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Manual REBEL 7.0 Contents Preface and user definitions. Ch. 1: INSTALLATION 1.1. System requirements 1.2. The installation 1.2.1. Starting the installation 1.2.2. Copy protection 1.3. Files and directories after installation 1.4. The REBEL.CFG file 1.5. Registration 1.6. Hints for system optimization Ch. 2: REBEL SCREEN Ch. 3: THE FIRST GAME 3.1. Move input 3.2. Manipulating moves 3.3. Changing the chess program (briefly) 3.4. Leaving the program Ch. 4: GENERAL RULES FOR OPERATION 4.1. Moving pieces for keyboard users 4.2. Using the pulldown-menus 4.3. Using the buttons 4.4. Using Hotkeys 4.5. Loading and saving files 4.5.1. Loading files 4.5.2. Saving files Ch. 5: INFLUENCING THE CHESS ENGINE 5.1. Changing the chess engine of REBEL 5.2. The different time levels under LEVEL F2 5.3. The different options under OPTIONS F3 5.3.1. Permanent brain 5.3.2. Brute force 5.3.3. Combination 5.3.4. Selection 5.3.5. Playing style 5.3.6. Playing strength 5.3.7. Hashtables 5.4. Book openings 5.4.1. In general 5.4.2. Loading opening books (DATA F4) 5.4.3. Loading user book (DATA F4) 5.4.4. Book opening on/off (SETTINGS F5) 5.4.5. Tournementbook on/off (SETTINGS F5) 5.4.6. Userbook on/off (SETTINGS F5) 5.4.7. Alternative opening books Ch. 6: DATABASE 6.1. Database loading and saving 6.2. Loading a game (DATA F4) 6.3. Loading next game (DATA F4) 6.4. Saving a game (DATA F4) 6.5. Rewrite a game (DATA F4) 6.6. Delete a game (DATA F4) 6.7. Reorganisation (DATA F4) 6.8. Search functions (DATA F4) 6.8.1. Searching by name 6.8.2. Searching by text 6.8.3. Searching by moves 6.8.4. Searching by position 6.9. Overviews (DATA F4) 6.9.1. Complete overview 6.9.2. Overview top 40 by percentage 6.9.3. Overview top 40 by ELO-rating 6.9.4. Overview of tournaments 6.9.5. Overview of matches 6.9.6. Overview of book openings 6.10. Creating a new and empty database (DATA F4) 6.11. Conversion program for ChessBase 6.11.1. TB.EXE T(o) B(ase) 6.11.2. Notes on TB.EXE Ch. 7: SCREEN SETTINGS 7.1. Changing names (SETTINGS F5) 7.2. Info (SETTINGS F5) 7.3. Show hint (SETTINGS F5) 7.4. Show teacher (SETTINGS F5) 7.5. Sound on/off (SETTINGS F5) 7.6. Mouse on/off (SETTINGS F5) 7.7. Resign on/off (SETTINGS F5) 7.8. Turn board (SETTINGS F5) 7.9. Languages (SETTINGS F5) 7.10. Colors (SETTINGS F5) 7.10.1. Change colors 7.10.2. Reset colors 7.10.3. Save colors 7.10.4. Standard colors (START F1) 7.11. Pieces (SETTINGS F5) 7.12. Bookopenings on/off 7.13. Tournementbook on/off (SETTINGS F5) 7.14. Userbook on/off (SETTINGS F5) 7.15. Animation (SETTINGS F5) 7.16. Save configuration (SETTINGS F5) 7.17. Standard configuration (SETTINGS F5) Ch. 8: SETTING UP POSITIONS (POS F6) 8.1. Set up a position (POS F6) 8.2. Make board empty (POS F6) 8.3. Abort set up (POS F6) 8.4. White/black to move (POS F6) Ch. 9: NIC/PGN 9.1. Open NiCBase gamefile (NIC/PGN F7) 9.2. Load NiCBase game (NIC/PGN F7) 9.3. Next game (NIC/PGN F7) 9.4. Previous game (NIC/PGN F7) 9.5. Search in NiCBase (NIC/PGN F7) 9.6. REBEL to NiCBase (NIC/PGN F7) 9.7. Import NiCBase in REBEL (NIC/PGN F7) 9.8. Game to PGN (NIC/PGN F7) 9.9. Database to PGN (NIC/PGN F7) 9.10. Import PGN in REBEL (NIC/PGN F7) Ch. 10: REMAINING OPTIONS 10.1. New game (START F1) 10.2. Analysis mode (NIVO F2) 10.3. Player-Player mode (OPTIONS F3) 10.4. Automatic play (OPTIONS F3) 10.5. Analyse game (OPTIONS F3) 10.6. Analyse database (OPTIONS F3) 10.7. Goto move number (OPTIONS F3) 10.8. Search for move (OPTIONS F3) 10.9. Replay game (OPTIONS F3) 10.10. Write move comments (OPTIONS F3) 10.11. Game to textfile (OPTIONS F3) 10.12. PC-Auto-board (OPTIONS F3) 10.13. Auto 232 (OPTIONS F3) 10.14. Starting game (DATA F4) 10.15. Overview MVS-file (DATA F4) 10.16. Swapping clocks 10.17. Swapping names CH. 11: TROUBLE-SHOOTING 11.1. DOS problems 11.2. "This is not a proper installed version of REBEL 7.0" 11.3. Graphical problems Ch. 12: SHORT HISTORYPREFACE AND USER DEFINITIONS. Dear reader, Welcome to the growing number of chess players who want to take advantage of the PC. By buying REBEL 7.0 you have made a good choice in the area of computer chess software. Not only because the chess programs from Ed Schröder belong to the group of the strongest programs available, but also because of the fact that this program combines good chess with an build-in database which will give you so many possibilities, that we are convinced that you will appreciate the possibilities of your PC more and more, but also, and that is ofcourse the main point, you will even more enjoy the game of chess. The REBEL team from Schröder BV. USER DEFINITIONS COPYRIGHT The REBEL 7.0 software is the exclusive property of Schröder BV and is protected by Dutch and International law. You are prohibited from transferring this product in any way or form whatsoever. It is forbidden to change, split, dissamble or produce any changed form of this product. LIMITED WARRANTY The media upon which the program is recorded is warranted to be free from defects for the standard guarantee specified by legislative regulations. The warranty is void if the failure of the media is due to accident, abuse or misapplication. Apart from this warranty Schröder BV or his suppliers will not in any event be liable for any loss, including consequential loss, caused by any error or defect howsoever arising. In any case liability shall be limited to the amount actually paid by the purchaser for the software. These conditions are governed by Dutch law.Ch. 1: INSTALLATION 1.1. System requirements The following PC specifications are required: 80386-processor or higher, VGA-card and monitor, minimum 2Mb internal memory, a hard disk with at least 1½ MB free space. Recommended is an extern disk-caching program (128 or 256 Kb). This is especially desirable when using the database options. More free internal memory than the minimum of 2Mb will have a positive effect on the programs playing strength. The presence of a VGA-card which is VESA-compatible is highly recommended (most computers have nowadays) for it will influence the performance of the graphics positively. It will also allow you to change the colors of ALL items that are listed when you activate F5-Colors. The lack of VESA-compatibility will cause some items to be connected to eachother in case of changing colors; in this case you are also advised to deactivate the animation. 1.2. The installation For installation you need the original, NOT write protected, REBEL diskette. If you have write protected the diskette, by moving the notch, you may experience problems with the installation. 1.2.1. Starting the installation a) put the original REBEL diskette in the diskdrive of your PC; b) activate the diskdrive (type for example "a:" + ENTER) c) type "install" + ENTER d) the screen will show you the default settings and will ask you for confirmation. e) if you answer with "Y" the program will start the installation. f) answering "N" allows you to changing the settings. 1.2.2. Copy protection To prevent our product from being copied by third parties, which is a criminal offence while the program is protected by copyright, the program is software-protected. You have the possibility to install the program unlimited for personal use only from the original diskette. 