Dragon is a new chess engine launched by the same organization behind the Komodo Chess engine. It is powered by Neural Network Updated Efficiently (NNUE), first used for Shogi. Many say that Dragon has the latest features and improvements in the chess engine industry because of the NNUE integration.
Because of the integrated neural network, this chess engine can provide users with more precise evaluation. In line with that, many also confirm that Dragon works better than Fischerandom chess. Since this chess engine can adapt to the changes in the game instead of following its pre-set values in terms of evaluation, we can say that this will work better than other Komodo chess engines.
This total guide on The Dragon Chess Engine will answer every question running in your mind about this new chess program.
How did Dragon Chess Engine Start?
Dragon is one of the latest and most potent chess engines online. It is equipped with NNUE technology, an excellent addition to Komodo. It is believed that it contains significant improvements from its predecessor, ranked at 3595 by the Chess.com Computer Ratings.
As it is the innovative version of the Komodo chess engine, Dragon is packed with different interesting features, including the Armageddon mode and personalities.
Which Is The Most Powerful Chess Engine?
You can find tons of chess engines online. However, not all of them stand out in the computer championships. Here are some of the best, most powerful, and well-known chess engines in the world:
Stockfish
Stockfish is undoubtedly one of the leading chess engines that have been made available for public use. This is an open-source engine, which means that anyone in the community can share their ideas to improve its performance better.
You can access StockfishStockfish on various platforms like Android, iOS, Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. In addition, it is also integrated with neural networks so it can provide more accurate evaluations regarding chess positions.
Komodo Dragon Chess
Another popular Universal Chess Interface chess engine is the Komodo. It was initially developed by Don Dailey in 2010 and continued by Mark Lefler in 2013. Beyond that, Komodo has been supported by Larry Kaufmann for several years to have better chess-playing abilities.
Many chess players have patronized komodo because it comes with opening books and various styles. Moreover, it can also handle any playing strength level.
Shredder Chess
Last but not least is the Shredder Chess. This is a paid chess engine for commercial purposes made by Stefan Meyer-Kahlen in 1993 in Germany. Like StockfishStockfish, one can also navigate this chess engine on multiple platforms, such as Amazon Kindle, iOS< Android, Linux, Mac OS, and Windows.
What Chess Engine Does Hikaru Use?
Hikaru Nakamura, one of the few players on the list of Super Grandmasters and one of the best Chess Streamers, faced the Dragon in an eight-game odds match. This will be one of the most exciting chess matches between a Chess Super Grandmaster and an AI-based chess engine. It is believed that this match will prove the engine’s claims for working as a human-like chess player.
Aside from being a chess player, Hikaru is also a well-known Twitch streaming and an online speed chess prowess. He is also starting to make a name in the industry for battling against AI-based chess engines.
Komodo Dragon vs Stockfish
Top engine Stockfish has been available publicly for several years, while Komodo Dragon is new. How does the Dragon measure up compared to Stockfish? Despite being a newcomer, Dragon has gained thousands of users. If you have been battling with different chess engines, you probably know some differences between Stockfish and Komodo Dragon.
Stockfish is designed to showcase tactical and sharp likes, while Komodo Dragon is made for the human-like and more positional game. Komodo Dragon is a perfect chess engine to play with if you:
- Owns a sturdy MCTS engine without requiring a GPU.
- Feels a bit hesitant with the analysis during the evaluation.
- Run different engine that suits the make and model of your platform.
- Wants to show support to Komodo to keep it developing new improvements and innovations in chess engines.
Does The Dragon Chess Engine Use Artificial Intelligence?
Most chess engines you know use artificial intelligence. And Dragon chess program is not an exception. But Dragon is not reliant on using this technology.
It is worth noting that there is a fine line between using programmatic techniques and artificial intelligence. One of these is that the chess engine cannot control the playing process and has no idea about chess pieces and the chessboard itself.
Dragon is set apart from other chess engines available because it uses a combined AI and programmatic technique. This shows that this chess engine analyzes the situation according to the previous matches and the positions before making a move.
In addition, Komodo also integrated the programmatic chess technology, which allows the Dragon chess engine to perform algorithm development that will help it calculate the probability of winning before making any move.
Considering that it uses a programmatic chess technique, it is more likely that humans will have difficulty defeating this chess engine.
Can Humans Beat Dragon Chess Engine?
There is always a chance that a human can defeat a chess engine. Komodo Dragon chess engine does not have a pre-set evaluation function. But instead, it develops its skills by assessing the games played with other engines.
In line with that, it shows that the evaluation phase will vary depending on the preceding losses and draws to the opponent. In addition, it uses the programmatic chess approach, which makes the engine integrate strategies without being too reliant on the static evaluation function.
Because of that, the Dragon chess engine can adopt different strategies according to their existing board positions. Thus, human players should thoroughly assess each engine’s move to win.
Final Thoughts
The dragon chess engine is a new player introduced to the public by Komodo. This engine depends on the evaluation function instead of the prebuilt game knowledge, making it a dynamic engine that changes and adapts according to its current situation.
Overall, the Dragon chess engine is designed to work as a human-like chess player because of its programmatic techniques and artificial intelligence technology.
Did you enjoy reading about the Dragon Chess engine? If you did, you might be interesting in reading about other Chess engines like the Komodo engine and the Houdini engine.
