Update Information: August 4, 2010 (Updates)
Engine Updates
Gray Matter 1604 (WB)
C++ source; this a source code update only
most recent exe files: 1572 (Win64), 1604 (Win32), and 1584(Mac)
- 1622: save a bit of memory.
- 1623: don't check for insufficient until there are not very many pieces left
- 1624: some heuristic modifications. removed illegal position checking for get_position
- 1625: don't pressure king to middle by default
- 1626: mild heuristic modifications. some formatting. removed goto's and labels which are bad c++ form
http://code.google.com/p/gray-matter/updates/list
GreKo 7.2 (WB/UCI)
C++ source; limit strength; Win32
- returned to pseudo-legal move generator: faster, simpler
- single reply extensions removed
- late move reduction in a very basic form; no verification re-search
- limited strength levels tuned
Chess News
ChessGUI 0.195 (WB/UCI)
a nice chess GUI / tournament manager by Matthias Gemuh; there is a separate download for a portable version
http://biglion.110mb.com/
http://w2410tmq9.homepage.t-online.de/
LittleBlitzer 2.2 (UCI)
Windows tournament manager program for UCI chess engines by Nathan Thom
- added Chess960 support (Variant = 1)
- added some error checking when loading engines and support for path names with spaces
- enhanced illegal move dump file
- can now log the first engine's communications (best used with single tournaments)
- now works on old XP installations without the VC redist
- increased max threads to 16
http://www.kimiensoftware.com/littlethought/littleblitzer.php
Norm Pollock site
PGN & EPD Utility Suites and Opening Book PGN Databases
- new EPD program: idOpcode - outputs a list of "id" opcodes for insertion into an epd file
- new EPD program: epdRemove - deletes a user-specified opcode type from an epd file
http://www.hoflink.com/~npollock/chess.html
Down/Problem Chess Websites
Akiba homepage down for 4 days
Alex homepage down for 103 days
Amundsen homepage down for 108 days (Permissions problem)
Bearded homepage down for 24 days
Feuerstein homepage down for 43 days (probably dead)
Igor Gorelikov Tools homepage down for 7 days
Pyotr homepage down for 7 days
MatMoi homepage back up
Wiki Changes
Endgame Tablebases and other Bitbases List
- a new list by Norbert Raimund Leisner!
http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:egtbs_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 crash
- release candidate software may contain minor bugs; crashes are rare
CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor 9.5
Web design system w/ some wizards; supports HTML5, CSS3 & ftp uploads
http://www.coffeecup.com/free-editor/
Game Booster 1.51
free; increases performance by temporarily shutting down background processes
and maximizing available RAM. Recommended!
http://www.iobit.com/gamebooster.html
SQLite 3.7.0.1
open source SQL database for programmers; small and fast
- bugfix for database corruption when mixing different versions of the software
- fixed a possible performance regression due to the introduction of automatic indexing
- fixed a typo that prevented SQLite from compiling on OS/2
http://www.sqlite.org/
System Explorer 2.3.0
free; detailed info about tasks, processes, modules, startups, IE addons, uninstallers, windows, services, drivers,
connections and opened files; 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