textfiles/apple/DOCUMENTATION/game.of.chess

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                      How About A Nice Game of Chess
                              By Larry Atkin
     
                     *** Softdocs by Buffalo Bill ***
     
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How  about  a  nice  game of Chess is very similar to Odesta Chess 7.0
except that it is designed for  the  beginner  and  has  a  6  chapter
tutorial  that  teaches you the basics of chess.  The game itself will
play up to 10 levels of difficulty (0-9). 

The game is designed to operate in the Apple //c or //e with 64 k  and
a mouse if you have one, if you don't then you can use a paddle or the
cursor keys to move about the menu and the board. 

The  screen  contains a chess board, a menu to the right and along the
bottom and 2 status lines at the bottom left. When you first boot, the
program goes through an intro which you can terminate by pressing  the
space bar or the return key. 

To  use  the  menu,  move  the cursor to your selection and then press
return or the appropriate paddle button or mouse button,

The main menu is as follows: 

Flip
Switches white and black on the board at any  time,  during  or  befor
play. 

Change
Allows  you to change a piece for another piece or clear the board and
set up your own situation. 

Level
Change level of play (degree of difficulty). 

List
Show moves in standard chess notation. 

Inward
This feature will show what chess pieces are  affecting  any  specific
square  (attacking or defending). To use this feature, move the square
white cursor to the square you are interested in using the appropriate
device and then press return or the paddle or mouse button. 

Outward
Shows which squares or pieces are affected (attacked or  defended)  by
the piece in question. Used the same way as inward. 

<-Board
Allows  you  to begin a game by moving to the chessboard and selecting
and moving a piece. 

Manual
Computer will not move,  allowing  2  players  to  play  against  each
other. 

Switch
Computer will switch sides.

Auto
Computer  will  play  itself.  You will be able to select the level of
play for the other side also. 

Restart
Sets up Board for a new game

Quit
Just what it says. 

Tutor
Takes you to the chapter menu at the bottom of the screen so that  you
can go through the tutorial chapters

Conditional Features. 

Advice
Chess will suggest a move for you. 

Option
Allows you to return to board from menu in order to continue play. 

Back
Take move back, try again. 

Replay
Shows a replay of a move that was taken back. 

Program
When  playing  in  manual  mode, this instructs Chess to make the next
move and return control to you. 

Rerun
Replay all the moves in the game up to that point. 

Resume
Restore Game to most advance point. Used if  rerun  is  halted  before
entire game has been replayed. 


Messages  will appear at the bottom of the screen explaining what each
function is. 

To move a chess piece, select it with the cursor, press return.   Then
select the square you wish to move to and press return again. 

Using the mouse with Chess is a little different all you have to do is
move the cursor to where you want and click, this goes for commands as
well  as  moves,  (much  easier  isn't it). Then move the mouse to the
final location and click, if the move is valid the square  will  light
up and all will go well, if it's not, you'll find out. 

Skill Levels

0...Introductory
2...Intro level, Chess averages about 5 sec./move + opening lib. 
5...Moderate Strength, Chess averages about 20-40 sec/move

The opening library contains around 7000 moves. Advice is usually only
available above level 3. 

Levels in depth: 

Level              time/move   Search ply

0-2 Intro.          1-5 sec       0-1
3-6 Intermediate   10-80 sec      0-4
7-9 Advanced        1-6 min       2-6

Every  Command  is  explained  in  a message line at the bottom of the
screen, so it is very difficult to get lost. If you are in the  middle
of  a game, pressing the "A", "I", or "O" keys will access the advice,
inward or outward funtions directly, without the need  to  go  to  the
menu (that is if they are available at the time).  Experiment with the
tutorial  as it is quite good and will allow you to practice. Pressing
return at any point in a demo or tutorial will interrupt the  computer
and  put  you  back  in  control,  however sometimes it is fun to just
watch. Have patience though, the computer moves slowly. Have Fun !!!