tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23473484052385626322024-03-19T04:34:22.138-04:00Adam's Computer Chess PagesComputer Chess Testing, Experimentation, and InformationAdam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-50077319940752007042017-01-21T19:37:00.002-05:002017-01-21T19:37:42.984-05:00UpdatesI have updated the CCRL Ordo spreadsheets and the 60 second EPD test spreadsheet:<div>
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<b>CCRL 40/4 Best Versions - Ordo </b><b>:</b> <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tJwMirQ3LPB8mLZciBrF-THrrEAx2R9g_fBKqiWCvts/edit?usp=sharing">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tJwMirQ3LPB8mLZciBrF-THrrEAx2R9g_fBKqiWCvts/edit?usp=sharing</a><br />
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<b>CCRL 40/40 Best Versions - Ordo</b> <b>:</b> <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OkPu22SanCw90vVPH9LY8mo-M7q1bJtfLMRQ-ys3Y2A/edit?usp=sharing">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OkPu22SanCw90vVPH9LY8mo-M7q1bJtfLMRQ-ys3Y2A/edit?usp=sharing</a><br />
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<b>60 second epd test : </b><a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BO7gAFwQss8R_-iV0s-dPbgG71XNydSeMfZWVjsACe8/edit?usp=sharing">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BO7gAFwQss8R_-iV0s-dPbgG71XNydSeMfZWVjsACe8/edit?usp=sharing</a></div>
Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-6112719337613925892013-06-09T11:48:00.002-04:002013-06-09T11:49:10.207-04:00Also-Rans Update - June 9, 2013I have updated the Also-Rans list.<br />
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If you follow the updates to the <a href="http://www.computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/404/">CCRL 40/4 rating list</a>, you will see that all of the Also-Rans engines have been included (one goal accomplished :-) ). Currently, I am slowly producing games involving newer engines for the Also-Rans list. I expect the next update will take place in 2 to 3 months.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-89390616877780677772013-01-20T23:02:00.000-05:002013-01-20T23:02:09.638-05:00Return of TCECMartin Thoresen is restarting the very popular engine tournament TCEC. The first game begins on Tuesday, January 22 at 14:00 CET. A full list of competitors can be found <a href="http://www.tcec-chess.net/ratings.php">here</a>. Each game can be followed either at the <a href="http://www.tcec-chess.net/live.php">Live</a> page at the TCEC website or at <a href="http://chessbomb.com/">ChessBomb</a>.<br />
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Good luck to Martin, and we all hope that TCEC sticks around for a while!Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-52051456609236575672012-09-28T23:03:00.001-04:002012-09-28T23:03:32.612-04:00Also-Rans List - September 28 updateThe Also-Rans rating list has been updated.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-7018662582634634252012-08-24T10:32:00.000-04:002012-09-04T19:31:58.599-04:00August 23 Update CorrectionAs it turns out, the only thing correct about my update yesterday were the ratings I posted. There were problems with the database, and with the statistics generated from that database. So, I have made the corrections and uploaded a corrected PGN.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-22166106861947102812012-08-23T23:30:00.001-04:002012-08-23T23:30:18.871-04:00Also-Rans Ratings List Update - August 23, 2012The Also-Rans list has been updated. I have also updated the statistical information and the database. The link to the Also-Rans database can be found at the ratings page.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-76891775485407336322012-08-18T07:55:00.001-04:002012-08-23T23:30:43.462-04:00Ed Schröder's Donationware<a href="http://www.top-5000.nl/authors/rebel/chess_3.htm">Ed Schröder</a>, the author of chess programs such as Mephisto MM IV and MM V, Rebel, and Pro Deo, has decided to make his older Rebel PC chess programs Winboard and UCI (via WB2UCI) compatible and provide them as donationware. As stated at Wikipedia and Ed's site, donationware is a licensing model that supplies fully operational unrestricted software to the user and requests an optional donation be paid to the programmer or a third-party beneficiary (usually a non-profit). Ed's request for donations is for raising money to create a "World Championship" competition among the top-rated chess engines. So feel free to download the versions of Rebel that Ed converts and makes available. If you can, please donate 1 Euro (via PayPal) for each engine you download.<br />
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At the moment, Ed has converted Mephisto Gideon Professional (the first Rebel software for PC). It is the engine that won the 1991 World MicroComputer World Championship, and won the 1992 World Championship (via a RISC PC card versus mainframe and specialized chess computers). Here are a few games where I matched Mephisto Gideon Professional against older engines (Crafty 15.00, Arasan 6.3) and newer programs (RumbleMinze 1.0.30.0, ProChess 101CP): <br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="819" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://pgn4web-board.casaschi.net/?am=l&d=3000&ss=36&ps=d&pf=d&lcs=VdyD&dcs=LHCg&bbcs=LHCg&hm=s&hcs=QtmS&bd=c&cbcs=PYGy&ctcs=l4It&hd=c&md=f&tm=18&fhcs=$$$$&fhs=16&fmcs=$$$$&fccs=v71$&hmcs=M___&fms=16&fcs=m&cd=i&bcs=VdyD&fp=18&hl=f&fh=819&fw=477&pe=3440$zutHh07jbv1yv241BHASUtGJ02LEG8uOLpM74QteBHxmTbGBU7b0f24$91BHz4AVvs$GXgJX5uRZye0IzZkxXZZh7_uwKAuo1BHAPyYuAp096y1BHzlKAP1eA31BHzJqzk29EL8QtfxE_CXmK2YjjQzKZXZ2tH5Zkvh$28bvC7n0czjP9pNgZ22TAYXGoYYA$H9cH7jeZLDRLwf_W1yq140ilhKo4VZZmFRvgivEG4wvfBNcVw$7Sx1rwv75ho4cgv3jo$lZgD308Vvnwjr0$SBfAN1vf3Ax$FEnwL1MdFl7spU$T3dIbwrtmfof30ebwRwj5b11bvaoj5f1dEBxB7bL3dPg2lDcv3ayNTXJl2tU0I$wSp7sYF2r04OgDpM0xvghGl75FQx2d$yI2gSOiz56$yFq7sYN39$v87NLoaj7b1dEDvqu7fv3mtc6jFdfwv7s7p0FZg1b$xVKzgRGheP7P1aFI7yGiCV3r$HJXxdIbw0f7spM6pInw2v757p6unw$T3spc$OlDnD1dQpM2Iub_fLL7Jpc2IlHuAy3$xVx75GK6V5b009WM$mHuDov3mjc2Ih5_fOf7Jpg2GlePbT1aF5wRyePb904OgAyI3uDnT1aK5wRwKPb6$xWN71po_V42MAxNgYVM73wfN$9d$bj9pNmuAVJT3e1BHA_e0G3vkZ7St2eWugCvRNu9Mtuu83uKLSNKHwilh1NYfdvlrutuZkyv51BHAPyYuAp05e91BHzlKAP11bnjQzAOrxDokd0mSCSMVWNFDEG8uYUX5YncXG$yXe_DJk28KluwV5$$$8e$EG86TbexmSNICSRj1LDRLwf_W1yq142_H9cH7j4co9YzmGWUtGp04n4cnHb10FbytDf11nxC7n13RgK3n0$Q17vBDP10zBfVANd$vnxoD1iM0f71to2RDr$HXN6sXvr1$FETwVFt7bD10CHfViz5b1cHvqoj5f13HfCk8z5n10zVEbwrtm6AP5L0nJeaDhU0I$voezsto0J$vo8W3239vMf7stQ$QjZfoL3dQiU$lZfnr1azPgQUN39$ldEpwRFlDfn3sFAFdHFYx3701smHfCN3b06jzgRGR7gv30qg1lDgD33FAF3VEpl7T1dQhQ0bfvD3stc05fwL303c6jXuDfd04NgD5pU24$fYx0KnwwvfQx9pwx$a5FPQ$Qppwy$f3Qx5JfO$7tQ6IfOf7tU6jS7oL3e4gQUN54$v9IcfQlBDbtjla86SG3vh427$DT$MfEG8sZmFWvfX9pNmXX5Hh0mTysTb_IY5t2q8XG4UYXzgZ_2u9ZN4co7aaQ$V0mOWNkxY0I$jj4coaE6V_9P1btj4co7IuaD4C2d1BHzJqzk29EL7HFCz5uK1BHA_SCLqQvSNH1KLnd7GUZ6DOJmOOTefj$o8vEG86TbexmSNICSRj1LDRLwf_W1yq142_H9cH7j4co9YzmGWUtGp059T9pMnn3qo$Nm7f19nvC7n10zBfQNb$wcz0c4gD308Dv8G6Vd$vpy7m6AP4$vB7SF6$a1pyt76$yO71YF29$wG3qGgz5b11khU2IjJfo$7s7x97vO$gSN71FQyY0H$yQlHa0FrvRvgRI3fcK35T10FWM$kjPfnD3sic0cfoL32cpv88z56$wPy78x39$v8E1MPwj7b1cQ8x$FzM13$xBDsRk15$yE3fWkGj7L16pbwaz7P1dQ8xdE3rw6$gPy4Cuqrw0f71Dpepw2v7EkGzjFQN32vfQmRDpGWjbj02I3gRyzbb16u7_grXU23$l0qg6HfMv7VBxdQ7OY2b$w9E5gQEN5p0$k2fWizbT16sDwSOzb906jzgSqzbr$HsXx6myuDnd06jyfVi3nj0$lPfVBxb506jzfVXqY53$xTx7s8xbb02Gh7sSFbn$HsDxeby5vfi3dZry6$f4gzsDU51vfWIzsRU56$f4K3tg50L7Vzp6upyhv7to2Gl4By$yI2fYNc704M5fWKzpn1dEBwQENcn02JOfWKzpP16unwQENcr02KIgSojp9$HsYNdWU5C$fVzpdWryfT3dZc2JZgMf3enwWjrb16pbyGizrf1azzfWHFdb06p5lspc6b$wRyCV6pPryBvgRI6ePme4gOv7WUNdWc61vgrgzsic66$grzNdWc60L71pfHWICV1A$grAxaCJfjn3sYNdIbvE$71SxdInvEv717NdI7vG$78FazZfkD33U6lHuAwm$grzNdIpvDD30qM6lBuD9r04Nl7WIz42vf4ijsSF64$ffFazxDrb1dZryEcfTv1L8G3s7x65$xU8zsFfF6b$v9E1DJFfF6c$xTB7Jh9wOv7JhM6yoDW2wf7WmMDiU2yv4Cu4uDJhrvMUgnHzutHh07jbv1yv241BHASUtGJ02LEG8uOLpM74tuumOM6WZ295KGLEG80otD6f9_3qK0CYKDOLqoeAnKeKzxeSTqUmRfEG8s7_mUlvhwTLEG84GUs$vxB1BHzJqzk29ELab2j2o0K9xBHA_SCLqQvSNH1eCSz_AfY4YAUZ_2jYz6DV5DYnyVeZXZ2tH5Zk2Pd$m6APayNV0L6sD4co7_0wXhZZkHZZNvl45R396_njqnfDuYwgIw1vEG8mHxYuuaQqf8MfjQxLL7hM4cfv328bwezb00bgKzn0$Q5fcizp05XghJXgL32kSx$zND90$g5fbAN6$a$BIf4HF0L75GizckEN29$v9B7VPU0y$v8EzjQ0z$wUz2epvO$fWIzayNV2n01TXJl0kDN2p02kpbv8Gj5T19nv9C7bj1dE3c6IfoL3tM2I1Dbd01lDVPk14$f3YNdEcda350$htD5i9w1$f3Ax6sJfwv7iM0cfy$7hFiz2k8N3p0$ksXyJNDgL33Q1lDfj0nVgz8nw2v7shg$NtDfd02Ippvo8CV59$xU7PdKnwwvgrg3s7U23$yEcBwRGO7nL1OFgDWmu7ov3dQSN0FzQ2c$xWp7s7OY2d$xWoD1hoZwwf7Wk8zdEB_fML3mqfH5FzOY20L7JDN6pZcZy1v7JRNdzo_V42Mv0" width="477">your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard</iframe><br />
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The time control was 40 moves in 7 minutes on a Pentium IV (so these are not high quality games). I used a common book for all engines. If in the future I provide more games for Gideon or other engines, I will let them use their own books.<br />
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Here is a game played between Delphil 2.9f and Mephisto Gideon Professional, sent to me by Gabriel LEPERLIER:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="774" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" 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width="477">your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard</iframe>Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-62489440938983780182012-08-08T20:15:00.000-04:002012-08-08T20:15:25.001-04:00Also-Rans Update - August 8, 2012A ratings list that is in continued fluctuation is of no use to anybody. Having said that, I have made one more change (and, with high probability, the last change) to how the Also-Rans list is computed. I have decided to compute the ratings from a database of games consisting of the CCRL 40/4 pure, single CPU database and the Also-Rans games. The list shall be calibrated so that Brutus RND, a random mover (chooses its next move at random from the legal moves available), has a rating of 0 Elo. The Also-Rans list will consist of all engines outside the top 200 engines of the combined database. Since the CCRL ratings may be computed in this manner within the next year (more games are needed to meet the CCRL standards), the Also-Rans list will finally be stable.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-47361684515170205642012-08-06T19:29:00.000-04:002012-08-17T22:44:50.352-04:00Chess for Mobile Devices - ChessGenius<a href="http://www.chessgenius.com/index.html">ChessGenius</a> - A program written by the legendary <a href="http://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/Richard+Lang">Richard Lang</a> in the 1990's, originally for MS-DOS, that has been ported to Palm, Windows Mobile, Bada phones, Symbian phones, iOS, and Android devices.<br />
