The Arsenal Files 6/The Arsenal Files 6 (Arsenal Computer).ISO/chess/perto.zip/U4KEY.TXT

Text File | 1995-12-15 | 19KB | 414 lines

12345
Shareware

================
Once registered, copy/paste the validation you received over the text
(12345/Shareware) at the top. Check to be sure it is identical to your
original copy. Once you have done so, you may delete all other text in
this document.
================
For registration information, see the ReadMe.txt that came with your
download.
================
IMPORTANT: Make no edit changes to this file until you receive a
validation.
================


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Advertisements...

::NORMAL.ZIP

The mainstay of any set of programs for dealing with ASCII chess game
collections. You'll want NORMAL (especially) if you have one of the large
database programs as it performs the first step in getting new games into
a reliable, proofed format. Normal checks notation and converts game
headers to PGN. It's able to scan most any text document and retrieve
games, making it indispensable for building up your collections from the
latest games posted on the on-line services and the Internet. NORMAL
forgives the untidy game score and converts it to perfect standard
algebraic.

If you've used NORMAL before, get ready for Version 3.1! It's 50% faster
than Ver. 2.0 and now supports new fields that have been appearing in PGN
headers: the [White/Black] Title & Country and the LongECO tag. It has
many other new features as well.

NORMAL is "U4" shareware and is included along with the basic U4 package
for a registration price of $10 (a validation will be sent EMail). For a
disk copy of all the U4 utilities plus others, send $20. For complete
registration information, see the ReadMe file that came with your download.

::ChessU4.ZIP

Quite likely the fastest, nimblest ASCII chess reader available today.
Have you ever asked yourself why someone posting a game score didn't
bother to proof the notation first? Answer: the reader/proofer they own is
not ChessU4. With "U4" it's a 15 second operation, and I know, I just
tried it! To do so, just type an asterisk instead of the file name at the
input prompt...

First second: click the ChessU4 icon, it opens; 3rd second: type "*",
NotePad opens; 6th second: Paste (Ctrl/V); 9th second: choose "Save";
12th second: choose "Close" (NotePad); 15th second: press Enter twice.
Voila!

Actually my best time just now (and on a 386) was 10 seconds. So what's
the rush?

::HighRank.ZIP

HighRank is for serious collectors who take special pains in making
sure their collections are accurate and complete with regard to player
information. HighRank "researches" player names, assigns ratings, and also
categorizes games on player ability. A "fuzzy-name" matcher locates the
correct player even when spelling and punctuation differ. Using ratings
files, the program can split ASCII game collections into two parts--those
played by professionals and those by amateurs. It also normalizes player
names--assigning each a single, selected usage. No longer will your
collections have 15 different spelling for Viktor Korchnoi!

::The Interface

The author (that's me) of the U4 programs apologizes (just a little) for
the interface. Full-Windows, GUI interfaces are easy to use and look good
besides. Why then the plain White screen? Simple, most programmers spend
85% or more of their time building the interface. That's fine for a single
application but when someone has many ideas for chess utility programs and
not enough time to do each one, it's better to provide a useful number of
products than spend all one's time perfecting a single idea. With the
simple interface, many more programs have been made available.

...And if you don't believe I can write a Windows front-end, you didn't
see ClassC.EXE!

::Flash!

See an ad that interests you but your Pentium is reaching orbital speeds?
Just press the mouse cursor to the window bar and it will hold the message.

::NIC2PGN.ZIP

This program is for users of NiC (New in Chess) databases--and for those
that receive their games. It converts NIC formatted game headers to PGN.

::CMSTAT.ZIP

Do you own CM4000? CMSTAT takes an analyzed score (Mentor) from Chess
Master 4000 and shows the ups and downs of the game visually by producing
an Excel barchart. It also creates an annotated game score where the
numeric evaluations from CM4000 have been converted to ?, !, ?!, and ?!
move comments. When a blunder or losing move is noted, the correct line is
also inserted into the game score. The PGN scores produced allow the
sub-variations to be played by your Chess Assistant or ChessBase database.

