The Software Toolworks' Hyperbase Data | 1989-02-13 | 41.6 KB | 4 lines
Hyperbase Data for The Software Toolworks'
Proprietary Recursive Help Subsystem
Copyright 1988 The Software Toolworks
Here's everything you need to know to use The Chessmaster 2100. ──Use the PgUp and PgDn keys to see all of this information. When you are done, press the Esc key to remove this help window. ──The Chessmaster 2100 lets you use the keyboard, a mouse or a joystick. If you have either a mouse OR a joystick, the program will use these instead of the keyboard. If you have BOTH a mouse and a joystick, the program will use the mouse by default. You can change any of these defaults by choosing a different Selection Method from the Choices menu. ──Joystick users: the joystick acts exactly like a mouse. Button 1 is the LEFT mouse button, and Button 2 is the RIGHT mouse button. ──MOVING PIECES: use the cursor keys or mouse to position the cursor hand over the piece you want to move. Press Enter (or press and hold the LEFT mouse button) to close the hand and "grab" the piece. Move the piece and then press Enter again (or release the button) to complete your move. ──MENUS: press Esc (or hold down the RIGHT mouse button) to see the menu bar. Use the arrow keys (or move the mouse) to highlight the various menu items. Press Enter (or release the button) when an item is highlighted to select that item. Press '?' (instead of Enter) to get help on the highlighted item. ──Press the question mark ("?") or the F1 key at any time to get instant help. ──The program has both short menus for the first-time user (showing only the essential features of The Chessmaster 2100) and longer menus (showing ALL the features) for the expert. Use the Expert Menus On/Off item on the Game menu to choose the type of menu that's best for you. ──That's all there really is to know. You can see a list of all available help topics by pressing Enter now. Use the arrow keys to highlight a topic, and press Enter to see that topic. Explore the help topics whenever you feel ready to learn more about The Chessmaster 2100's many features. ──The Chessmaster 2100 was designed to be easy to understand and use. Have fun!! ┬At the top of the screen is the (normally hidden) menu bar. Press the Esc key, or hold down the RIGHT mouse button to make the menu bar appear. You will see the titles of several menus (e.g. Game, Play, Action, Board, Choices, Window). ──If you are using the keyboard, a menu containing several items will already be visible. If you are using a mouse, move the cursor over a menu title, and it will drop down. Use the up and down arrow keys or the mouse to move up and down within a menu. ──Some items on a menu (those with a solid '>' at the right side) have sub-menus. The sub-menu will appear when you highlight the item. Use the left and right arrow keys to move between items and their sub-menus. ──Some menu items can be selected directly from the keyboard using a "shortcut". For example, holding down the Ctrl key and pressing 'Q' is a shortcut for selecting the Quit item from the Game menu. Items with shortcuts will display the shortcut at the right side. ──Items which cannot be accessed at the moment are displayed in a different color. For example, when you start a new game, the Take Back item on the Action menu is not accessible, because no moves have yet been made. ──You may select your own menu colors using the Colors item on the Choices menu. ┬You may move pieces using a mouse, joystick or the cursor keys, depending on the current Selection Method. ──Mouse or Joystick: you will see a cursor hand on the screen which follows the movements of the mouse or joystick. Position the hand over the piece you wish to move. Then press and hold the LEFT mouse button to close the hand and "grab" the piece. Continue to hold down the left button and drag the piece to the desired destination. Release the button to drop the piece and complete the move. ──If you pick up a piece with the move and then decide not to move it, simply return the piece to its original square. ──Cursor Keys: press one of the arrow keys, and the cursor hand will appear near the middle of the chess board. Use the arrow keys to position the hand over the piece you wish to move and press Enter to close the hand and grab the piece. Now use the arrow keys to move the piece to the desired square. Press Enter again to drop the piece and complete the move. ──If you pick up a piece with the cursor keys and then decide not to move it, simply press Esc. ──If you have a mouse or a joystick attached to your system, you must use the Selection Method item on the Choices menu to allow you to make use of the cursor keys for move entry. ──Keyboard: you may also make moves using the current notation (e.g. by typing "e2e4"). Use the Backspace key to correct mistakes. The Esc key cancels a partially-entered move. ┬When legal, you may castle by moving the King two squares towards the Rook. The Rook will move into place automatically. See the Tutorial for more information about castling. ┬When legal, you may capture your opponent's pawn "in passing" by moving your pawn diagonally behind it. See the Tutorial for more information about en passant captures. ┬If your pawn reaches the opposite side of the