The Dutch Computer Chess Federation (CSVN) is proud to announce the 10th International Computer Chess Tournament (ICT10) from 28-30 May 2010 in Leiden, The Netherlands.

During the world championship in Sofia, armchair grandmasters all over the world saw Vishy Anand’s winning attack in the final game, due to the magnificent calculating abilities of chess computer programs in sharp tactical positions. However, there were many positions in Sofia in which the computers showed a lack of understanding. In game 9, in a very unbalanced position, in which Anand hat two rooks and a pawn vs. a queen, even the strongest chess engines had no clue what was going on. If you go through game four of the match with a chess engine, you will see that most engines do not foresee Anand’s crushing attack. And there are many more examples in the match that show that chess programs simply make the wrong moves.

For this reason, it is interesting to see the development of chess programs and the unique chess computer tournaments, organised by the CSVN, the Dutch Computer Chess Federation, are important meetings for chess programmers to improve their programs. This year, the 10th ICT will be played in the Denksportcentrum in Leiden, The Netherlands with 14 programs. It is a nice mixture of top chess programs like Rybka, Hiarcs, Shredder and Junior and amateur programs like Pandix, The Baron, Spark and Kallisto.

Since the CSVN celebrates its 10th edition of the ICT, the board decided to invite some prominent programmers from the USA to Leiden. Don Dailey (Komodo) and Larry Kaufman will attend the tournament and will be happy to answer questions from visitors.

It is also exciting for the organisers that some brand-new versions of top engines play in Leiden. Rybka 4 has just been released this week, Hiarcs 13 is brand new and Komodo has just been updated as well. But world class engines like Shredder, Junior and Deep Sjeng will also play with improved versions. We are looking forward to a weekend of top level computer chess in Leiden!

To see the list of participants, check the website www.csvn.nl. During the tournament you will see the results after each round and you can download the games as well. Some of the games will be broadcast live on Playchess. The first round will start on Friday 28 May 1300 LT. Nine rounds will be played and you can find the complete schedule on the website.

Eric van Reem

Editor "Computerschaak"
Press officer ICT 10