::CChunk.EXE

One of the most difficult tasks when working with ASCII chess collections
is combining games from individual files and breaking larger files into
several pieces. Most editors are simply not up to the task. Use CChunk
instead to split and combine files--it's designed to work with chess games.

::PGNSrt.EXE

Dups, dups, dups! A chess collector's nightmare. Why do we have so many of
them? Because, despite the claims, they are extremely difficult to remove
from collections....and here we are talking about the chess databases. Why
not remove them before putting them in? That's the main function of PGNSrt
and it's much faster than other methods--PGNSrt can sort 4000 games in
seconds. In addition, PGNSrt may be the only program which can
successfully locate and remove partial dups. The latest version now
handles annotated games as well.

For ASCII users, PGNSrt also helps organize collections. Games can be
arranged by notation or ECO. A file can be sequenced by sorting on any PGN
field--or any combination.

::ChessU3.EXE

If there's a secret weapon in the U4 arsenal then its name is ChessU3.
It's more than a rumor since ChessU3 was actually the first program ever
developed in the family of utilities. Trouble was, up till now, it was
only available on disk. This has changed--there is now a Sicilian-only
demo coming to a library near you.

ChessU3 is an ASCII tree-searcher. If you own ChessBase or Chess Assistant
then you know what a tree-searcher is. But how many times has this
happened? You are following a great line in your chosen defense; Black
scores 7 to 0 in the current position. You click the forward arrow, going
one position deeper in the tree, then Poof! The advantage disappears.
There are now 50 games and Black maintains only the slightest advantage.
What happened?? It was an illusion as one or more transpositions flowed
into the subsequent position and spoiled everything.

Your time following bum leads comes to an end with ChessU3 since it sees
through ALL forward transpositions ahead of time--even from move one. At
any position transpositions have already been taken into account and show
in the win/loss/draw statistics. How does ChessU3 do it? That's its secret!

::ChessU3.EXE

Early versions were slow but the new Version 2.3 will typically solve the
tree in less time than it took to load the games. Version 2.3 runs three
times faster and can run up to 15 times faster during a deep-line
analysis. Games with repeating moves are not only solved but diagnosed. If
you find a nest of them and you need a draw in your postal game then just
head towards the identified game/line.

What is ChessU3? Be waiting for the main ChessU3 banner.

::ChessU3.EXE

If your version of ChessU3 is prior to Version 2.0 then you don't have
mini-max backsolving. With mini-max, you tell it how many games will
constitute a good selection number. Say you've chosen 5 games....ChessU3
will look ahead at all positions in the collection which represent at
least 5 games and retrieve back the most extreme imbalance for either
White or Black and list these alongside each candidate from move one
onwards.

What is ChessU3?? Be waiting for the main ChessU3 banner.

::ChessU3.EXE

If you're a strong postal or correspondence player and don't own ChessU3
then likely you've lost at least one game unnecessarily. When your
opponent dodges the line you've selected, you can often jump ahead and get
him back on track with a "U3" analysis. This feature works especially well
for the most complex openings such as the D44 Semi-Slav, the Queen's
Indian, and many English openings.

What is ChessU3?? Be waiting for the main ChessU3 banner.

::PERTO.EXE (Part I)

"PERTO" is short for "repertoire." It is a program which will help you
eliminate surprises by plugging the holes in your stock of openings.

Before, players were limited to a general choice of openings. Now, for the
first time, PERTO allows one to choose a specific, advance position--then
plugs all holes leading up to it. This feature makes it perfect for the
OTB player who wishes to cover all bases--or the correspondence player who
hopes to lead the game into one's own territory and avoid that chosen by
the opponent.

::PERTO.EXE (Part II)

For a chosen line leading to a position of any depth, PERTO will scan up
to 8000 PGN games and locate _every_ game which contains the position or
_any_ line leading up to it. All possible lines thus selected are
summarized to each unique series of moves which achieve the selected
position.