board, the Chessmaster will ask you to promote your pawn to a Queen, Rook, Bishop or Knight. Make your choice by clicking on the desired piece or pressing the corresponding key (Q, R, B, N) on the keyboard. ┬A button consists of a rounded outline containing some text, such as "OK" or "Save". Selecting a button causes the action described by the button to take place. For example, you might see a message like "Play another game?" along with buttons containing the words "Yes" and "No". ──With a mouse or joystick, positioning the cursor inside the button and clicking EITHER button will select that button. ──From the keyboard, holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the first character of the button text (e.g. Ctrl-Y for "Yes") will select the button. ──Some buttons appear with a double line around them. Pressing the Enter key will always select such a button (the "default" button). Buttons containing the word "Cancel" can always be selected by pressing Esc. ┬When a list contains too much information to fit comfortably on the screen, a scroll bar will appear to the right of it. A scroll bar consists of a vertical rectangle with arrows at either end and a box in-between (called the "thumb"). The thumb indicates the relative position of the part of the list that is visible with the entire list. ──With a mouse or joystick, you may click on the arrows to scroll the list one line at a time. Clicking in the region between an arrow and the thumb will scroll the list one page at a time in the direction of the arrow. Dragging the thumb will scroll the list to the same relative position as the thumb. ──From the keyboard, the up and down arrow keys will scroll the list in the same direction. You may also use the Home, End, PgUp and PgDn keys to scroll through a long list quickly. ┬Whenever The Chessmaster 2100 needs information about a file, it will display a standard file dialog. The file dialog contains several pieces: ──A scrolling list of directories and saved game titles. Directories have a "file folder" symbol to the left of their names. You may move into a directory by double-clicking on its name with the mouse or by using the arrow keys to highlight the directory name and pressing Enter. ──The current drive and directory, which appear above the list of directories and game titles. ──A "Drive" button. Selecting this button with the mouse or by pressing Ctrl-D will switch to the next drive on your system. ──A "Cancel" button. Selecting this button with the mouse or by pressing Esc will remove the file dialog without making a selection. ──Other buttons (such as "Load" or "Erase") will also be present, depending on the operation being performed. ┬Starts a new game against the currently selected opponent. If there is a game in progress, you will be asked to confirm your choice. ──If your opponent is The Chessmaster, and you have chosen to play Black, The Chessmaster will move first. ──If you start a new game after loading a saved game, settings will be restored to their state prior to loading the saved game. ┬Use this menu item to load a Classic game or a game you saved earlier. In either case, you will be presented with a file dialog. Highlight the name of the game you wish to load and select the "Load" button. ┬The Chessmaster 2100 comes with 110 Classic Games of chess. This menu option loads one of those games and allows you to review it. ──Once the game is loaded, you will see a brief description of why this game is notable. Use the Replay Last Move key (Ctrl-R) to play back the game one move at a time or use the Animate feature to see the moves replayed automatically. ──The Chessmaster's Classic Games are kept in a file called CLASSICS.DAT. If that file is not in the current directory (shown at the top of the standard file dialog), no Classic Games will be shown. You may use the file dialog to navigate to the directory which contains CLASSICS.DAT. ┬Use this feature to load a game you saved earlier. The game will be restored to the exact position it was in when you saved it. Settings in effect when the game was saved are restored with the game. ┬Save the current game. When the Save file dialog appears, type a name for the game. The name may be as long as will fit (about 32 characters) -- it doesn't need to be a DOS filename. Spaces and special characters are allowed in the name. If you wish to use an existing name, move the highlight to that name and select the "Use" button (or press Ctrl-U). ──When you've got a name and you're ready to save, press the "Save" button or press Return. Notice that the Save button is disabled until a name has been entered in the box provided. ┬Erase a game you've saved earlier. Classic games cannot be erased. ┬This menu item allows you to save your current settings or restore the original factory settings. Once you have The Chessmaster's features and settings arranged the way you like them, use the Save Current feature to make that arrangement permanent. ┬Use the Save Current command to save The Chessmaster's settings for the following menu items: expert menus, play level, style, deep thinking, opponent, opening book, choice of side, board design, clocks, coordinates, rotation, player name, opponent name, sound, piece slide, notation, teaching, commentary, announce