═══ 1. Help for Game ═══ Use Game to start a new game, load or delete a previously saved game, or save the game in progress. Related Information: o New o Load o Save o Delete o Print ═══ 2. Help for New ═══ Use New to start a new game. The current game is replaced by the new game and new player information must be specified. ═══ 3. Help for Load ═══ Use Load to display a list of previously played games that you saved. ═══ 4. Help for Save ═══ Use Save to save a game you want to finish playing another time. The game is saved with a unique file name. You can identify the game by the players' names and the date the game was played. ═══ 5. Help for Delete ═══ Use Delete to display a list of previously played games that you can individually select and remove from the list. ═══ 6. Help for Print ═══ Use Print to print the currently displayed game board and the current records for the game. ═══ 7. Help for Exit ═══ Use Exit to end the OS/2 Chess program. ═══ 8. Help for Options ═══ Use Options to set players, position and colors, as well as, turn the sound and warning messages on or off. Related Information: o Set players o Set position o Set colors o Sound o Warning messages o Label board o Keyboard entry o Time o Take back move ═══ 9. Help for Set Players ═══ Use Set players to specify the players for the game. ═══ 10. Help for Set Position ═══ Use Set position to display all the game pieces in the background. You can then drag them to the board in the positions you want to start playing the game. ═══ 11. Help for Set Colors ═══ Use Set colors to change the colors of the background, board squares, and pieces of the currently displayed game. ═══ 12. Help for Sound ═══ Use Sound to set the sound cues on or off. The sound is on when a check mark appears to the left of the choice. ═══ 13. Help for Warning Messages ═══ Use Warning messages to set warning messages on or off. The messages are on when a check mark appears to the left of the choice. ═══ 14. Help for Label Board ═══ Use Label board to annotate the playing board to help you understand algebraic chess notation. ═══ 15. Help for Keyboard Entry ═══ Use Keyboard entry to type in the moves you want to make for playing the game. ═══ 16. Help for Time ═══ Use Time to display the elapsed playing time for both players. ═══ 17. Help for Take Back Move ═══ Use Take back move to undo the last move you made. If playing across the network, you must ask permission from your opponent before taking back a move. ═══ 18. Help for View ═══ Use View to show the game record, valid moves, and captured pieces, and to rotate the board and flip the board. Related Information: o Move status o Game record o Valid moves o Analysis o Captured pieces o Rotate board o Flip board ═══ 19. Help for Move Status ═══ Use Show move status to display which player moves next, how many moves are completed, and the time elapsed for the current move. ═══ 20. Help for Game Record ═══ Use Show game record to display the moves that led to the current board position. ═══ 21. Help for Valid Moves ═══ Use Show valid moves to display the moves that are valid for the current player. ═══ 22. Help for Show Analysis ═══ Use Show analysis to display the principal continuation line of play, which is what the computer determines as the best sequence of moves. ═══ 23. Help for Captured Pieces ═══ Use Show captured pieces to display the pieces captured by your opponent. Use the Hide push button to remove the captured pieces from view. ═══ 24. Help for Rotate Board ═══ Use Rotate board to turn the game board clockwise or counterclockwise. ═══ 25. Help for Flip Board ═══ Use Flip board to turn the game board 180 degrees from the current position. ═══ 26. Help for Network ═══ Use Network to send messages, to disconnect from the network, and list the current users on the network. Related Information: o Send message o Disconnect o List users ═══ 27. Help for Settings Notebook ═══ Use Settings to invoke the Settings notebook, where you will be able to set many of the game's global parameters. ═══ 28. Help for Save Settings ═══ Use Save Settings to save your current settings to a file. When you start the game next time, it will restore your saved settings. ═══ 29. Help for Options Page ═══ The Settings Notebook can be used to customize your chess window. The buttons on the options page let you select the view (2-Dimensional or 3-Dimensional), and the checkboxes allow you to select other options such as the menu bar, warning messages, and other options. Animation of piece movements is enabled by default and can be turned off. The speed of animation can be adjusted by the slider at the bottom of the page. ═══ 30. Help for Sounds Page ═══ The sound page lets you associate your own WAV files with game events. To customize your sounds, select the event from the list of game events, and then enter the name of the WAV file to be played for that event in the entry field at the bottom of the page. You can select the down-arrow button to see a list of available WAV files, then choose a file without having to type in the file name. ═══ 31. Help for Colors Page. ═══ The Colors Settings page can be used to change the colors of the background, board squares, and pieces of the currently displayed game. ═══ 32. Help for Background Page ═══ The Background Page can be used to change the bitmap image in the background of the game window. The bitmap can be either stretched