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I
©
Microchess 2.0 gives you a unique and exciting way to use your
Apple II to enjoy the intellectually stimulating game of chess.
The complete program logic to play a very skillful game of
chess, as well as the high resolution graphics routines to
display the chessboard, can be loaded and run on any Apple
with 16K or more memory. The program even includes in its
memory knowledge of 32 different classic chess openings to a
depth of 8 moves for each side.
Whether you're a novice or a skilled player, you can use your
Apple II with Microchess 2.0 to learn to play chess or to practice
and improve your chess skills. Your Apple is always ready for
a quick game of speed chess, or for a slow, patient game in
which you ponder your moves.
The chessplaying logic of Microchess 2.0 is the result of several
years of effort by Peter Jennings of Personal. Software Inco The
chessboard display design and basic high resolution graphics
routines are the work of Gary Shannon of Apple Computer Inc.,
and are used by permission. This manual was written by Dan
Fylstra of Personal Software and Jef Raskin of Apple
Computer.
Mlcrochess 2.0, a computer program for the Apple II, Is copyright ©
1978 by Micro-Ware Ltd., and Is published exclusively by Personal
Software Inc. Copyright infringement (the making of copies on
disk or tape, in printed form, via communications lines, or by any
other means) Is a crime punishable by fines and Imprisonment,
regardless of the number of copies made and whether or not a
profit motive Is Involved. In addition, Infringers may be sued for
civil damages. Micro-Ware Ltd. and Personal Software Inc. will
seek maximum criminal penalties and damages against persons
violating the copyright laws.
If your Apple II is equipped with a Disk II drive and at least 32K
of memory, loading Microchess is a snap. With your Apple turned
off, insert the Microchess diskette into your drive unit with the
label facing up and to the right, and close the drive door. Now
turn on power for your Apple II. On a late model Apple,
Microchess will be loaded automatically and the chessboard will
appear!
If your Apple II does not have this 'auto-load' feature, you can
'boot' Microchess just as you would ordinarily 'boot the DOS.'
Simply press RESET and watch for the * prompt on the screen,
press 6 (assuming that your Disk II controller is in slot 6), hold
down the Control key and press P, and then press RETURN.
That's all there is to it. Microchess will be loaded automatically
and the chessboard will appear.
Once Microchess is loaded, you can playas many games of
chess as you want, using the commands described below. But
remember that this is a 'Microchess only' diskette: To run any
other program, you will have to insert another diskette into your
drive unit and 're-boot the DOS.' (On late model Apples, just turn
power off and then on again.) Since your Microchess diskette
cannot be copied, you should treat this diskette with care, so that
you can enjoy playing chess again and again.
If you don't have a disk drive, you can still load Microchess
from cassette. All it takes is a little more patience (and at least
16K of memory). To load the program successfully, read the
instructions first and then follow them exactly.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Press RESET. You should hear a beep and see the asterisk
prompt of the Apple Monitor.
Place the Microchess cassette in your cassette player with
the Apple's plug removed from the EARPHONE (or
MONITOR) jack, and press PLAY. Adjust the volume
control until the sound you hear is about the same volume
as that of other cassettes which you have loaded before.
Rewind and stop the cassette player, and re-insert the
Apple's plug into the EARPHONE (MONITOR) jack. Type:
(Leave a space between the R and the 2.) Do not press
RETURN yet.
Press PLAY on your cassette recorder, and now press
RETURN. After a brief pause, the Microchess title screen
and copyright notice will appear. At the bottom of the
screen you should see the message:
Let your cassette player continue to run. The title screen
will disappear and your screen image will turn either all
white or all black (depending on your Apple's memory
size). While the program finishes loading, sit back and think
about your game.
5. Your diligence in following these steps will be rewarded
with a 'beep' and the appearance of the chessboard on the
screen. Your Apple is already champing at the bit. Stop
your cassette player and rewind the tape to its beginning.
If your cassette does not load properly on the first try (i.e., if
nothing happens, or if you get a message ERR or MEM ERR),
your volume setting is probably wrong for this cassette. Follow
the procedure outlined in your Apple Integer BASIC manual to
find the right volume setting, using an Apple-supplied BASIC
program tape. Then try to load Microchess again. Once you find
the correct volume setting, it is a good idea to make a note of this
on the cassette to save-yourself time in the future.
