Update Information: February 13, 2010 (Updates)
Engine Updates
Alex 2.03 (WB/UCI)
Win32
- re-work the move ordering functions among other things
- create two versions (32 bits):
--- VC++2008 (run on Vista and Windows 7 only)
--- VC++6.0 (run all). The former version is faster
http://home.comcast.net/~blais_normand/
ArabianKnight 1.0.5 (WB)
Java source; own GUI; Win32
updated 3 days in a row
- another small change in time managment
http://wbec-ridderkerk.nl/html/details1/ArabianKnight.html
Atak 6.7 (WB)
Win32
http://wbec-ridderkerk.nl/html/details1/Atak.html
Cuckoo Chess (UCI)
version 1.04 removed, replaced with previous version 1.03: serious bug?
http://web.telia.com/~u89404340/javachess/index.html
Pawny 0.1.6 (UCI)
C source; Win32/64
- bugfix: wrong calculation of the root moves count is fixed
- new attack detection scheme
- SEE rewritten in accordance with the above
- incremental update of the board state (material and pawns)
- main search and qsearch was revisited in order to eliminate some inaccuracies and errors
- transposition table entry is being remade to 16 bytes of size
- improved move ordering
http://pawny.netii.net/
Sungorus 1.3 (UCI)
C source; Win32/64 & Linux 32/64
- fixed a bug in TransRetrieve(): score wasn't being adjusted before checking for cutoff
- removed lmr for now (too many inaccuracies)
- null move: changed R from 3 to 2
- full pv to the tip by not allowing cutoffs from exact scores inside the window
- code cleanup
- real time instead of CPU time
- best move returned from last iteration, even if incomplete, since best move from previous iteration is tried first
- PV displayed as soon as best move changes, not at the end of the iteration
- 4-way associative transposition table
- added isolated pawns and tuned passed pawns
http://sites.google.com/site/sungorus/
Jim Ablett Win builds
Sungorus 1.3 JA (UCI) for Win32/64 & Linux32/64
http://homepages.tesco.net/henry.ablett/jims.html
Chess News
ChessX 0.7 GUI (WB/UCI)
PGN database program for Windows, Mac & Linux with engine support for analysis only (not for playing)
7 new commit(s) to the C++ source, (rev = 1026), no new build
- feature: add engine variation to the game
- repeat last move when adding variation at the end of the game
- fix: detect start of the game. Add analysis as mainline to empty game
- drop Quit confirmation
- move View menu, hide non-working Delete/Compact menu commands
- change appname/filename order in window title
- rename Player Database to Player Information
http://sourceforge.net/projects/chessx/develop/
Norm Pollack 40H PGN Utilities
there are now 39 utility programs
- new program: "gameSimilar" - detects similar games in a pgn file
- updated program: "cleanUp" - minor improvements
http://www.hoflink.com/~npollock/chess.html
Down/Problem chess websites
Amundsen homepage down again today
Ares homepage down for 20 days
BabyChess homepage down for 2 days
Betsy homepage down for 39 days
Colossus homepage down for 45 days
Kenny Dail (Mac) builds site down for 17 days
Lyapko utilities homepage down for 5 days
Omar homepage down for 7 days
Typhoon homepage down for 23 days
Bubble homepage back up , but download file is gone
Wiki Changes
Chess Engine List
- added SEE
http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:chess_engine_list
Bonus Notifications (recent releases of free stuff)
Warnings:
- do not install unwanted toolbars, etc.
- alpha releases have new features; crashes and bugs are to be expected
- beta releases have new features; they may contain bugs or occasionally crash
- release candidate software may contain minor bugs; crashes are rare
Advanced SystemCare 3.5.0
free; one of the best anti-spyware & registry optimization programs. Recommended
http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html (homepage)
FileZilla Client 3.3.2 RC 1
open source ftp client. Recommended.
this is a *release candidate*
http://filezilla-project.org/ (homepage)
http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client&beta=1 (beta downloads)
MyDefrag 4.2.8
free disk defragmentation program
http://www.mydefrag.com/
System Explorer 2.0.9
free; detailed info about tasks, processes, modules, startups, IE addons, uninstallers, windows, services, drivers,
connections and opened files; performance graphs monitor usage of system resources in real-time
http://systemexplorer.mistergroup.org/
Meaning of Colors
Red = New or Warning
Green = Updated
Gray = Info Only
Engine List: http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:chess_engine_list
Chess News: http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:chess_news_list