Rybka at 3100?!
Admittedly, computer ratings don't perfectly convert to human ratings, but the correlation is enough for the 3100 figure achieved by Rybka 2.1 (running on a quad processor) to be mind-blowing.
For me, this is bad news and good news. It's bad news, in that I want ChessBase's programs to outperform Rybka - I do work for them, after all! Many of ChessBase's products are outstanding and lead the industry (the Playchess.com server, ChessBase Magazine, their Kasparov, Korchnoi and Shirov DVDs, Mega Database, etc.), but at the moment Rybka is destroying them - and everyone else, too - in the chess engine department. (ChessBase engines are in the second, third, and fourth slots and take up many other places in the top ten, but the gap between first and second is substantial.)
The full chess engine rating list can be found here.
[Hat tip: Peter Winkler]
For me, this is bad news and good news. It's bad news, in that I want ChessBase's programs to outperform Rybka - I do work for them, after all! Many of ChessBase's products are outstanding and lead the industry (the Playchess.com server, ChessBase Magazine, their Kasparov, Korchnoi and Shirov DVDs, Mega Database, etc.), but at the moment Rybka is destroying them - and everyone else, too - in the chess engine department. (ChessBase engines are in the second, third, and fourth slots and take up many other places in the top ten, but the gap between first and second is substantial.)
The full chess engine rating list can be found here.
[Hat tip: Peter Winkler]