On some cassette players, you may get an ERR message even
though you think the volume is set properly. If this happens,
repeat the procedure outlined above with the Apple's plug
removed from the EARPHONE (MONITOR) jack through Step
4. After pressing PLAY in Step 4, wait until you hear the steady
high-pitched tone, and then quickly re-insert the plug and press
the RETURN key. If even this fails, ask your Apple dealer for
assistance.
There are three copies of Microchess recorded on your cassette.
If one copy does not load properly (e.g. if the tape accidentally
becomes dirty or damaged), you can still load one of the other
copies.
Once Microchess is loaded, you can playas many games of
chess as you want, using the commands described later. To go
on to some other program, though, you will have to turn power
off and turn it on again, or press RESET. In either case, the
copy of Microchess in memory will be lost and will have to be
reloaded again later.
The chessboard displayed by Microchess should be quite
familiar, since it is similar to the board displays found in most
chess textbooks and newspaper columns. The Apple's men are
always shown at the top of the display, whether your Apple is
playing white or black. Your pieces are shown in the lower
portion of the display. Initially you have the white pieces, and
your Apple is set to play black. But you can easily turn the
board around. Try it by typing:
(followed by RETURN). Then type X (and RETURN) again to set
the chessboard back to its initial state.
To the right of the chessboard is an area used for
communications between you and the Apple. Among other
things, the commands and moves you enter from the keyboard
are displayed at the bottom of this area as you type them. Watch
what else happens in this area as you tryout the commands
described below.
a
ove
The first thing you should do is determine the skill level at
which you wish to play. Microchess can play at eight levels of
proficiency! Level 8 is the highest and Level 1 is the lowest. At
the higher levels, your Apple will play a considerably better
game of chess, but it will also take more time to move as it
considers more alternatives and evaluates each position more
deeply. Level 8 requires an average of 90 to 100 seconds per
move and searches up to six half moves ahead.
To select the skill level for this game, type IQ= and then type the
number of your choice, from 1 to 8. For instance, if you type:
(and press RETURN of course), Microchess will set its skill to
the middle of the proficiency range. Don't worry if you make a
typing error. Microchess allows you to correct errors with the
left-pointing arrow on your Apple's keyboard (explained in
your BASIC manual). Once you press RETURN, the skill level
you have selected (e.g. IQ=4) will be displayed near the top of the
communications area to the right of the chessboard.
If you don't choose an 'IQ' the Apple will choose one for you. But
beware, your Apple likes a challenging game: it will always
choose skill level 8. You can also change the IQ level during the
game, just before you make a move, by simply typing IQ= and
your choice. The display will immediately reflect the new IQ
level.
arne
Try typing:
and then press ~ETURN. A letter and a number will appear on
the screen at tHe left side of each square. This is Standard
International Notation for chessboard locations. The squares
are lettered 'a' through 'h' horizontally from the white queen's
rook on the left, and numbered '1' through '8' vertically from
white's rearmost rank at the bottom. Pressing the RETURN key
will cancel the N command and cause the notation to disappear.
The N or Notation command can be used before any of your
moves, as soon as the Apple has completed its move.
To identify the move you wish to make, first type the notation
for the square occupied by the piece to be moved, then type a (hyphen), and then type the notation for the new square to
which the piece is to be moved. Don't forget to press RETURN
after the command. For example, to move the white king's pawn
two squares forward on your first turn you would type:
and then press RETURN. The RETURN after your move will
cancel the N command if it is in effect. You will notice that the
position letters you type appear on the screen in their lower
case form.
If you aren't a touch typist, or if you want to play a game of
speed chess, you - can use a shorthand numeric notation for your
moves. Instead of typing one of the letters 'A' through 'H'" you
can use the numerals '1' through '8'. Thus, 52-54 is equivalent to
E2-E4. You can also omit the hyphen: 5254 is equivalent to
52-54 or E2-E4, except that it can be entered entirely from the
top row of numeric keys. Even if you prefer the letters 'A' through
'H', it's a good idea to omit the hyphen (e.g. E2E4), to reduce
the chances that you will someday accidentally reach too far and
press the RESET key instead of the hyphen key.
