MacWorld 1999 June/Macworld (1999-06).dmg/Games World/SharewareGames/MacChess 5.0.1 EN/~ Manual MacChess 5.0

Text File | 1999-02-21 | 19KB | 461 lines

MacChess 5.0.1 Manual   by Wim van Beusekom         Rotterdam December 1998
(Updated Feb. 1999 by Richard A. Fowell for 5.0.1)

MacChess 5.0.1 is Freeware and consists of four files:
the application file, a data file, and two text files:

- MacChess 5.0 program; 528,783 bytes.
- MacChess Opening Book; MacChess 5.0 document 227,388 bytes.

- ~Manual MacChess 5.0.1;    SimpleText document  19,085 bytes.
- ~New in MacChess 5.0.1;    SimpleText document   4,903 bytes.
- ~History of MacChess;      SimpleText document   8,072 bytes.
- ~Learning Chess;           SimpleText document   1,997 bytes.

As well as some supplementary information, games and tests:

- Folder Mate positions: MC M02, MC M07, MC M08, MC M09, MC M10, MC M11,
  MC M13, MC M13/2, MC M16, MC M30
- Folder Testen: Serie CCR and a folder CCR
- Folder EPD tests:
  LCTII.epd, BT 2630.epd, CCR.epd, Maresch.epd, Win at Chess.epd
- Folder Test Instructions: CCR Instructions/Results,
  BT2630 Instructions, LCTII Instructions,  Maresch Instructions

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

MacChess 5.0.1 requires a Power Macintosh.
  (If you don't have a Power Macintosh, the non-Power Macintosh version,
   MacChess 2.5.1, is available from the downloads page at the Web site:
   http://members.aol.com/Macchess/   )
MacChess has been tested on many Power Macs: 6100, 7300, 7600,
   and Power Macs with a 604e and G3 processor.
Please let me know of any problems with other Power Macintosh models.

MEMORY AND TRANSPOSITION TABLES

MacChess requires about 4000 K, but wants more memory for
“Transposition Tables.” MacChess uses transposition table sizes:
0.5 Mb, 1Mb, 2Mb, 4Mb, 8Mb, 16Mb, 32Mb and 64Mb.
The "About MacChess" item in the Apple Menu shows the current table size.
If you have lots of memory (RAM), you can use it to give MacChess larger
transposition tables by using the Finder "Get Info" command in the
File menu on the MacChess application file to increase the "Preferred Size"
to the desired Transposition Table size plus 4000K.

Generally, doubling transposition table size increases strength by
roughly 8 rating points, and is most useful in the ending.
MacChess test results suggest that a 4000Kb table is optimal for
the middle game.

Memory problems:

If you are short on memory, reducing your screen color depth.
(Using "256 color" instead of "thousands of colors" will
 reduce MacChess's memory requirements.)

CASTLING

Castling is a move of the king, not the rook.
Just move the king two squares, and if castling is allowed,
the rook will move by itself.

OPENING BOOK

The opening book version 5.0 contains 66,022 moves.

=============================================================================

WINDOWS

When MacChess is launched, the chess board is in the upper left corner
of the screen. There are five more windows:

• Main Line: (Principal Variation)

   This shows the best continuation MacChess has found so far.

• Info: Information about the search:

 - score: MacChess's evaluation of the position

    If the score is -M4 then MacChess can be checkmated in 4 moves.
    If the score is +90, then MacChess thinks it stands about a Pawn better.

 - depth/max.depth: Search depth so far, in normal and extended continuations.

    The first figure shows the search depth of MacChess and the second
    figure shows the highest search depth with extensions.

- number of moves: Number of moves considered
    The second figure shows the number of moves minus the moves
    leading to a checkmate.

 - move/number:
    This shows the candidate move being considered.
    The number that follows indicates how many candidate moves have
         been considered at this search depth.

 - nodes: The number of nodes which are visited.
          A node is a possible future position that is examined.

 - nodes/sec: The number of nodes examined per second.

 - phase of the game:
   This shows what phase of the game MacChess thinks it is in:
      opening, middlegame or endgame.
   For example: KR-K indicates a King + Rook vs. King endgame.