openings, touching pieces, blindfold chess, selection method, colors and window locations. ──The next time you run the program, the saved values of these settings will be used. ┬Resets The Chessmaster 2100 to the settings built in by The Software Toolworks. These settings are: ──Expert Menus: Off ─Newcomer Mode: Off ─Intermediate Play: Off ─Advanced Play Level: Fixed Time, 5 seconds/move ─Style: Normal ─Deep Thinking: On ─Opponent: Chessmaster ─Opening Book: On ─Human player's color: White ─Board Design: 2-D ─Chess Clocks: On ─Coordinates: On ─Rotation: White on Bottom ─Your Name: Player ─Human Opponent's Name: Other Player ─Sound: Music ─Piece Slide: On ─Notation: Coordinate ─Teaching Mode: Off ─Commentary: Off ─Announce Openings: On ─Touching Pieces: Allowed ─Blindfold Chess: Off ─Selection Method: Automatic ─Colors: original ─Window Locations: original ──These settings will not become permanent unless you subsequently save them with the Save Current command. ┬The Setup Menu allows you to arrange the pieces on the board, to solve a chess problem or to explore alternate lines of play. ──Enter Setup allows you to add, move or remove pieces to the board, starting from the current board position. ──Clear Board removes all pieces except the Kings. ──New Game Setup puts each piece in its "start of game" position. ──Abandon Setup throws away any changes you have made and returns to the game in progress. ──Setup Complete exits setup mode, and play proceeds from the new board position. ──Each of the above items has its own, more detailed, help topic. ┬Exits setup mode and asks which side should move first. If one side is in check, only that side is allowed to move. If the position you set up isn't legal (both Kings in check, for example), The Chessmaster will tell you and leave you in setup mode. ┬Exits setup mode as though you had never entered it. The game in progress is unaffected, and any changes you made are thrown away. ┬Choose the Clear Board option from the Setup sub-menu to remove all the pieces from the board except for the Kings. ┬Use this option of the Setup sub-menu to place pieces on the board as they would be at the start of a new game. You may then continue entering and moving pieces. ┬Selecting this item allows you to place pieces on the board in almost any position you want. You may add, move or remove pieces on the board using the mouse, joystick or cursor keys. ──Mouse or Joystick: ─To add a piece, pick up a piece from the "grab bag" of pieces at the edge of the board and drop it on the desired square. To move a piece, simply move it as you would normally. To remove a piece, pick it up and drop it off the edge of the board. ──Cursor Keys: ─To add a piece, position the cursor hand on the desired square and press the first letter of its name (use "N" for Knight). Pressing the Ins key adds a copy of the last piece added to the board (useful for setting up pawns). Pressing the "+" key changes the color of the piece under the cursor and makes that the current color for pieces you add to the board. To remove a piece, position the hand over it and press the Del key. ──Note: when you press 'K', the King of the current color will "pop" from its current location to the square under the cursor. ┬The Chessmaster will begin searching for a checkmate in the number of moves you specify. The Chessmaster always solves for the side whose turn it is to move. If you wish to find a mate for the opposite side, make a move for the current side (or take back a move), then select Solve Mate again. ──If The Chessmaster finds a mate, it will place the moves on the move list. You may then see the moves by replaying them or by displaying the move list window (or both). ──If you specify a large number of moves in which to find mate, The Chessmaster may have to think for a very long time. Solving for mate can be a difficult problem: sometimes the Chessmaster is no better at it than most humans! You may want to put up the Thinking window during Solve Mate. Watch how many positions The Chessmaster considers during its search! ┬The Chessmaster can analyze any move made in a game, and tell you what move it would have made in that position. ──Take back the moves you wish to analyze or use Take Back All Moves to analyze an entire game. Then choose Analyze... and choose the side whose moves you want analyzed (White, Black or both). ──For each move analyzed, The Chessmaster examines the board position, displays the move it would have made at that point (and the associated line of play and score), and then replays the move actually made. ──To make The Chessmaster do a more in-depth analysis of each move, choose a longer analysis time at the prompt after you choose the Analyze... menu item. ──Once an analysis is completed, you may print or file it by choosing Save Analysis... from the menu. ┬The tutorial is a set of animated lessons which will teach you everything you need to know to start playing chess: how to set up the board, how the pieces move and the rules of chess. ──Use Select... to view the entire tutorial or to review a particular section of it. ──You may pause the Tutorial by pressing Ctrl-W (the Pause key). You may move through the tutorial more quickly by pressing the spacebar (or clicking the