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Richard Lang is famous for winning the World Microcomputer Chess Championship 10 times, from the mid 1980's with Mephisto to the mid 1990's with ChessGenius. ChessGenius became the first chess program to beat a world champion (none other than Gary Kasparov) at a non-blitz time control, and obtained a rating of 2795 in the same tournament (1994 Intel World Chess Grand Prix), while running on a 100 MHz Pentium PC.<br />
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ChessGenius is known for being strong on small hardware, and that carries over to modern smartphones and tablets. Here are some of features for the iOS and Android versions (as listed at the <a href="http://www.chessgenius.com/index.html">ChessGenius</a> site):<br />
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<i>Small and compact<br />
Incredibly strong play<br />
Excellent play even on the 'instant' level. Does not require a network connection.<br />
Thirty three playing levels<br />
13 easy levels. ChessGenius makes deliberate mistakes.<br />
Ten time based levels. Instant, 1 sec, 2 sec, 3 sec, 5 sec, ... 3 mins.<br />
Ten Blitz levels. Whole game in 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 5 min, .... 120 min. The Chess clocks count down in these levels. You lose if you run out of time.<br />
Thinking information. (Analysis)<br />
Show analysis Option. It may, for example, show:<br />
"1.03 05 cxd4 Nxd4 Nc6 Bb5" This means that:<br />
ChessGenius is winning by 1.03 pawns. Search depth = 5, and line of moves. ChessGenius is planning cxd4 and expects Nxd4 in reply etc.<br />
Landscape<br />
Rotate your device to play with landscape display.<br />
Chess Clocks<br />
Total White and Black time and move time.<br />
Make moves by tap and tap, dragging or keypad<br />
Set-up position<br />
Any legal position can be entered.<br />
Take back and Step forward<br />
Take back moves to start of game and Step forward to end of game.<br />
Hint<br />
Let ChessGenius suggest your move.<br />
Opening name<br />
For example ChessGenius may display "B12 Caro-Kann defence".<br />
Next best move command<br />
After ChessGenius has played a move "Next best move" will force ChessGenius to take back its last move and compute the next best move. This is useful for forcing ChessGenius to play a particular opening and for analyzing positions.<br />
Players<br />
Play against ChessGenius, against another player or watch ChessGenius play itself.<br />
Analyze game<br />
Like 2 player mode but ChessGenius calculates continuously and shows its thinking. Useful for replaying games to see where mistakes have been made.<br />
Rules of Chess<br />
Understands all the rules of Chess including, en-passant, under promotion, castling, draw by repetition and the 50 move rule. Announces a draw if there is insufficient material to win.<br />
Save and Load games<br />
Database features. ChessGenius can open PGN files on the SD card and can load and save games.<br />
Copy and paste games to/from clipboard.<br />
Tutor option<br />
ChessGenius will warn if a blunder / weak move is played and give the option of take back.<br />
Board colours<br />
Choice of 7 board colours.<br />
Show legal moves option<br />
After selecting a piece ChessGenius shows where the piece can move to.<br />
Show last move option<br />
ChessGenius can indicate the previous move.<br />
Championship<br />
A 'Championship' icon is displayed if you have not used Hint, Taken back moves or viewed the analysis. Can you beat ChessGenius without help?<br />
Five piece sets<br />
Chose between Royal, Modern and Classic color sets (designed by Bryan Whitby) and the Alpha and Merida black and white sets.<br />
Free updates<br />
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<big><b>Screenshots for Android</b></big><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPXIxov4Rj343K60h77Bhp_G_23zqGnw-ez1Zj4ZW_uNia5_uQMTutcjEvUOMMDxAcCb_lTtdxpg1RAWlAM-Oti5YSCQaD5wwvYMBkzE80V7XI0sTnYCaCJO3BWDFK80cY1lSlpCC38U/s1600/CG_android1.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPXIxov4Rj343K60h77Bhp_G_23zqGnw-ez1Zj4ZW_uNia5_uQMTutcjEvUOMMDxAcCb_lTtdxpg1RAWlAM-Oti5YSCQaD5wwvYMBkzE80V7XI0sTnYCaCJO3BWDFK80cY1lSlpCC38U/s400/CG_android1.png" width="267" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2NR6CH0EWf-DhQOVraMQk75oexfktk109orHMGR-cR-TKfTkesE4ejKeYnMQCY_b-fagB7jiXP97IuoS0HPNluVgscXAYdO2ui2ZATEa3ZnXALMz3XasdboNQcKS5nNpqVUBag01szg/s1600/CG_android2.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2NR6CH0EWf-DhQOVraMQk75oexfktk109orHMGR-cR-TKfTkesE4ejKeYnMQCY_b-fagB7jiXP97IuoS0HPNluVgscXAYdO2ui2ZATEa3ZnXALMz3XasdboNQcKS5nNpqVUBag01szg/s400/CG_android2.png" width="400" /></a><br />
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<big><b>Screenshot for iPhone</b></big><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxTd534YxVkWP4cxd-AmNDFSom00nHu7a8_hVkHV7ToBAmlnmOWTed6vxGp3kyFG7Ny2JVUYqiyISgqMMN3ZX_0EjnGsLq8vXdHDUp8En4sxjejmuWXk8LNrp-1C7QoJS21EoQ3dmj2o/s1600/CG_iphone2s.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxTd534YxVkWP4cxd-AmNDFSom00nHu7a8_hVkHV7ToBAmlnmOWTed6vxGp3kyFG7Ny2JVUYqiyISgqMMN3ZX_0EjnGsLq8vXdHDUp8En4sxjejmuWXk8LNrp-1C7QoJS21EoQ3dmj2o/s400/CG_iphone2s.png" width="267" /></a><br />
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<big><b>Screenshot for iPod Touch</b></big><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyDcOznWhkB4X2640oCUMewkjYUBen4iWTOCR8iMghMvZ0BTdsOU9gL2VFiqr0_V_Mv6d7sY79rkOJgGrmIjlr7EDSD85iGtOse3g14k_mJ0w7CfQysvrfV3fC5JMuT3KQgTpJbMvBGE/s1600/CG_ip_tb_modern.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcyDcOznWhkB4X2640oCUMewkjYUBen4iWTOCR8iMghMvZ0BTdsOU9gL2VFiqr0_V_Mv6d7sY79rkOJgGrmIjlr7EDSD85iGtOse3g14k_mJ0w7CfQysvrfV3fC5JMuT3KQgTpJbMvBGE/s400/CG_ip_tb_modern.png" width="267" /></a><br />
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<big><b>Screenshot for iPad</b></big><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4XHl_oHKRxN3TM3lyREF9tXyaTdGoPql_IEk9HlVCGO97EmdBucbvumkybKBT4pfIz4ouKkkpvU1VEXwtReUQHcUyXG6m2vmPxY0s4bVyPqzBKhYKghQAaqzY6KgVpRP51QEHHyms14/s1600/CG_iPad2s.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4XHl_oHKRxN3TM3lyREF9tXyaTdGoPql_IEk9HlVCGO97EmdBucbvumkybKBT4pfIz4ouKkkpvU1VEXwtReUQHcUyXG6m2vmPxY0s4bVyPqzBKhYKghQAaqzY6KgVpRP51QEHHyms14/s400/CG_iPad2s.png" width="300" /></a><br />
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<br />Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-70716948623382990522012-07-24T11:01:00.000-04:002012-08-06T19:29:22.667-04:00The Long History of Mephisto - Part 1Mephisto is a name long associated with chess playing mechanisms. In 1878, Charles Godfrey Gümpel, a maker of artificial limbs, displayed a chess playing pseudo-automaton named Mephisto in London. It was controlled remotely by electromechanical means, as opposed to hiding a human operator. In 1889, it was shown and operated at the Exposition Universelle of 1889 in Paris. After the exposition, it was dismantled and its ultimate fate is unknown.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9MzFUAOVDxNQ6nrMWSpWq7XnscCJjeGWYYSC4pA2SOHlxxPnN6HQF86jFwhWVEgECVptS3-gGVLq6HuwXq6O_kFzwaBPNb0YwNTvSQ-eAwXRSV1DYh3Q8e1x6NFjmobDdFVgTBdH2N8/s1600/Mephisto_automaton.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9MzFUAOVDxNQ6nrMWSpWq7XnscCJjeGWYYSC4pA2SOHlxxPnN6HQF86jFwhWVEgECVptS3-gGVLq6HuwXq6O_kFzwaBPNb0YwNTvSQ-eAwXRSV1DYh3Q8e1x6NFjmobDdFVgTBdH2N8/s400/Mephisto_automaton.jpg" width="314" /></a><br />
Mephisto automaton<br />
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<i>Anyone who wants to read a bit more about Mephisto can read <b>batgirl's</b> posts (<a href="http://blog.chess.com/batgirl/mephisto-the-magnificent">Mephisto the Magnificent</a>, <a href="http://blog.chess.com/batgirl/how-mephisto-was-caught">HOW MEPHISTO WAS CAUGHT</a>, <a href="http://blog.chess.com/batgirl/mephiso---promotional-material">Mephisto - Promotional Material</a>, and <a href="http://blog.chess.com/batgirl/mephisto-revisited">Mephisto revisited</a>) in her blog "<a href="http://blog.chess.com/batgirl?page=1">Le blog de la Batgirl</a> at <a href="http://www.chess.com/">Chess.com</a>. </i><br />
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However, Gümpel's invention is not the only chess playing mechanism named "Mephisto". It is also the name for a long line of dedicated chess computers, first manufactured by Hegener & Glaser in 1980. Several renowned authors have been associated with the Mephisto line, including Frans Morsch (best known for Fritz), Ed Schröder (author of Rebel and Pro Deo), and Richard Lang (author of Chess Genius). Hegener & Glaser was acquired by Saitek LTD in 1994. Saitek continued manufacturing the line, and still does to this day.<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=2m6wl5l" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i49.tinypic.com/2m6wl5l.gif" /></a><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
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<big><b>In The Beginning</b></big><br />
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Hegener & Glaser was a German manufacturer of semiconductors, displays, and electronic games. It was founded in 1969 by Manfred Hegener and Florian Glaser. Sometime in the late 1970s the company decided to enter the emerging and rapidly growing market of dedicated chess computers. The company came in contact with computer chess authors Elmar Henne and Thomas Nitsche in 1978, and the first Mephisto was produced in 1980. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBpKfJifZyxlxs-bLyVGo9C2FgR1RWcgf1-sskpJNX_Rnli4M3_BTfvg6sY82F4N3LcOG4pqDdDNDo2mUB2knW5apeqreqgCNfv7zNv0XeGDPd1BkCh-Pijp9H63FrqNZf-CyNMUXUCg/s1600/ElmarHenne.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img align="left" border="0" height="247" hspace="10" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBpKfJifZyxlxs-bLyVGo9C2FgR1RWcgf1-sskpJNX_Rnli4M3_BTfvg6sY82F4N3LcOG4pqDdDNDo2mUB2knW5apeqreqgCNfv7zNv0XeGDPd1BkCh-Pijp9H63FrqNZf-CyNMUXUCg/s400/ElmarHenne.JPG" vspace="10" width="224" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUj-E8-E8vlGjwTF73q6q0pdVrbYiVVbosXu5CiVM2E_c-lz1CPkMAsXilPjaYNscNRhkgpuurEMHshGLAGGxN2yxlk_8jIbJU8qA6C4wngRkC-Bxo69ApgP0QrNq3DVQ6Ilt4ffzu3uk/s1600/ThomasNitsche1986.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img align="center" border="0" height="298" hspace="10" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUj-E8-E8vlGjwTF73q6q0pdVrbYiVVbosXu5CiVM2E_c-lz1CPkMAsXilPjaYNscNRhkgpuurEMHshGLAGGxN2yxlk_8jIbJU8qA6C4wngRkC-Bxo69ApgP0QrNq3DVQ6Ilt4ffzu3uk/s400/ThomasNitsche1986.JPG" vspace="10" width="222" /></a><br />
