Critter (chess)

Critter is a cross-platform UCI chess engine by Slovakian programmer Richard Vida which is free for non-commercial use. The engine has achieved top five on most official chess engine Elo rating lists.^[1][2][3][4]

Critter
Developer(s)	Richard Vida
Stable release	1.6a 64-bit / June 2012
Written in	C++
Operating system	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android
Type	Chess engine
License	Proprietary
Website	www.vlasak.biz/critter/

History

Richard Vida started working on Critter in late 2008. The first version was originally written in Object Pascal but the code was later converted to C++ using Bitboard technology because Delphi did not perform well under 64-bit processors.^[5][6] Critter had its over-the-board (OTB) debut at the ICT 2012, where it became a strong runner-up behind the Rybka cluster.^[7]

Notable games

Tornado vs Critter,
nTCEC S2, Stage 2, 3.6

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Here Critter played 16...Ng4, sacrificing a rook for a strong attack.

• Tornado vs Critter, nTCEC S2, Stage 2, 3.7, 0–1 Critter sacs two pawns and the exchange to build up a strong attack.^[8]
• Toga vs Critter, nTCEC S2, Stage 2, 4.6, 0–1^[8]