1.3. Files and directories After installation * REBEL.EXE : the chess program part 1 * REBEL.CHS : the chess program part 2 * REBEL.TRL : the language file * REBEL.GIF : the welcome screen (picture) * FRAGILE : the pieces needed for display of material differences * BOOK.TRL : the names of the book openings in available languages * BOOK.TRX : the corresponding moves with the BOOK.TRL file * REBEL.ECO : the corresponding ECO-codes for the bookopenings After first use * REBEL.CFG : the user settings (see chapter 1.4) * REBEL.CLR : the user settings for the colors * REBEL.BGN : information about the game you were in the last time you used REBEL Directories * BOOKS containing 3 book opening files: 1. REBEL.MVS (500.000 moves) 2. SMALL.MVS (100.000 moves) 3. KASPAROV.MVS (100.000 moves) * GAMES containing 3 files needed for the database: GAMESBASE.DAT, GAMEBASE.IX1, GAMEBASE.IX2 containing more than 1000 (grand)master games. Furthermore this directory contains 3 small databases: 1. TACTICS 50 tactical positions with full explanation 2. BT-2450 30 positions of the well-known BT-test in order to test the strength of the computer 3. BT-2630: the latest BT-test for strong programs * PIECES contains three different piece sets: REBEL.PCS, CREATIVE.PCS and BLOCK.PCS * TOOLS contains the conversion program needed to convert ChessBase game collections to the REBEL-format, TB.EXE The following directories can be present if you have used certain options: * TEXT into this directory the program will write all requested textfiles * PGN to write games in PGN-format * NiCBase to write games in NiCBase-format Trouble-shooting in the event that certain files are missing: No REBEL.CFG : the program will automatically take the default values after installation No REBEL.CLR : the program will automatically take the default values after installation No REBEL.BGN : the program will start up with a new game; No FRAGILE : the program will not display the differences in material when F5-INFO is configured to "Normal" No REBEL.ECO : the corresponding ECO-codes will not be displayed together with the bookopening No REBEL.MVS : you will be prompted with a warning message, you will then have the choice to either stop or to play on without an opening book No REBEL.TRL : the program will stop; No REBEL.PCS : the program will stop; No REBEL.GIF : the program will stop; No BOOK.TRL : the program will stop; No BOOK.TRX : the program will stop; Should the program stop, you will have to restore the missing file(s) from a backup. If you did not make a backup you will have to install the program again. 1.4. The REBEL.CFG file The REBEL.CFG contains the following user settings * name (and path) of the current opening book, database and piece set * path of the PGN-directory and of the NiCBase-directory * configuration of the info and animation * show hint move, turn board yes/no * possibility to consult teacher yes/no * sound, mouse, resign on/off * used language * opening book, tournament book and user book on/off The fundamental choice is made NOT to save any changed settings of the chess program. This means in practise that if you start REBEL the program automatically plays with the strongest settings. An exception is made for the time level. This information is saved in the REBEL.BGN file. 1.5. Registration The program is copy-protected and therefore registration is not necessary. Registering yourself however, has advantages. If you send us the filled-in registration form, we will inform you from time-to-time about new developments, newly released databases and newly released books. In addition you will receive a free diskette containing several interesting opening books and a program that converts openingbooks from other chessprograms (ChessGenius, Fritz, Chessmaster 4000, ChessMachine) to the REBEL-format. 1.6. Hints for system optimalization REBEL is a DOS-program, but can also run under Microsoft Windows allthough this is not recommended because it will cost playingstrength. If you choose to use REBEL under Windows, then type REBEL W. The use of hashtables however will then be limited to 256 Kb. To obtain optimum results of the playing strength, we advise you to restrict the use of disk-caching programs, such as Smartdrive or Norton Cache, since these programs greatly reduce the useful Hashtable size of REBEL. On the other hand, disk-caching programs are very useful when using big databases as well as for finding book moves. We have noticed an increase of disk speed of 400% using Smartdrive and of 900% using the Norton Speedcache from Symantec by certain overviews in a big database. For those people who have 4Mb internal memory we recommend the following compromise: reserve at least 256 KB for your favourite disk-caching program. REBEL still has 2Mb for its hashtable, which is more than sufficient. 1.7. Your config.sys In order to avoid problems with loading and saving games and databases, your CONFIG.SYS file must define the files for at least at 20. The line in your config.sys then should be "FILES=20". This also applies for your boot-diskette. Ch 2: The REBEL screen 1) The pull-down menus 2) Name section, name of the white player 3) Name section, name of the black player 4) Time section, white clocks pro move and total time 5) Time section, black clocks pro move and total time 6) Level section, time-level of play 7) Move section, moves currently played 8) Material section, material difference, black is one pawn up 9) Button (fast takeback 3 moves) 10) Button (takeback ½ move) 11) Button (force move) 12) Button ( ½ move forward) 13) Button ( 3 moves forward) 14) Comment field (main variation-1) 15) idem (main variation-2) 16) idem (main variation-3) 17) idem (current line)Ch. 3: THE FIRST GAME If you want to play a game with white, just input the desired opening move and the computer starts calculating its move. If you wish to play with black, click the REBEL button, or press ALT_M. 3.1. Move input You can input a move in different ways. 1) Click with the mouse on the piece you want to move. Click with the mouse on the square you want to go to. 2) Use the cursor keys to go to the square where the piece you want to move resides, and press ENTER. Drag the piece with the cursor keys to the square you want to go to, and press ENTER again. 3) Type the coordinates of the move in 4 characters. For example type e2e4. You can use variations of these three systems if you wish. If your move is legal, the piece is moved and the computer will start evaluating its own move. 4) If the indicated hint move is also your choice then you can speed up the input of that move by clicking on the hint move with the mouse. Keyboard users can use ALT_H. 5) Mouse users can make use of the following quick input procedure: If the comment field contains hint moves from the opening book, then clicking on such a move will immediately execute them. 6) If you want the computer to play another book move, press F10. This is the so-called next best function and is only active when the computer knows the current position from its book. 3.2. Manipulating moves The buttons provide you with a number of possibilities to manipulate the moves (for details, see 4.3) <HOME> program goes to the beginning of the game <END> program goes to the end of the game <-> program goes one move back <+> program goes one move up Mouse users have the possibility to click on any move in the Move section, for super fast takeback! By accessing menu OPTIONS F3, you can also go to specific moves (see 10.7, 10.8). 3.3. Changing the chess program (briefly) In this chapter we briefly indicate the possibilities for changing the evaluations of the program. For more details, we refer to chapter 5. * You can change the average time the computer uses to calculate a move via NIVO F2. * You can change the program's thinking depth, the memory it uses, and the thinking when you are on the move via OPTIONS F3. * You can change from which opening book you want to play or cancel the opening book completely via DATA F4 and SETTINGS F5. 3.4. Leaving the program You leave the program by accessing START F1 Exit to Dos or by pressing ALT_X. If you have changed any of the user settings or colors, the program will ask you if you want to save them or not. Ch. 4: GENERAL RULES CONCERNING OPERATING Basically you can go back to the game by pressing ESC wherever you are in the program. When in the database, mouse users can return to the game by clicking in the upperleft corner of the screen. 4.1. Moving pieces for keyboard users Use the cursor keys to go to the square where the piece you want to move resides, and press ENTER. Drag the piece with the cursor keys to the square you want to go to, and press ENTER again. 