mouse) when you are done reading a passage. ──Choose the Off option to stop the tutorial in progress. ┬When expert menus are Off (the default), only a few menu items are available -- the bare essentials of The Chessmaster 2100. This makes the program easy for novices and casual players to use. Turning expert menus On adds menu items for advanced features, turning the program into a power tool for the serious chess player. ┬When you're all done playing, choose Quit. You may also use the shortcut, Ctrl-Q. If you have just played a particularly good game, you might want to save it before you quit. ┬Newcomer is The Chessmaster's easiest level of play. It is most suited for people who haven't played much chess or are just learning. Of course, it's also not bad for better players who feel particularly aggressive.... ──In Newcomer Mode, The Chessmaster doesn't think during your turn and doesn't look very far ahead. In fact, when deciding on a move in Newcomer mode, The Chessmaster considers only his move and the move you may make in response. ──Compare this to the advanced play levels, where the Chessmaster uses a list of common opening moves in the beginning of the game (the "opening book"), thinks during the opponent's time and looks as far ahead as it can in the allotted time. ┬Intermediate Play is similar to Newcomer Play, but the Chessmaster looks further ahead when computing each move. ──If you can beat The Chessmaster in Newcomer Mode, but you can't beat it on any of the Advanced Play levels, try Intermediate Play. ┬Use the Advanced Play Levels menu to set how strongly the Chessmaster plays -- and how long it takes to make each move. The longer The Chessmaster thinks, the stronger it will play -- and vice versa. There are six ways to specify the playing strength: ──o Fixed Time (maximum time per move) ─o Time Controls (tournament play) ─o Fixed Depth (how far to think ahead) ─o Minutes per Game (maximum time per game) ─o Equal Time (The Chessmaster takes as much time as you do) ─o Infinite Time (you tell The Chessmaster when to move) ──In some of these modes, The Chessmaster will allocate its time over the course of a game or a series of moves, so that it spends more time thinking in the midgame (when there are more things to consider) than in the endgame or the opening. During the beginning of the game The Chessmaster looks up its moves in the Opening Book and will move very quickly. The time it saves here may be used to its advantage later in the game. You may disable use of the opening book by selecting Opening Book Off from the Play menu. ──The Chessmaster will also think while it's your turn to move. If you make a move The Chessmaster expects, it will be able to save considerable time (or think further ahead) on its next move. You can disable thinking on your turn by selecting Deep Thinking Off from the Play menu. ──When The Chessmaster is choosing a move, it also considers the current Style of Play. Normally, The Chessmaster chooses the best move only some of the time, picking moves that are good, but maybe not the best, the rest of the time. Most people end up choosing moves like this -- sometimes they make the best move, sometimes not. Use the Style option on the Play menu to tell The Chessmaster how to pick its moves. ┬You specify the number of seconds The Chessmaster has to make each move. The program will take up to that much time to make each move, never longer. The default time limit is 5 seconds per move. ┬This is tournament-style play, where you specify the minimum number of moves each player must make in a specified time (called a "time control"). ──If either player fails to make the mimimum number of moves in the required time, that player "loses on time." Unless Championship Play is On, the Chessmaster will ask if you wish to ignore the loss on time and continue play. ──If both players make the required number of moves before the clocks run out, a new time control is established. In this case, The Chessmaster will ask for the number of moves and time limit for the new time control. ──Officially sanctioned chess tournaments typically use time controls of 40 moves in 2 hours. ┬You specify how many half-moves (called "plies") The Chessmaster thinks ahead when calculating each move. The Chessmaster will look that many plies ahead and then make his move. ──Keep in mind that looking ahead several moves can take a very long time, depending on the speed of your machine. ──The Chessmaster also thinks ahead further when it sees a check or a capture, essentially "being smarter when it counts." When you specify the depth of search, the Chessmaster will use that depth when considering most moves, but will look further than that on checks and captures. ┬You specify how long each player may take to complete the game. If either player exceeds that time, he loses on time. The Chessmaster will ask if you wish to continue anyway if either player loses on time. ──This time limit will affect how well The Chessmaster plays, since it will try to avoid losing on time. The Chessmaster attempts to allocate its time over the course of a game, spending more time per move in the middle game, less in the opening and endgame. ┬The Chessmaster will take approximately the same amount of time to move as