| Deep Fritz 10 is the multiprocessor version of Fritz 10. The program will run on multiple processors or multiple cores, making use of the additional computational power to speed up the overall performance of the program. Incidentally this is not possible with the regular Fritz 10, which will use the resources of just one processor in a multi-processor environment. Running on a Intel Core 2 duo system, which is fast becoming the entry level computer hardware today, Deep Fritz 10 will give you a speedup of about 1.8 as opposed to a single-processor system. This means it will run at 1.8 million positions per seconds instead of one million on a single-core system of similar speed. Speed is critical in computer chess, not just if you happen to be playing against world champion Vladimir Kramnik (in the current match in Bonn, Germany, Deep Fritz is running on a very fast dual processor dual core system which gives it around nine million positions per second). Speed also matters when you are analysing critical positions. Normally you will not devote three or more minutes to every position on the board - serious players tend to run through openings lines, testing ideas they wish to play and pausing for just ten or fifteen seconds at each position to see if there are any "holes" in their plans. Sometimes the extra 80% of speed can make the difference between victory and defeat. | |