4.2. Using the pull-down menus The use of the 7 pull-down menus is Windows-alike. There are two ways to operate them: clicking without holding the mouse, and clicking when holding the mouse. If you click the mouse on one of the menus, the functions in the particular menu will appear on your screen. Make your choice by clicking on one of the functions inside the menu. If you click on a menu by holding the mouse you can drag the mouse to the desired function in the menu. If you release the mouse the function will be executed immediately. In this case, the scroll bar will follow the mouse movements. Keyboard users can access the pull-down menus with the F1 to F7 buttons. The cursor keys will move the scroll bar to the desired function. Some functions in the pull-down menus have sub-menus, displayed as >> or <<. They will appear automatically when the scrollbar lights such an option. Keyboard users can use the cursor keys. 4.3. Using the buttons You can operate the buttons by a short click with the mouse and the button will light up shortly. Keyboard users can use the corresponding Hotkeys. Keys Functions << Takeback three moves (Hotkey ALT_B) < Takeback a half-move (Hotkey "-") REBEL Forces the program to calculate a move or, if the program is already calculating, force the program to move. (Hotkey ALT_M). This button will change into GAME in the analysis level which will allow you to restore to the moves that were current before you started analysing. This button will change into EXIT while analysing a game or a database and allows you to abort the analysis to return to the current game. > Move forward a half-move (Hotkey "+") >> Move forward three moves (Hotkey ALT_F) 4.4. Using Hotkeys Several Hotkeys are available, mostly based on pressing the ALT button simultaneously with another key. Using hotkeys will resut in a faster and more convenient way of operating the program. Overview TAB OPTIONS F3-go to move HOME Go to begin of game END Go to the end of end PG-UP Go one page of moves back PG-DWN Go one page of moves forward ALT_B button << "-" button < ALT_M button REBEL or, when in the database, swap display between text and the three next moves. "+" button > ALT_F button >> ALT_D DATA F4-load database ALT_G START F1-new game ALT_H Execute hint move if present. ALT_I DATA F4-game info when a game is loaded. If not, the program info (START-F1) will be displayed. ALT_L DATA F4-load game ALT_N DATA F4-load next game ALT_P DATA F4-search position ALT_S DATA F4-save game ALT_T If the teacher function is active, this will swap the current information in the comment field with the teacher info results. Within the database ALT_T will write to a text file. ALT_X START F1-back to operating system F10 "next-best" (see Ch. 3.1) 4.5. Loading and saving files 4.5.1. Loading files DATA F4 load database With this option you load/select another database. DATA F4 load book With this option you load/select another opening library. DATA F4 load userbook With this option you load/select your own handmade opening library. SETTINGS piece set With this option you load/select another piece set. NIC/PGN Open NiCBase gamefile With this option you can open a NiCBase *.G30 file. NIC/PGN -PGN into database With this option you can select a PGN-file and import it in the current REBEL database. The move section will change in an alphabetic overview of the present subdirectories and files in the current selected directory. By clicking on (sub)directories and harddisk(s), you can have access to any file. Floppy drives are not available for loading and saving files in the REBEL program. You can easily load the desired file by clicking on it. Keyboard users have to confirm their choice with pressing the ENTER key. For fast scrolling a scrollbar is available for mouse users in addition to the overview. Keyboard users can use the PG-UP, PG-DWN, HOME and END keys for this purpose. In the level section all available harddisks and CD-ROM players are displayed, for keyboard users accessable with the left and right arrow keys. To leave the option, press ESC or click outside in the disksection. 4.5.2. Saving files Used in the following functions: * OPTIONS F3-game to text file. * DATA F4-create new database. * OPTIONS F3-analyse database if the file ANALYSE.DAT already exists. * DATA F4-overviews. * NIC/PGN F7-Convert REBEL > NiCBase * NIC/PGN F7-Game to PGN * NIC/PGN F7-Database to PGN In all cases you will be prompted to type a filename of your choice. You are obliged to input a valid DOS file name. The program will warn you if the filename is not valid. In case the file name already exists, the program will ask for a confirmation to overwrite the existing file. Some of the above standing options are not available when the file that is to be saved would be saved on a CD-ROM, while it is impossible to write on a CD-ROM. Ch. 5: INFLUENCING THE CHESS ENGINE 5.1. Changing the chess engine of REBEL You can change the chess engine of the program in many ways. Since the program always starts with the strongest settings, this means that every change you make will result in weakening the program. 5.2. The different time levels under LEVEL F2 At the start of the program, the playing level is taken from the last time you used the program. By changing the level of play, you can make the program stronger or weaker. The general rule is: The more time you give to the program, the stronger it will play. Overview TIME The program will play on the selected average time. BLITZ Play a game with a fixed amount of time. The program will warn you if you exceeded the time limit. In this case you have lost the game. You can see your remaining time in the time section. HANDICAP Same as BLITZ, but now you can reserve more time for yourself and less for the computer. You can see your remaining time in the time section. TOURNAMENT Plays a game on a desired tournament level. The program will warn you if you exceeded the time limit. In this case you have lost the game. After the time control(s), you will receive the extra time needed. You can see your remaining time in the time section. PLY Let the program play on a fixed (ply) depth. MATE A special level for solving difficult Mate problems. The program will ONLY search for a possible move sequence to achieve checkmate. If a mate is not possible at the current board position, the program will display: No mate possible and no move is being given by the program. USER Same as TIME, but now you can define your own favourite level of play. You will be prompted to type the desired time. Type for example 00:25 and the program will play at an average time of 25 seconds per move. INFINITE The program will continue evaluating until you stop it (i.e. with the REBEL button) or when a mate is found, or when the maximum ply depth is reached. ANALYSIS For this special level we refer to chapter 10.2. 5.3. The other options under OPTIONS F3 OPTIONS F3 contains a number of possibilities to change the chess engine of the program. 5.3.1. Permanent brain With this option you can prevent the computer from thinking while it is your time to move. This will make the program weaker ofcourse. If the permanent brain is active, the computer will take full advantage while you are thinking about your move. 5.3.2. Brute force Brute force is a specific method for computer chess. If brute force is active, all possible positions will be evaluated, without regard to if they are good or bad. The main advantage is that there is no risk that the computer will overlook a move. The default setting, however, is: "not active". The program will now use the selective method in which only the good moves will be evaluated. This will speed up the search time. 5.3.3. Combination If combination is on, the program generally will find the right moves in tactical positions quicker than when combination is off. By default, this option is turned off, because it influences the program too much in normal play. 5.3.4. Selection The program (when brute force is off) has its own intelligent flexible algorithm to decide if a given variation should be extended or not. This is called "selection" and is based on a judgement by the program whether it makes sense to extend a given variation or not. With this option you can turn off the program algorithm and change it into a fixed depth of selection. You will have the choice between 1 through 9. "N" is the default setting meaning Normal. If you were to choose selective 4, while the program was, for example, on the 9e ply, this would mean that the calculations were done with the settings: 5 ply brute force and 4 ply selective thereafter. With Normal the whole selection scheme is totally flexible. 