you do, based on the average amount of time you spend making each move. ──For example, if you have completed 5 moves in 50 seconds, the Chessmaster will take approximately 10 seconds to make its next move. ──When The Chessmaster is still using the Opening Book, he will move as fast as he can. ┬The Chessmaster won't move until you tell it to by choosing Force Move (Ctrl-F). The longer you let it think, the better it will play. Remember, however, that in this mode the Chessmaster will never move on its own. ┬Experience the pressure of tournament chess play! When Championship Play is On, you can't take back moves, you must move the first piece you touch, and you will lose the game if time runs out. See how good a chess player you REALLY are! ┬The Style setting determines how The Chessmaster chooses its moves. ──In Normal Style, the program sometimes chooses among several good moves available to it. This is the default style of play. ──In Coffeehouse Style, the program chooses among several good moves, but may sometimes make a poor move or a blunder. ──In Best Style, the program always chooses the best move it has available. ──The program changes its playing style by adjusting the actual score that it calculates for a move. When Best is in effect, no change is made. Normal style uses a small random value (between .012 and .027), while Coffeehouse uses a somewhat larger adjustment (between .027 and .059). As you can see, if moves are close in score, this adjustment may cause moves which score lower to be chosen. ┬Deep Thinking is a modification you can make to any of the advanced play levels. When deep thinking is On, the Chessmaster will think ahead when it is your turn to move, just like a good human opponent. ──When deep thinking is Off, The Chessmaster will play an easier game, since it will not use the time that you take to make your move to gain an advantage. ──Deep Thinking is disabled when you choose Newcomer or Intermediate Play, since The Chessmaster does not think ahead at these levels. ┬You may select one of the following opponents: ──Chessmaster: you play one side and The Chessmaster plays the other. Use Switch Sides (Ctrl-G) to choose the side you wish to play. ──Human: The Chessmaster will referee while you play another human player. You will be asked for the name of your opponent. ──Autoplay: lets you watch while The Chessmaster plays both sides of the board. ┬Use the Opening Book setting to determine whether the Chessmaster chooses its opening moves from its library of proven opening sequences. ──Normally, The Chessmaster uses the Opening Book. Its first few moves will be made very quickly, without thinking. This conserves time on The Chessmaster's clock for use later in the game. ──When Opening Book is Off, The Chessmaster has to think about each move. That creates more possibility for error and costs time that the program may need later in the game. ──The Opening Book contains about 151,000 opening positions, some as long as 15 or 20 moves! ┬Good chess players are familiar with a large number of opening move sequences. Certain sequences of moves are known to lead to strong positions for one side or the other, and you must be able to recognize them. If your opponent chooses a sequence which is favorable to his side, you must know how to thwart his plans (and hopefully gain an advantage). ──You may only Select... an opening to practice at the start of a new game. ──The Chessmaster will always tell you the first move you need to make and warn you when you blunder off course. (Use the Take Back Last Move key, Ctrl-T, to correct your mistake.) ──If Commentary is On, The Chessmaster will also tell you the next move you need to make to continue the opening you have selected. ┬Turn Print Each Move On to record each move on the printer as you make it. Make sure your printer is plugged in, properly cabled, turned on and selected (on-line). ┬When this feature is turned On, each complete game (ending in mate, draw or resignation) will be used to rate your play. Turning Rate My Play Off lets you play practice games which will not be used to calculate your rating. Selecting Show... lets you see your current rating. You may also Reset your rating to start over. ──CAUTION: The Chessmaster's rating of your play is approximate and unofficial. You should play at least ten games before taking The Chessmaster's rating seriously. To get the most accurate rating, The Chessmaster should be played using tournament time controls of 40 moves in 120 minutes (see Advanced Play Levels). ──The basic idea is that your rating should increase more when you are skillful enough to beat a stronger opponent than when you trounce a weaker player. ──The United States Chess Federation assigns the following ratings: ──Class D: below 1400 ─Class C: 1400 - 1599 ─Class B: 1600 - 1799 ─Class A: 1800 - 1999 ─Expert: 2000 - 2199 ─Master: 2200 and above ──The Fidelity chess engine used by The Software Toolworks has an official USCF rating of 2353. All of these ratings are based on time-controlled play. ┬This item allows you to switch sides with your opponent. If you choose to play Black, your opponent will move first. ──You may access this feature without the menus by pressing Ctrl-G. ──If you have chosen to play Black, you