During the summarization, all "stoppers" which could break away from
the main line are likewise summarized and counted. Summarization can be
for both sides or from a White or Black perspective only. If you're White
and hope to continue your game in the lines of the Najdorf--you'll see
every advance move required and the probabilities of alternative moves to
expect should your opponent wish to steer the game elsewhere.

...Want to reach the winning position in Alterman - Kamsky? PERTO will
show you how!

::Postal Hints

Select your game early one. Once your opponent has played 1.d4, choose a
position--not just an opening--the deeper the better. Find all possible
lines leading to the desired position with PERTO.EXE. Take the main
"stoppers" and analyze these with ChessU3.EXE--feeding those most
favorable to your side back into the file of all possible lines. You'll be
surprised how few steps this takes to achieve a good possibility of
reaching a given position--or at least a limited set of alternatives.

The small file of lines thus produced can be played with ChessU4--or
traced with ChessU3 (the latter by tagging your three or four deepest,
selected lines with winning terminators). Don't assume, because your
opponent played move "X," that you are "off-line." Rather, run it through
ChessU3 since it's virtually impossible for a human (short of a GM) to
trace every alternative of the most complex lines. ChessU3 will likely do
so in less than 30 seconds.

If you have covered all bases and your opponent still breaks the line, he
has likely chosen an inferior move. Now, it's time to apply your chess
skills and show him why.

::NORMAL.ZIP -- Don't forget Drag & Drop!

You've downloaded a half-dozen PGN game files and have them in a remote
directory....how are you going to remember all those file names when
NORMAL asks for them?? Don't. Just start the Windows File Manager and drop
the files one-by-one onto the NORMAL icon. You can append all output while
doing so. Drag & drop works also for ChessU4 and a number of other "U4"
family programs.

::ChessU4 features you didn't know existed:

...Want to send that brilliancy you just played to a chess magazine and
have is published? You could spend a couple of days annotating the game
score, print it out and mail it in--hoping the feature writer was having a
slow week and had time to play through the score or type it in.

On the other hand, you could use the "d*" command of ChessU4. All you need
in addition is a chess font such as Linares or Tilburg. The "d*" (diagram)
option produces a text file of the entire game in a series of tiny,
perfect chessboards. Just open and print with MS Word.

A layout feature allows you to compose a page and show all, or just some
of the diagrammed positions during the game.

The regular "d" (diagram) command produces a single, larger chess diagram
using your chosen chess font. You can then place these individually into
the ASCII chess score.

Finally, you can convert your chess score into full, international
symbolic.

::ChessU4 features you didn't know existed:

You can't move the pieces with ChessU4 (boo!) since the DLL that produces
the board is "read-only." However, if you've downloaded the Waxman chess
program (sometimes found under "WaxChess") you're just a second or two
away from the possibility. With the new ChessU4 Version 2.3, the handy
little WaxChess board (by Check-Tech Software, Inc.) pops up in an
instant. Next, just open the default ".pos" file and the selected ChessU4
game is on your screen for analysis and "what if."

::ChessU4 features you didn't know existed:

Version 2.3 now allows you to export directly to CM4000. There's no need
now to rely on your editor and insert all those little semi-colons.

::ChessU4 features you didn't know existed.

Suffering from ICCF international postal notation paranoia? Do you go back
and forth checking your moves against the little numbered board that come
with your Section start-up kit? Stop worrying--just keep your postal
records in ChessU4 then use the "u" ("Using ICCF") option to export the
game just before filling out your postal card. View this file in NotePad
and transfer the numeric moves. The standard notation is listed right
alongside so you know you're sending the move you want.


::ChessU4 features you didn't know existed.

