The ultimate chess computer

[DannyN]

On schachcomuter.info Sascha (aka Mythbuster) has just posted that starting August 3 he will post a 6-part preview about the upcoming "ultimate" chess computer from Millennium/Ruud Martin. I am very curious about this new "Wundermaschine". I fear it wil have an "ultimate" price as well but we'll see.

For those who speak German, here's the link to the thread and his announcement: https://www.schachcomputer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=6246&page=11

[Scally]

Or use this link to view the thread in English:

https://www-schachcomputer-info.translate.goog/forum/showthread.php?t=6246&page=11&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en

It would have to be something very special to tempt me, I’m very happy with my board options at the moment ….

Al.

[Scally]

You can also chose any other language using my link and clicking the  ‘English \/‘  (down arrow) and changing the language …

Al.

[DannyN]

Sascha has posted a first update. The name of the computer will be Mephisto Phoenix (Millennium has bought back the name Mephisto). It will be available with or without a board and it will be expandable. See here: https://www.schachcomputer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=6658

Op vrijdag 22 juli 2022 om 09:17:08 UTC+2 schreef Scally:

[vicent...@gmail.com]

I suspect it will be much alike our dear Picochess

[DannyN]

Looks like you're right. Some more information and some pictures: https://www.schachcomputer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=6658&page=5

It's using a RPi4 and has a touchscreen, runs new engines and emulations, so it's very similar to PicochessWeb. 

I won't be running out to get one. For me the DGTPi with Picochess v3, and a DGT bluetooth board is the ultimate chess computer.

Op dinsdag 26 juli 2022 om 08:30:46 UTC+2 schreef vicent...@gmail.com:

[Henri]

It will be very interesting to see what software the Mephisto Phoenix will be using. Hopefully it will be new and not ' borrowed and adjusted' Dirk python......

Op donderdag 4 augustus 2022 om 13:03:36 UTC+2 schreef DannyN:

[DannyN]

The software is not "borrowed" from Picochess but it does not look exactly new either. The Mephisto Phoenix looks like a Revelation II with a touch screen and faster hardware but it has the same interface, the same native engines (albeit updated; 4 to start, more to come) and the same retro engines (20 at start). The interface looks very archaic to me - if they said the Phoenix is running MS-DOS 6.2 I would believe them. I like the fact that the retro engines have all the options that the originals had, something  which is not possible on Picochess. The speed options of the retro engines are also very nice.

All in all it looks like a nice package just like the Revelation II is very nice. The biggest problem I have with the Millennium Phoenix is the hardware: it can only be used with the Millennium Exclusive and Tournament 55 boards. For me that would mean buying another board that is of lesser quality than a DGT board and as a result also... lots of cables. If the Millennium boards had bluetooth and a battery inside of them I might have been tempted but the advantages of the Millennium (full retro experience, boards with leds) are of lesser importance to me than those of the DGTPi with Picochess 3 (open source, which is a very big plus, and no cables with the bluetooth board).

Op vrijdag 12 augustus 2022 om 17:54:50 UTC+2 schreef Henri:

[Scally]

Hi all,

I expect that most, if not all that the Phoenix offers is available within Picochess. The only difference would be Raspberry Pi Versions of Komodo, Hiarcs and Shredder. I have paid for Komodo, but all attempts to get a RPi version for myself have hit a brick wall. I have emailed and messaged Larry plus left messages with Komodo support, but they never reply. I am owed a version of Hiarcs from winning it on the Hiarcs forum, I think it’s time I called in my marker. I haven’t looked into Shredder yet. All are available as Windows Remote Engines, I have already Komodo. They also mention the King, that too works with all options as a remote engine on Picochess.

Maybe there’ll be other surprises, let’s wait and see …

Al.

[Scally]

Hi all,

I bit the bullet and have ordered the Phoenix without a board as I can use my Millennium ChessGenius Exclusive board.

I have asked them what they running their Raspberry Pi 4 on, and it’s a 32bit system 😉

Al.

[Dirk Sommerfeld]

Hi Al,

did you ever try run shredder with wine on the pi? I also asked for a arm7 version and there is no one available. I think hat this engines runs in an emulation environment, too. I think that most parts comes from the Revelation are encrypted. Let's see what you find if you look inside. The interface looks like a tkinter GUI, that's something we could also bring to picochess with an LCD Display. 

Dirk

[Scally]

Hi Dirk,

Sorry for the late reply but I’ve just returned from a cruise around the Caribbean.

