Fritz Chess 17

About

Fritz Chess 17 is a single player and multiplayer tactical strategy game. It was developed by ChessBase GmbH and was released on July 29, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

This chess program offers you everything you will need as a dedicated chess enthusiast, with innovative training methods for amateurs and professionals alike using the neural chess engine "Fat Fritz".

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63%

Audience ScoreBased on 35 reviews

optimization3 negative mentions

Powerful and strong chess engine that adapts well and provides high level play suitable for amateurs to masters.
Comprehensive tool with features like game analysis, opening books, and large game databases which help players improve their skills.
Stable and professional software with a perpetual license and useful modes such as Easy Game, Friend Mode, and tactics training.

Steam version is a stripped down edition missing many key features such as full opening repertoire management, online account login, and training tools.
Does not support offline play requiring constant internet connection, which frustrates users who want to play without connectivity.
User interface is considered outdated, clunky, and sometimes confusing, with some bugs and unclear access to advanced features.

graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The graphics aspect relies heavily on powerful NVIDIA graphics cards, such as the RTX 2080 Ti, to fully leverage the Fat Fritz engine's capabilities, with performance significantly boosted by GPU acceleration via OpenCL. While integrated Intel and AMD graphics support OpenCL and offer better performance than CPU alone, only dedicated GPUs deliver the engine’s full potential for a smooth experience. Overall, advanced graphics hardware is essential for optimal use of the game's graphical and AI features.
- “The engine also works on a processor of a commercially available personal computer, delivers very interesting results thanks to the neural network, but is actually up to two thousand times faster on the fast graphics card.”
- “An RTX 2080 Ti graphics card achieves an NPS performance of 37000.”
- “The developers named the result Fat Fritz, which, however, needs a very powerful Nvidia graphics card to achieve the full game strength.”
- “Instead, you're forced to raytrace with Intel graphics, which severely limits performance.”
- “The developers named the result Fat Fritz, which requires a very powerful Nvidia graphics card to achieve full game strength.”
- “The engine works on a standard personal computer processor but is up to two thousand times faster on a high-end graphics card, making integrated graphics performance quite low.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The game demonstrates high optimization with strong performance on RTX 2080 and RTX 2080 Ti GPUs, achieving up to 37,000 NPS. It requires a dedicated graphics processor for optimal use of the Fat Fritz engine, which benefits from OpenCL support found in many AMD cards and integrated Intel graphics, though the latter offer lower but still superior performance compared to CPUs.
- “An RTX 2080 Ti graphics card achieves an NPS performance of 37,000.”
- “Many AMD graphics cards and even the integrated graphics cores in modern Intel processors support OpenCL, offering performance much higher than the CPU; Fritz 17 is the first commercial program to include a modified version of the Leela Zero chess engine.”
- “High performance is already achieved with an RTX 2080 GPU.”
- “An RTX 2080 Ti graphics card achieves an NPS performance of 37000.”
- “The latter two require an extra graphics processor in the computer, and only with one of these is the Fat Fritz engine interesting (a largely undocumented tip is that many AMD graphics cards and even the graphics cores built into modern Intel processors support OpenCL; the performance of integrated graphics cores is low but still much higher than that of the CPU): Fritz 17 is in any case the first commercial program to contain a modified version of the Leela Zero chess engine.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the program is very stable, with no lags, freezes, or glitches even after extended use. However, some stability issues may stem from an unclear and buggy interface, which can make content difficult to find.
gameplay
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The gameplay is praised for allowing players to take their time when making moves, offering a relaxed experience that contrasts with the time constraints often found in human vs. human matches.