Software for handling chess problems

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Software for chess problems is a category of software intended for handling chess problems, usually distinct from "chess playing and analyzing" programs. Chess problems are based on the rules of chess, but "problemists" may have little use for ordinary chess playing programs. Many chess playing programs also have an option for solving directmates (mates in 2, 3, 4 and more moves), some of them also having support for helpmates and selfmates.

Chess problem software can be used for creating and solving problems - checking soundness of a concept and position, storing it in a database, printing and publishing, and saving and exporting the problem. It can solve direct mates, helpmates and selfmates and even problems with fairy pieces and other fairy chess problems. There have also been some attempts to have computers "compose" problems.

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[edit] Alybadix

Alybadix is one of the oldest software programs for chess problems. It is one of the fastest chess programs, written by Ilkka Blom. It is proprietary software, written for DOS with a free, independent Windows interface. Alybadix supports solving classical problems: direct mates, helpmates, selfmates, many fairy pieces, and fairy piece conditions. It comes with a large problem collection. It also supports quality printing.

[edit] Chloe and Winchloe

Chloe (DOS) and Winchloe (proprietary software) are excellent and extremely fast solving programs written by Christian Poisson. Winchloe not only supports classical problems — direct mates, helpmates and selfmates — but also many fairy pieces and conditions with different sized chessboards (up to 250 by 250 squares). It comes with a collection of more than 250,000 problems that can be updated via the Internet. Christian Poisson also maintains the Web site Problemesis. Web pages:

[edit] Explorer

Explorer (for DOS) and its Windows version, Chess Explorer, are shareware programs written by Jan Nowakowski. It solves mate, selfmate and helpmate problems. It has the interesting option of creating "mate in 2 moves" or "mate in 3 moves" problems. It can also solve the 8 queen and similar problems.

[edit] MateMaster

MateMaster is Windows free software written by Frank Schindler. MateMaster solves conventional mate problems. The board position can be copied and saved as a bitmap graphic.

[edit] MatPlus Librarian (MPL)

MatPlus Librarian is written by Yugoslav problem grandmaster Milan Velimirović. It is shareware (not freeware, though it can be used unregistered without any restriction). MatPlus Librarian is able to enter the chess position, solving with its own module or other programs (Alybadix, Popeye, Chloe), it has a powerful database module with dynamic creation of indexes of themes, authors or sources etc. It is possible to import and problems from chess problem bases such as Problemiste, export position to Windows Bitmap, export to HTML format for Web pages design; print out in various formats with selectable layout and size of diagram and font. MatPlus Librarian also include "books" with more than 5000 problems from articles published in Mat Plus chess magazine (1994-1999), Anthology of 2345 Problems (2345 problems) and many more problems.

Web page: http://www.matplus.org.yu/mpl/Mplib.htm

[edit] Natch and iNatch

Freeware programs written by Pascal Wassong for DOS/Linux. Natch solves retrograde analysis problems by constructing a "proof game" - the shortest possible game leading to a certain position. Natch is a command line utility, but there is a Java-based graphical interface. iNatch which also provide playing moves with fairy conditions: monochrome chess, Einstein chess, vertical cylinder.

Web page: http://natch.free.fr/

[edit] Problemist(e)

Problemist is shareware by Matthieu Leschamelle for Windows and Windows Mobile. Problemist solves direct mates, helpmates, selfmates and reflexmates. It can rotate positions, print diagrams and much more. With Problemist come two TrueType chess fonts, and from its web page you can download more than 100,000 problems. Problemist is the first chess problems exchange format.

Web page:

[edit] Popeye

Main article: Popeye (chess)

Popeye is probably the most widely-used chess problem-solving software. Popeye runs from a command line interface, but it can be used with several operating systems and can be connected to several existing graphical interfaces since it comes with freely available source code in C. Popeye is one of the most exhaustive solving programs. It can solve problems with many fairy pieces and conditions, and can output to LaTeX. The original author of Popeye was Philippe Schnoebelen who wrote it in Pascal under MS-DOS around 1983-84. The code was later donated in the spirit of the free software movement. The group of people who converted Popeye's code to C and now maintain the program includes Elmar Bartel, Norbert Geissler, Thomas Maeder, Torsten Linss, Stefan Hoening, Stefan Brunzen, Harald Denker, Thomas Bark and Stephen Emmerson.

See the article on Popeye for a list of available interfaces.

[edit] Problem Database

Chess Problem Database Server is an interactive database of chess problems with 140,000 problems maintained by Gerd Wilts. Problems are also represented graphically with solutions and commentary.

Web page: http://www.softdecc.com/pdb/index.pdb?langt=EN&langn=EN

[edit] Retractor

Retractor is freeware (for Win 95/NT) by Chad Whipkey and Theodore Hwa. The program is proposed only for solving retractors and composing retrograde chess problems.

Web page: http://xenon.stanford.edu/~hwatheod/Retractor/

[edit] VKsach

VKsach is freeware written by Václav Kotešovec, with only a Czech-language interface. It is suitable for solving and composing problems.

Web page: http://web.telecom.cz/vaclav.kotesovec/index0.htm

[edit] External links