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Subject: Commercial release versions of chess software ... bad and good!

Author: Frank Quisinsky

Date: 09:37:36 11/04/04


Hi,

I see ChessBase 9.0 with clear improvements.
After two years a really good new vesion of ChessBase make me lucky.

I read that Gandalf 6 is ready at Christmas time (I am happy about it).

Please look in the release history of Gandalf:

- DOS version 3.0 (very strong, stronger as Fritz 1 and 2 in this times)
available for customers. The hardcors computer chess users, like me :-) find out
that Gandalf is a really nice attacker program.

- Gandalf 4.32f-h as WB Edition CD by Gambit-Soft with more a less not the big
success because to many bad publicity in chess newspapers. But of course on of
the strongest engiens the World saw, the number 2 or 3 in this times!! The most
are looking on the AMD results by SSDF and have not an own opinion about it.

Gandalf comes 4 years later !!!
For the programmer not a question of ...
I have to release every year a new version!
This fact made the programmer sympatic !!

- Steen switched to Lokasoft.
A good decision because Gambit-Soft have problems, in this time I don't know
about this problems because I made a lot for Gambit-Soft, News-Ticker for an
example.
Lokasoft comes with a newe version of Gandalf, this is right because the Gandalf
CD from Gambit-Soft are a short time later not longer available!
Bad for users, because all are thinking the program have bigger improvements,
Steen and Lokasoft made the mistake to give version number 5.

- Now, two years later after a long developement Gandalf 6 will be available in
a short time. And we can be sure (I know it from the group of strong testers
Steen have) that the version is clearly improved.

...

Two examples:
ChessBase 9.0, Gandalf 6.0!

This is much more interesting as to have every year a new version and see not
bigger improvements. A good example is Shredder 7 to Shredder 8 or ChessTiger 14
to ChessTiger 15, or Fritz 7 to Fritz 8 or the best example is Nimzo 7 to Nimzo
8. ChessBase have written on the News-Page that Nimzo 8 is 100 ELO stronger as
Nimzo 7. Today we know Nimzo 7, Nimzo 8 and WB Nimzo 2000b have the playing
strength.

And the users are thinking:
I can't believe that the newer version is stronger because we have a saw a bad
publicity from chess newspaper to good programs (like Gandalf 4.32f-h) or a good
publicity to programs which are not many improved, example is Nimzo.

In fact:
The computer chess community have a problem with the media we have today.
Not with the work the programmer and companys make. Computer Chess have a bad
marketing and we have not enough persons which try to make a better marketing
for computer chess programs.

Today I hope the companys give better comments, like ChessBase 9.0 or now
Gandalf 6.0. This is good for the future because will never see such a bad
publicity I read in the time Nimzo come out.

And Shredder ...
Shredder is the number one in version 7.04 or 8.0.
Every little improvment Stefan can for sell because Stefan is the number 1!
A little advantage for Stefan Meyer-Kahlen. Shredder 9.0 only 20 ELO more and we
are happy, clear that nobody can find out that a program from around 2.700 ELO
is improved with 20 ElO.

So I am happy with Shredder 8.0, ChessBase 9.0 and for sure on christmas time
with Gandalf 6.0.

Good news for me!

Best
Frank



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