Please note that the chess program uses routines in the Acorn Shared
C Library (version 3.50 or later). For your convenience, there is a copy of the
latest version of !System (v 3.66) on this disc, and a progran called SysMerge
which will update your !System file if necessary. To use SysMerge, double clickon the icon and follow the instructions displayed. If you do decide to update
!System, you should retain a backup copy of the earlier version, and read the
files !ReadMe and !ReadMe1st supplied by Acorn.
This program is copy protected. In the event of loading errors please
return the original disc direct to Micropower for replacement.
To install the chess program, double click on the !Chess3D icon in the
disc directory display. A copy of the icon will appear on the icon bar, and thechess window may be opened by selecting this icon in the usual way. The chess
program will work with the desktop in any mode, but for optimum appearance it
is recommended that you use mode 12.
When the game window is first opened it will fill the whole screen. Allthe features of the game are controlled by clicking one of the mouse buttons
(SELECT - Left, MENU - Centre, or ADJUST - Right) on one of the icons on the
game window. If you don't like the colours of the display you can modify
them with the palette utility on the icon bar and save the new colour set to
disc. Double clicking on the palette file will restore your colour set when
needed. There is a sample palette file on the disc.
The main area of the display is a three dimensional representation of
the board, with the white pieces at the front. At the top left hand corner is asmall two dimensional board, with the characters used in the algebraic notationsystem to the right and below. Clicking the ADJUST mouse button on the right
hand characters will rotate the boards by 90 degrees clockwise; clicking on the lower characters rotates them by 180 degrees. The same effect is produced by
clicking ADJUST to the right of or below the main board.
On the right of the screen is the chess clock, which shows the time for the white side in black figures on a white background, and for the black side
in white figures on black. Beneath the times similar displays show who is
controlling each side. Clicking ADJUST on these displays will toggle them
between Player and Computer. Once the game is in progress you may exchange
sides, but the move times will also be exchanged, so that the Computer will not be penalised by your slow play (or vice versa!).
The time allowed for the Computer's move may be set at the start of the
game by clicking ADJUST on the up and down arrows. The lower the number the
faster the Computer will respond. Level 12 corresponds roughly to 40 computer
moves in two and a half hours, although the actual time taken will be affected
by how well you play. Please note that the computer's clock displays the
processor time used by the program. If you play two or more games of chess
simultaneously, they will share the processor time and the computer's clocks
will run slowly.
The game may be started by clicking SELECT on the 'traffic light'
indicator, which will change from red to green. Alternatively, the game will
start when a Player for the white side makes his first move.
The Player's Move
-------------------
A Player makes a move by clicking SELECT on a square on which one of his
pieces stands. Moves may be made on either board; if you use the large board, be careful to keep within the area of the square which the piece is on. When a
piece has been selected it will be outlined in red on both boards. You may
change your selection by clicking on any other of your pieces.
To move the selected piece, click on the square you wish it to move to. The move will only be made if it is valid. An invalid move will be ignored,
producing a warning signal if the sound is turned on. The sound level is
controlled by clicking SELECT on the loudspeaker icon above the clock.
To castle, move the king to the necessary square; both pieces will move
if valid. On promotion, a pawn will be replaced by a queen; the mouse pointer will change to a small icon representing the mouse, with the SELECT button
highlighted. Clicking the ADJUST or MENU buttons will cycle the promoted piece
through rook, bishop, knight and queen. You may choose the piece you require
by clicking SELECT.
At any time during your move you may review the move list, scrolling
forwards or backwards by clicking on the arrow icons. The double arrows scroll
immediately to the start or end of the move list; the single arrows step one
move at a time.
Clicking SELECT on the traffic light icon will stop the game. You can
then step backwards and forwards through the game,and restart from any position.You can also switch to board editing by clicking ADJUST on the traffic light.