<pre>Elmar Henne Thomas Nitsche</pre>
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The <b>Mephisto I</b>, also known as "<b>Das Brikett</b>", was released in 1980 at a price of 548 DM (Deutsche Marks). It ran on a RCA 1802 8 bit CMOS microprocessor @ 3.5MHz. Its book, created by Ossi Weiner, contained 215 moves with 35 variations. It had 8 levels of play, including tournament and analysis. "Das Brikett" also had a LCD display and a keyboard to input moves.<br />
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The French gaming magazine, Jeux et Stratégie, reviewed the Mephisto I:<br />
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<i>This little black devil is one of the best machine available today. It can find mate in 4. An excellent price for the value.</i> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQugRFui1629yO4W-cvrAl4v6B6fVcnkXHKxStVHmhxa-BXzRPc8ERS9ob7gi1UpIYVrbxhkLu6vr_r2TxUiSdojaP_20tmz1ml1kSSYe7Hoj28K9Lwp13PlH_9F8nv6GF9ohZm8wnNFM/s1600/Mephisto_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQugRFui1629yO4W-cvrAl4v6B6fVcnkXHKxStVHmhxa-BXzRPc8ERS9ob7gi1UpIYVrbxhkLu6vr_r2TxUiSdojaP_20tmz1ml1kSSYe7Hoj28K9Lwp13PlH_9F8nv6GF9ohZm8wnNFM/s400/Mephisto_1.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Mephisto I<br />
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The <b>Mephisto II</b> debuted in 1981. It came in the same "briquette" form factor as its predecessor and used the same 1802 microprocessor, and sold for 498 DM. The Mephisto II could be used with the ESB 3000 and ESB 6000 chess boards. It had 7 levels of play (up to 10 minutes per move), plus a user-specified fixed time mode and an analysis mode. Its Elo rating was 1332.<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=ornugy" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i50.tinypic.com/ornugy.jpg" /></a><br />
ESB 6000 and Mephisto II (courtesy of <a href="http://www.schachcomputer.at/esb6000.htm">SchachComputer web site</a>)<br />
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<big><b>Mephisto III</b></big><br />
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<b>Mephisto III</b>, released in 1983, represented an upgrade, both in programming and in hardware. The authors made the search more selective and human-like, with an emphasis minimizing the horizon effect and more purposeful play. Additional, the authors changed from assembly language to CDL2, a high-level language that allowed them to encode chess knowledge without too much of a penalty in speed. Its search tree was divided into three sections:<br />
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<ul>Utopian moves (good, if the opponent does not do anything): A position occurs in a depth of approximately 1-3. The beginning of a combination. Nearly every move promising somehow is selected, even if the probability of success is quite small. Humans call some of these moves sacrifices.</ul>
<ul>Optimistic moves (good, if the opponent has only the second-best answer): The combination reached a depth of 4-8. Only moves with a probability hit rate larger than 30% are selected. ON BEHALF are this moves, which attack heavy pieces, threaten check, etc. these moves are however no sacrifices.</ul>
<ul>Realistic moves (good, if the opponent selects the best countermove): The position occurs in depths greater than 8. Only clear completions are examined. I.e. the program does not attack no more on suspicion, but pursues moves with high hit rate. To bring i.e. an attacked piece into security, so that the piece is really safe and not bound or overloaded.</ul>
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As a result of the changes in the search and increased knowledge, Mephisto III's Elo rating was 1464 and could reach at most 21 plies deep.<br />
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The microprocessor was still the 1802 @ 6.1 MHz (3.5 MHz in battery mode), though with more RAM and ROM. There were two versions of the engine. The first version had a bug that affected opening play. Upon request, Mephisto III could be upgraded with a 12 MHz processor. It also worked with the ESB 3000 and 6000 chess boards.<br />
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However, Mephisto III was seen as a failure by some. Though it played better positionally and in the endgame, its selective search could miss tactical shots, causing it to lose games where it had the advantage. According to Danny Kopec, Mephisto III was 'by no means a definite improvement over Mephisto II, and thus could only be deemed a major disappointment". <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhrFs3mG8mXcokDB3mAyajXdpUxxxg-eodIxcZhOfTikpZF4yh_l01r9mo4I5FErdfgDJmkTfMjqNFpeZJtRKaKxO0ylgCib4KcbBtd19QlvD7zjSwEOx2DR8tYFlBca1gbU736HaafI/s1600/Mephisto_3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhrFs3mG8mXcokDB3mAyajXdpUxxxg-eodIxcZhOfTikpZF4yh_l01r9mo4I5FErdfgDJmkTfMjqNFpeZJtRKaKxO0ylgCib4KcbBtd19QlvD7zjSwEOx2DR8tYFlBca1gbU736HaafI/s400/Mephisto_3.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Mephisto III<br />
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<big><b>Mephisto Excaliber</b></big><br />
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The <b>Mephisto Excaliber</b>, released in August of 1983, was a luxury dedicated chess computer with a price tag of 5000 DM. A limited production of 50 Excalibers were made (2 runs of 25). The board featured walnut and maple wood, a brass plaque with "Excaliber" engraved on it, and the pieces were hand-carved. <br />
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The engine was Mephisto III (optimized for 16 bits), running on the 16 bit Motorola 68000 CISC microprocessor @ 8MHz. The new processor was effectively 3.5 times faster than the 1802, which helped to boost the Elo rating to 1610. This marked the first time that the Motorola 68000 was used in a dedicated chess computer. It subsequently was used in other dedicated units by other manufacturers, advancing the playing strength of chess computers in general.<br />
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The Mephisto Excaliber also featured a larger capacity EPROM chip, allowing for a larger book. This version came in 2nd, 9th, and 10th place at the 1983 World Microcomputer Chess Championship (WMCCC).<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=fk893n" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i48.tinypic.com/fk893n.jpg" /></a><br />
Mephisto Excaliber<br />
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<big><b>MM I</b></big><br />
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In September of 1983, Hegener & Glaser released the <b>MM I</b>, a new modular format. It was compatible with 4 different electronic auto sensory chess boards (from lower end to high end: Mobil, Modular, Exclusive, Munich). Fuctionally, the MM I performed much like the Mephisto III. However, the new form factor introduced the ability to use an opening book module (the <b>HG 170</b> with 1000 variations)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83XKZlONGATojULtSu6tGD6I8kVAm5QrGKHGxs53oTPHcvFpGdKzlA_hyphenhypheni-Ge2LlSqU_f3tcjdYN6J9-UnIzVIQhGcHM-12Fh-3ZbiVBL5cZv7XyFR7_nur7JpGxAliwmJ_nq6weOJ70/s1600/MM_I.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83XKZlONGATojULtSu6tGD6I8kVAm5QrGKHGxs53oTPHcvFpGdKzlA_hyphenhypheni-Ge2LlSqU_f3tcjdYN6J9-UnIzVIQhGcHM-12Fh-3ZbiVBL5cZv7XyFR7_nur7JpGxAliwmJ_nq6weOJ70/s400/MM_I.jpg" width="398" /></a><br />
MM I<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQ-Hy3YvvwIchoFXxTeMhotzigm7Jgc1l6_uxDnLk0PBC23qtDVa-6M8T7ThBeGhT9cfRycsfQ_iRmwzlsrWwO4Zj-AHTpRL4CXo3mmSQMtadh2cvNUTpNOtW3zyC877WQ7CTKVyIu80/s1600/HG_Book_module.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQ-Hy3YvvwIchoFXxTeMhotzigm7Jgc1l6_uxDnLk0PBC23qtDVa-6M8T7ThBeGhT9cfRycsfQ_iRmwzlsrWwO4Zj-AHTpRL4CXo3mmSQMtadh2cvNUTpNOtW3zyC877WQ7CTKVyIu80/s400/HG_Book_module.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
HG 170 Book Module<br />
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<big><b>Mephisto III-S Glasgow</b></big><br />
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The <b>Mephisto III-S Glasgow</b> represents the pinnacle of Hegener & Glaser's association with Henne and Nitsche. It ran on the Motorola 68000 @ 12 MHz, with 12 kb of RAM and 64 kb of ROM (which allowed the book to have ~2000 variations).Its Elo rating was ~1800. It had 10 levels of play, could search up to 20 plies deep, and had a price tag of 2998 DM. It won a share of the 1984 WMCCC (along with Psion, EliteX, and Princhess/Conchess), the first of many championships for the Mephisto line. It also marked the end of the collaboration between Hegener & Glaser and the author team of Henne and Nitsche, making way for "King Richard's" reign at Hegener & Glaser. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLo76Iho5e5eA2KqpjWV5ELmj41o3hUqzlqt0eMZMdfOkk8Fil8syBo57xK1AyhWspFw-h7T5an2sp1ZY0E5AX_YjxMu7ZN6zC66cUXnWNerKanoOKEBXviT09nFtj9uNMvgozOcv-HY/s1600/Mephisto_Glasgow_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLo76Iho5e5eA2KqpjWV5ELmj41o3hUqzlqt0eMZMdfOkk8Fil8syBo57xK1AyhWspFw-h7T5an2sp1ZY0E5AX_YjxMu7ZN6zC66cUXnWNerKanoOKEBXviT09nFtj9uNMvgozOcv-HY/s400/Mephisto_Glasgow_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Mephisto III-S Glasgow<br />
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End of Part 1<br />
<br />Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-82205160377069369172012-07-23T15:39:00.000-04:002012-07-23T15:39:27.494-04:00Chess for Android Update - Version 4.0Aart Bik has announced that all user facing (text read by the user), other than engine messages and chess notation, in Chess for Android has now been translated into the following languages:<br />
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<ul><li>English (the default)</li>
<li>Dutch (translated by Aart Bik)</li>
<li>German (many thanks to Philip Stutz)</li>
<li>Hebrew (many thanks to Haran Talmon)</li>
<li>Polish (many thanks to Michal Kaczmarek)</li>
<li>Spanish (many thanks to Krizia Lopez)</li>
<li>Swedish (many thanks to Anton Hansson)</li>
</ul><br />
My favorite Android chess program is getting even better :-).<br />
