object-oriented system programming language that runs at the speed of C/C++
Vala syntax resembles C# and Genie syntax resembles Python
the common language compiler outputs OO C code using the GObject library
not yet at version 1.0, but some large apps are written in Vala/Genie
http://live.gnome.org/Vala (Vala info)
http://live.gnome.org/Genie (Genie info)
Meaning of Colors
Red = New or Warning
Green = Updated
Gray = Info Only
Engine List: http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:chess_engine_list
Chess News: http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:chess_news_list
NOTE: If you want me to track a website for you, please email me and I will add it.
ron _at_ computer-chess _dot_ org