• Time:
   This window displays the clocks of white (left) and black (right).
   The times are displayed in hours:minutes:seconds format.
   For each player, it displays:

   Line 1: Time used so far (total, elapsed).
   Line 2: Time used on the latest move.
   Line 3: Time (average - per move) remaining before next time control.
   Line 4: Number of moves remaining until next time control.
   Line 5: Time remaining (total) until next time control.

   Above the clock display, the colors controlled by MacChess are shown:
     MacChess - Player,
     Player   - MacChess,
     Player   - Player,   or
     MacChess - MacChess.
   (You can change "Player" to your name using "Options: Player Name ...")

• Moves:
   The game score is displayed here.
   There are "VCR-style" control buttons on the bottom for controlling
   the monitor (game review) mode.
   The "VCR" buttons let you step through (>|) or animate (>) the game.
   To stop a game animation, click and hold on the pause (||) VCR button.

• Opening Book:
   At program launch, this displays the version number and the number of
   opening book moves. During the game, the name of the opening played and
   the ECO code is shown here. The lower right corner of this window
   displays the move number where the game leaves MacChess's opening book.

=============================================================================

MENUS

• Apple menu:
 - About MacChess:
    This displays:
      - the version number of MacChess
      - the version number and number of moves from the opening book
      - the size of the transposition table
      - the name and address of the Author.

 - Freeware:
    This displays the restrictions on the distribution of MacChess, i.e.:

    MacChess 5.0 may be used freely, however it is copyrighted and is
    not in the public domain. It may not be distributed for profit or
    included in any CD-ROM collection of software without permission.
    Individuals, user groups and online services are encouraged to
    distribute MacChess 5.0 provided it is not modified in any way.

    I would appreciate it if you sent me email or a postcard to tell me
    what you think of MacChess 5.0.
    If there are any errors in the MacChess 5.0 program and its
    documents, please let me know. Thanks.

• File:
 - New Game:  [CMD-N] Starts a new game.
 - Open Game: [CMD-O] Opens a game stored in MacChess format.

 - Import:
      PGN: (Portable Game Notation) reads a standard PGN ASCII text game file.
            See the "Notes" at the end of this file for where to find PGN files.
              The name of the text file must end in .PGN.
      EPD: (Extended Position Description) reads a standard EPD chess position.
              The name of the text file must end in .EPD.

 - Save Game: [CMD-S] Saves a game in MacChess format. If the current game
                      already exists on disk in MacChess format, this command
                      will update (overwrite) the existing file without
                      further prompting.

 - Save Game As ...:  Save game in MacChess format in a user-specified file.

 - Save:
    Game Text as Column: Saves the game text in ASCII format, one row per full-move.
    Game Text as Rows: Saves the game text in ASCII format in rows (compactly).
    Board Graphic:     Saves the board position as a picture (PICT format).
    Board as Text:     Saves the board position as an ASCII text representation.

  - Export:
      PGN: (Portable Game Notation) writes a standard PGN ASCII text file.
      EPD: (Extended Position Description) writes a standard EPD chess position.

 - Page Setup: Sets printer options
 - Print Game: [CMD-P] Prints the game text in at most four columns on a page.
 - Print:
    Game Text as Rows: Prints the game text in rows.
    Board Graphic: Prints the board position in graphic format.
    Board as Text: Prints the board position as an ASCII text representation.

 - Quit: [CMD-Q] Exits the MacChess program.

• Edit:
 - Undo:  [CMD-Z] Takes back a move. You may take back moves repeatedly.
 - Redo:  [CMD-R] Replays the move that was last taken back.

 - Cut:   [CMD-X] disabled.
 - Copy:  [CMD-C] This copies information from the active window to the
                  Clipboard. What is copied depends on which window is
                  active (in front, highlighted):
    Moves window - a game in PGN format to the Clipboard.
    Board window - the board position in EPD format to the Clipboard.
    Main Line window - the principal variation into the Clipboard.

 - Paste: [CMD-V] This will paste to the active window as follows:
    Moves window -   a PGN game from the Clipboard into MacChess.
    Board window - the EPD position from the Clipboard into MacChess.

 - Clear:   disabled.