or tiled to fill the entire window. ═══ 33. Help for Piece Set Page ═══ The Piece Set Page can be used to replace your chess pieces with a custom set. Custom piece sets are available from outside sources, and instructions for building your own piece set can be obtained from IBM. ═══ 34. Help for 3D Button ═══ The View 3D button can be used to make the system display a 3-dimensional view of the board. ═══ 35. Help for 2D Button ═══ The View 2D button can be used to make the system display a 2-dimensional, or flat, view of the board. ═══ 36. Help for Send Message ═══ Use Send message to send a message to your opponent or another user on the network. ═══ 37. Help for Disconnect ═══ Use Disconnect to detach yourself from your opponent on the network. ═══ 38. Help for List Users ═══ Use List users to display a list of the current users on the network. ═══ Help for Load Game ═══ Use this window to play a previously started game as long as you saved it. You can identify the game by the names of the players and the date it was saved. Use the scroll bar to the right and bottom of the selection list to display all the available games. Select the game you want to play, and then select OK. The game you select is displayed in the OS/2 Chess window. For a detailed explanation of each field, select from the list below: o Select game o Ok o Cancel ═══ Help for Delete Game ═══ Use this window to erase a previously saved game from the selection list. You can identify the game by the names of the players and the date it was saved. Use the scroll bar to the right and bottom of the selection list to display all the games you can erase. Select the game you want to delete; then select Delete to remove the game from the selection list. For a detailed explanation of each field, select from the list below: o Select game o Delete o Cancel ═══ Help for Select Game ═══ Use Select game to choose a previously saved game from the selection list. The scroll bar at the right and bottom of the selection list enables you to scroll through the available games. ═══ Help for Set Players ═══ You can play against the computer, another person on the same computer, or someone over the network. The player using the white pieces takes the first turn. For a detailed explanation of each field, select from the list below: o White pieces o Black pieces o OK o Cancel ═══ Help for White Pieces ═══ Select one radio button to determine the type of player for the white pieces. Select Human to determine the player as a person. Select Computer to determine the player as the computer. Select Network to determine the player based on the network ID you choose. Type the name you specify for the player in the field next to Name. Select the More push button next to Computer to display a list of computer playing levels. Select the More push button next to Network to display a list of network server and user ID's. ═══ Help for Black Pieces ═══ Select one radio button to specify the type of player for the black pieces. Select Human to specify the player as a person. Select Computer to specify the player as the computer. Select Network to specify the player based on the network ID you choose. Type the name you specify for the player in the field next to Name. Select the More push button next to Computer to display a list of computer playing levels. Select the More push button next to Network to display a list of network server and user IDs. ═══ Help for Set Computer Playing Level ═══ Select one of the radio buttons to specify the playing level for the computer. For a detailed explanation of each field, select from the list below: o Beginner o Novice o Intermediate o Experienced o Advanced o Select book opening o Ok o Cancel ═══ Help for Beginner ═══ Select Beginner if you are new to the game of chess. ═══ Help for Novice ═══ Select Novice if you have a basic understanding of the game of chess. ═══ Help for Intermediate ═══ Select Intermediate if you have a good understanding of the game and strategies of chess. ═══ Help for Experienced ═══ Select Experienced if you know the game and strategies of chess. ═══ Help for Advanced ═══ Select Advanced if you know the game and strategies of chess very well. ═══ Help for Select Book Opening ═══ Select Select book opening to choose the opening line of play for the computer. ═══ Help for Select Opening Book ═══ Use this field to select an opening line of play from the selection list. Use the scroll bar to the right to scroll through the list, then make your selection. This list displays all the popular starting moves documented in many books about chess. You can use these moves to learn strategic opening lines which result in an advantage later in the game. If the opening book is selected, the computer warns you whenever you deviate from the opening line of play. ═══ Help for Set Colors ═══ You can change the colors for specific items in the currently displayed game. For a detailed explanation of each field, select from the list below: o Item o Sample o Color o RGB Sliders o OK o Cancel o Default ═══ Help for Item ═══ Use the scroll bars in the Item field to scroll through the list of items that you can change. To change the color, select an item from the list. Drag the scroll box in the scroll bar to display all the choices in the Item selection list. Then select the choice for which you want to change the color. ═══ Help for Sample ═══ The Sample field shows you