will probably want to rotate the board so that White is at the top. ┬You may take back the last move made (press Ctrl-T) or all the moves which have been made so far. ──Once moves have been taken back, you may Replay or Analyze them. ──If it is your turn after taking back a move, you can choose to make a new move. Doing so will cause all the moves which have been taken back but not replayed to be forgotten. ──If it is The Chessmaster's turn to move and you wish the program to make a new move, you must select Force Move from the Action menu (or press Ctrl-F). ──Take Back is disabled when no moves have been made (after setting up a position or starting a new game). ┬You may replay the next move (press Ctrl-R), animate all the moves which have been taken back or jump to the end of the game by replaying all moves which have been taken back. ──Replay is only enabled when moves have been taken back. ┬Replay Animate (on the Action menu) automatically replays all the moves which have been taken back. Once begun, you may press the space bar to view a dialog which allows you to speed up or slow down the replay speed, stop animated replay or continue with the animated replay. ──You may select Speed Up Replay or Slow Down Replay more than once for greater effect. ──The Replay Animate feature is only enabled when moves have been taken back. ┬Press Ctrl-F or choose Force Move from the menu to make The Chessmaster move immediately. ──If moves have been taken back, and it is now the Chessmaster's turn to move, selecting Force Move will cause The Chessmaster to begin thinking about a new move, rather than moving immediately. ──Force Move is the only way to make The Chessmaster move when the Advanced Play - Infinite Time level has been selected from the Play menu. ──This item is only enabled when it is The Chessmaster's turn to move. ┬Ask The Chessmaster for advice on your next move. If the Chessmaster has had sufficient time to look a couple of moves ahead, he will respond immediately. Otherwise, he will ask for time to consider the board and suggest a move. ──You may request a hint without using the menus by pressing Ctrl-A. ┬If you find yourself in a hopeless position, you may resign. Resignation is considered a loss for purposes of rating your play. ┬If you believe that neither side can win the game, you may offer your opponent a draw. Of course, your opponent is under no obligation to accept your offer! ──The Chessmaster is pretty confident of its playing ability and will decline your offer of a draw unless you are well ahead on material. ┬Move History - Prints all the moves in the current game. The name of each player appears at the top of the list, followed by the moves in the current notation. ──Board... - Prints the current board position. If you have an IBM Graphics Printer or an Epson (or compatible) printer, the screen display will be reproduced exactly on your printer. On other printers, the board will be printed using text characters. ┬Temporary (Ctrl-W) - In case you need to answer the phone or stretch your legs. While paused, the clocks do not tick and The Chessmaster does not think. Select the "OK" button (or press Enter) to resume. ──The Boss! (Ctrl-Z) - A panic button for tight situations. ┬The Chessmaster 2100 offers you three different ways to look at the board: ──2-D, which displays an overhead view of the board. ──3-D, showing a perspective view, or ──War Room, which offers a small 2-D board plus the most frequently used status displays: captured pieces, move list and The Chessmaster's thinking. ──KEYBOARD USERS: you may scroll the Move List in the War Room by holding down the Alt key and pressing the up and down arrow keys. ┬Use The Chessmaster's elegant Staunton piece sets (a separate set for each board design), or choose one that you have created by following the instructions provided in the instruction sheet. ┬For each player, the chess clocks show the name, the elapsed time and the last two moves made (in the current notation). When clocks are Off, this information is hidden from view. ──NOTE: the clocks tick even when they are not displayed. If time-controls are in effect (Time Controls or Minutes Per Game on the Advanced Play menu), a player can lose on time even though the clocks are hidden. ┬Using this option, you may toggle the display of rank (1-8) and file (a-h) coordinates along the edge of the chess board. If you enter moves from the keyboard, you may find coordinate display convenient. ┬For added insight into the game, use this option to view the chess board from any side. If you have chosen to play Black, you will probably want to rotate the board so that White is at the top. ┬You may enter a name which will be displayed above the clock for the side you have chosen to play. This name will be remembered if you Save Current settings. ──If you have selected a human opponent, you will be prompted for their name whenever you start a new game. ┬The Chessmaster 2100 uses sounds and voice phrases to keep you informed of the state of the game. You may choose from the following settings: ──Silent - ideal for playing at work or late at night. ──Beep - all events generate the same sound. ──Music - The Chessmaster will use a different song to signal check, capture, promotion, stalemate