Answers.Body: <p>You need to use <em>mate search</em> function of a chess engine.</p>
  
  <p>Some engines have this function, for example, Houdini 4: <a href="http://www.cruxis.com/chess/manual/index.html?game_play.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.cruxis.com/chess/manual/index.html?game_play.htm</a></p>
  
  <p>You can activate it using UCI parameters, or more easily, using a Fritz GUI on Windows as it has a mate search button, which makes life easier.</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
Answers.Body: <p>Look up Endgame Tablebases for this kind of thing. These are programs that have SOLVED all chess positions of 7 or less pieces.</p>
  
  <p>Regular chess engines will give you definite evals and mates, but cant calculate 50 moves deep.</p>
  
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Answers.Text: I'm familiar with tablebases, and I understand how they can be used to help solve for complicated positions.  That said, regular chess engines *regularly* calculate 50 moves deep.  I run Stockfish and it does it all the time.  However, it prunes quite a bit, and doesn't do backwards regression to show that the mates it finds are actual mates.  For instance, it will say mate in 35, and then a little later it might say mate in 38 (after is goes to another branch it pruned).
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Answers.Text: So I'm looking for a program that initially prunes like Stockfish (so it can find really good moves, leading to mate) and then shows that none of the other possibilities give faster mates than that.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Pace Nielsen
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Answers.Text: Definite evals?
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
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Answers.Text: @Saibot, evaluations
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Answers.Text: @InfiniteFlashChess I mean "definite"?
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Answers.Text: I meant it as "precise", "accurate"
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Body: <p>Are there any programs out there that take a completely won position and compute the minimum checkmate depth (say if it is around 50 moves)?</p>
  
Tags: <software>
Title: Program to solve positions
ThreadText: # Program to solve positions
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-02-19)
  
  Are there any programs out there that take a completely won position and compute the minimum checkmate depth (say if it is around 50 moves)?
  
  **Tags:** software
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2016-02-19. Score: 2 | Accepted answer
  
  You need to use *mate search* function of a chess engine.
  
  Some engines have this function, for example, Houdini 4: <http://www.cruxis.com/chess/manual/index.html?game_play.htm>
  
  You can activate it using UCI parameters, or more easily, using a Fritz GUI on Windows as it has a mate search button, which makes life easier.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2016-02-19. Score: 0
  
  Look up Endgame Tablebases for this kind of thing. These are programs that have SOLVED all chess positions of 7 or less pieces.
  
  Regular chess engines will give you definite evals and mates, but cant calculate 50 moves deep.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: I'm familiar with tablebases, and I understand how they can be used to help solve for complicated positions.  That said, regular chess engines *regularly* calculate 50 moves deep.  I run Stockfish and it does it all the time.  However, it prunes quite a bit, and doesn't do backwards regression to show that the mates it finds are actual mates.  For instance, it will say mate in 35, and then a little later it might say mate in 38 (after is goes to another branch it pruned).  
  > **username_0**: So I'm looking for a program that initially prunes like Stockfish (so it can find really good moves, leading to mate) and then shows that none of the other possibilities give faster mates than that.  
  > **username_1**: Definite evals?  
  > **username_2**: @Saibot, evaluations  
  > **username_1**: @InfiniteFlashChess I mean "definite"?  
  > **username_2**: I meant it as "precise", "accurate"  
  
  ---
  
  