PocketChess is a well-featured chess-playing program for your EPOC handheld. It offers a very simple, easy to use interface for playing chess, and best of all it is freeware!
PocketChess for EPOC is brought to you by a collaboration between Fred Bouvry, Christian Morency, Scott Ludwig and Simon Quinn.
Fred Bouvry fred@palmtime.com - author of EPOC PocketChess
Christian Morency anakinsolo@geocities.com - artwork for EPOC PocketChess
Scott Ludwig scottlu@eskimo.com - Owner and original author of PocketChess
Simon Quinn simon.quinn@bigfoot.com - Psion Revo port and enhancements
PocketChess is supported on several handheld platforms. The official distribution site is:
http://www.eskimo.com/~scottlu
PocketChess for EPOC can also be found at:
http://www.palmtime.com
Special thanks:
Staunton Set based on the Chess Maya TrueType Font by Armando Hernandez Marroquin mquin@sancristobal.podernet.com.mx from the Colegio La Salle de San Cristobal lasalle@sancristobal.podernet.com.mx
Used with kind permission of the author.
BThe standard rules of Chess apply. There are many sources of Chess related information available on the Internet. To read more about the game of Chess, we suggest starting at U.S. Chess online. The URL is http://www.uschess.org/.
The official "Laws of Chess" can be found at http://www.fide.com/comms/fidelaws.htm
This is a lengthy document that is updated over time, making it not appropriate to include in this help file.
When PocketChess is started, it loads the state of the game last played
so your current game is always "in progress". If PocketChess is started for the first time, a new game is displayed. At any point in time, the user may select the "New Game" button from the buttons on the right side of the screen to start a new game.
DWhen PocketChess is started, a picture of the Chessboard is presented to the user. The Chessboard is populated with Chess pieces; this represents the PocketChess playing board
all play occurs here.
Next to the PocketChess board is the move list. The move list is empty for new games. As moves are made, moves are entered into the move list using algebraic notation. The move list may be scrolled through as desired with the move list scrollbar.
Just below the move list is the move indicator. If the arrow is pointing to You it is you, the human players turn. If the arrow is pointing to EPOC, it is the computer's turn. If You is on a white background, you are playing the color white. If You is on a black background, you are playing black. Same holds for the Palmtop player.
Next to the move indicator is the palmtop think clock. It indicates how much time the palmtop has to think before it performs its next move. This handy indicator will let you know when to expect the computer to perform its next move.
Beneath the move indicator the game status is found. The game status is updated when a special event occurs, such as checkmate or stalemate.
FMoving pieces is simple in PocketChess. There are two mechanisms used to move a piece; either may be used:
Tap-Tap Method: In this method, tap the piece you wish to move with the stylus, then tap the destination square. If the move is legal, the move will be performed.
Tap-Drag Method: In this method, with the stylus, tap and drag the piece you wish to move to the destination square. If the move is legal, the move will be performed.
When a move is performed, PocketChess draws an outline around the origin and destination squares. This useful selection indicator helps to keep track of where moves came from and where they went. In addition, when originating a move, the square selection indicator is drawn as pieces are tapped on or dragged with the stylus. The selection cursor is updated as either the human or computer opponent moves, as well as moves that are undone (more on that later).
In addition, as the computer opponent moves pieces, the pieces are animated across the chessboard.
Special Moves
There are a few moves that deserve special mention here.
Castling - To perform a castling move, the castle must first be legal. If the castle is a legal move, it can performed by moving the king two squares to the right for a king-side castle, two squares to the left for a queen side castle.
Pawn Promotion - in this version of PocketChess pawns can only be promoted to a Queen. This will happen automatically as the pawn reaches the 8th row.
During Play
During play, moves will be entered into the move list as they are made. If a checkmate or stalemate occurs, this is indicated in the game status line. At any point during play, any of the game's menu choices or command buttons may be used.
LThe PocketChess menus can be accessed by tapping on the menu pull-down indicator, a silkscreen button found on the upper right of the screen. The menus hold all PocketChess commands. For convenience sake, a few commonly used commands are found as command buttons on the right hand side of the PocketChess screen.
New Game
This brings up a settings dialogue before starting a new game. At any point during play, these options can be changed using the Options command.
Players
Select You vs. Palmtop to play against EPOC. Select You vs. Another player to play against another human opponent, using PocketChess as the chessboard. Select Palmtop vs. Palmtop to watch PocketChess play itself.
Skill Level
Select 1 through 8. Level 1 is the easiest, level 8 the hardest. Skill level is determined by how many seconds PocketChess is given to think about a move. The more seconds, the better the move. The levels break out as follows:
Level Seconds
2 5
3 10
4 20
5 30
6 40
7 50
8 105
Sound Effects
Sound effects can be turned off or adjusted to several volumes.
Setup Board
Setup board is used to setup specific boards, such as famous games, puzzles from the newspaper, or if you want to setup specific situations to practice. When Setup Board is selected, PocketChess goes into "Setup Board" mode. This is indicated by the words "Board Setup" in the status indicator. You can move pieces to arbitrary squares. You can remove pieces from the board by double tapping them or dragging them off the board. Once the board is in a desired setup, from the menu select "Exit Board Setup" to return to normal play.
Options
The Option dialog allows the setting of all options in the New Game dialog, but during game play. At any time during game play, the options dialog can be used to change game settings. Refer to the New Game command for more info.
Close
This exits PocketChess. The current game in progress is stored away. The next time you start PocketChess, the game resumes where you left off.
Undo Move
This undoes the last move. Use this if you want to try a different move or if you've made a move mistake. Undo will work all the way back to the beginning of the game.
This will cause PocketChess to make a move suggestion for you. PocketChess thinks for the amount of time allowed on the current skill level, and then suggests a move to you. The suggested piece to move animates on the board, and then moves back to its original position.
Skip Move
This will pass on your current move. It allows your opponent to move twice without a move from you.
Reverse Board
This flips the orientation of the board. The default orientation is white on bottom, black on top. Choosing reverse board once puts white on top, black on bottom. Choose it again, and it flips again back to its original default orientation.
Switch Sides
This switches sides so you play the opposite color. By default you play the white color. Choose Switch Sides and you'll play the black color. Choose again and you'll be playing white again, etc.
Alternative Pieces
This changes between shaded and plain chess pieces. Plain chess pieces are easier to see but not as pretty. The default setting is shaded chess pieces.
About
The About dialog announces PocketChess, the version number, the creators, copyrights, and contact information.
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