 - Preferences: [CMD-;]
    Show the Preferences dialog box and lets you select:
    = General:
      - Opening book    [ on/off ]
      - Permanent Brain [ on/off ]
      - Beep            [ on/off ]
      - Notation        [ Short algebraic or long Algebraic ] and
                        [ Piece Letters ]

    = Chessboard:
      - Piece movement  [ click-click or Sliding (click & drag) ]
                        [ Sliding: Slow - Fast ]
      - Board size      [ Normal (32x32) or Big (48x48) ]
      - Color           [ color or black & white ]

     Piece Sets:
     - Classical:
     - Modern:
     - American:       by Richard A. Fowell.
     - Cheque:         by Heinrich E. Roescheisen.
     - Zuerich:        by Heinrich E. Roescheisen.

     Square Colors:
     - Light Blue
     - Green and Buff  by Richard A. Fowell.
     - Light Brown
     - Light Red
     - Grey
     - Blue
     - Green
     - Brown

     Save Preferences
     - All options in the preference menu will be saved.

• Players:
 - Play [CMD-G]
    Switches colors so MacChess has the move - also starts MacChess thinking.
 - Player   vs MacChess:   Player   (white) against MacChess (black).
 - MacChess vs Player:     MacChess (white) against Player   (black).
 - Player   vs Player:     Can also be used to reach a position through
                              an opening you choose yourself.
 - MacChess vs MacChess: MacChess plays automatically against itself.

• Level:
 - Set Level: [CMD-L]
    Play times:       You can choose time per move and number of moves.
    Tournament times: You can choose the time per game and the number of moves.
                      This can be done for three time controls.
                      Increment time per move.
                      Can be set for separate colors.
    Sudden death game:You can set the time for the whole game in minutes per
                      game.
                      1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60.
                      An alert box notifies you when the time is passed.
    Easy:             Choose this level if you want an easy game.
                      Random:    MacChess makes random moves
                      Easy Easy: MacChess will trade its Queen for a Knight or Bishop.
                      Easy 1:    Depth = 1
                      Easy 2:    Depth = 2
                      Easy 3:    Depth = 3
                      Easy 4:    Depth = 4
    Fixed depth:      You can set the search depth at.   (1-64)
    Mate in:          MacChess searches to a mate in ... (1-32)
                      This finds forced mates quickly and correctly if the
                      depth is correct.
                      It doesn't always find mates faster than the regular
                      search, however.
    Infinite:         MacChess searches till you stop it with [command] F.
                      Or a forced completion is reached - e.g., forced mate.

    Save Level Settings: MacChess remembers the time control setting.

(Quick level settings)
 - Easy 1
 - Easy 2
 - Easy 3
 - Easy 4
 -  1 second / 60
 -  3 seconds/ 60
 -  5 seconds/ 60
 - 15 seconds/ 60
 - 30 seconds/ 60
 - 60 seconds/ 60
 - Game  2 minutes
 - Game  5 minutes
 - Game 10 minutes
 - Infinity

 - Reset Time: [CMD-=]
    The clocks are initialized again as follow.
    Reset example: one minute per move, number of moves 60, after 24 moves.
    - Total time used: 24 x 1 minute = 24 minutes.
    - Time per move 1 minute.
    - Number of moves left 36.
    - Total time left: 36 x 1 minute = 36 minutes.

• Options:
 - Game Info: [CMD-I]
     You can fill in the fields for the standard PGN tags and two lines of
     comments. This information is also saved. Only the White, Black and Info
     will be printed.

 - Player Name ...:
    You can fill in and  save a player's name. The first eight letters of
    that name will be displayed in the time window as the name of MacChess's
    opponent.

 - Game Pause: [CMD-H]
     The clocks will be stopped and we wait.

 - Hint:
     The move that MacChess thinks is your best continuation.
     Note: this is the second move of the Main Line shown in the PV window.
     Note: not available when the game is still in the MacChess opening book.

 - Force Move: [CMD-F]
     Make MacChess move immediately.

 - Setup Board: [CMD-U]
    You can set up any legitimate board position. Clicking on a piece makes
    the square empty, clicking on an empty square puts the piece on it.

     Items:
       Icons: 6 Black and 6 White piece icons for placing pieces.
       Radio buttons: Use to select whether White or Black is to move.
       Buttons:
         Full Board:   Sets the Setup Board to the starting position.
         Empty Board:  Sets the Setup Board to an empty board
         Flip Board:   Rotates the Setup board 180 degrees.
         Cancel:       Exit Setup Board as though you never entered.
         Ok:           If the Setup Board position is legal, you can play.