5.3.5. Playing style You have the choice of 5 different playing styles ranging from agressive to defensive. In the pull-down menu the actual playing style is displayed by the corresponding uppercase letter. 5.3.6. Playing strength There are 3 levels of playing strength. If you select the novice option here, you have the best possibility to beat the program. In the pull-down menu the actual playing style is displayed by the corresponding uppercase letter. 5.3.7. Hashtables The term hashtables stands for an algorithm in which the program stores the results of its evaluations into the PC memory. This is very helpful for the program: when the program finds a position in the hashtable that was already evaluated, then there is no need to evaluate the position again since the result is already known. This technique makes it possible to speed up the search process by a factor of three, and even more in the endgame. At the start of the program REBEL will try to reserve as much free memory as possible: The more free memory, the more positions the program can store. With this option you can change the size of the hashtables. Ofcourse you cannot make the hashtable bigger than the size of free memory you have left on your computer. See also chapter 1.6 Hints for system optimalization. 5.4. Book openings 5.4.1. In general In REBEL three openinglibraries can be active: the normal book (extension ".MVS), the tournement-book (in the program itself, so not in a seperate file) and a userbook (extension ".RBM"). In selecting a bookmove the userbook has the highest priority and the normal book the lowest. At the start of the program, the normal book and the userbook (if available) found in the REBEL.CFG will be loaded. If you play from the opening book, the comment section will show you which moves are still available for the current position. Additionally, the program knows about 300 openings by name. If the program recognizes a variation, it will display the corresponding opening name with ECO-code in the comment section. 5.4.2. Load opening books (DATA F4) At the start of the program, the book found in the REBEL.CFG will be loaded. With this option you can switch to another opening book which has the extension ".MVS". 5.4.3. Load userbook (DATA F4) REBEL gives you the possibility of loading your own made openingbook. This book needs to have the extension ".RBM" and will be saved in the REBEL.CFG. You can make it yourself by creating an ASCII-file with opening lines. It's very simple to do it yourself: a) to start a new variation start a new line; b) give in a move by typing the coordinates in four characters, e.g. e2e4; c) after every move you need to type a SPACE which indicates that the program will play this move active òr a MINUS which indicates that the program will not be allowed to play this move. Examples: "e2e4 d7d5-g1f3 " means that REBEL will play at the start e2-e4; does REBEL play with black then the answer to "e2-e4" will NOT be d7-d5, but when REBEL has white and the opponent plays d7-d5 after e2-e4 then REBEL will answer with Knight g1 to f3; "e2e4 e7e6-": REBEL will not play the French opening; "d2d4 d7d5-": REBEL will not play Queens gambit. 5.4.4. Book opening on/off (SETTINGS F5) With SETTINGS F5-opening book, you can decide whether the computer is allowed to use its opening books or not. If not, the program won't search for a move in its opening books and therefore the program will start the evaluation process immediately, even at the first move of a new game. If you put this option off automatically the tournementbook and the userbook will be switched off. Hereafter however it is possible to activate the tournementbook and/or the userbook without activating the normal book. 5.4.5. Tournementbook on/off (SETTINGS F5) With SETTINGS F5-tournement book, you can decide whether the computer is allowed to make use of the internal tournement book or not. The tournementbook only contains good variations for REBEL. When the tournementbook is turned off only REBEL.MVS (which is a much broader book) will be consulted which will result in a much more varied game. 5.4.6. Userbook on/off (SETTINGS F5) With SETTINGS F5-user book, you can decide whether the computer is allowed to make use of the userbook if loaded. 5.4.7. Alternative opening books Schröder BV releases also a lot of new opening books which can be ordered seperately. These opening books are organized by opening name (for example Spanish) or by famous players (for example Karpov) and so on. Already 15.000.000 opening moves are available. For more information and/or orders contact your local dealer or: Schröder BV, p.o. box 6365, 7401 JJ Deventer, Holland. Ch. 6: DATABASE 6.1. Database loading and saving At the start of the program, the database found in the REBEL.CFG will be loaded. You can switch to another database at any time (see DATA F4-load database, chapter 4.3.1). The database uses files with the extensions DAT, IX1 and IX2. Should you try to load a database while one of these files is missing, you will be warned by an error message. You will also get an error message if you try to create a new database with a name that already exists. 6.2. Loading a game (DATA F4) If you decide to load a game from the database, you'll get a new screen on which the first 20 games of the database (alphabetically ordered) are visible. To view the next games in the database, you have two possibilities: * You click on top of the screen on (or the PG-DN key) and the next 20 games will appear (with (or the PG-UP key) you can scroll back for 50 pages); * You click on top of the screen on the letter of the alphabet (or the corresponding key) and again 20 games become visible, starting with the selected letter. Instead of the information in the Place columm, you can also get the information of the next three moves. Click on Place or the PLC icon and the program will show the moves. Keyboard users can use ALT_M. In the comment section, extra information of the game where the scroll bar is on, is available. You can load a game by clicking on the desired game or by selecting a game with the arrow keys and confirming it with the ENTER key. 6.3. Loading next game (DATA F4) DATA F4-next game (or ALT_N) will load the next game available in the database. All selections previously made will be taken into account. This means practically that, if you have selected to see all the games of Nigel Short, this function will load the next game of Nigel Short. 6.4. Saving a game (DATA F4) You will be prompted to input some data belonging to the game to be saved (names, ELO, date, result, some additional text).Attached to the complete game (moves and move comments), this information will be saved into the database. All items will be pre-filled (see the default bar). With ENTER the information will be accepted, with SPACE all the information on the line the cursor is blinking will be cleared. If you want to change an item, simply type the desired information and press ENTER. Overview Name white a maximum of 20 characters. You are obliged to input a name. If you type nothing, the name will become Player. Name black a maximum of 20 characters. You are obliged to input a name. If you type nothing, the name will become REBEL 7.0. ELO white the ELO-rating of the white player, this is not obliged, but it is recommanded for the overviews (see chapter 6.8). An ELO-rating between 1000 and 3400 will be accepted. ELO black see ELO white. Place not obliged, maximum 39 characters. Date not obliged, you can either input an exact date or a year. Examples 1994 , 120794 , 12-7-94 or 12-07-94 Tournament not obliged, maximum 39 characters. Result not obliged, but is recommended for the overviews (see chapter 6.8). White wins type 1-0 , 1 or simply +; Black wins type 0-1 , 0 or simply -; Draw type ½-½ , ½, 0.5 , or simply = Comment not obliged, maximum 72 characters, this is not a move comment but a game comment. 