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You can download Android for Chess 4.0 at <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Aart+Bik">Google Play</a> or as a direct <a href="http://www.aartbik.com/MISC/android.html">download</a>.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-50483496622553391742012-07-19T22:49:00.000-04:002012-07-24T11:04:09.407-04:00Chess for Mobile Devices - Chess Legends<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chess-legends/id501255211?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2">Chess Legends</a> (<b>$0.99</b>) : A iOS chess app created by Schogini Systems featuring Komodo 4, one of the top chess engines (created by Don Dailey and Larry Kaufman). From a Schogini press release:<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<i>Technopark based Schogini Systems today announced its foray into the artificial intelligence gaming industry with games for iPhones and iPads. The company has partnered with two of the leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Chess engine creators Don Dailey and American Chess Grand Master Larry Kaufman to offer Komodo 4 on mobile and Facebook platforms. (Komodo 4 is rated as one of the top two chess engines in the world).</i><br />
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Here is the description found at the ITunes App store:<br />
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<i>The Komodo dragon shall rise....pave way to the most treasured strategical game of all time...Chess.<br />
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Powered by World's No.2 AI Chess Engine "KOMODO 4.0"..<br />
Chess Legends is here to rule the charts!<br />
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This elegant app's AI analyzes every possible moves and provides gripping gameplay. <br />
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4 wicked themes!<br />
4 intimidating levels!<br />
3 tempting timer modes!<br />
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and much more ...<br />
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All these features are bound to leave you drooling and loving chess like never before..<br />
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Your nail-biting day starts today!<br />
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HIGHLIGHTED FEATURES<br />
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* World's most powerful AI Chess Engine "KOMODO 4.0".<br />
* PLAY AGAINST COMPUTER - Enhance your tactical skills.<br />
* PLAY FRIENDS - Face off with your best mates!<br />
* PASS AND PLAY - Battle among friends. Show off WHO OWNS THE GAME!!<br />
* Thrilling difficulty levels - EASY, MEDIUM, HARD, GRANDMASTER to provide perfect challenge.<br />
* SUDDEN DEATH, FISCHER, CLASSIC - 3 timer modes ensuring exciting gameplay. <br />
* Manually save games at any point of progress except for CLASSIC mode.<br />
* Save game in .PGN format in the SD card.<br />
* Email game in .PGN format anytime.<br />
* Choose your desired coins - BLACK or WHITE.<br />
* Interrupted games are instantly SAVED.<br />
* Standard Algebraic Notation (SAN) used for moves.<br />
* Preview move history.<br />
* 4 sophisticated themes to play at.<br />
* Cutting-edge graphics with highly contrasting backgrounds.<br />
* Stunning sound effects and striking interactions.<br />
* Simple to use interface.</i><br />
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One reviewer, Julien MARCEL, said the following:<br />
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<i>It's a very pleasant app on the iPhone, with an interface that has it's own identity (for a change!).</i><br />
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Julien did say that the graphics needed more work to look great on an IPad. But, at a price of $0.99, it is a great buy.<br />
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Here are a few screenshots:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-RguL-6NL4-4Bxt-fuhnTpcwfo3Ezw0yfVgaM7cJ4_h9oysnlbQ7cgPpW25KTUXU0pi8Ed-dsr-xI5hHeM9qM2NqUr5RAnbC9yZ_MWW0cPaNqkT6224m1LYteLWJ_J0j3f236OJgEZg/s1600/ChessLegends_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-RguL-6NL4-4Bxt-fuhnTpcwfo3Ezw0yfVgaM7cJ4_h9oysnlbQ7cgPpW25KTUXU0pi8Ed-dsr-xI5hHeM9qM2NqUr5RAnbC9yZ_MWW0cPaNqkT6224m1LYteLWJ_J0j3f236OJgEZg/s400/ChessLegends_1.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3uzsPvJn9XdXcau_4hm-CHNnJNYjK3Lg5LcrRHwIUtmMUBkXeIODo0YHIg3BfIitGaZUIS6zxR80GLG0kt7Nc-TYfy8s_oCWSFz9Qg6bGByIxsGdp0kNPjyioPzuRNm2_Cj6XSI5VPc/s1600/ChessLegends_2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3uzsPvJn9XdXcau_4hm-CHNnJNYjK3Lg5LcrRHwIUtmMUBkXeIODo0YHIg3BfIitGaZUIS6zxR80GLG0kt7Nc-TYfy8s_oCWSFz9Qg6bGByIxsGdp0kNPjyioPzuRNm2_Cj6XSI5VPc/s400/ChessLegends_2.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1wrIaTw2pTzn2U8bH9o3XIfF_T2C5RUJOoxxaXF_WpgVESBDN9or2S37I6i66_kQniGsXHuAvaBMM_hjt-ZAf4jircvzcpBuO8ubFdA19WT9tm4KFAPAOLqrOofluP6QhN7M8Ie1BaR4/s1600/ChessLegends_3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1wrIaTw2pTzn2U8bH9o3XIfF_T2C5RUJOoxxaXF_WpgVESBDN9or2S37I6i66_kQniGsXHuAvaBMM_hjt-ZAf4jircvzcpBuO8ubFdA19WT9tm4KFAPAOLqrOofluP6QhN7M8Ie1BaR4/s400/ChessLegends_3.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Iv5rf2D6OMIoS0xhn0bJv5l92BC-zQAleDbFNdVphXl7uBN5im2NMaYbZTqd9UOiv6jVv_kx-o8duNz6WFHGjA2eaLHl0SFEMprlj0eWWlJeOcjE00vj7nhEJ63CN90Jr0ELcHLpnUQ/s1600/ChessLegends_4.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Iv5rf2D6OMIoS0xhn0bJv5l92BC-zQAleDbFNdVphXl7uBN5im2NMaYbZTqd9UOiv6jVv_kx-o8duNz6WFHGjA2eaLHl0SFEMprlj0eWWlJeOcjE00vj7nhEJ63CN90Jr0ELcHLpnUQ/s400/ChessLegends_4.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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Here is a short video demonstration of Chess Legends:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CEmF1KUELCQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-29676357710043014282012-07-19T05:46:00.000-04:002012-07-19T05:46:09.450-04:00Update - July 19, 2012I am sorry for the lack of new material. I am trying to reformat a couple of pages to improve navigation of the information. I am also working on a page that is a tutorial for running engine matches in various various GUIs. Though it is not completed, I will be uploading the tutorial soon. I also expect to completely update the Also-Rans list this weekend.<br />
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Still Working Regards :-),<br />
AdamAdam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-6776398726855096242012-07-13T00:40:00.001-04:002012-07-13T00:40:17.249-04:00Also_Rans List Updated - July 12, 2012I have added Chess4j 0.1 (James Swafford), Rocinante 2.0 64-bit JA (PB*)(Antonio Torrecillas), RumbleMinze 1.0.30 (Erik Madsen), Milady 3.04 (Yves Lejeail), and SUPRA 11.5.1 64-bit (Pedro Mourao Correia). I have not updated the database nor the chess engine information spreadsheet as of yet.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-59571164629934625312012-07-12T16:13:00.000-04:002012-07-12T16:13:03.451-04:00CountryChessGeert Maeckelbergh, a Belgium computer chess enthusiast, runs an interesting chess engine tournament called <a href="http://www.bloggen.be/countrychess/">CountryChess</a>.<br />
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From Geert's front page:<br />
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<i>In the first stage, chess engines of the same country will play a double round-robin tournament. The winner of each country competition meets other country winners in qualification matches or in the Champions League, according to its place on the country ranking list. Top ranked countries will be represented by 2, 3 or even 4 engines in the Champions League. <br />
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About me: <br />
My name is Geert. I live in Belgium and I am visually impaired. I prefer to update an easy blog, friendly for a blind user. My goal is to organize tournaments and to share the games and results. I don't like wasting time on unaccessible webdesign programs. So don't expect a perfect lay-out; since my brail display is able to read the texts, you'll probably have no troubles to read them as well :-). <br />
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My English is not perfect at all. If you see language errors or other mistakes, don't hesitate to send me an e-mail. <br />
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Enjoy!</i><br />
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Geert also posts results from time to time at the Tournaments and Matches subforum at <a href="http://talkchess.com/forum/index.php">TalkChess</a>.<br />
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Thanks, Geert, for sharing your matches with the community.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-72348752785511465602012-07-08T22:34:00.000-04:002012-07-12T16:13:39.899-04:00The Chess System Programs of Chris Whittington<i>I completely botched the portion of my previous post that concerned Chess System Tal. As my penance, I have committed myself to write an in-depth post about the Chess System programs. </i><br />
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The Chess System programs were created by Chris Whittington in the 1990's and marketed by his company, Oxford Softworks. Their creation was guided by Whittington's philosophy that encoding knowledge into a chess program is much preferable over fast and deep searches.<br />
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The first of these programs (though not the first developed by Whittington; it was preceded by Chess Simulator and ChessPlayer 2150) was <b>Complete Chess System</b>. It was released in 1993 for MS-DOS, and later a version was released for Commodore Amiga.<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=2rr1oae" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i48.tinypic.com/2rr1oae.jpg" /></a><br />
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It was estimated that it played at about 2000 Elo on the typical computer from that time period. Also, the display could be selected to be 2D or 3D.<br />
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Next came <b>Chess System Tal</b>, written for MS-DOS. A description of the program can be found at ICGA for the 1997 WMCCC tournament:<br />
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<i>CSTal is designed to play in the romantic and dangerous style of Michael Tal, famous for his daring and aggressive style of play.<br />