and other situations of interest. ──Voice - on systems with adequate free memory, the Chessmaster will verbally report changes in status. ┬When Piece Slide is Off, chess pieces will "pop" from their starting square to the destination square. This feature may be useful on slower machines. ┬Algebraic - all moves will be displayed using algebraic notation. Algebraic notation is explained in the tutorial in a section of the same name. When entering algebraic moves from the keyboard, you must press Enter after each move. ──Coordinate - moves are specified by giving the coordinates of the starting square and the destination square, e.g. e2-e4. You do not need to type the '-' when entering the move. ┬Off - pieces will be displayed normally. ──Legal - when this item is selected, picking up a piece (or typing the starting square in Coordinate notation) will display "ghost" pieces on the squares to which that piece can legally move. If a destination square is occupied by an opponent's piece, the opponent's piece will be ghosted, indicating that you can capture it. ──Threatened - when active, those pieces which your opponent can capture will be shown as "ghost" pieces. You may find this useful if you frequently lose pieces because you didn't notice that you were under attack. ┬When this item is turned On, The Chessmaster will provide additional information about the progress of the game. ──If you have chosen to Practice an Opening, The Chessmaster will tell you which move comes next in the opening you have chosen to practice. ┬When you turn Announce Openings On, The Chessmaster will tell you the name of an opening as soon as it recognizes the sequence of moves from its opening book. ──As more moves are made, The Chessmaster may refine its identification. For example, 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 will be recognized as the Ruy Lopez opening. If 3...a6 is the next move, The Chessmaster will announce the Morphy Defense to the Ruy Lopez. ┬Allowed - you may pick up a piece, return it to its original square and then pick up a different piece. ──Not Allowed - you must move the first piece you touch. This is the rule in serious games of chess. If you try to move another piece, you will receive a message which tells you the piece you are required to move. ┬Off - pieces are displayed normally. ──Hide White - the White pieces are hidden. ──Hide Black - the Black pieces are hidden. ──Hide Both - play true blindfold chess! ──You may press the Scroll Lock key to "peek" at pieces which are currently hidden. Press Scroll Lock again to hide the pieces once more. ┬You may choose to use a mouse, joystick or the keyboard to move pieces and access menus. If either a mouse or joystick is present, the program (unless otherwise told) will use that device instead of the keyboard. If both a mouse and a joystick are present, the mouse will be used by default. ──You may override this default action and explicitly tell the program which method (mouse, joystick, keyboard) you wish to use with the Selection Method item on the Choices menu. ──NOTE: the mouse and joystick items will only be enabled if those devices are present on your system. If you intend to use a mouse, the mouse driver must be loaded before running the program. ┬On some laptop computers with liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, the normal monochrome graphics will display incorrectly: the White pieces and squares will appear black, and vice-versa. ──An easy way to check: when the board has been rotated so that White is at the bottom of the screen, the lower-right square should appear light-colored ("Light On Right"). ──Should you encounter this problem, turn LCD Display On. The program will make the necessary correction to the display so that pieces and squares appear correctly on your laptop. ┬You may select the colors used for the following items ──Menus... - the background color (used to fill in the menu boxes), the foreground color (used to draw the text of enabled menu items) and the disabled color (used to draw the text of disabled menu items). ──Squares... - the colors used to display light and dark squares. ──Background... - the color displayed around the chess board. ──Palette... (CGA Only) - choose the set of three colors used (along with the background color) to display the board and pieces. ──CGA USERS NOTE: if you choose the current background color to display squares or menu items, changing the background will change the squares or menu items as well. There are only 4 colors available. ┬Only one window may be visible at any time. ──A window may be moved on the screen by dragging its title area (position the cursor over the title, press and hold either mouse button while moving the mouse) or by holding down the Alt key and pressing the arrow keys. ──When hidden from view, all windows remember the location at which they were displayed. When a window is displayed again, it will appear at that same location. ┬If a window is presently visible on the screen, selecting this item will hide the window. ──╚ ┬Gives you a peek into The Chessmaster's brain. There are several pieces of information displayed: ──BEST - the best sequence of moves (based on the resulting score) that The Chessmaster has found so