Chess Tiger 15.2 for Palm (C) Copyright 1994-2004 Christophe Théron - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED --------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.chesstiger.com support@chesstiger.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you need help please read our "Frequently Asked Questions" page. Open your web browser, go to www.chesstiger.com and click on the "FAQ" link located at the top of the page. --------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION: Chess Tiger comes with an additional file that must be installed together with the main program (ChessTiger.prc). So when you install the program, you actually have to install the following two files on your handheld: ChessTiger.prc book.pdb You can find more information about Chess Tiger by visiting our web site. Please go to http://www.chesstiger.com and click on the "FAQ" (Frequently Asked Questions) link at top of the page. --------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S NEW: ----------- VERSION 15.2 (March 18, 2004) * PalmOS 6 compatibility. VERSION 15.1 (September 9, 2003) * ENHANCED VISUAL APPEARANCE: 2 new piece sets have been added (for COLOR handhelds ONLY): Challenger and Challenger2, contributed by Bryan Whitby (thank you Bryan!). Also, icons have been included in some buttons. * A TIGER vs TIGER MODE: you can ask the computer to continue the game playing against itself. Learn how to win in some difficult positions by watching the computer's optimal strategy when it plays both sides. * IMPROVED "NEW GAME" DIALOG: now asks you if you want to play with the white pieces, with the black pieces, if you want to play against a friend or analyze a game. * A "DISPLAY ONLY THE SCORE" OPTION: you can ask the program to give a numeric estimation of the position and just that: no best move displayed, so you are not influenced by viewing the computer's opinion about the best move to play. * NO LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF GAMES LISTED: the "Open game" dialog box can now list an unlimited number of games, not just the first 400 as before. * SUPPORT FOR THE D-PAD ON PALMOS 5 HANDHELDS: as usual the up and down keys allow to move in the game list, but what is new is that the left and right buttons allow to change the current view (board size) and the central button allows to change the pieces' style. VERSION 15.0 (December 17, 2002) * SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED CHESS ENGINE: the new engine is faster, and has more knowledge. It plays better chess. Depending on your needs that means a better professor or a better opponent! * CONTEXTUAL HELP: just hold the stylus on any icon for one full second and Chess Tiger explains what the icon does. * LIST OF CAPTURED PIECES: Allows you to see at a glance who has the material advantage. * A NEW PIECE SET: "Symbol". * ALL THE OPTIONS ARE NOW EASILY ACCESSIBLE BY A SINGLE ICON: no need to open the menu anymore. * CONFIGURABLE HASH TABLE SIZE: you can now select the size of the "hash table" (a memory area used by the program to store intermediate results). The size was fixed to 48Kb in the previous versions. You can now select any size from 12Kb to 12Mb. Set it to just 12Kb to save memory, to a much bigger value if you want the ultimate playing strength. VERSION 14.9a (May 08, 2002) * This version includes a workaround for a problem with the Handspring Tréo phone. This device does not handle the setting of the "auto off time" correctly and caused the Chess Tiger application to turn the device off on startup. If you have a Handspring Tréo and have trouble launching Chess Tiger, you should DELETE your current version of Chess Tiger from your Tréo and install this new version (as usual, please install BOTH ChessTiger.prc AND book.pdb). * A few other minor problems have been fixed. VERSION 14.9 (March 11, 2002) * TURBO MODE: the program plays better and faster because it is now able to think about its next move while it is your turn! * VIEW SELECTION: now you can select directly the view (big or small chessboard) instead of having to cycle through all of them. * IMPROVED GRAPHICS: all the pieces look better, especially in the small chessboards views. Also the "set up position" screen shows bigger pieces. * IMPROVED CHESS ENGINE: Chess Tiger is now even stronger in the endgame! * DETECTS DRAWS BY INSUFFICIENT MATERIAL. * BOOK MOVES SCREEN: shows known opening moves for the current position. * ENGINE STATISTICS SCREEN: when the program has finished thinking you can tap on the status line at the bottom of the screen to get a detailed report. VERSION 14.7 (Dec 05, 2001): * COLOR AND STYLE CUSTOMIZATION: including predefined skins and color/style choices for the graphical elements. Style customization is also available on monochrome models. * GAME INFORMATION SCREEN (Menu -> Game info, or shortcut "I"). * IMPROVED CHESS ENGINE: Chess Tiger version 14.7 ! * IMPROVED OPENING BOOK: the book is now in compressed format. It takes less space, even with the newly added opening lines. VERSION 14.6 (Sep 18, 2001): * 2 PLAYERS MODE: In this mode the program does not play, it just checks the moves you enter. This mode can be used to play against a friend, or to force an opening of your choice that you want to play against the computer. * ANALYSIS MODE: When you are in "2 players" mode, you can turn the "analysis" on. The program is going to display its thinking, but it will not play. You can use this mode for example to replay a game and look for blunders or missed opportunities. * HINT: Gives you a hint when you really do not know what to do. * GO TO MOVE #: Allows you to go directly to a given move instead of repeatedly taping on "back" or "forward" to reach this move. * Tap shortcuts: * Tapping on the best line switches to the "max info" view (the view with a small board and a lot of space for the best line). Tapping again on the best line returns to the previous view. * Tapping on "Move #" allows to go directly to a given move number. * Tapping on "Thinking" stops the program's thinking. * Tapping on "Analyzing" exits from analysis mode. * "General options" screen (Menu Options->Prefs) allows you to: * select the animation speed (slow, normal, fast or no animation). * enable/disable the use of the "Find" button as a way to switch to the next view (board size). * enable/disable the sound. * give a specific auto off time for Chess Tiger (so the device does not turn itself off when the program is thinking). * The user interface is much more responsive (no more "please wait" messages). * Piece animation is now smoother. * The "FEN" tag is now supported in the PGN files. This allows to save or load a game that does not begin with the standard initial chess position. VERSION 14.5 (July 7, 2001) * Initial release of the product. ---------------------------------------------------------------------