the color changes you make to specific game items. ═══ Help for Color ═══ The Color field shows you the available colors by adjusting the RGB sliders. Drag the slider arm in each slider to display all the available colors. ═══ Help for RGB Sliders ═══ Use RGB Sliders to adjust the color for a specific game item. Drag the slider arm in the R, G, and B sliders to adjust the red, green and blue color components of a specific game item. ═══ Help for Elapsed Time ═══ The Elapsed Time window shows the time that has elapsed for each player. Each player has a separate clock. Once a player makes a move, the opponent's clock automatically starts. ═══ Help for Game Record ═══ The Game Record window displays the game record of both players. Drag the scroll box in the scroll bar to view the moves each player has made. Select Hide to remove the game record from view. ═══ Help for Valid Moves ═══ This window displays the moves that are currently valid for the next player. The moves are are described in algebraic chess notation. Drag the scroll box in the scroll bar to display the available moves to make, then select Move. Select Cancel if you do not want to use this method to move your pieces. ═══ Help for Captured Pieces ═══ This window displays all the pieces captured up to this point in the game. ═══ Help for Rotate Board ═══ Use this window to turn the game board either clockwise or counterclockwise by using the slider to rotate the game board. For a detailed explanation of each field, select from the list below: o Slider o OK o Cancel o Default ═══ Help for Slider ═══ Drag the slider arm in the slider box to vary the rotation of the board. Sliding the bar to the left causes the board in the sample window to rotate clockwise; sliding the bar to the right causes the board to rotate counterclockwise. ═══ Help for Send Message ═══ Use this window to communicate with another network chess player. For a detailed explanation of each field, select from the list below: o Destination o Message o Change o Send o OK o Cancel ═══ Help for Destination ═══ Use the Destination field to type the user ID of the network player you want to communicate with. ═══ Help for Message ═══ Use the Message field to type the message you want to send to another network user. ═══ Help for Change ═══ Select Change to display a window with a list of network servers and users that are currently logged onto the network. For additional help, select the Help push button after the window is displayed. ═══ Help for Send ═══ Select Send to transmit a message to another user on the network. ═══ Help for Network Users ═══ Use this window to select the server and network user with whom you want to play and to whom you want to send messages. For a detailed explanation of each field, select from the list below: o Servers o User ID o OK o Cancel ═══ Help for Servers ═══ Use Servers to display a list of currently available network servers. Use scroll box in the scroll bar to the right to scroll through the list; then select the server you want. ═══ Help for User ID ═══ Use User ID to display a list of users currently logged onto the network. Drag the scroll box in the scroll bar to the right to scroll through the list; then make a selection. ═══ Help for Player to Move ═══ Select W if you want the White player to move first. Select B if you want the Black player to move first. ═══ 39. Help for OS/2 Chess ═══ Use OS/2 Chess to play a game of chess. You can play another person on the same computer, or someone over the network. Related Information: o Object of the Game o Rules o Pieces o Strategy o Chess notation o Brief history ═══ 40. Brief history of Chess ═══ Chess is one of the most popular board games in the world. It originated in India about 500 A.D. Legend has it that the Indian philosopher, Sassa, invented chess for his king, Shahram. The purpose of the game was to simulate two Indian armies in battle. Chess was originally played with dice. The Hindus developed a four-handed version of the game which is still played in India today. Eventually the Persians developed their own version of chess, making standard rules of play which spread to the rest of the world. Changes were made to the original rules, then each change was incorporated throughout the western world. ═══ 41. Rules of Chess ═══ The following is a summary of the rules of chess: o Two opponents play each other; one is referred to as White, the other as Black. o Each player starts with 16 pieces; one King, one Queen, two Rooks, two Bishops, two Knights, and eight Pawns. o The object of the game is to put your opponent's King in checkmate. o The White player always makes the first move, and then the two players alternate moves. o Only one piece may be moved per turn, with the exception of castling. o Only the Knight can jump over other pieces when it moves. o You may only capture pieces of the opposite color. o It is illegal to move a piece if, as a result of the move, your King is left in check. o If your king is in check, you must move out of check on your next move. If you cannot move out of check, then you are in checkmate and the game is over. o When a game has no winner, it is considered a draw. o A game can also end if one of the players does not make the required number of moves in the time allowed. This rule is generally followed in chess tournaments. Related Information: o Object of the Game o Pieces o Strategy o Chess notation