NEWS in Free CHESS SOFTWARE

*[For Chess Engines Updates click HERE - NEWS ]

► Oct. 2006    DiagTransfer: Make your FEN diagram from a chess position picture on the web e.g. from a puzzle. Use colours to indicate moves, comments, etc. New Version DiagTransfer 2.0.11 (10/09/2006) to download from http://alain.blaisot.free.fr/DiagTransfer/English/home.htm

► Feb. 2004   Not New but useful :

Help for Winboard Emgine Settings > Tom's Simple Engine Manager for Winboard  to download from http://home.pacific.net.au/~tommyinoz/tomsengman.html  (Newbies get it immediately!)

Tom's Simple Engine Manager is a utility used for adding, deleting and editing Chess Engines for Winboard. With this utility you no longer need to manually edit the winboard.ini file which will save you time and hassle. The utility supports the most commonly used options for Winboard engines like setting the protocol version, set the reuse option, program startup string and initialisation string.

 A usuful version of Winboard chess program is "WINBOARD X"

Authors [Alessandro Scotti] page:  http://www.ascotti.org/programming/chess/winboard_x.htm  and download it from thttp://www.ascotti.org/programming/chess/zip/winboard_x.zip Some of the added features, but not all mentioned here, are:

Load and save score and search depth info in the PGN files; use bitmaps for squares; font-based pieces; enhanced game list window (filters, customizable headers, stats); move history window; evaluation histogram window; engine output window.

 UFIM chess engine (Recommended to our Readers here)

Use this chess engine with variable strength to train and play. Better use it in Arena GUI (Graphical User Interface). Install the engine in Arena and from the main Menu select "Levels" and then "Limit Playing strength to elo...". The ELOs are not real ones but just a scale. Select the minimum ELO strength, play against the engine and then increase the ELO strength settings in accordance with your own strength!

You can download it also from http://wbec-ridderkerk.nl/html/download/ufim/ufim_701.zip

From The Author:  Ufim Version 7.01 (February 2005) by N.Khasanov

  Ufim 7.01 is a chess program ("engine") that works with Winboard. Winboard is a known free Windows program providing graphic user interface (GUI) for chess programs. Winboard was written by Tim Mann and can be downloaded also from http://www.tim-mann.org/chess.html .  Ufim 7.01 supports both Winboard protocol and UCI protocol. Therefore Ufim can also be used in many other GUIs. In Winboard mode Ufim
works with Arena, Winboard, Chessmaster etc. In UCI mode Ufim works with Fritz, Shredder etc.  Of course, Ufim can work alone, but it is not recommended.

  Ufim 7.01 has many possibilities such as various time levels, "move now", editing of positions, analyze mode, resign mode, retraction of moves etc. It recognizes threefold repetition, 50-move rule, draw by insufficient material etc. Ufim 7.01 can think ("ponder") at the opponent's time. The strength rating of Ufim 7.01 is about 2500 Elo points. You can weaken Ufim using the "weak" parameter in the configuration file.
In UCI mode you can set any Elo rating in the range 700..2000 for weakening. Ufim 7.01 can be freely used for all non-commercial purposes.

► 25 Feb. 2004  New BETA versions: SCID 3.6 for Windows [check in few days to get   the  final SCID 3.6 - see SCID Forum] and ARENA Betas in ASA/Arena Home Page.

► 11 Dec. 2003 A New Web Page of SCID free CHESS DATABASE software

The Author of SCID has restructured SCID' s Home Page and new versions shall be obtained from there now on. Visit http://scid.sourceforge.net/ Right now, there is an updated spelling file to download.

** There is a NEW SCID Database FORUM (click HERE to visit it),  where you can post a message with your remarks and questions.

► 27 Nov. 2003 A NEW VERSION OF WINBOARD (Winbord 4.2.7)

A very stable chess software is further improved by many fixes imported. Read the relevant details at http://www.tim-mann.org/xboard/ChangeLog and download the new version from http://www.tim-mann.org/.

Among the new things there are some improvement in the Training mode Menu>Mode>Training).

The new Winboard can open now a game in a non Standard PGN Notation (the first game or one being pasted from the clipboard) with a bare move -- no PGN tags, no move number "1", etc.

Winboard still maintains one of the best designs in setting up positions of pieces on the board.
 

► 26 Nov. 2003 A NEW VERSION OF ARENA (Arena 1.0)

There is free to download and free to use a new version of Arena that includes many interesting features. Visit the web site www.playwitharena.com

Among others the new Arena loads simple algebraic notation (non standard PGN), has a wider capacity window for comments of annotated games, a better analyse selection tab window, a maintenance window to delete comments, etc.,   You can install a new engine rapidly, quite a new software for the tournament options (engine against engines). It has now a Book menu where you can load large PGN files (up to a certain move if you want) that act as helpers in openings. Willing, the book advice can make the moves. You can play odds when you reduce the strength of an engine e.g. by 50% it plays in half of the time set.

There is a configure toolbar and right mouse options are available in each part of the board and displays. The Variation board shows more variations to select. The navigation arrows can be moved also left in the move list to allow a larger chess diagram. Many functions as printing etc. have been improved. There is also a speed test to test your PC and compare it with others PCs. The setup board is large, not changed, it is still not so good as Winboard but much better from many famous commercial software programs.

► 24 Nov. 2003  ANALYSIS BOARD (in a new version of PGNtoJS)

When you are away from home: Following a request of ours to the Author of PGNtoJS, he was kind enough and made a new analysis board of proper dimensions, to occupy no more than the half of the PC screen, in which we can SET UP a chess position or import its FEN and try a puzzle or game while on line with the help of a small built-in chess engine, that can make the moves also. Back moves are possible. So, if you are on the net, but away from home and you do not have a chess software available, you can open this Analysis Board to setup and solve your puzzle, etc. Then, you can send the FEN and the game move-list to your home PC via E-Mail.  A preliminary picture of this Analysis Board is seen HERE or at Author' s site www.mailchess.de We call this board here FastBoard to distinguish it from other Analysis Boards.

IMPORTANT: This option is FREE both to USE and HAVE! Download the PGNtoJS beta version and upload your game(s) in your web site. In the uploaded PGNtoJS folder you will find a file "analyse.html". On your web page create a link to this analyse.html file and you are ready. Example: in our case here we used this link  "http://www.freewebs.com/chess-issues/PGNtoJS/analyse.html"

An Example:

Set the puzzle problem on the FastBoard. If you cannot see the solution check Analyze. You see now that the best move is d1 e1 (Qe1), which in fact is the winning move. Press "m" on the keyboard to make the move. Press back arrow if below the chess board if you made a mistake. Pressing Setup the screen is automatically reduced to proper size. Note that Castling and EnPassant (if needed) have to be made manually using the setup option, if the game recording is necessary. 

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