6.5. Rewrite a game (DATA F4) The loaded game will be overwritten by the current game. The original data of the loaded game will be lost.This function is especially useful if you want to make some (minor) changes to existing games, without the need to delete the old game. 6.6. Delete a game (DATA F4) You can select the desired game to be deleted in the database as described in chapter 6.1. For reasons of security, you will be prompted should you indeed wish to delete the selected game. 6.7. Reorganization (DATA F4) Activating reorganization will force the program to sort the entire database by name. Additionally, all deleted games will be permanently removed from the database, thus increasing your free diskspace. Reorganization is only useful if you have added or deleted games. Before starting the reorganization, REBEL will first inform you whether it makes sense to reorganize, by displaying how many bytes of free diskspace will be gained. There are other advantages in reorganizing: some search functions will be performed quicker and searching on moves, positions or text will show the games alphabetically. Depending on the size of the database, the reorganization will take some time. When reorganizing, a temporary (and invisible) file will be created. If your harddisk contains insufficient space, reorganizing is impossible. 6.8. Search functions (DATA F4) 6.8.1. Searching on names You can input either one or two names here, both of which will be searched for in the database. If you have typed just one name with white, the program will search for all the games from that player, starting with the games he or she played with white. Have you typed only one name with black, REBEL will start searching first for the games he or she played with black. If you have typed two names, the program will search for all the games played between those two players. This function works via the famous BTREE+ principle and will select games from a database of 1.000.000 games for example within seconds. 6.8.2. Searching on text First you will have the choice to decide which search criteria you wish to use. The criteria are based on the and-and principle. If you select a name, a date and a result, REBEL will search for those game(s) which contain that name, that date and that result. This can take some time depending on your hardware, the size of the database and whether you have loaded a disk-caching program or not (see also chapter 1.6). If you have only selected names, the program will perform a quick search on names (see 6.8.1). Overview Names optional, not obliged Date optional, you can only input a year Text optional, maximum 39 characters Score optional, see chapter 6.4 6.8.3. Searching on moves The program will search for games containing the exact moves of the currently played game on the chessboard. This function is very useful for opening preparation. 6.8.4. Searching on positions The program will search for games with exactly the similar position as the one on the chessboard. REBEL will automatically recognize move transpositions, if relevant. This means that games started with "1.d4 d5 2.Nf3" and "1.Nf3 d5 2.d4" are similar to this search function. This function is very useful for opening preparation. 6.9. Overviews (DATA F4) There are six different overviews available. The contents of these overviews can be written to a text file by clicking on the TXT button in the info section (ALT_T for keyboard users). 6.9.1. You will get a complete overview of all players in the database and their results. All games played, with regard to their results, will be taken into consideration and will lead to a new ELO rating of a given player in the database. The meaning of the three ELO ratings is as follows: Original start ELO rating of a player. Average average ELO rating of the opponents the player has played against. New the new calculated ELO rating for this player. 6.9.2. Overview top 40 on percentage You will get an overview of the best 40 players in the database, based on the results of the games. The 40 players with the highest percentage will be displayed. With PG-UP / PG-DWN you can switch between the two pages. 6.9.3. Overview top 40 on ELO-rating You will get an overview of the best 40 players in the database, based on the new ELO results of the players. The 40 players with the highest ELO rating will be displayed. With PG-UP / PG-DWN you can switch between the two pages. 6.9.4. Overview of tournaments You will be prompted to input the desired tournament (or a part of it). The program will gather all the games played in this tournament and will sort the results. 6.9.5. Overview of matches You will be prompted to input two player names. The program will gather all the games both players have played and will show the results. The games between those two players are also taken into consideration and the final result will be displayed. This function is very useful if you want to know the results of matches played between two players. 6.9.6. Overview of book openings This function is useful: * If you wish to see a full overview of the database concerning all the book openings played (make no selections) * If you want to prepare yourself on a certain opponent (make a selection on the white or the black player name). You will be prompted to make the desired selections for which to search for in the database. The output is based on the generally known names of the book openings played. You can only select one name, white or black, the program will search for the desired player and colour. 6.10. Create a new and empty database (DATA F4) With this option you can create your own desired database, for example in order to collect (your own) games of the chessclub you are playing. 6.11. Conversion program for ChessBase 6.11.1. TB.EXE (T)o (B)ase With the REBEL program a conversion program is provided that can convert all your valuable ChessBase data into the REBEL database format. This program is called TB.EXE and can be found in the TOOLS directory just as the necessary files CBASE.EXE and NAMES.ELO. Syntax: TB <source> <destination> You can also extend this program with the option "/D" and you will be informed about the conversion progress. Please take not of the fact that the corresponding *.CBI needs to be present too! Example: TB CHESBASE.CBF REBEL.DAT /D The TB program will convert all ChessBase games found in the file CHESBASE.CBF into the REBEL database REBEL.DAT. If the file REBEL.DAT already exists, the games from CHESBASE.CBF will be appended to the REBEL.DAT database. If the database REBEL.DAT does not exist, a new database of that name will be created. 6.11.2 Notes on TB.EXE The REBEL database is an ELO rating-based system and therefore an ELO rating will be inserted into the games during the conversion progress, if the name of the player can be found in the official FIDE ELO rating list. This list is limited to players who have an ELO of at least 2450, because the entire list is simply too large to fit onto a single floppy disk. The list of players and their latest ELO rating can be found in the file NAMES.ELO in the TOOLS directory. You can, at your own risc, change or extend this ASCII file with your own names and ELO ratings before you start the conversion. Although a lot of time has been spent in developing and testing the program, the author cannot guarantee a 100% trouble-free conversion because some games from ChessBase may contain illegal moves. TB.EXE cannot convert ChessBase games with a position that differ from the normal startposition. Ch. 7: SCREEN SETTINGS With REBEL you can choose which information you want on the screen. 7.1. Changing names (SETTINGS F5) Here you can change the name of the white player, as well as the name of the black player. The cursor will flash in the name section and you can type the desired white or black name (maximum 12 characters). When a game is loaded from the database with names longer than 12 characters, only the first 12 characters will be displayed. 