far. If you forced The Chessmaster to move at this instant, it would make the first move from this sequence. The rest of the moves in this sequence are your expected reply to The Chessmaster's move, his answer to your reply, and so on. ──When Deep Thinking is On and it is your turn to move, the Best line is based on your making the move that the Chessmaster predicted you would make in reply to his last move (the second move in the Prev display - see below). ──SCORE - reflects how far ahead (+) or behind (-) the Chessmaster thinks it will be if the Best line of play is played out. The score is computed in pawns and fractions of a pawn, so a score of +1.00 means The Chessmaster thinks it will be ahead by one pawn, and -3.00 means that The Chessmaster thinks it will be behind by three pawns (the equivalent of a Knight or a Bishop). Fractional scores come from the Chessmaster's evaluation of positional considerations, e.g. who controls the the center of the board. ──POSITIONS - the total number of board positions the Chessmaster has examined while contemplating its next move. In general, the more positions The Chessmaster examines, the better it will play. ──DEPTH - the number of half-moves (plies) The Chessmaster has searched. For example, a Depth of 3 means The Chessmaster has examined all its legal moves, your responses to those moves and is now looking at its answer to your reply. ──CURR - the line of play that The Chessmaster is examining at this instant. If the score of this line is better than that of the Best line, this will become the new Best. ──PREV - the Best line of play from The Chessmaster's last move. If Deep Thinking is On when it is your turn to move, The Chessmaster is searching ahead based on the assumption that you will make the second move in this line (the expected response to its last move). ──╚ ┬Displays a list of all the moves in the current game. Moves that have been taken back are displayed in a different color than moves which have been (re)played. ──If you have a mouse or joystick, you may see the game as it was just after any move simply by clicking on that move. This feature is not available to keyboard users. ──╚ ┬Shows all the pieces which have been removed from the board. This window gives you a quick idea of whether you have a material advantage over your opponent. ──╚ ┬This window displays The Chessmaster's anticipated line of play, as it was after The Chessmaster's last move. This is simply a copy of the Best line (from the Thinking Window) at the instant The Chessmaster made its last move. ──When Deep Thinking is On and it is your turn to move, the Chessmaster is searching ahead on the assumption that you will make the second move from this line (The Chessmaster's expected response to the last move it made). ──╚ ┬Displays a selection list of all the moves which are legal to make. Moves are displayed using the currently selected Notation. You may make one of the moves displayed by highlighting it and selecting the "Make Move" button or by using your mouse or joystick to double-click on the desired move. ──When it is The Chessmaster's turn, the "Make Move" button is disabled, although you may still scroll the list to see The Chessmaster's legal moves. ──╚ ┬Press the RIGHT mouse button to make the menu bar appear. Position the "pointing hand" so that the item you wish to select is highlighted and release the button. You will see the selected item blink rapidly, confirming your selection. ──To hide the menu bar without making a selection, position the hand so that no menu item is highlighted, and release the button. ──To obtain help on a menu item, press BOTH mouse buttons (turning the hand into a question mark) and release on the desired item. ──Use the mouse to reposition a window by positioning the hand over the window title, and holding down the LEFT mouse button. Moving the mouse will drag an outline of the window around the screen. Release the button, and the window will be displayed at its new location. ┬Everything that applies to using a mouse applies to a joystick. Button #1 corresponds to the LEFT mouse button (used to move pieces), and button #2 corresponds to the RIGHT mouse button (used to access menus). Pressing both buttons at the same time will bring up the "question mark" cursor, used to obtain help on a particular menu item. ──If you have both a mouse and a joystick attached to your system, you must use the Selection Method item from the Choices menu to make use of the joystick. ┬Press Esc to make the menu bar appear. Use the up and down arrow keys to move up or down within a menu. Use the left and right arrow keys to move to the previous/next menu or sub-menu. Press Enter to select a menu item, press '?' to get Help on that item or press Esc to hide the menu bar without making a selection. ──Obtain instant Help by pressing F1 or the '?' key. ──You may reposition a window by holding down the Alt key and pressing the arrow keys. ──In the War Room, you may scroll through the move list by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the up and down arrow keys. ──If you have a mouse or a joystick attached to your system, you must use the Selection Method item on the Choices menu to allow you to make use of the cursor keys for move entry. ┬├
