Author: Will Singleton
Date: 13:33:54 06/04/99
Go up one level in this thread
On June 04, 1999 at 13:13:59, Wes Groleau wrote: >I recently acquired MacChess 2.5 for a Mac IIsi. >I can not understand most of the controls, and the >"Manual" does not help when it says things like, > Edit > Preferences > This will let you change the preferences > >Anyone familiar with this able to give me e-mail advice >on how to set the thing up? > >OR .... > >My two young children have recently learned to play, and >they need an opponent that will challenge them but not beat >the pants off them in twenty move games. Currently, I still >beat them, but as I haven't played anyone but them in thirty >years, the older one is destined to surpass me very soon. >Can someone recommend a free or CHEAP game for them that will >run on a Mac IIsi? >Or can someone suggest, in detail, the settings I should put >into MacChess 2.5.1 ? > >Thanks, >WWG Hi Wes, It appears you are a newcomer to computer-chess, welcome. I'll attempt to explain the settings for you, and describe the operation of the test suites. I have MacChess 4, but most things should still apply. This, btw, is a very good choice for kids, due to it's simplicity. I wouldn't recommend going to something else, if you're having trouble with MacChess. File menu: You can store and retrieve games in 3 formats. Save Game is the MacChess format, and it's easiest to use this. Import/export PGN is for games in the portable game notation format, which is used in many databases. EPD is a format for a single position, which is good for positions from test suites (like the bt2630 or ccr). Edit menu: Use to set the preferences. The only thing here that isn't self-evident is permanent brain, which is the setting that tells the program to think about the position when it's the other player's turn. I would just leave it unchecked. Players: If you want MacChess to play Black, set Player v MacChess, otherwise do the opposite. The Play option is also here, which tells MacChess to move if it's his turn. Level: For the kids, set to play on Easy level (there are 4 easys, so experiment.) When they get better, set it to play at like 3 seconds per move). Make sure to save the level settings and preferences. All the rest of the stuff is extra, so that's about it. Regarding the test suites, that's really not so important. MacChess 2.5 scores 2150 on the CCR test, which is about 2330 uscf. For the kids, you might want it to score something like 1200-1300 elo, but the CCR as well as other test suites don't score that low. CCR starts at 1700 (none correct), and BT2630 starts at 1730. When you run a test suite "Analyze EPD Positions" from the Analysis menu, MacChess will create a text file output, listing the PV (best moves) from each analysis. You have to go thru that to find out if it picked the right move, and when. Then use the instructions for each test that comes with MacChess. Took me awhile to figure out theat you have to score each BT2630 position 900 seconds if it misses it. Otherwise the instructions should suffice. But for the kids, don't worry about it. Just set it to an easy level, and see how they do. Hope this helps out. Will
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