7.2. Info (SETTINGS F5) In the menu behind the word "Info" the first character of the selected info level is displayed. There are three possible levels: a) None This level is useful when you want to play against REBEL with as little as possible assistance. In the move-section no info about the calculations nor the difference in material will be displayed. Therefore the move-section can contain more moves. The comment-section will not show which move is actually calculated, neither will it show which variations has been considered when a move is done. During the calculating only one line will be displayed that contains only very brief information, for instance: "09:23 10.22 (43) Pos/sec: 12.234 (3.890.345 pos. evaluated)", this tells you: REBEL has been calculated for 9 minutes en 23 seconds sofar; it's calculating 10 ply deep and at this moment is has considered 22 moves on the 10-th ply where 43 moves are possible; during the last second 12.234 positions were considered of a total of 3.890.345 possible positions. b) Usual This level is useful if you want to be informed about which variations REBEL is calculating and you do not want to be bothered by all kind of information of specific computerchess kind. The moves-section will display the difference in material. The comment-section can contain four lines, the first three lines contain the main variations that REBEL finds best for the given position. The fourth line shows some information about the evaluation status at that moment. Examples: one of the first three lines could be: "00:04 4.05 0.15 b5xa4 Ra1xa4 Nf6-d5 Qg4-g7+" which tells you the following: after 0 minutes and 4 seconds the program has found the displayed main line; this main line is found at the fourth ply as fifth possibility; this main line is judged by the program with a score of 0.15. the fourth line could be: "09:23 10.22 (43) b5xa4 Pos/sec: 12.234 (3.890.345 pos.evaluated)" which tells you the following: REBEL has used 9 minutes and 23 seconds so far; it performs a search depth of 10 ply's and has already evaluated 22 moves of the 43 legal possibilities of the tenth ply; the program is now evaluating the move b5xa4 and has evaluated 12.234 positions in the previous second and 3.890.245 positions in total. c) Extended This level is very useful for those who want a complete insight of the calculatingproces of REBEL and everyhting connected with it. The move-section will show you the following when REBEL is on the move: "Depth": the first number indicates the actual ply-depth, the second the average ply-depth; "Hash": the first number indicates the number of transpositions for white and the second the number of transpositions for black where "K" means mutiply with 1000. The third number gives the percentage of the reservated memory for hashtables that is already occupied (see chapter 5.3.7); Selection: the first number indicates how many variations are offered to select, the second how many variations are kept of those and the third is the percentage kept variations, so the percentage indicates how selective REBEL is calculating. When this is for instance 20% it means that 80% of the variations is skipped which results in an enormous saving of time. "Time": the first number gives the minutes and seconds that REBEL will use at least before it moves and the second gives the hours and minutes REBEL will use at the most. When you are to move, in the move-section will be showed what REBEL is thinking of ( that is to say: when you haven't deactivated the permanent brain, see also chapter 5.3.1): "Expected": display which counter-move REBEL expects plus the answer to that move; "Score": gives the score of that move; "Actual": gives the ply-depth and the move REBEL is calculating about at that moment; "Positions":the number of calculated positions. Just like b) the comment-section can contain four lines of which the first three can contain the former variations. The fourth line differs slightly comparing to b) for example: "0:13 5.14 (+) Dc8-b7 g3-g4 Lf5-d7 d4-d5 Db7-c7 4256 (178.728) which means: calculated 13 seconds sofar; REBEL calculates 5 ply deep and has considered already 14 possibilities on a depth of 5 ply; the "(+)" indicates that REBEL expects a considerable improvement of score compared with the score it has sofar (a "(-)" means a worsening); REBEL is now calculating Dc8-b7 with as tree g3-g4 Lf5-d7 d4-d5 Db7-c7; during the last second 4256 positions were considered and in total 178.728 positions. 7.3. Show hint (SETTINGS F5) You can only switch this function on or off. If show hint is active then REBEL will show you a move suggestion (if available) right above the REBEL button. Clicking on this move will execute the move immediately (ALT_H for keyboard users). If show hint is not active, the screen space will be used to make the move section bigger. 7.4. Show teacher (SETTINGS F5) You can only switch this function on or off. If teacher is active, REBEL will show you how the program judges the current position. Mouse users Click in the info section and the teacher information will appear. Clicking in the info section again will show you the previous information. Keyboard users Use ALT_T here. Four remarks about important squares of the current positions are given in the left columm. In the right columm, a more text-based judgement is given of important aspects of the current position. For a more detailed explanation, we refer you to the README-file. 7.5. Sound on/off (SETTINGS F5) This will give you the possibilty to turn on/off the PC's internal speaker. 7.6. Mouse on/off (SETTINGS F5) This will give you the possibilty to turn on/off the mouse. You can only turn on the mouse when a mouse driver is loaded. 7.7. Resign on/off (SETTINGS F5) This allows REBEL to resign or not but REBEL will never give up during a blitz-level, handicap-level, infinite-level and analysis. REBEL only resigns once in a game. By deactivating and activating again however REBEL will resign again if appropriate. 7.8. Turn board (SETTINGS F5) This option will give you the choice to turn the chessboard 180°. This will give you the opportunity to play a game with the black pieces in front. 7.9. Languages (SETTINGS F5) The program can be operated in several languages. With this option you can choose one of these languages. All present information on the screen will be given in the chosen language. 7.10. Colors (SETTINGS F5) With this option you can change almost every item of the screen to your desired colour. (If your VGA-cart is not VESA-compatible, the colors of some items will be connected to eachother meaning that if you change the color of one item, the color of some other items will be changed too) 7.10.1. Set colors In the new appearing pulldownmenu you can select an item, for instance the comment-section, and the quantity red, green and blue will be shown automatically. With the mouse you can mix your new color. The cursor-user has to use the left arrow to enter the palette and the up and down arrows to select a basiccolor. Accordingly with the "-" and "+" cursor the quantity of that basic color can be defined. 7.10.2. Reset colors This will reset the colors to the configuration you had before you entered the color option, unless you selected in the meantime "Save colors". 7.10.3. Save colors By choosing this option the new colors will be saved into the REBEL.CLR-file. 7.10.4. Standard colors (START F1) This resets all colors to the standard values as are programmed in the program itself. 7.11. Changing piece sets (SETTINGS F5) The program contains three different piece sets. With this option, you can load your favourite piece set. 7.12. Bookopening on/off (SETTINGS F5) See chapter 5.4.4. 7.13. Tournementbook on/off (SETTINGS F5) See chapter 5.4.5. 7.14. Userbook aan/uit (SETTINGS F5) See chapter 5.4.6. 7.15. Animation (SETTINGS F5) There are three animation levels: a) None This level is strongly advised when your VGA-cart is not VESA- compatible. The pieces will not move over the board, the mousecursor will not change into the selected piece and pop-upmenu's will appear at once. b) Usual The pieces now will move visually over the board when REBEL moves, the mousecursor will change into the selected piece and pop-upmenu's will appear like a real "pop-up". c) Fast Same as b, but faster. 7.16. Save configuration (SETTINGS F5) This will save the current screen settings into the REBEL.CFG except for the colors. The next time you start REBEL, the program will remember the changes you have made.See also chapter 1.4. 