 - Flip Board: [CMD-D] turns the game board 180 degrees, reversing
          whether White or Black is at the top.

 - Next Best Move:
     This option takes back MacChess's last move, and searches for the
     best different move. Note that repeating this option will search
     the moves remaining other than the previous "best moves" of
     the move list until no moves are left.

• Analyses:
 - Analyze MC Positions:
    This analyzes a series of positions and saves the results to disk.

    After selecting 'Analyze Positions' you progress through four dialog boxes:
    1 - Set the time or depth to analyze each position
    2 - Select the file that lists the position files (such as Serie CCR).
    3 - Select the name of your output file.
    4 - Confirm the information you have entered, and
         see how long the analysis will take.

 - Analyze EPD Positions:
    This does the same as Analyze Positions except it analyzes the
    positions stored in a file in .EPD format. Such files must be text files,
    and their names must end in .EPD. Of course, they must contain positions
    in proper .EPD format. Many such files are provided with MacChess.

   While MacChess is analyzing an Analysis Status window shows information
   about the test being run.
   For example, when testing a file of .EPD positions, it shows:
     - the name of the file
     - the "id" (identification field) and "bm" (best move) or
           "am" (move to avoid)
     - the number of the position being examined and the total number of
            positions in the file.

 - Analyze Game:
    This will analyze all or part of a game for white or black or
    both colors. The results are saved in a file.

 - Stop Analyzing:
    Exit the analysis session.

 - Analyze Player vs Player:
    This option puts MacChess in the player vs player mode and activates
    the search engine. So you can watch the search output while playing
    the moves yourself.

 - Log:
    This saves the search output to disk during a game. This will let you see
    what MacChess was thinking when you review the game later.

• Windows:
 - Hide(Show) PV    Window  [CMD-1]
 - Hide(Show) Info  Window  [CMD-2]
 - Hide(Show) Book  Window  [CMD-3]
 - Hide(Show) Moves Window  [CMD-4]
 - Hide(Show) Time  Window  [CMD-5]

 - Save Window Positions
    Remember the window positions and whether they are open or closed.
    The next time you launch MacChess, the windows will come up the
    way you saved them.

=============================================================================

postal address: Hammarskjoldplaats 284
                3069 RH Rotterdam.
                The Netherlands.

email address:  [e-mail]

============================================================================
Notes:

1) PGN is "Portable Game Notation,” and EPD is "Extended Position Notation.”
   These are standards respectively for storing games and positions so that
   other software can read them. The detailed description of the standard
   is at: ftp://caissa.onenet.net/pub/chess/PGN/Standard
   Many chess-playing programs and chess database programs support EPD and PGN.
   Thousands of PGN files can be found on the Internet - here are some sites:
   * 30,000 games from the last few years, arranged by opening:
       http://www.hsv.tis.net/chess/regence/regence.htm
   * Grandmaster tournament games from the current week (and prior weeks)
       http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html
   * Older games, collected by player name, and by event (over 250,000 games)
       http://www.pitt.edu/~schach
    MacChess reads the first 500 games in a PGN file. If there are more, split
    the file into chunks with 500 games or less with a text editor like
    BBEdit Lite.

2) "Permanent Brain" means the computer thinks on your time, that its "Brain"
    is "Permanently" active. If MacChess beats you all the time, you may want
    to turn this off, and give MacChess a short time to think in the "Level"
    menu. Giving MacChess a small time without turning off Permanent Brain has
    much less effect, since it thinks on your move. If it still wins too often,
    use the "Setup" option so that it starts the game without one of its pieces -
    such as a Queen ("Queen odds") or Rook ("Rook odds"). As you improve, you
    can move from Queen odds to Rook odds to Knight odds to Pawn odds.
    You can also make use of the "Easy" levels.

3) Information about Macintosh computer chess software and utilities can be
   found on the Web in the "Macintosh Chess FAQ" at:
    <http://www.cybercity.hko.net/newyork/mhousho/index.html>
   at the Macintosh chess software index page at:
   http://directory.mozilla.org/Games/Board_Games/Chess/Software/Macintosh/
   and also from Richard A. Fowell's MacChess Home Page at:
    <http://members.aol.com/Macchess/>