As soon as you enter your move, your Apple will beep, and the
chess piece you have decided to move will flash in its current
square on the board, move and then flash in its new position.
Your Apple will beep once more and then begin thinking about
what reply move it should make. This can take anywhere from a
few seconds to a minute and a half, depending on the skill level.
Watch the communications area to the right of the chessboard
for signs of activity.
When your Apple has decided on its move, it will beep to alert
you to look at the screen. Then it will flash and move its piece,
just as it did for your piece, and emit one more resounding beep.
(Microchess has other sound effects which you can discover on
your own.) The Apple also displays its latest move in Standard
International Notation just above the area where it displays
your move. A little higher up on the screen is the number of the
move, starting with 1.
As mentioned earlier, your Apple always starts the game
graciously by offering you the white chess pieces and the first
move. If you would prefer to play with the black pieces, type:
and then press RETURN. Microchess will reverse the
chessboard, giving you the black pieces and the Apple the white
ones. Now, of course, your Apple should make the first move. If
you wish the Apple to move now (or at any time during the
game) rather than wait for you to move, type:
followed, of course, by RETURN.
If you try to make an illegal move or to give the Apple a
command it can't understand, it will let you know with a beep
and a I?'. When you retype the command correctly (or the move
legally) your Apple will do what you ask.
Microchess allows your Apple to make some of the more
unusual moves used in chess play, such as the promotion of
pawns, castling, and en passant captures. When a pawn first
reaches the opposite side of the chessboard, your Apple will
'promote' it, or exchange it for another piece of higher rank.
Castling can be achieved by typing:
to castle on the king's side, or:
to castle on the queen's side. Note that the letter a must be typed
and not the numeral O. Don't worry if the last a of your castling
move doesn't appear on the screen; your Apple will still get the
message. Because of memory constraints, Microchess does not
check the legality of castling moves, so be careful to make them
correctly. If you do make an error, you can use the 'asterisk'
commands described below to correct it. If you are not sure of
the rules for castling, consult a book on chess such as Chess
Self- Teacher by AI Horowitz.
If you make an en passant capturing move, the Apple will
recognize this and remove its own pawn. Your Apple may also
make en passant captures from time to time. (However, if you
make the equivalent of an en passant move using the 'asterisk'
commands described below, this will not be considered an en
passant situation, so the pawn will not be removed.)
You can give the Apple the advantage of one or more extra
turns by typing:
and pressing RETURN, instead of typing a move for yourself.
The P command simply tells the Apple to make the next move.
If you would like to watch your Apple play a game against
itself, you must preface each move with the X command to
reverse the chessboard, and then the P command to tell the
Apple to make the next move.
You can also give yourself extra moves by typing an asterisk
(*) after the move notation. For instance:
followed by the RETURN key, will move the white king's
knight from square g1 to square f3 without a response from the
Apple and without relinquishing your turn. Notice that,
although you type the asterisk, it does not appear on the screen.
You can do much more with the 'asterisk' notation, because
Microchess will accept and execute what would normally be an
illegal move if it ends with an asterisk. Thus, you can use
'asterisk' commands to capture your own pieces, or move the
Apple's pieces as you wish. For example, suppose that you
wanted to let the Apple play white, and also give it a piece
advantage by removing your own queen. You would first type:
(followed by RETURN) to reverse the board. Then you would
use your own king to 'capture' your queen Vvith:
(Because of the asterisk, the Apple will not make a reply move,
so you can continue.) Then you would type:
to reset your king to its own square, and finally:
to let your App!e take the first move of the game. More
generally, you can use the 'asterisk' notation to correct an error
made on a previous move, or to set up a chess problem from a
book, or a board position from a previous game. The only thing
you can't do, unfortunately, is 'revive' a piece that has bee:;
captured and has disappeared from the board.
If YOiJ finish a game and would like to play another, type:
and press RETURN to reset the chessboard. Note that this will
also reset your Apple's proficiency to eight, the highest level.
You can type the R command at any time, when it is your move,
to end a game and stan another.