How to set up a tournament for chess engines in ChessBase or Fritz 18?

 

To set up a tournament for chess engines in ChessBase or Fritz 18, follow these steps:

1. Open ChessBase/Fritz 18: Launch the program and go to the home screen where you have the main menu.

2. Access Engine Match Settings:

   • In Fritz 18: Go to Home -> Create Tournament.
   • In ChessBase: Go to the Engine tab and select Engine Match or Create Tournament depending on the version.

3. Select Tournament Type: 

   • Choose a Round-Robin or Double Round-Robin format so each engine plays against every other engine in the tournament.
   • Specify the number of rounds if you want multiple games between each engine pairing.

4. Add Engines:

   • In the tournament setup dialog, add the five chess engines you wish to use. If your engines aren’t appearing in the list, make sure they’re installed correctly in ChessBase/Fritz.
   • You may need to click Add Engine to browse and select custom engines if they’re not pre-loaded.

5. Adjust Engine Settings:

   • For each engine, set individual parameters, if desired, to make the games more realistic. You can adjust search depth, memory allocation, and other custom parameters.
   • Note that adjusting these settings may impact the performance balance between engines.

6. Set Time Control:

   • Choose the time control for the tournament, such as Blitz, Rapid, or Classical. You can customize this by specifying the time per move, time per game, or increment settings.

7. Choose Game Format Options:

   • You can set opening positions or specific opening books for each game if you want a particular focus on certain positions or openings.
   • Select Randomize Colors to ensure fair color distribution across games.

8. Define Output:

   • Set where you want the tournament PGN (Portable Game Notation) files saved, and specify if you want the games to be stored in a particular ChessBase database.

9. Start the Tournament:

   • Once all settings are configured, click Start Tournament. The engines will begin playing against each other in sequence, with ChessBase/Fritz managing the game schedule and matchups.

10. Monitor and Review Results:

• During the tournament, you can monitor each game’s progress and analyze live. Once the tournament finishes, review the results summary to see the standings, win/loss records, and specific game statistics.

Using these settings, you can create a comprehensive and automated engine tournament with minimal manual intervention. Enjoy watching the strategies unfold as each engine competes!

Photos Guide:

References:

Fritz Help