I’ve emailed Shredder support to see if they can provide a RPi binary, failing that we should be able to run the Windows version as a Remote Engine. I will try this later this week once I get organised.

Cheers,

Al.

[Dirk Sommerfeld]

Thank's Al, let's see the answer from support. Cruise around the Cariban is a better choice :)

I hope your are good recovered !!!

One small question about your 248 mame version.

Did you change from mame.ini to mess.ini in your codeversion? I asked, because provide both files in your zip.

Will made some changes for smaller startscripts in the ini file and work also for a variable speedsetup for all retros via picochess at startup.

Dirk

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[Scally]

Hi Dirk,

I’m not confident on getting a reply, but let’s see.

Here’s a quick video showing Shredder Classic 5 running as a Remote Engine on Picochess. 

I’ll get a board out tomorrow to show more:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/08639dpzuvt4fvb/Shredder-Remote.mov?dl=0

As for the mame versions, the mess is the smaller version of the 2 just containing the chess computers, the other is a full compile of all mame.

Cheers,

Al.

[Scally]

Hi Dirk,

I now have all 4 of the Phoenix Engines running as Windows Remote Engines on Picochess.

Stockfish 15-NNUE is free, Komodo 14.1 I paid for (Licensed), Hiarcs 14 I upgraded from my Hiarcs Forum prize for free (Licensed) and I have the 1 Month free trial of Shredder Chess Classic 5 which is the only engine of the 4 that is a slightly lesser version. The Phoenix Shredder is 13.5 whereas Shredder Classic 5 is graded between Shredder 12 & 13.

This took a while to set-up and I’m due out soon, so I’ll now get the board out tomorrow and show all 4 engines running on Picochess.

Cheers,

Al.

[christopher stummer]

Wow that's awesome!! Nice work/video and nice custom clock very cool!!

Chris 

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[Dirk Sommerfeld]

Good job Al. I think I will also do it . I have all of this Engines running on my windows tablet. I need a ssh server on my surface ?

[TobiasL]

Hi Dirk,

at least in Win10/11 you can activate/install the OpenSSh Server in the settings -> apps and features -> optional features

Last year I wrote a short description in the German forum:

https://www.schachcomputer.info/forum/showpost.php?p=96951&postcount=252

[Dirk Sommerfeld]

Thanks Tobias, perfect !!

[Scally]

Hi Dirk and all,

Here is a link to a video showing the equivalent 4 Windows Remote Engines running on Picochess that will be included with the Mephisto Phoenix in some format or another.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/429arwy7zsmaauj/4xRemote-Engs.mov?dl=0

They are:

Hiarcs v14 (my licensed version, v14.2 is included with the Phoenix)

Komodo v14.1 (my licensed version, the same version as included with the Phoenix)

Shredder Classic 5 (the 1 month trial version, a level below v13.5 included with the Phoenix)

Stockfish v15-NNUE (Open Source, the same version as provided with the Phoenix)

These are all running on my Windows Tablet and running as Remote Engines through Picochess.

I can walk anyone through the process, but basically you will need ssh running on your Windows device, be able to edit your picochess.ini file and to add corresponding .uci files on your RPi to match the batch files and binaries on your Windows device.

Cheers,

Al.

[Scally]

Hi Dirk,

I’ve had no reply from Shredder Support so have emailed them again offering some sort of payment for a RPi licensed version.

I’ve not received a reply from Komodo Support either, I have bought a licensed Windows version from them so have emailed them again to see if it’s at all possible for a RPi version.

I’ve also reached out to Hiarcs support as I own a licensed copy of Hiarcs too.

All 3 of them must be able to supply a RPi version as that’s what the Phoenix runs on, unless they are using some sort of interface to the Windows versions ….

Watch this space

Al.

[Dirk Sommerfeld]

Thank's Al. From Shredder I wait two weeks for an answer and got the information that only Linux86 is available.  He told me that there must be a emulator on the device, because he never compile a ARM7 version.  I'm confused about this, because in the background there is a license deal available to provide this engine to the user. This x86 linux version I could test with box86 as an interpreter, but I 'm not sure to spend so much in this case.

Dirk

 

[Scally]

Hi Dirk,

Yes very strange …

Did you see my quick video on all 4 ‘Phoenix Engines’ running as Windows Remote Engines on Picochess?

I’m considering doing a more informative video for YouTube, otherwise just email me for any help you require.

Al.

[Dirk Sommerfeld]

Yes, I see and like this. This is an available options to use this engines now. The main feature of shredder I miss, is the dynamic elorating depends on my played games. Shredder write this information in an extra file on disk and use it to setup the engine for an optimal game. This feature of shredder I'm looking for. A dynamic chess partner, something we don't have yet on picochess.