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Programmer Chris Whittington has developed a radically different approach to chess programming, concentrating on speculative chess knowledge within the evaluation function; and the use of forward pruning techniques which rely on this evaluation function knowledge.<br />
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One effect of using a high knowledge-based approach is that CSTal operates at a nodes per second rate much less than programs with simple evaluation functions. The risks and benefits of this strategy are obvious; on the one side CSTal is able to steer games towards tactical king-attack complexities, and to execute stunning sacrifices. On the other side the disparity in effective search depth means that state of the art search programs will have the advantage if the position does not contain factors where CSTal's knowledge is able to give it the edge.<br />
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CSTal's computer-computer games are often very exciting and double-edged, with the result in doubt until the end. It is capable of causing serious upsets to top programs, but also of being seriously upset itself.<br />
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In a materialistic world, in the materialistic world of computer chess, Chess System Tal offers the alternative pathway of idealism.</i><br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=2cwqwau" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i48.tinypic.com/2cwqwau.jpg" /></a><br />
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Chris Whittington's philosophy of knowledge over search can be best described by his own words:<br />
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<i>It's the search gap. Gettit ? Out of this search gap comes all the naive speculation and nonsense that gets written. The program has every style and no style, it has no consistency to play against, only materialism, you can't learn from it, tomorrow it will be different (found another mine in the search gap), only the difference is just a relection of - whoops, trod on another mine. What can you do with such a program ? Use the take-back key and try again ? - and imagine this helps you improve or learn ? <br />
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Now, I claim this search gap has no meaning or understanding possibilities for a human. That a human can't relate his heuristics to it. That you can't extract the knowledge out of it and represent it to a human. That you can't even extract the knowledge out of it and represent it to yourself. You can't get heuristics from it. So I call it counting beans - useless for us humans. <br />
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Now, take a knowledge program, you can play it and see the play style. You can try and work out what it does and why. There'll be a reason, based on human chess heuristics. The game has plan, and flow, and doesn't consist of hidden minefields. It won't grind you down by search, it will try speculative ideas which it might, or might not, be able to get to work. You can see the speculative ideas, and try them yourself. I think you can, as a human, relate to this type of program. If you know the programmer, maybe you can see patterns into the program that come from him, and so on. I think these types of programs are infused with some force, in so far as any chunk of silicon can be. <br />
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I hate materialists. <br />
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Chris Whittington</i><br />
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Chess System Tal contained some of the essence of this philosophy. By all accounts its sequel, <b>Chess System Tal 2</b> (written for Windows), was this philosophy captured in code. By all accounts, CSTal 2 was a masterpiece as a chess program for humans to play against. Aggressive, speculative, unsound. But, above all, the chess it played was exciting and interesting. <br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=2dpa8p" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i48.tinypic.com/2dpa8p.jpg" /></a><br />
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Here are the reviews that were featured on the CSTal 2 website:<br />
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<pre><i>"Just curious. We saw human player make unsound sac[rifice] all the time, at least in club level. That often leads to a more exciting and interesting game or more humanly game. We, human, saw the opportunity, but don't know the outcome within our calculating power, we gamble! Sometime we win sometime lose.
"Chess softwares, which been lowed their strenth to club level, seem not doing so. They reduce their playing strenth by hanging pieces or reduce searching time. This make playing against them rather dull.
"May be this is a desired feature of some top comercial software."
Yibing Fan, December 1, 1999
"...CST-2 makes unsound sacrifices and also makes some brilliant sacrifices. That is what makes playing it so much fun. You never know when one of those things are coming! The unsound ones help to lower the rating and I'm not sure if there are enough sound sacs to make up for them but it makes for a lot of fun and can be un-nerving. You may find yourself losing to an unsound sac if you are not careful."
Jim Walker, December 1, 1999
"Chess System Tal [2] makes great [sacrifices].
"It's something of a challenge to make them play credible ones, but it's fairly easy to make them play stupid ones.
"For instance, if you start adding opposite castling king terms, you'll start sacrificing your h-pawn even when it makes no sense, for instance when there are no rooks on the board.
" I still think that CST[2]'s are the most creative. Some of the games Thorsten has posted have featured sacrifices that are creative even by human standards, in my opinion. Most computer sacrifices seem very wooden compared to these."
Bruce Moreland, December 1, 1999
"I agree. I once saw what COULD be considered a standard sac on h3 from Black's point of view, except that I couldn't see how CST[2] was going to follow up as its pieces didn't seem properly poised to do so. 10-15 moves later, it came through. Very impressive."
Albert Silver, December 2, 1999
"Which of these programs is stronger at the tournament level - CSTal 2 or Chess Partner 4.1? Are there any features that may make one of the programs unique compared to the other?"
O.Veli, May 20, 1999
"WCSTAL[2] is a lot stronger by far and a lot, lot prettier. No comparison possible."
Fernando Villegas, May 12, 1999
"Another feature you might like: you can use CSTAL[2] as an Interface for playing on chess servers if you are bored to play only with your friend on LAN. At tournament time control TAL belongs to the absolute top group of the chessprogs by the way."
Pete, May 12, 1999
"I have the feeling, almost the certitude, that the key of the difference [from other programs] is that CSTAL[2] does not use the usual maxmin approach, that is to say, does not choose a move because even the best of the possible answers - for the opponents - has less score than the best of the answers of other moves. I believe that some kind of preference is given to moves where there are the maximal number of dangerous answers from the opponent FOR the opponent. In other words, CSTAL[2] does not presumes the best possible answer from the opponents, BUT prefer to give the opponent the greatest number of wrong moves to choose from, even if there is a good move that is better than any other."
Fernando Villegas, May 12, 1999
"[A]n intelligent chess program will give you opportunity to train manouvres, plan and [strategy] skills and tactical skills too.
"So this is a list of the best chess programs (in my own opinion) that could meet the requirements for training: (the order is alphabetical order)
Chess System Tal (Win or DOS version)
Hiarcs 7 (or even Hiarcs 6)
Rebel 10"
Ricardo Sant'Ana, May 9, 1999
"CSTal [2] plays on ICC very successful til now! No lost or remis game against any human, and a very nice win against Crafty 16.6 (about 2800) with a long term speculative sacrifice! The only lost game was one against Fritz 5 (lost on time in a technically drawn position!).
"CSTal [2] crushed some strong humans who wanted to apply an anti-computer strategy. Often it does not win it's games but destroys the other players. Actual ICC blitz rating is 2539 at a 200 MHz MMX, but it is increasing with almost every game I play!"
F.Jermann, May 8, 1999
"I'm doing all I can to popularize [CSTal-2] among strong players (which is why I'm playing the faster, more popular time controls). I've noticed that if I take the time to properly explain what the program is about, many of them do get curious about playing it. If more would be willing to take it on, I can see it approach the 3000 plateau, even in fast blitz, which is not its forte!...
"GM Agokoy (Eugene Torre's anonymous handle ....shhhh :-) really enjoys playing it-- he was even unsure if it was a computer after all !! IM Ceres (anon) was also impressed"
Shyborg, April 28, 1999
"This program (CSTal-2) is fun to play...
"This sure looks like the meanest program against humans. One of the very few programs to be developed by a master, it DOES play like Tal --it's no joke!!
"... So if you need convincing, try it. It won't wait for you to blunder, it'll just outplay you from the start!"
Shyborg, April, 1999
"Shyborg (C), running CSTAL2-Win, has maintained a near 2800 blitz rating on icc, playing only blitz games (time=<5), and mainly against somewhat lower rated human opponents. It seems very tough to play against on a p2-400. If more GMs were willing to play it, I suspect it could even go higher."
Greg Moller, April 20, 1999
"It is my particular black beast. For a reason or another thet bloody program...gets me all the [time], no way. I can defeat genius but I cannot defeat Tal ."
Fernando Villegas, March 30, 1999
"In contrast to almost all other chess software authors, Chris Whittington chooses a different way. He implements a lot of chess knowledge into his program because he does not like brute force methods. So CSTal often produces excellent games. On the other hand there are also blunders sometimes! But because of this approach a lot of customers are interested in this program."
Gambit-Soft, March 30, 1999
"Just play a "nothing" position, one with no tactics, maybe partially blocked, against a fast-searcher.
