MagicTree
An open-source, MIT-licensed UCI chess engine written in C++
MagicTree 3.5 is available with source code and a Windows x64 binary
Built to Compete
Every component of MagicTree is engineered for strength and efficiency — without a neural network.
PEXT-Based Attack Generation
Uses the BMI2 PEXT instruction for O(1) sliding-piece attack lookups. Pre-computed rook and bishop attack tables are indexed by a hardware-accelerated occupancy hash — no magic multipliers needed. The current release requires a 64-bit AVX2/BMI2-capable CPU.
Tapered Handcrafted Evaluation
A classical handcrafted evaluator (HCE) — no neural network and no NNUE file. Midgame and endgame scores are interpolated by material phase, now sharpened by a blend of pawn, non-pawn, and continuation correction histories.
Deep Alpha-Beta Search
PVS with aspiration windows, null-move pruning, LMR, late move pruning (now extended to depth 8), singular extensions, reverse futility, and reworked, history-aware SEE pruning with an optional endgame guard.
Transposition Table & Prefetch
A Zobrist-keyed transposition table sized via the UCI Hash option. Child TT buckets are prefetched after each move to hide memory latency, and a maintained non-pawn Zobrist key feeds the correction-history blend.
Rich Move Ordering & History
Move ordering layers TT/PV moves, SEE-split captures, MVV-LVA, granular capture history (attacker / to-square / victim piece type), killers, counter moves, and both 2-ply and 4-ply continuation history for early cutoffs.
UCI Compatible
Implements the Universal Chess Interface (UCI). Load it into Arena, Cute Chess, BanksiaGUI, Shredder, or Fritz/ChessBase. Configurable Hash and Move Overhead, plus advanced SEE and correction-history tuning options.
What is MagicTree?
MagicTree 3.5 is a 64-bit Windows UCI chess engine written in C++. It loads into any UCI-compatible GUI — such as Arena, Cute Chess, BanksiaGUI, Shredder, or Fritz/ChessBase — and plays chess at a grandmaster level. It is an engine only: it does not ship its own graphical board, opening-book manager, or analysis GUI.
Its strength comes from a tapered handcrafted evaluation (no neural network) and a deep alpha-beta search, accelerated by BMI2 PEXT sliding-attack lookups. Created and maintained by Vikrant Malvankar (India), MagicTree 3.5 is open-source software under the permissive MIT License.
Engineered for Strength
MagicTree plays at a grandmaster level on a hardware-accelerated, classical search core — built for 64-bit Windows with an AVX2 and BMI2/PEXT-capable CPU.
Estimated Rating vs. Competitors
Blitz · 2+1Approximate playing strength at a Blitz time control of 2+1 (two minutes plus a one-second increment).
| # | Engine | Elo | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spike 1.4 | 2950 | CCRL Blitz |
| 2 | MagicTree 3.5This engine | 2900 | Private testing (estimate) |
| 3 | Fridolin | 2746 | CCRL Blitz |
| 4 | Fatali | 2735 | CCRL Blitz |
| 5 | RedQueen | 2694 | CCRL Blitz |
MagicTree's Elo is an estimate based on private testing and is not an official rating.
All other ratings are taken from CCRL Blitz.
What's New in 3.5
Latest Release- ▸Retuned the handcrafted evaluation across pieces, pawns, mobility, threats, king safety, passers, initiative, tempo, and space.
- ▸Added an exact KPK bitbase and specialized knowledge for a broad range of low-material endgames.
- ▸Added a material-keyed endgame registry, material cache, and richer pawn-hash data.
- ▸Cached child check state, compacted position undo records, and streamlined check-evasion counting.
- ▸Expanded evaluation tracing, coefficient tracing, and profiling support.
- ▸Added whole-program link-time optimization to the reproducible AVX2/BMI2 release build.