When the game comes to an end by Checkmate, Stalemate or Draw, you can
start a new game by clicking SELECT on the traffic light icon. You may also
resign and start a new game at any time by clicking MENU on this icon. In both
cases you will be asked to confirm your choice (pointer changes to mouse icon).
The Computer's Move
---------------------
When it is the computer's turn to move, it will display the best move
it has found so far found by highlighting the move on the small board. After
it has moved, the computer will highlight the move it considers to be the best
reply. You can suppress this assistance by clicking on the highlight icon
which is displayed beneath the control arrows. When this icon is red, no help
is given, when yellow only the computer's move is shown, and when green both
the computer's move and your suggested reply are displayed.
At any time during the computer's turn, you can force it to move by
clicking SELECT within the area of either board. If you click on the traffic
light icon, the computer will be forced to move and the game will then stop.
The computer is provided with a book of opening lines of play. This willnormally be displayed at the start of a game as an icon representing an open
book to the left of the clock. The computer will follow a book line for as longas it can match one with the game moves. When it can no longer find a match,
the icon will change to a closed book.
At the start of the next game, the book will reopen. Alternatively, youcan close or open the book by clicking ADJUST on the icon. If you set the stateof the book at the beginning of a game, this state will be reset at the start ofeach new game. Changing the book after the first move will not affect the
restarting state.
Editing the Board
-------------------
Enter the editing mode by clicking ADJUST on the red traffic light icon.The icon will turn yellow. The board can be cleared by clicking SELECT on the
upper arrows, and reset to the start position by clicking on the lower arrows.
A piece may be removed from the board by clicking SELECT on it, and added by
clicking on an empty square. The piece can be changed by clicking ADJUST, and
the colour changed by clicking MENU.
You may not add more than the legal number of pieces, you may not put
pawns on ranks 1 or 8, and you may not restart the game without one, and only
one, king on each side. However, it is possible to set up illegal positions
(e.g., a position with pieces in the centre of the board and all the pawns on
their original squares), as there is a limit to the amount of position checking which can be carried out.
When you restart the game after editing, by clicking on the traffic
light icon, the move list is cleared and restarts at move 1, unless you have
made no changes (for example, if you have deleted a piece and then replaced it).You can determine the side to move first from an edited position by clicking
SELECT beneath the small or main board.
Saving and Loading
--------------------
On the right of the screen above the clock is an icon which can be
toggled between a representation of a disc drive and of a printer, by clicking
ADJUST. When the disc drive is on display, a game may be saved or loaded, and an opening line may be added to the book. To save or load a game, first select
the drive by clicking on the icon, which will change colour to show that it is
active. Clicking on the move list area will then save the current game to disc
in a file "Chessgame". Before the file is written to disc, you will be asked
to confirm the operation, as it will overwrite any previously saved game.
If the file cannot be written successfully to the disc for any reason
(for example, if the disc is write protected) a two tone bleep will be heard.
If there is no game curently in the machine, selecting the drive icon
followed by clicking on the movelist area will load the last game saved. After loading the board is set to the starting position, and the program then steps
through the game.
When the printer is on display, selecting the printer icon and clicking
on the move list will produce an ascii listing for the game in a file named
"Printgame", which can be loaded into an editor for viewing or printing. If
the game was not played from the normal starting position (i.e. if it started
from an edited position), the move list will be preceded by the initial positionin Forsyth notation.
ADDING TO THE BOOK
There is room in the book area to add up to 300 book lines of 20 moves
each side. To add an opening line to the book, reset the board and select a twoplayer game. Enter the required moves on the board (these will obviously be
validated as entered). Select the drive icon, then click on the book icon
(which may be open or closed). You may either add moves to the current book
file ("Chessbook"), or you may 'remove' the current file by renaming it, and
create your own book. Please note that "Chessbook" is inside the application
folder !Chess3D. You can open the folder by clicking SELECT on it with the
SHIFT key held down.
When you have modified the book, you can produce a listing of the moves
it contains by selecting the printer icon and clicking on the book. The listing
will be written to the disc as a file name "Printbook".