Eric Churchill's RECORD is a great way to keep track of on-line games but
when you're playing official postal (USCF, ICCF, etc.), move recording is
a bit more stringent. Here's an example of what you can do in ChessU4:

        Onstad,Paul - Kuthe,Hans-Peter
        cr ICCF WT/H/913 1995
        1.Kuthe,Hans-Peter, Schleswiger Weg 13, D-33102 Paderborn,
        Germany

                                {Sent     Postmarked Received } {W/B}

        1.e4 {5254}             {16-Nov-95 16-Nov-95 21-Nov-95} {1/-}
          c5 {3735}             {22-Nov-95 22-Nov-95 25-Nov-95} {-/1}
        2.Nf3 {7163}            {27-Nov-95}                     {2/-}

                        {Total Time - PWO: 3 / HPL: 1}
        {========}
        1/2

You can keep all your games in a single text document--the "List" command
of Version 2.3 works perfectly with the above format. Just restrain
yourself and avoid sending the little "1/2" terminator at the end!

::Coming soon on CompuServe....SWREG!

The U4 author is a starving, unemployed, nearly homeless individual who
should be working (and can only afford a 386) but all he does is write
chess software! He can't afford a Visa/MC account. However, this has left
many out in the cold who haven't access to U.S. funds. There will soon be
a solution in CompuServe's software registration service....check the DES
when you do your download.

SWREG has a single price and that is 35US$ for ALL "U4" family software.
You will receive an immediate validation by EMail with a disk following
(Airmail) in about a week. There are no additional shipping charges.

FEDEX or other special delivery is available only if you compute the
additional charges and include the extra amount with your order.

::Registration

You've had NORMAL six months now and committed these banners to memory?
Well congratulations! Your next step is to send in your registration.
Doing so will have one disadvantage--these banners will go away. It's been
fun talking though!

Prices:

        Pkg 1: $10 - U4 family EMail validation for NORMAL, ChessU4,
                     PGNSrt, HighRank, etc.
        Pkg 2: $15 - Pkg.1 + ChessU3, PERTO, CollEdit
        Pkg 3: $20 - Pkg.1 + Pkg.2 shipped by disk. Additionally, includes
                     CMStat, ClassC, NIC2PGN, CChunk
        Pkg 4: $35 - Pkg.3 using CIS SWREG - shipped airmail

Make out check or money order to:
                                        Paul W. Onstad
  [e-mail]             10168 Parrish Ave NE
                                        Elk River, MN 55330
                                        USA

::Postal Hints

Correspondence and Postal games generally favor the sharper lines but,
unless you are in a hurry to get the game over with, there is no real
reason why this should be so. Rather, a good strategy is the patient one
of waiting in ambush until your opponent breaks cover. There's a reason
why GMs tend to avoid openings like the King's Gambit and that is--not
because they are inherently bad--but because they constitute more of a
"crap-shoot." If you have confidence in your chess-playing ability,
consider the deeper, subtle lines.

Doing so, there's less of chance that you'll get caught in a theoretical
trap since your opponent already owns every book ever printed on Latvian
Gambit.

::ClassC (for the Abstract Thinker)

Ever wonder what an entire chess game collection would look like if you
could see it on your screen all at once? In full color?

Most people don't. Wonder that is....but for those that do, ClassC.exe has
a full Windows interface (yes, opening dialogs too!) to point out
characteristics of chess that have never been noticed before. ClassC works
best with opening collections or collections covering a single player.
You'll see that Botvinnik would often play a completely different style of
game depending upon whether he had the White or Black pieces; you'll
notice the deep openings--and those that quickly go off into uncharted
territory. In time, you'll recognize openings by their color-banded
signatures.

::Special Offer -- Free Validation!

No offense, but if the only program you use from the U4 family is
NORMAL.EXE, you might still appreciate a validation. Putting a $5.00 check
in the mail may be too much trouble so here's the offer: (I'm usually in
the market for some games of a particular opening....so...)

If you have a fairly substantial collection, send me a note EMail. I'll
reply with an opening, ECO, line, or position I'm interested in. If it
sounds like a deal, we'll agree to the nearest 500 games (Normalized PGN,
of course). You send me the games in a ZIP file and I'll send you a
validation for NORMAL.

I already have most of the opening collections from CompuServe so I'd be
more interested if your collection was built from a variety of sources.

Incidentally, right now I'm interested in the Semi-Slav.

:: End