o Brief history ═══ 42. Help for Pieces ═══ The game of chess is a board game that consists of 16 black pieces and 16 white pieces. Each player starts the game with 8 Pawns, 2 Knights, 2 Bishops, 2 Rooks, 1 Queen and 1 King. The pieces are strategically moved around the board to attack and capture the opponents pieces. Related Information: o Pawn o Knight o Bishop o Rook o Queen o King ═══ Help for Pawn ═══ The Pawn is the weakest of all pieces. At the start of the game, each player has eight Pawns. Unlike the other pieces, the Pawn is restricted to moving forward one square at a time, with the exception of the Pawn's first move, when it can advance two squares. A Pawn can capture an opponent's piece only when that piece is located along adjacent diagonal squares from the location of your Pawn. A Pawn cannot move to an occupied square directly in front of him. There is one exception to this rule, and that is the en passant rule. When a Pawn moves across the board to the last row, you can promote it to any other piece except a King or another Pawn. The Pawn takes on this new identity and thus becomes more powerful. ═══ Help for Knight ═══ The Knight is the most unusual and deceptive piece. Each player starts the game with two Knights. The Knight moves in an L-shaped pattern and is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. The Knight captures a piece by landing on it; it does not capture pieces that it jumps over. ═══ Help for Bishop ═══ The Bishop moves along a diagonal path only. Each player starts the game with two Bishops. One Bishop moves on white diagonals; the other on black diagonals. The Bishop is very powerful towards the end of the game when there are fewer pieces on the board. ═══ Help for Rook ═══ The Rook moves along straight rows and columns only. Each player starts the game with two Rooks. Because of its mobility, the Rook is most powerful towards the end of the game, when there are fewer pieces on the board. The Rook is also used in the special move of castling. ═══ Help for Queen ═══ The Queen is the most powerful piece on the board. Each player starts the game with one Queen. The Queen can move along rows, columns, and diagonals. This combines the Rook and Bishop movements into one piece. The queen can move almost anywhere on the board as long as another piece does not obstruct the move. ═══ Help for King ═══ The King is the most important piece. Each player starts the game with one King. The King can move only one square at a time, in any direction, provided that it does not move into check. There is one exception to the one-square-at-a-time rule, and that is castling. Once a king is placed in checkmate, the game is over. Thus it is very important to protect your King early and attack your opponent's King as soon as possible. ═══ 43. Object of the Game ═══ The object of the game is to place your opponent's king in check. The King is not really captured and removed from the board, but it is attacked (placed in check) or threatened with capture. Once the King is placed in check, you must move it out of check. If you cannot move the King out of check, then it is in checkmate and the game is lost. ═══ Help for Algebraic Chess Notation ═══ There are several different ways to annotate a chess game. The notation used in OS/2 Chess is commonly referred to as algebraic chess notation. Each move is denoted by the starting and ending squares involved in the move. A square is described in terms of its row and column location on the board. The white side is considered the bottom of the board. The columns are labeled using the letters of the alphabet (the left column being a), and the rows are labeled using numbers (the bottom row being 1). The white King is originally on square e1 and the black Queen is originally on square d8. A letter represents the piece that is moved and is added to the beginning of the move notation. A pawn move is not represented by a letter. The following is a list of the letters and the pieces they represent: N Knight B Bishop R Rook Q Queen K King When a move involves the capture of a piece, an X is used between the starting and ending squares to symbolize a capture. If no capture is involved, a hyphen (-) is used. If the move results in a check, a plus sign (+) is appended to the move. If the move results in a checkmate, two plus signs (++) are added. If the move is a castling move on the King's side (the short side), the notation used is O-O. A castling move on the Queen's side is depicted as O-O-O. Following are some notation examples: e2-e4 Pawn moves from e2 to e4. Rh5-c5+ Rook moves from h5 to c5 with check. Nb6Xd8 Knight from b6 captures piece at d8. O-O-O Castle on Queen's side. Qd3Xf1++ Queen from d3 captures piece at f1, checkmate! ═══ Help for Pawn Promotion ═══ You successfully advanced a Pawn to the last row of the board. The Pawn can now be promoted to either a Knight, Bishop, Rook, or another Queen To promote the Pawn, select the push button of the piece you want to use to replace the pawn. There is no restriction on the number of pieces of one type that a player may have. Theoretically, a player can promote all eight Pawns to Queens and end up with nine Queens. ═══ Help for Strategy ═══ The object of the game of chess is to protect your King while you attempt to place your opponent's King in checkmate. Checkmating your opponent is not a trivial task and usually requires a