Dirk

[Scally]

Hi Dirk,

I got an answer from Stefan at Shredder Chess Support.

He says that there is no public binary for the Raspberry Pi, so a similar answer to what you got.

I’ve yet to get answers from either Komodo nor Hiarcs Support.

Al

[Scally]

Hi all,

I’ve had a reply from Komodo!

They say that there is no plans to create binaries for other platforms, so the Phoenix Authors must be using a similar process to Dirk S

Al.

[Dirk Sommerfeld]

Hi Al, sure, but the new Versions  Dragon 2, 3 and Komodo 13 runs only on 64 Bit OS.  Box64 needs also a 64 Bit OS on the Pi. So I use the V12, which is free to download for win and linux.

Dirk.

[Scally]

Hi all,

I had a reply from Hiarcs

“I am sorry but we do not have a linux binary for distribution.”

Al

[Scally]

Hi all,

A sneek peak at the Phoenix, nice book selections … 😉

Al.

[Dirk]

Dear happy ultimate chess computer owner,

I would welcome if you find some time in order to create a short video for us (maybe YouTube?) showing the booting, engine selection (native/retro), and playing some moves...

Of course with active Scally book ;-))))))))

Enjoy you new chess computer!

Dirk

Am 16.12.2022 um 14:17 schrieb Scally <scall...@gmail.com>:

Hi all,

A sneek peak at the Phoenix, nice book selections … 😉

Al

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[Scally]

Hi Dirk,

Will do as soon as get my Millennium ChessGenious chess board out too. 

Of course the Scally books are now Gambit books which also weren’t included.

Al

[Dirk Mollmann]

Cool looking forward to this (I like the colors of the new chessboard)… maybe we get some cool ideas for Picochess ;-)

Dirk 

Am 16.12.2022 um 15:10 schrieb Scally <scall...@gmail.com>:

Hi Dirk,

Will do as soon as get my Millennium ChessGenious chess board out too. 

Of course the Scally books are now Gambit books which also weren’t included.

Al

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[Scally]

Hi all,

Today I played the Picochess version of Retro London at 700% using Dirk M’s new -speed command against the Mephisto Phoenix Retro London also at 700%. 

As expected, even at 15 seconds per move, this game lasted 81 moves, I’m still waiting for the game to download to my iPad before I can edit it for YouTube.

Hopefully in the next couple of days I can get the video online, it’s worth the wait 👍🖖

Al

[Alan Cooper]

Sorry,

That should read Dirk S’s -speed command

Al

Sent from Scally's iPhone 13 Pro

[Scally]

Hi all,

Picochess Vs Phoenix premieres tonight at 20:00 UK time:

https://youtu.be/pW5_zGQNzvM

Cheers,

Al

[Scally]

Hi all,

For the few of you who my have a Millennium Mephisto Phoenix, today I managed to create my own back-up micro sd card.

I was told that this would be impossible due to the layers of encryption.

Here’s a short video showing the Phoenix booting without a micro sd card and then booting with both the supplied and back-up micro sd cards …

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xl9yyqnxvr90bla/Phoenix-sdcard-backup.mov?dl=0

I can’t divulge how I did this as I’ve signed an agreement to become a beta tester for Millennium and the Phoenix

Cheers,

Al

[Scally]

Hi all,

I’ve added a 2nd ‘Phoenix Vs PicoChess London Retro Engine at 700% speed’ video on my YouTube Channel:

https://youtu.be/BvLl5KAqQTs

In the 1st video I never adjusted the Picochess time parameters in the uci file which meant an average move of 15 seconds per move was more like 2-3 seconds a move because the engine was sped up to 700% and we have not found a way to adjust the time per move accordingly. 

In this 2nd video I internally link 15 seconds a move to 1 minute a move, meaning that it plays at around 9 seconds a move on average (60/7 = 8.57) but it’s still not matching the actual average of 15 seconds a move played by the Phoenix.

To get a true match I would need 105 seconds a move (105/7 = 15), but that time control doesn’t exist. So I could either use 90 secs giving @13 secs at 700% or 120 secs giving @17 secs at 700%. I could imagine the outcry if I used the latter, so I’ll try 120 seconds myself before releasing another video. At least that should give Picochess a realistic chance.

Cheers,

Al.

[Scally]

Sorry,

When I said I’d try 120 seconds, I meant I’d try 90 seconds, giving @13 secs a move.

Al.