Chess Engine that plays in the range 1500-2000

     Where can I find a UCI chess engine that plays in the range 1500-2000?

Why don't you play against people horse? 🏇

I know a guy that used to cheat here using Nagaskaki.  It plays at around 2000-2100.

Probably a good story there...Too bad we can't discuss it.

Like many here, his atttiude was "Whats the big deal?.  if i get caught ill just open another account"  He ended up just getting tired of cheating.  The thrill wore off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPlsqo2bk2M

Pure Gold!

Eh, I almost forgot about the engines...Hey Skinny, ya still looking?

Right off the bat, I'll mention the Lucas Chess GUI, since guaranteed someone will mention it if I don't. Lot's of engines in that GUI at all different strengths.

Other than that, the sources are a bit more decentralized than a few years ago. It sort of depends on what your specific engine requirements are. (Commercial or free? Does it really HAVE to be UCI? Does it have to use elo settings, or can you live with skill number settings? Does it have to be easy to set up? Etcetera...)

     The engine (engines) need to be free (I've been shelling out money for ridiculous things lately and can't afford more termites in my wallet) and hopefully something that I can download and put into Chessbase or Fritz. 

     Thanks for the help and suggestions. 

A few free UCI suggestions:

1) Ufim 8.02 - Easy to install (i.e., few settings). LimitStrength ranges from 700 elo to 2000 elo. However, I don't know if the real upper strength is really as high as 2000. You'll have to just try it.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140329072350/http://wbec-ridderkerk.nl/html/details1/Ufim.html


2) Arasan 20.0 - I haven't used this one, so you'll just have to try it. LimitStrength ranges from 1000 elo to 2600 elo.

http://www.arasanchess.org/


3) Rodent 1.7 - LimitStrength ranges from 600 elo to 2600 elo. Note that for this engine, to get the elo settings, you must use a text editor for the "rodent.ini" file and change the "user normal" command to "user power". (Without the quotes.)

https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20160516050125/http://www.pkoziol.cal24.pl/rodent/rodent_history.htm


4) Rhetoric 1.4.3 - Web site is in Spanish. LimitStrength ranges from 1300 elo to 2600 elo. However, the lowest setting (1300 elo) may actually be a few hundred elo points stronger.

http://www.chessrhetoric.com/index.php/downloads/viewcategory/1-versiones-rhetoric


5) Stockfish 8 - Skill level ranges from 0 to 20. I'm not sure of the exact elo conversion. Guessing about 1250 elo to much higher.

https://stockfishchess.org/download/


6) Stockfish 8 SE - Same as the regular Stockfish 8 except that the skill level ranges from 0 to 40. (Same strength range, just more granularity.)

http://www.talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?start=0&t=61952&topic_view=flat

(See the post by T. Poppins and his TinyUpload link.)



Note that for the engines that have LimitStrength elo ranges, the ranges are typically just guesses by the programmer and can be significantly off from reality. In other words, you'll have to find your own level through trial and error.

I hope you find one you like!

Here's a couple more engines to add to the list:

7) Amyan 1.72 - LimitStrength ranges from 1000 elo to 2400 elo. At the 2000 elo level, it appears to be much stronger than an average 2000.

http://www.pincha.cl/amyan/amyane.html


8) Cheese 1.8 - LimitStrength ranges from 1000 elo to 2600 elo. At the 2000 elo level, it appears to be much weaker than an average 2000.

http://cheesechess.free.fr/en/download.html

Okay, I'll bite.  What does "UCI" stand for?

I went to UC Irvine so I always think of my alma mater when I see the letters UCI.

Universal Chess Interface.

One more addition:

9) MadChess 2.1 - LimitStrength ranges from 400 elo to 2200 elo. I really like Madsen's new web site - Clean and functional, and he includes detailed code snippets of his LimitStrength algorithm.

http://www.madchess.net/

The free Lucas chess is here: http://www-lucaschess.rhcloud.com/index.html

It has, I think, 39 different chess engines and has limited some of them so there are many ratings, from about 400 to 3400 (Stockfish 8).  Additionally, you can set the engines to play solid, reckless, randomly choose among it's best move choices so you get varied games, etc.  You can also give it, for example, 5 minutes of clock time to 20 of yours so that you get more games in.

      Thanks for all the excellent suggestions.  Sometimes I like to play against a computer, when I have some chance of winning, because I can make 4 or 5 moves and then return to the game on the next day---you can't do that against humans. 

     On my original post, I said a Universal Chess Engine (UCI), but what I should have said was an engine that can be installed into Chessbase or Fritz, which are the GUI's that I have.

maelstrom i believe is about 1500