OpenChess

Maverick is steadily gaining strength so here's the latest version - Maverick 0.5; the first version I regard as reasonably strong:

http://www.chessprogramming.net/compute ... -released/

I'd estimate this version to be about 200+ ELO better than the previous version.

• Added more basic endgame knowledge
• Added passed pawn evaluation (I think this added a lot of strength)
• Beefed up the evaluation routine to include basic terms such as mobility
• Fixed a nasty hash bug to do with mating positions
• Added one-reply to check extensions in the first ply of the quiescent search (help with some tactics – little impact on playing strength)
• Enabled hash cutoffs at PV nodes
• Nodes per second have dropped considerably due to the slower evaluation (now between 3 million and 5 million on my 2.8 GHz i7 notebook)
• A bazillion tweaks

Please let me know if you have any test results for Maverick or if you find a bug!

Steve