"What will it teach you? Or better yet, what will it NOT teach you? I think a computer should be best judged on how it succeeds in formulating plans, and most of this stuff occurs in these "nothing" positions. Forget about hard-to-fathom deep "truths". No such thing-- plus, you'll never get to use such "results", (except maybe in some rare opening bust). If you or I solved chess today, neither one of us could live long enough to show it to anyone...
"Flashy, unfathomable tactics have limited value to the average player. Plans are much more important. One outstanding program that_attempts_to "plan" while still playing dazzling enough tactics is CSTal. And, unlike the fast-searchers, you won't have to blunder against it to lose-- even if you keep the position relatively free of tactics, it will still come after you (with energetic play and sacs even), just as if you played against a strong human player!"
Anon on Chess News Group, March 09, 1999
"I appreciate the direction you are taking with CST. I enjoy the wild sacrificial style, which is not always correct, but it is amazing how *close* to correct it seems to be. The attacks I have seen seem to have substance, and they do appear out of nowhere.
"I think it is likely that your program entertains its customers much more than other programs do, and it probably also teaches them things they can't learn from other programs.
"I don't know whether or not your approach will ever result in a score in excess of 50% against everything else on even hardware, but if I were in your shoes I wouldn't care that much, I would keep optimizing for insanity and hoping that potential customers could take their eyes off the Swedish list long enough to contemplate issues of style."
Bruce Morland , author of Ferret, March 08, 1999</i></pre>
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Unfortunately for the fans of the Chess System programs, there never appeared CS Tal 3. Whittington sold Oxford Softworks to Purple Software, which folded sometime later. Complete Chess System is now freeware and can be downloaded from Ed Schröder's <a href="http://www.top-5000.nl/cp.htm">website</a>. Chess System Tal (the original and sequel) do not appear to be for sale, with the exception of on amazon.de. The source code is now owned by Jeff Rollason (or maybe more properly by his company AI Factory). Therefore, it most likely can not be considered abandonware or freeware.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-766962273572316952012-07-02T15:50:00.000-04:002012-07-12T21:00:33.572-04:00Free DOS Chess ProgramsIn many people's opinion, the DOS chess programs from the 1980s and 1990s are more enjoyable to play against than modern programs. Possible, this is because there was more emphasis on style and a little less on strength. Or perhaps it is simply because the moves they played were less mystifying than today's juggernauts. Several have been described to play in a human-like manner, such as the revered <b>Chess System Tal II</b> <big>*</big> (authored by Chris Whittington):<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=2j42bu9" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/2j42bu9.jpg" /></a><br />
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CSTal II purposely chooses moves that are not necessarily the best or safest. It does like to play in a manner like Mikhail Tal, attacking and complicated. Unfortunately, CSTal II does not appear to be available (though an earlier version is available at Ed Schröder's <a href="http://www.top-5000.nl/cp.htm">Free Chess Downloads</a>). However, there are several other renowned programs that are.<br />
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<i>Note: These programs work in Windows XP and earlier OSes. If you have Vista or Windows 7, I recommend that you download <a href="http://dfendreloaded.sourceforge.net/">D-Fend Reloaded</a>. It is a front end for a program called DOS Box that allows playing DOS games in the newer Windows OSes. D-Fend Reloaded makes the process of setup easier on the end-user.</i><br />
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<b>WChess 1.05</b> (authored by Dave Kittinger) is available for download (with Dave's permission) at this <a href="http://www.spaadyshare.net/63s6o85ffx5v/WChess_v105.zip">link</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=jgmfjs" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i50.tinypic.com/jgmfjs.jpg" /></a><br />
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Here a a short description of WChess's play by CCC resident Fernando Villegas:<br />
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<blockquote>It has been a pleasure. It is not only the program and his moves, which are rarely found in other programs -when his King fianccheto appears blocked by a king pawn of his own, at once bishop goes to h 3 or 6 to give it some play- but also the feeling of going back in a nice time machine. <br />
This has been an spectacular month, indeed. With D-Fend I have recovered almost every DOS program I ever had or wanted to have and played it... And now Wchess, the best of all them. </blockquote><br />
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<b>Socrates</b> (Aegon 1995 version; authored by Don Dailey)<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=16lbnn5" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i50.tinypic.com/16lbnn5.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Zarkov 2.6</b> (authored by John Stanback)<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=2ikp634" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/2ikp634.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Now</b> (authored by Mark Lefler)<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=2u5azvp" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/2u5azvp.jpg" /></a><br />
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Socrates, Zarkov, Now, and many other DOS chess programs are freely available at Ed Schröder's <a href="http://www.top-5000.nl/cp.htm">Free Chess Downloads</a>.<br />
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<big>*</big> I have been informed by Charles Browne that CSTal II was not a DOS program. Instead, it was a Windows program (which can be seen by examining the screenshot I posted). I will correct my mistake by writing an in-depth post on CSTal II in the near future.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-64157286206317610252012-07-02T11:39:00.001-04:002012-07-08T22:37:14.373-04:00Chess for Mobile Devices : Droidfish<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.petero.droidfish&hl=enDroidfish">Droidfish</a> (<b>Free</b>) : A chess program for Android devices developed by Peter Österlund, author of Texel (formerly CuckooChess). The main engine for the program is Stockfish (authored by Marco Costalba, Joona Kiiski, and Tord Romstad).<br />
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Some of the features of Droidfish include<br />
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<li>The ability to use polyglot books and CTG books in addition to the internal book</li>
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<li>Support for Gaviota tablebases</li>
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<li>Importing additional UCI engines</li>
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<li>Play against an engine, or another player, or analysis mode</li>
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<li>Adjustable playing strength</li>
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<li>Edit board</li>
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<li>Scid DB support using "Scid on the go"</li>
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<li>PGN import/export/edit</li>
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Here are some screenshots:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRw8v4-3ms6Vf0T7PNO8cmPh2wN0icACG3kFC2lCt3an-HxzXWqexVIrflwsjF8lAQu_2K9HYzA7CqU0uiT0M8Z8c2ZuzMVHOt-_fAHsvkSTzqX7wpLsuV-Hq8WK3wm_zSHiil3FZz5uM/s1600/Droidfish_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRw8v4-3ms6Vf0T7PNO8cmPh2wN0icACG3kFC2lCt3an-HxzXWqexVIrflwsjF8lAQu_2K9HYzA7CqU0uiT0M8Z8c2ZuzMVHOt-_fAHsvkSTzqX7wpLsuV-Hq8WK3wm_zSHiil3FZz5uM/s400/Droidfish_1.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiinWmI5d-D67lSDoqLDQOryLQgehbpLxDl8_ayZBxF9L_TRP5W1AEj0DwIoz-oYG6Q3spyocrmsFgQWWjeo6QoEszbpb5zouWNoYu0tqzV0m1E2mPtjtMoyJ9GE3AttCGP2vPkmNOzBJY/s1600/Droidfish_2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiinWmI5d-D67lSDoqLDQOryLQgehbpLxDl8_ayZBxF9L_TRP5W1AEj0DwIoz-oYG6Q3spyocrmsFgQWWjeo6QoEszbpb5zouWNoYu0tqzV0m1E2mPtjtMoyJ9GE3AttCGP2vPkmNOzBJY/s400/Droidfish_2.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0iJEShr9bXSKXQVkztqu4w6eaDWmm301ak7EAoEoyDN8YUCQ6bdSpFrmMzbpgQ9-Noy-33xv2psFXd5iK2-KtMiTWkK0uTM-gKtjgPeEwlXccpvVyd8301VwZvcGnr8MA7PzsQX3JBA/s1600/Droidfish_3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0iJEShr9bXSKXQVkztqu4w6eaDWmm301ak7EAoEoyDN8YUCQ6bdSpFrmMzbpgQ9-Noy-33xv2psFXd5iK2-KtMiTWkK0uTM-gKtjgPeEwlXccpvVyd8301VwZvcGnr8MA7PzsQX3JBA/s400/Droidfish_3.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<br />Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-73444397370931728452012-07-02T11:09:00.000-04:002012-07-08T22:36:06.187-04:00Chess for Mobile Devices : Stockfish Chess<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stockfish-chess/id305558605?mt=8">Stockfish Chess</a> (<b>Free</b>) : A chess program developed for iOS devices by Tord Romstad, the author of Glaurung and one of the authors (along with Marco Costalba and Joona Kiiski) of Stockfish (the active continuation of Glaurung). The engine for the program is a port of Stockfish, one of the strongest chess engines available.<br />
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Here are some of its features:<br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white;">Adjustable strength levels (up to 2500 Elo)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Choose between several styles of play: "Passive", "Solid", "Active", "Aggressive" or "Suicidal"</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Big, deep and varied opening book. Choose between three levels of book variety</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Play against the machine, or play both sides, with or without book moves and engine analysis displayed on the screen</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Set up board positions</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Supports saving and loading games to PGN files, sending games by e-mail, and transferring PGN files between your device and your computer</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Allows connection to a remote engine (located at a desktop computer, for example)</span></li>
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Here are some screen shots:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYPYOBQGE9rfjdpmiZ8Apnrl082qM5XIUknUtAgoFxY-9GyobhBA-IksfuVySw7Qq4cC44YKkYwowrBr-PgrRJkKlEDBhlaUC7Fs4hzOPFLZxzNK3bYSl_5OQ3A5fvAKMPUXiB71NK3s/s1600/Stockfish_Chess_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYPYOBQGE9rfjdpmiZ8Apnrl082qM5XIUknUtAgoFxY-9GyobhBA-IksfuVySw7Qq4cC44YKkYwowrBr-PgrRJkKlEDBhlaUC7Fs4hzOPFLZxzNK3bYSl_5OQ3A5fvAKMPUXiB71NK3s/s400/Stockfish_Chess_1.jpg" width="278" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0SwLub1erk3rmALIFXUbTE5HZ7mrJ4BduwzLB6xW9WMsAJ3CV_v-4IcRwpW6rnNP7ZgV20Rq1coTeXAHOYHgGhcfVSwCNLlku_6dLM17c5g4JDZB_kahAwu0ej-aRXSPj1Gmz7l5Uoo/s1600/Stockfish_Chess_2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0SwLub1erk3rmALIFXUbTE5HZ7mrJ4BduwzLB6xW9WMsAJ3CV_v-4IcRwpW6rnNP7ZgV20Rq1coTeXAHOYHgGhcfVSwCNLlku_6dLM17c5g4JDZB_kahAwu0ej-aRXSPj1Gmz7l5Uoo/s400/Stockfish_Chess_2.jpg" width="278" /></a><br />