well-planned strategy. The strategy outlined below is very broad and should provide a good start for any novice player. All chess pieces are not created equal. Some pieces are more powerful than others. There are many opinions as to the relative importance of the pieces. The following values are most commonly used: Pawn 1 point Knight 3 points Bishop 3 points Rook 5 points Queen 9 points King 1 point The above table does not imply that a Queen is, for example, worth less than two Rooks. It is just a rule of thumb for which piece is more powerful than the others. Positional strength and mobility also combine for the overall strength of the piece. For example, a Knight that is trapped in a corner of the board is hardly equal to a Bishop that is controlling the center of the board. Notice also that the values in the above table are for attacking pieces. Since the King is not used on the offensive until the end of the game, his relative attacking value is minimal. Some of the techniques that you can use during a game of chess are listed below: o In the beginning and middle phases of a chess game, the center squares are most important. The easiest (and least expensive) way to control these squares is with the weakest piece, the Pawn. o Try to castle early to protect your king. o Do not attack with your most valuable pieces early in the game unless you have to. Doing so will provoke attacks on your pieces by your opponent's less valuable pieces. o Do not make repeated moves with the same pieces, especially in the beginning of the game, because you will lose momentum. o Even though a Bishop and Knight are equally powerful, a "bad" Bishop (one whose diagonals are blocked by other pieces) is obviously less powerful than a Knight that is free to move. The Bishop should be exchanged for the Knight, if possible. o Toward the end of the game, when there are fewer pieces on the board, mobile pieces, such as Bishops or Rooks, are usually much more powerful than less mobile pieces such as the Knights. o A Pawn advantage in the end game is usually a winning situation. o Try to avoid having two Pawns on the same column. Such Pawns require more powerful pieces to defend them and are very hard to advance. Likewise, stranded Pawns are also at a disadvantage. o Look for "killer" moves, ones that are not obvious but have devastating consequences. The Knight is a tricky piece that can lead to such results. o If you get the chance, put your opponent's King in check while threatening another piece. You can usually win the piece using this strategy. ═══ Help for OK ═══ Select OK to send any changed information to the program and close the window. ═══ Help for Cancel ═══ Select Cancel if you decide not to change the current settings. ═══ Help for Default ═══ Select Default to change the settings to those that were active when you installed the system. ═══ Help for Delete ═══ Select Delete if you want to erase a game from the selection list. ═══ Help for Product Information ═══ This window displays product information about OS/2 Chess. Select General Information for information on the game of chess. ═══ Checkmate ═══ The King is in checkmate when he has no way to escape a check. (that is, he will be captured on the opponent's next move). ═══ Check ═══ The King is in check if he is being directly attacked by an opposing piece. There are three ways to escape a check: o The King can move to a square that is not under attack. o The path of attack may be blocked by another piece. o The attacking piece may be captured. If the King cannot move out of check, he is in checkmate. ═══ Castling ═══ Castling is a special move that each player can make only once in a game. The purpose is to move your King to a more protected location on the board. In OS/2 Chess, castling is performed by moving the King two squares to the right or to the left, depending on which Rook is being used. The Rook is then moved automatically to the opposite side of the King. There are several restrictions for a castling move: o The King and Rook used in castling cannot be moved prior to castling. o There must be a clear path between the King and Rook. o The King cannot be in check and he cannot move through (or to) a square that is in check. ═══ Capturing a piece ═══ A piece is captured by moving another piece on top of it. The captured piece is then removed from the board. ═══ Draw ═══ A game is considered a draw (that is, no winner or loser) when one of the following conditions is met: o A King is not in check, but his only move is to a square which is under attack by an opposing piece. This is called a draw by stalemate. o One player repeatedly puts the other player's King in check and the player in check has no alternative other than to make the same moves over and over. This is called a draw by perpetual check. o One player makes the same move for three consecutive turns. o Over fifty moves have been made by each player without a capture or a pawn move. ═══ En Passant rule ═══ The en passant rule is one of the strangest and least-often encountered rules in chess. It only applies to a Pawn capturing another Pawn. The en passant rule is active when your Pawn is on your fifth row and an opposing Pawn (on an adjacent column) is moved from its second row to its fourth row. On your next move only, you can capture the opponent's Pawn by moving diagonally on the opponent's column, even though there is no pawn there.