Fritz Chess 17 Steam Edition

About

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".

Genres & Tags

Strategy

Play Modes

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 34 reviews

optimization3 negative mentions

Fritz 17 is a powerful chess engine that provides excellent move suggestions and analysis, making it a valuable learning tool for players of all skill levels.
The program runs stably without lags or glitches, even after extensive use, and offers a comprehensive set of features for serious chess players.
The interface, while somewhat clunky, allows for a variety of training modes and tools, including the ability to analyze games and practice openings.

The Steam version is a stripped-down edition lacking many features present in the full version, including essential tools for game analysis and opening repertoire management.
Players cannot use the game offline, which is a significant drawback for those who prefer to play without an internet connection.
The user interface is outdated and can be confusing, making it difficult for new players to navigate and fully utilize the program's capabilities.

graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The graphics in the game are heavily reliant on powerful dedicated GPUs, particularly NVIDIA cards, to fully utilize the capabilities of the Fat Fritz engine, which leverages advanced ray tracing and neural network technology. While integrated graphics can provide some performance, they fall significantly short compared to dedicated options, making high-end hardware essential for optimal gameplay. Additionally, the game is notable for being the first commercial program to incorporate a modified version of the Leela Zero chess engine.
- “The engine works on a commercially available personal computer and delivers very interesting results thanks to the neural network, but is actually up to two thousand times faster on a high-performance graphics card.”
- “An RTX 2080 Ti graphics card achieves an NPS performance of 37,000.”
- “Fritz 17 is the first commercial program to contain a modified version of the 'Leela Zero' chess engine, showcasing the capabilities of modern graphics processors.”
- “Instead, you're forced to ray trace with Intel graphics.”
- “The developers named the result Fat Fritz, which, however, needs a very powerful NVIDIA graphics card to achieve the full game strength.”
- “The engine also works on a processor of a commercially available personal computer, delivering very interesting results thanks to the neural network, but is actually up to two thousand times faster on a fast graphics card.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The optimization of the game is notably high, particularly with an RTX 2080 GPU, while the RTX 2080 Ti achieves impressive NPS performance of 37,000. However, both graphics cards require an additional graphics processor for optimal performance, and there are undocumented tips suggesting that many AMD graphics cards and integrated Intel graphics also support "OpenCL," offering better performance than the CPU alone.
- “An RTX 2080 Ti graphics card achieves an NPS performance of 37,000.”
- “Fritz 17 is, in any case, the first commercial program to contain a modified version of the 'Leela Zero' chess engine.”
- “High performance is already achieved with an RTX 2080 GPU.”
- “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 the 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.”
- “An RTX 2080 Ti graphics card achieves an NPS performance of 37000.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report that the program demonstrates strong stability, with no lags, freezes, or glitches observed even after extensive use. However, some have noted that the interface can be unclear and buggy, which may hinder the user experience.
- “This release of the program works very stably; after 100 hours of use, no lags, freezes, or glitches were noticed.”
- “I have to admit, I am slowly finding out that content is there, but it's hidden behind a really unclear and buggy interface.”
gameplay
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
300%
Players appreciate the gameplay for its allowance of thoughtful decision-making, particularly in contrast to the faster pace of human vs. human interactions, making it a preferred choice for those who enjoy a more deliberate gaming experience.
- “Being able to take all the time in the world to make your next move is a luxury that is limited in human vs. human gameplay, and is perhaps a reason why I bought this software.”
- “The gameplay feels overly simplistic and lacks depth, making it quickly become repetitive.”
- “I found the controls to be unresponsive at times, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
- “The pacing of the game is frustratingly slow, leading to long stretches of boredom between action.”