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<br />Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-29247969674616582112012-06-22T21:53:00.000-04:002012-07-02T13:27:55.955-04:00Alan Turing<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=20zqy5s" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i48.tinypic.com/20zqy5s.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Alan Turing (June 23, 1912 – June 7, 1954)</b> was a British mathematician and logician who is considered the father of computer science and artificial intelligence (AI). Among his accomplishments were: an independent proof that Hilbert's Entscheidungsproblem was, in general, unsolvable; the invention of the idea of Turing machines; the formulation of the halting problem; played an integral part in breaking the German ciphers in WWII; presented the first design for a stored-program computer; discovered LU decomposition (used to solve matrix equations); invented the idea of the Turing test to determine if a computer could successfully imitate a human; and contributed work in the field of mathematical biology. <br />
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More germane to this particular blog, Turing and his colleague, D. G. Champernowne, wrote the first chess engine in 1948, known as Turochamp. Turochamp, though its code was never completely encoded into a computer, played at least one game of chess, with Turing computing the playing algorithm with pencil and paper. It took over an half hour to compute each move.<br />
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Here is the PGN of Turochamp's match against Turing's colleague Alick Glennie (courtesy of <a href="http://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/Turochamp">CPW</a>)<br />
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<pre>[Event "Paper machine - Human"]
[Site "Manchester, UK"]
[Date "1952"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Turochamp"]
[Black "Alick Glennie"]
[Result "0-1"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4 Bb4 4.Nf3 d6 5.Bd2 Nc6 6.d5 Nd4 7.h4 Bg4 8.a4 Nxf3+
9.gxf3 Bh5 10.Bb5+ c6 11.dxc6 0-0 12.cxb7 Rb8 13.Ba6 Qa5 14.Qe2 Nd7 15.Rg1 Nc5
16.Rg5 Bg6 17.Bb5 Nxb7 18.0-0-0 Nc5 19.Bc6 Rfc8 20.Bd5 Bxc3 21.Bxc3 Qxa4
22.Kd2 Ne6 23.Rg4 Nd424.Qd3 Nb5 25.Bb3 Qa6 26.Bc4 Bh5 27.Rg3 Qa4 28.Bxb5 Qxb5
29.Qxd6 Rd8 0-1</pre>
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In 2004, ChessBase published an engine, known as Turing, that was based on Turing's ideas (the actual code for Turochamp does not seem to exist). It was written by Mathias Feist with help from Ken Thompson, and it can be downloaded <a href="http://www.chessbase.com/download/engines/setup%20turing.exe">here</a>.<br />
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Sadly, Turing took his own life two years after being convicted in the United Kingdom for gross indecency in connection with a homosexual relationship, which was illegal at that time in the UK. As punishment, Turing chose chemical castration over imprisonment. In 2009, the British Government issued a posthumous apology to Alan Turing for prosecuting him as a homosexual.<br />
<br />Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-63984885705411897972012-06-18T22:20:00.001-04:002012-06-22T21:53:46.068-04:00Novag Super ConstellationThe Super Constellation, also known as the Super Connie, was a dedicated chess computer manufactured by Novag and first sold in 1984. The chess playing code was written by the acclaimed computer chess programmer Dave Kittinger, who was also known for writing the engine for ChessMaster 2000 and his DOS program WChess. Scott McDonald, an American chess master, assisted Kittinger.<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=24vktuq" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i50.tinypic.com/24vktuq.jpg" /></a><br />
Dave Kittinger (picture found at <a href="http://eric.terrien.pagesperso-orange.fr/page4/page2/page2.html">Les Diodes du Roi</a>)<br />
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The Super Connie became the first dedicated unit to be rated "Expert" (2018 rating). It achieved a 1981 performance rating at the 1983 US Open, and was the first dedicated chess computer to defeat a USCF master at tournament time controls and conditions (Jerry Simon, 2207 USCF). It was famous for its speculative, human-like play. The Super Connie relied on a special preprocessor, containing specific chess knowledge. which allowed the evaluation function to be simplified somewhat. No doubt this helped the Super Connie to achieve its high rating even though its processor was relatively slow (8-bit processor running at 3.6 MHz).<br />
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Its opening book contained 20,000 half-moves, and the user could program into it 2,000 additional half-moves of new openings and variations. It also could win KBNK endgames. Both the programmable book and the ability to win KBNK endgames were innovations that originated with the Super Connie.<br />
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Novag also sold a printer and a clock that could work with the dedicated unit.<br />
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<a href="http://tinypic.com/?ref=675u0i" target="_blank"><img alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic" border="0" src="http://i48.tinypic.com/675u0i.jpg" /></a><br />
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Here is the pgn of Super Connie's historic victory against Jerry Simon:<br />
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[Event "1983 US Open"] <br />
[Site "Pasadena California"] <br />
[White "Novag Super Constellation"] <br />
[Black "Jerry Simon 2207"] <br />
[Time Control "40/2.5 Hrs"] <br />
[Result "1-0"] <br />
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1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 d6 5.Bg2 Be6 6.d3 Be7 7.O-O Qc8 8.Qb3 O-O 9.Nd5 Bd8 10.Bg5 Rb8 11.Nxf6+ gxf6 12.Bh6 Re8 13.Qc3 Bh3 14.Rac1 Bxg2 15.Kxg2 Qg4 16.Bd2 f5 17.h3 Qh5 18.e3 Re6 19.d4 e4 20.Ng1 Rg6 21.f3 Bh4 22.Ne2 Bg5 23.Nf4 Bxf4 24.exf4 Re8 25.fxe4 Rxe4 26.Rce1 Re2+ 27.Rf2 Rxf2+ 28.Kxf2 Qxh3 29.Re8+ Kg7 30.d5+ Kh6 31.dxc6 Qh2+ 32.Kf1 Rxg3 33.Be3 Qh1+ 34.Ke2 Qh5+ 35.Kd3 bxc6 36.Qf6+ Qg6 37.Qh4+ Kg7 38.Qd8 Kh6 39.Qxc7 d5 40.Qxa7 dxc4+ 41.Kxc4 Rg2 42.Qd4 Rc2+ 43.Kb3 c5 44.Qd5 Rh2 45.Qxc5 Rh3 46.Kc2 Rh2+ 47.Bd2 Qg2 48.Qf8+ Kh5 49.Qxf7+ Kh4 50.Qe7+ Kh5 51.Qxh7+ Kg4 52.Qg7+ Kf3 53.Qc3+ Kf2 54.Qe3+ Kf1 55.Qe1# 1-0<br />
<br />Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-34412666477113541832012-06-10T12:18:00.001-04:002012-06-17T15:23:36.824-04:00Chess for Mobile Devices: CHESS PRO<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chesstiger/id423198259">CHESS PRO</a> ($9.99): A chess program created by Christophe Théron for iOS devices. The engine within the program is Christophe's famous Chess Tiger.<br />
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From the description at the App store:<br />
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<i>CHESS PRO is the most advanced chess program on the App Store, designed for all players from beginners to masters, featuring a chess rules book, a teacher mode, 28 trainer levels, graphical coaching and analyzing modes, a world class chess engine and much more…<br /><br />CHESS PRO is both a partner and an opponent able to adapt to your strength and help you to improve your chess... Everywhere!<br /><br /><br />NEW: a collection of more than 3600 classical and historical games is now included in the app! Watch a 13 years old Bobby Fischer defeat a grandmaster in the game of the century! Enjoy replaying the games of the greatest players of all times: Capablanca, Philidor, Steinitz, Lasker, Morphy, and many others!<br /><br /><br />FOR BEGINNERS:<br />- The rules of chess are included and easily accessible for reference.<br />- Just tap on a piece and the app shows you its legal moves.<br />- 28 trainer levels of increasing difficulty designed to improve your chess skills are provided.<br />- The chess engine is of very high quality, the guarantee to learn from a good professor.<br />- Naturally CHESS PRO knows and applies perfectly all the official rules of chess.<br />- CHESS PRO can warn you when your opponent is about to play a very dangerous move.<br />- CHESS PRO can watch over your shoulder and suggest up to 4 good moves.<br /><br />FOR EXPERTS:<br />- Both USCF and FIDE rating scales are supported.<br />- CHESS PRO has the Chess Tiger engine built in. It is currently one of the strongest chess engines for mobile devices: it is optimized for 32 bits mobile processors.<br />- On recent devices it reaches a level close to 2700 Elo (grandmaster).<br />- CHESS PRO (Chess Tiger engine) has been ranked twice as the number one chess engine on the SSDF list (the worldwide recognized and independent computer's rating list).<br />- You can save your games in collections and replay them later.<br />- You can exchange games with your friends very easily by email (both for sending and receiving).<br />- You can set up any position.<br />- The chess engine displays its thinking, up to 20 plies ahead.<br />- You can analyze a game by replaying it. CHESS PRO tells you when a bad move has been played by coloring it in red. The 4 best moves in every position are colored in green.<br />- CHESS PRO supports variations and allows you to test "What if..." scenarios without erasing your current game.<br /><br />OTHER FEATURES INCLUDE:<br />- High Definition graphics on iPhone 4 & 4S and iPod touch 4, anti-aliased soft graphics for all the other devices.<br />- 15 gorgeous predefined visual themes that you can also customize.<br />- 9 chess pieces sets (wood, ebony & ivory, metal, glass, …).<br />- 14 board styles (marble, blue marble, wood, metal, stone, …).<br />- A collection of 3600 famous games of the greatest players of all times.<br />- "Reload last game" allows you to retrieve the most recent game, even if you have forgotten to save it.<br />- 4 different playing styles, ranging from the quiet to suicidal, which you can apply to all the levels.<br />- Includes an opening book of more than one million moves. And it can be turned off.<br />- Many customization options (graphics, sounds, engine output…).</i><br />
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Screenshots :<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfh4XPAyrTOglh8wgOLwXXX89DSpUOKfB5WZpb286dT-ipfYr5NDLq8T9ARQ7KIRSHp-PnhhT5t07UzyMTH1CDnYUFZLNXmPMoK1-SYKcACjI7KmPShfi8OfW9nAKqGXgYmOmRxkuD3zo/s1600/ChessTiger_iOS_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfh4XPAyrTOglh8wgOLwXXX89DSpUOKfB5WZpb286dT-ipfYr5NDLq8T9ARQ7KIRSHp-PnhhT5t07UzyMTH1CDnYUFZLNXmPMoK1-SYKcACjI7KmPShfi8OfW9nAKqGXgYmOmRxkuD3zo/s400/ChessTiger_iOS_1.jpg" width="267" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QWfscQZWYgmIYy6OHcZH7tLNA6ZFoxf2jgqiXgb1GPJ4lmFATjRwHxd9d-tBq_MpE47xFBfidBqPOvGsKfaXagAbUfLUEbQ1NaWJq1QhRH3qSM8O9WHpgLSIfVNcJeUleXx8TdmfMso/s1600/ChessTiger_iOS_2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QWfscQZWYgmIYy6OHcZH7tLNA6ZFoxf2jgqiXgb1GPJ4lmFATjRwHxd9d-tBq_MpE47xFBfidBqPOvGsKfaXagAbUfLUEbQ1NaWJq1QhRH3qSM8O9WHpgLSIfVNcJeUleXx8TdmfMso/s400/ChessTiger_iOS_2.jpg" width="267" /></a><br />
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.Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-48480246017248779552012-06-10T11:00:00.003-04:002012-06-20T16:57:32.346-04:00Chess for Mobile Devices: Chess For AndroidThis is inspired by my friend Julien MARCEL, who has been posting about <a href="http://talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38332&postdays=0&postorder=asc&topic_view=&start=0">chess programs for iOS devices</a> at TalkChess. I will attempt to cover chess programs for iOS devices (using Julien's TalkChess posts) and chess programs for Android devices. <br />