7.17. Standard configuration (START F1) The screen now is configured according to the standard settings in the program itself, except for the colors. Ch. 8: SETTING UP POSITIONS (POS F6) 8.1. Set up a position (POS F6) With this function, you can insert or remove pieces from the board. If you enter this function at the move section, the 12 chess pieces will appear on your screen and you can select them with your mouse or keyboard. Selecting a piece Mouse users with the left button you select a piece with the right button you scroll to the next piece in the list. Keyboard with the spacebar you select the next piece with "+" you change the colour of the selected piece. Inserting a piece Select a piece as described above. Putting a piece on the board: Mouse users click on the square where you want the selected piece to be placed. Keyboard select the desired square with the cursor keys. Press ENTER to place the piece on the square. Removing a piece Mouse users click twice to clear the desired square. Keyboard press Delete to clear the desired square When you leave the set-up function, the program will check the new position according to the chess rules. If a position is illegal, you will be warned. If you still decide to continue, the program will restore the position existing before the position mode was entered. 8.2. Make board empty (POS F6) This function will automatically clear the whole board. After that, the program jumps to Set up a position and you can insert your desired position. 8.3. Abort set up (POS F6) If you decide to cancel the set up, this function will return to the game. If you still decide to continue, the program will restore the position existing before the position mode was entered. 8.4. White/black to move (POS F6) After you have made changes to the board, you can exit the POSITION mode with one of these 2 functions. You will return to the game, and the color you have chosen is at move. Hfd. 9: NIC/PGN 9.1. Open NiCBase gamefile (NIC/PGN F7) In order to be able to load a game from a NiCBase gamefile, there must be opened one. That is what is option is for. The directory from which you want to open should contain a file with extension ".G30" and also the corresponding file with extension "I.30". 9.2. Load NiCBase game (NIC/PGN F7) If a NiCBase gamefile is open, an overview of 40 games will be presented to you. With PG-UP and PG-DN keys you can look further (or by clicking the corresponding symbols); with the up and down arrow-keys you can select the game to be loaded and it will be loaded by confirming with <ENTER> (or simply by clicking the desired game with the mouse). In contrast to the possibilities of the REBEL-database you cannot call an alphabetical overview by simply typing a character, but you do have the possibility to call the first moves displayed on the screen instead of the name of the place by hotkey <ALT-M>, or clicking the symbol or "name". 9.3. Next game (NIC/PGN F7) Activating this option will load the next NiCBase game if a NiCBase gamefile is open. 9.4. Previous game (NIC/PGN F7) Activating this option will load the previous NiCBase game if a NiCBase gamefile is open. 9.5. Search in NiCBase (NIC/PGN F7) If a NiCBase gamefile is open, you will be prompted to fill in the selection-criterions. This behaves exactly as "search text" of the REBEL database. See chapter 6.8.2. 9.6. Convert REBEL to NiCBase (NIC/PGN F7) The actual REBEL database will be written to a file of NiCBase-format, including all comments, while your REBEL database will stay unchanged ofcourse. You will be prompted to type the name of the new NiCBase- gamefile. You have to take care for yourself that there is enough free space on your harddisk! The conversion can be interrupted by pressing <ESC>. 9.7. Import NiCBase to REBEL (NIC/PGN F7) If a NiCBase gamefile is opened, this one will be added to the actual REBEL database including all comments. You will be prompted for permission to avoid that unwillingly games are added to your database. 9.8. Game to PGN (NIC/PGN F7) Your present game will be written to a file in PGN format including comments or analysis. Your will be prompted for the name of the new PGN-file. The PGN format is used on the INTERNET. For a detailed instruction on the format we refer to the official rules for it. 9.9. Database to PGN (NIC/PGN F7) The actual REBEL database will be written to a file of PGN-format including all the comments, while your REBEL database will stay unchanged ofcourse. You will be prompted to type the name of the new PGN-file. You have to take care for yourself that there is enough free space on your harddisk! The conversion can be interrupted by pressing <ESC>. 9.10. Import PGN to REBEL (NIC/PGN F7) First you will be asked to select the PGN file that you want to add and then it will be added to the current REBEL database. You will be prompted for permission to avoid that unwillingly games are added to your database. In case of problems an error-file is created (named <PGN-database>.ERR) so that you can see which games were not imported and for what reason. Ch. 10: REMAINING OPTIONS 10.1. New game (START F1) By this option or by <ALT G> a new game will be started thus clearing all moves and comments. If you do not wants this you have to save the game beforehand by activating "Save game" (chapter 6.4). 10.2. Analysis mode (NIVO F2) This function allows you to analyse a game or a position in a comfortable way by combining the Infinite level with the Player-Player option. The program will start evaluating the current position until you decide to enter a move. The program will execute this move and will start evaluating the new position immediately. All take back and move forward facilities will remain, so you can analyse a game without any obstacles. The REBEL button is now changed into a GAME button. If you click on GAME, the program will restore the original game you have loaded or played. This gives you the opportunity to analyse alternative moves or sub-variations of the game. So with GAME you can easily restore the original game without the need to re-load the game from the database. You can exit the analysis mode by selecting a new level (see NIVO F2). 10.3. Player-Player mode (OPTIONS F3) Puts the program into sleep mode. With this function you can enter a range of moves and the computer will not disturb you with a counter move but the program will still check your moves on legality. You can make the program active again by clicking REBEL. From this point, the program will start calculating again. 10.4. Automatic play (OPTIONS F3) The program will play against itself from the current position. The program will continue playing until you interrupt it by clicking on REBEL or by a checkmate or a draw. 10.5. Analyse game (OPTIONS F3) With this function you can analyse an entire game or just a part of it. You can also select which color(s) of the game must be analysed (white, black or both). The program will start analysing the game at the current level and from the current position. In this way you can decide from which move on the analysis has to start. The REBEL button will change into an EXIT button which will give you the possibility to abort the analysis. The analysis results will be stored in the move comment and you can show the results with the take back and move forward facilities after the analysis has been finished. The analysis will be executed in 2 stages. First the real move played in the game will be analysed, and after that, REBEL will analyse the position and give its opinion. If REBEL finds its move clearly better than the move played in the game, the program will mark this move by inserting 2 "!" in the move comment. For a detailed example about the power of this function we refer to the README-file. 10.6. Analyse database (OPTIONS F3) With this function you can analyse an entire (position-based) database which is especially handy for solving many difficult (test)positions. Every start position in the currently loaded database will be analysed with regards to the current level, and the results (last three main lines) will be written into the move comment. The results will not be written in the current database but to a new database named ANALYSE.DAT. When the analysis is finished, you can load this database and view the results. The provided databases BT-2450.DAT and BT-2630.DAT are especially suitable for this function. The REBEL button has changed into an EXIT button which will give you the possibility to abort the analysis. Keyboard users can press ESC to abort the analysis. 