“Let the computer engine run through the game in blunder check mode”
I found the above on an advise page, look at your own games using software. Do software engines really have a “blunder check mode”? I have never seen such a feature mentioned but then I am no expert on chess software.
THANKS
Russell Miller, Vancouver WA
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Russell,
In Fritz_11 the steps are…
[1] Load any chess game score into Fritz.
[2] Menu to: Tools > Analysis > CompareAnalysis.
[3] Under DefineEngines, click the New button. Select Fritz_11; plus optionally Crafty or similar if additional engines are listed.
[4] Under SideToAnalyze, click Both.
[5] For Time vs Depth, click the Depth radio button, and dial the depth to 8 (later you should increase the Depth depending on how fast your computer is).
[6] Click OK, and wait a couple minutes while both engines examine every move, backward through the game score.
When done, you will have (a) the move that each engine recommended next to every actual move, and (b) the centipawn evaluation of every actual move. Fantastic info, so easy to get so quickly.
Note how the two engines often disagree with each other; proving that running only one engine is dubious.
There is a very similar yet slightly inferior feature under menu: Tools > Analysis > BlunderCheck. I say inferior because BlunderCheck stops before reaching the first move, and because BlunderCheck is limited to only one engine. [I edited this paragraph to address JBennett’s subsequent post.]
I rarely use BlunderCheck, and I prefer CompareAnalysis.
I have been amazed to realize how many serious class level tournament players do not own Fritz (or which ever serious chess engine), or who do not use CompareAnalysis (or BlunderCheck). Not hard to find people who own Fritz but do not know how to use it — the Fritz documentation is a bit lame.
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I use the Blunder check in Fritz, that Gene described above. I don’t know why he calls it inferior, I use it on all my games. It is good for spotting tactical oversights.
Maybe for a more advanced player it isn’t as useful, but for me it is very informative.
Jim
That reminds me of some instructions someone posted a few decades ago on a vending machine in my college dorm. The machine had been failing to dispense cups, pouring the drink down the drain. Someone taped a paper cup to the machine, with instructions as follows:
If machine fails to dispense cup, then, quickly:
[1] Place finger in mouth.
[2] Grab cup with other hand.
[3] Bite down hard.
[4] Place cup in machine.
[5] Register complaint, at your leisure.
Bill Smythe