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The first program I will post about is the Android program I use and love: <br />
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<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.chess&hl=en">Chess for Android</a> (Free) : A computer chess GUI for Android devices created by Aart Bik.<br />
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From the description at Google Play:<br />
<i>Chess application (with UCI and XBoard engines support).<br />
Chess for Android consists of a chess engine and a GUI. The application accepts moves through the touch screen, trackball, or keyboard (e2e4 pushes the king pawn, e1g1 castles king side, etc.). An optional "move coach" highlights valid user moves during input and last played engine move. Full game navigation buttons enable users to correct mistakes or analyze games. Games import and export as FEN/PGN to and from the clipboard, load and save as file, are set up through a position editor, or import as application/x-chess-pgn MIME type on startup. A draw by stalemate, insufficient material, the fifty move rule, or threefold repetition is recognized. The engine plays at various levels (including random, against itself in auto-play, or free-play, where the game can be used as a "magnetic chessboard"). The user can play either side and, independently, view the board from the perspective of white or black.<br />
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The application supports the Universal Chess Interface (UCI) and Chess Engine Communication Protocol (WinBoard and XBoard), which allows users to play against more powerful third party engines or even play tournaments between engines. Engine setup features pondering, infinite analysis, hash tables, multiple threads, endgame tablebases, and opening test suites.</i><br />
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The application contains a simple engine. Many other engines (Android versions of many UCI and Winboard engines) can be found at this <a href="http://www.aartbik.com/MISC/eng.html">link</a>. <br />
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The author also has programs for <a href="http://www.aartbik.com/MISC/android.html">checkers and Reversi (Othello)</a>.<br />
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Screenshots:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_p6FmfI2FxENiQqGyNXfh_H-UTnmVxW1-eV0TtpF9qddGeVZa-drEgBSbaZuqTzUlLbivXoZzBLC_TFcQdI_JjAblwmBt8dYdj_84-RA0FOVWtdiV8UISVB5DGAm8D3fkhzcz45a_eA/s1600/Chess_for_Android_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_p6FmfI2FxENiQqGyNXfh_H-UTnmVxW1-eV0TtpF9qddGeVZa-drEgBSbaZuqTzUlLbivXoZzBLC_TFcQdI_JjAblwmBt8dYdj_84-RA0FOVWtdiV8UISVB5DGAm8D3fkhzcz45a_eA/s400/Chess_for_Android_1.jpg" width="267" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdm2pZqREJ-CQ2Y21szDHbX4wiRUK1A8tSOgyC1XiiYh6ZshCap536isEQFmZoRYImYXjyj5f5z0qHKEsVtdnAjSQt2qmo1mIsUZfIKVfjc-j8HHVIxdIIt2LUeUDQoyIHf5SnLzYx08/s1600/Chess_for_Android_2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdm2pZqREJ-CQ2Y21szDHbX4wiRUK1A8tSOgyC1XiiYh6ZshCap536isEQFmZoRYImYXjyj5f5z0qHKEsVtdnAjSQt2qmo1mIsUZfIKVfjc-j8HHVIxdIIt2LUeUDQoyIHf5SnLzYx08/s400/Chess_for_Android_2.jpg" width="267" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdgbRAKrwiIhXfeXTXuoOV2Y2RrMY6qj6eMW2cBv-wEdZQnjVoG5VkQcJ6AOnHMkqqsvG6hQTVz96GT2dMaMUsIURJAPVm6_RqeX7Rido9izN8bk9PUQgKDhvc54knVkbC60GSxh7PlA/s1600/Chess_for_Android_3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdgbRAKrwiIhXfeXTXuoOV2Y2RrMY6qj6eMW2cBv-wEdZQnjVoG5VkQcJ6AOnHMkqqsvG6hQTVz96GT2dMaMUsIURJAPVm6_RqeX7Rido9izN8bk9PUQgKDhvc54knVkbC60GSxh7PlA/s400/Chess_for_Android_3.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpx3KOHLQR3sBVPOUYvTJo6xkO9qRlr4ubUZRHgx1ftnniBeo58eidOxSgPv6GqH9TwzBq_QGAu1yojOVWhmXnv6aeit8eetFZtFyHQ72fr3fGr13uIKNYYnn6NVQ8ZPO-Jt2TC-PTRo/s1600/Chess_for_Android_4.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpx3KOHLQR3sBVPOUYvTJo6xkO9qRlr4ubUZRHgx1ftnniBeo58eidOxSgPv6GqH9TwzBq_QGAu1yojOVWhmXnv6aeit8eetFZtFyHQ72fr3fGr13uIKNYYnn6NVQ8ZPO-Jt2TC-PTRo/s400/Chess_for_Android_4.jpg" width="240" /></a>Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-37853097669862176782012-06-04T17:04:00.002-04:002012-06-04T19:33:10.252-04:00Also-Rans Rating List Update - June 4, 2012I have updated the rating list. I have added more games for Blikskottel 0.8, Eden 0.0.13, Gargamella 0.5.0, Gullydeckel 2.16pl1, JChess 1.0, Kanguruh 1.93, PLP 1661571, and Chad's Chess 0.15. Also, I have added CmcChess 2.27, Freyr 1.09 64-bit JA, and Mephisto MM5.1 to the list. <br />
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The games can be found at this <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?6j6ha6766d9zrjt">link</a>.<br />Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347348405238562632.post-82372675529821311782012-06-01T22:24:00.001-04:002012-06-10T09:44:13.932-04:00HGM and The Matchbox Chess ComputerThe types of computers used to play chess have been varied. For example, <a href="http://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/El+Ajedrecista">El Ajedrecista</a> was an electro-mechanical computer that could play and win KRK endgames:<br />
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<a href="http://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/MANIAC+I">Maniac 1</a>, a computer used to do calculations related to H-Bomb research, was programmed by Stanislaw Ulam, Paul Stein, Mark Wells, J. Kister, W. Walden and John Pasta to play Los Alamos chess (6x6 chess without bishops):<br />
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In 1957, Alex Bernstein wrote the first chess program for the <a href="http://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/IBM+704">IBM 704</a><br />
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Ken Thompson and Joe Condon developed <a href="http://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/Belle">Belle</a>, a hybrid of hardware and software made for playing chess:<br />
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The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray_X-MP">Cray X-MP supercomputer</a> was the muscle behind Cray Blitz, a 2-time world champion chess program developed by Robert Hyatt, Albert Gower, and Harry Nelson:<br />
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IBM's <a href="http://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/Deep+Blue">Deep Blue</a>, a special purpose computer formulated to play chess, was the first chess computer to win a game, and then win a match, against the human chess champion:<br />
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One of the more unique chess computers (in my opinion) available to the public was the Novag Robot Adversary:<br />
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And then there was the small Excalibur Keychain LCD Chess:<br />
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If I was asked about the most unique chess computer, for me it would be the matchbox chess computer constructed and programmed by Harm Geert Muller:<br />
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(The following account was given by Harm Geert Muller on the <a href="http://talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39902&highlight=staples">TalkChess.com forum</a>, otherwise known as <b>CCC</b>.)<br />
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<i></i><br />
<blockquote>
In the early eighties I participated in the Dutch National Championship a number of times, which was just starting. I was just a student in those days that had written a Chess program as a hobby on a home-built computer. The first championships, in '81 and '82 were played with very long games, so that a game lasted the entire day. This because computers were quite weak in those days, and the organizers thought that by letting them think extremely long, they could avoid them becoming the laughing stock of real Chess players. (This ploy of course failed miserably.) To still get enough games during the tourney, participants had to play three games at the same time. As computer equipment in those days was not standardized at all, and many participants were using home-built equipment, this was very difficult to organize, as we usually only owned a single computer. In '82 I played three games simultaneously on a single computer, using a multi-tasking operating system I had written myself especially for the purpose. <br />
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The whole event was very chaotic, and full of surprises. One participant was playing on a computer that was just a printed-circuit board with all chips in view, including the EPROM chip that contained his program. A journalist thought this was so impressive he wanted to take a close-up photograph. But the flash of his camera was so intense, that it completely erased the chess program from the chip (which did have a quartz window especially for the purpose of being able to erase it with UV light, and then re-program it. <br />
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Later tourneys used more reasonable time controls, so that we could play three games per day after one another. At some point they asked me to re-join the tourney because it had its 5th anniversary. I had really stopped working on the program at that time, and did no longer have the (by that time completely obsolete) computer that could run it. So I decided to build a computer especially for the purpose, that fitted entirely in a small matchbox,containing 5 chips (some sawed off, to make them fit) and an LED 7-segment display pried out of a pocket calculator. To enter a move you had to tap on two staples in the lid. This was big fun and attracted a lot of attention, especially since it managed to win some games from opponents thousand times it size, and it even made it to national television.</blockquote>
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Well, the input was quite cumbersome, with only a single contact, and I was constantly hoping the opponent would not play h7-h8. I had designed a system where a first touch would bring an A or 1 in the display, which would linger for about half a second, and if you would release and tap again while it was still in the display, it would change into B/2, etc. upto H/8. When you let the 0.5 sec expire, the character then in the display would be considered entered. <br />
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When you kept touching longer than 1 sec, the program would set up a new game, but it would remember the game history of the previous game, and if you continued touching, it started counting up in the display, 1, o, 2, o, 3, o, ..., and when you would release when it says, say, 14, it would set up the position after the 14th move. This to correct entry errors, which frequently occurred, also because of the opponent operator performing wrong moves on the board, etc. <br />
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After the first playing day I was so exhausted of constantly staring at the tiny display to see if it had already moved, that I decided it needed sound. So I slipped in a piezo disk between the drawer and the wrapper of the match box, to make it beep when it had a move. </blockquote>Adam Hairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02603317394302975592noreply@blogger.com