10.7. Goto Move number (OPTIONS F3) With this function you can jump to any move you wish in a game. You will be prompted to enter the desired move number. If you enter a number higher than the actual number of moves of the game, the program will go to the last move of the game. If you want to go to the start of the game, enter 0. 10.8. Search for move (OPTIONS F3) This function allows you to go to a move you still remember. You will be prompted to enter the desired move. The move must be entered in coordinates, for example e2-e4.If this move exists in the game, the program will perform a Goto Move and the desired position will appear. 10.9. Replay game (OPTIONS F3) This function allows you to replay/study a game at three different speeds (slow, normal and fast). The program will setup the start position and will execute all moves at the speed you have chosen. You can watch the game and study the moves and move comments. You can interrupt the replay by pressing the spacebar. Pressing the spacebar again will force the program to continue the replay. If you wish to abort the replay function, press ESC or click on a menu item. 10.10. Write move comments (OPTIONS F3) With this function, you can simply supply every move with your comments. All move comments will be written to the hard disk if you save the game. Your move comments will always be visible in the info section. 10.11. Game to text file (OPTIONS F3) With this function, you can write the current game to an ASCII text file (move comments, names, date etc. included). You can read or print the created text file with your favourite text editor. REBEL will prompt you for a legal DOS file name to write the data to. 10.12. PC-Auto board on/off (OPTIONS F3) This PC-program can to be used with the Mephisto PC-AutoBoard. When activating the board in OPTIONS F3 it will automatically search for the connection with the board. If everything is connected well, you will see that every LED is checked for a short time. If the connection is not perfect (no power or no proper connection with the printerport of your PC) a message is shown and you have to press any key to be able to start playing without the use of the board. If you solve the problem you have to activate the board again in the OPTION F3 menu in order to play with the Mephisto Board. IMPORTANT : always ensure your computer is switched off before connecting or disconnecting peripherals. Failure to do so may result in damage to your equipment. For further information we refer to the official manual of the Mephisto board. 10.13. Auto 232 (OPTIONS F3) This option is especially suited for those who want two programms to play against eachother on two computers. You need a special cable for it plus software with which no doubt your dealer can supply you. The advantage of REBEL is that, when you let two computers play against eachother, REBEL saves all the games into the current database including the score. During this autoplaying the score is visible and updated and double games are skipped automatically! Under the REBEL button you will see for instance: 12.0-9.0 10-4-7 (6) meaning: the score is 12-9 for REBEL, 10 games are won, 4 draw and 7 lost, while 6 double games are skipped. 10.14. Starting game (DATA F4) This function will restore a game that was active before you decided to change the current game or before you loaded another game from the database. Very useful in the following cases: * If you accidentally started a new game, this function can restore the previous game. * If you have loaded 2 games from the database and you want to return to the previous one. 10.15. Overview MVS-file (DATA F4) By selecting this option an overview is presented to you about the openingbook, sorted on openingnames. In other words: you can have a look into the book to see which opening is represented well and which one is represented less and also which opening is active and which not. Under the overview the total number of moves and positions and the average length of the bookopeninglines are reported. 10.16. Swapping clocks Only mouse users have the possibility to swap the 2 clocks in the time section. This is executed by clicking in the time section. 10.17. Swapping names Only mouse users have the possibility to swap the two names in the names section. This is executed by clicking in the names section. Ch. 11: Trouble-shooting 11.1. DOS problems Since the release of MS-DOS 6.0, certain programs on certain PC's no longer behave properly. If you have problems with loading or running Rebel we suggest the following: If you are not familiar with MS-DOS, we suggest starting the program from a so called BOOTDISK. This will always work. Format an unused diskette in your bootdrive with the /S option, which will make that diskette bootable. For example type FORMAT A: /S Don't forget to put a config.sys on it (see chapter 1.7). Anytime you want to start REBEL you should put this diskette in your drive and press CTRL ALT DEL simultaneously. The computer will start up again. Then you can start REBEL by going to the installed directory probably C:\REBEL7) on your hard disk, and then type REBEL. The progam will start up. 11.2. "This is not a proper installed version of REBEL 7.0" In principle this is a message of the copyprotection. This can have two causes: a) you're using an illegal copy. Most unlikely ofcourse otherwise you wouldn't have this manual. \ Anyway solution: install from original diskette. b) You have (probably by accident) deleted the directory AX NF ZZ The solution is simple: install again. 11.3. Graphical problems a) As explained before if your VGA-card is not VESA-compatible you will be limited in some options. In that case we suggest you to play with the animation level set to "none". b) When unreadible lines occur on the screen you'll probably have a MODE instruction in your AUTOEXEC.BAT. This is often the case with notebooks. We suggest to remove these lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file by placing a "rem" command in front of it. If you are not familiar with MS-DOS, we suggest performing the BOOTDISK procedure as described in 11.1 Ch. 12: SHORT HISTORY Ed Schröder, born in The Hague, lives in Deventer and has been commercially active with developing computer chess software since 1985. Since 1988, Ed has been ranked amongst the best computer chess programmers in the world. Proof of that was his victory in Vancouver 1991 where he, for the first time, became the worldchampion in the category Microcomputers. The following year, in Madrid, an improved version of his program was even able to win the world champion title in all classes. This performance was unique: it was the first time that a micro-computer program had won this title. In the past, this title was always won by a mainframe computer. This was not only a confirmation of Ed's qualities, but also a proof that today's commercial chess programs are able to beat their bigger and super-fast brothers. Ed has also won the Dutch Championship for chess programs many times. In the AEGON-tournaments (human-computer) REBEL has been a well respected opponent: in 1994 and in 1995 one of Ed's programs has been ranked as the computerprogram wiyth the highest computerscore. While creating REBEL 7.0., Ed was assisted by two other specialists, Jeroen Noomen, who was (and, indeed for many years previously, has been) responsible for the openingbooks of Ed Schröder's programs, and Rob Kemper, who was responsible for the graphics and the IO. Personally, Ed does not believe that a computer will ever beat the human world champion in a match at tournament level, although... even he is not so sure about that anymore! In any event, Ed is still convinced that his program can perform still better since he has enough ideas left with which to improve his program. If you are interested in the latest developments on PC computer chess, or if you have suggestions that can improve the program, we invite you to drop us a line! Please write it to: Schröder BV P.O. Box 6365 7401 JJ Deventer The Netherlands You are free to contact us on the INTERNET at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~rebchess/