In Praise of The King

[mclane]

Only Johan knows what this means. It can e.g. be that the hardware has a limit concerning ram/rom and
Later versions are huge in size. It can be that he has to adapt the versions to this new hardware and that he will maybe come with updates in the future. Richard Lang also had to begin from the scratch again because his 16/32 bit motorola68 versions were assembler and could not easily be ported into ARM mobile phone apps. So he also had to make a C-version. But both, Richard Lang and now Johan de Koning continue doing chess programming, and this is something of a high value to all of us.
The community of computerchess people appreciate this very much.

IMO it is important that computerchess continues, and one step is that we have dedicated chess computer companies again.

We were in a situation that fidelity, H+G, Saitek, novag all went bankrupt.
Today we have again NEW companies building dedicated chess computers.

There is millennium (ok, somehow we could argue that millennium is a successor of H+G) in Germany, Munich,
There is DGT in Netherlands.
Phoenix chess in Netherlands.
Pewatronic in Switzerland.
There is GAVON project in Spain.

And there is the self build computerchess project Mysticum in Germany.

Isn’t that good news after so many years without dedicated chess computer companies ?
New models will be designed and are in the pipeline of development. And
I am sure Christmas will have many of these new dedicated chess computers as gift.

[IanO]

Even if not the latest version, this is wonderful news for those trying to complete their collection of the six great classic programmers (DeKoning, Lang, Spracklens, Schroeder, Morsch, and Kittinger). Although the rest each had dozens of models to their name, De Koning only made it into a handful of the top-of-the-line models at the end of the dedicated computer era.

[JVMerlino]

I definitely agree that this is still excellent news. Working with Johan on Chessmaster was both a great honor and a great pleasure.

Also, to IanO, if you are collecting Kittinger engines, were you aware of a PC game called "Majestic Chess", published by Vivendi in 2003? It used a Kittinger engine, but I can't recall the version number or how "new" it was. I also worked on that, with several ex-Chessmaster team members. Another great pleasure.

[Steve Maughan]

The King has always been one of my favorites. I'm quite sure Johann discovered some tactical tricks that no other engine uses. I only wish he'd create an official UCI version. I had a chat with Johann at the 2015 WCCC. He was pretty adamant that he wouldn't be releasing a new version - such a pity.

Steve

P.S. Maverick 1.5 find mate in 16 in 12 second on my laptop (after 38 million nodes)

[d]4k1r1/pp4r1/2p1Pp2/2Q4p/3NP2p/1P6/P5P1/6K1 w - -

Engine: Maverick 1.5 x64 (2048 MB)
by Steve Maughan

16/48 0:05 +10.20++ 1.Qd6 (16.180.544) 3101

16/55 0:09 +22.34 1.Qd6 Rxg2+ 2.Kf1 Rg1+ 3.Ke2 R8g2+
4.Ke3 Rg3+ 5.Kd2 R1g2+ 6.Kc1 Rc3+
7.Kb1 Rg1+ 8.Kb2 Rc2+ 9.Nxc2 Rd1
10.Qxd1 Kf8 11.Qd8+ Kg7 12.Qd7+ Kh6
13.e7 h3 14.Qd2+ (32.222.629) 3263

17/55 0:11 +22.59++ 1.Qd6 (36.590.572) 3133

17/57 0:12 +M16 1.Qd6 Rxg2+ 2.Kf1 Rg1+ 3.Ke2 R8g2+
4.Ke3 Rg3+ 5.Kd2 R1g2+ 6.Kc1 Rc3+
7.Kb1 Rg1+ 8.Kb2 Rc2+ 9.Kxc2 Rg2+
10.Kc1 Rg1+ 11.Kb2 Rg2+ 12.Ka3 Rg7
13.Qb8+ Ke7 14.Nf5+ (38.544.262) 3099

[mclane]

The 2 Millennium machines will be big fun. And the best, you can reduce the speed from 300 MHz to 10 or so.
So it is possible to use the machines and let it play against other dedicated chess computers.

I wish the programmers would all come back and enjoy the community.

I have all my beloved DOS chess programs on my mobiles.
And there are MESS emulators of older dedicated chess computers.
And now these new machines,
And this looks like a nice future,

[MikeB]

The King still surprises me sometimes. This is v3.12, from Chessmaster 9000 in 2002, on old hardware, getting around 585KNPS, and finding a mate in 15 in four seconds. I tried several other engines, and only Crafty 25 (JA build) came close at 7 seconds (at 1 core, like The King), even though it needed more than 10x the nodes. To be fair, Crafty did improve to Mate in 14 much faster than The King did.

[d]4k1r1/pp4r1/2p1Pp2/2Q4p/3NP2p/1P6/P5P1/6K1 w - - 0 34

The King:

Code: Select all

Time	Depth	Score	Positions	Moves
0:00	1/3	3.02	2973		34.Qxh5+ Kd8 35.Qf3 Kc7 36.Nf5
0:00	1/4	3.02	7190		34.Qxh5+ Kd8 35.Qf3 Kc7 36.Nf5
0:00	1/4	3.20	8622		34.Nf5 Rxg2+ 35.Kh1 Rg1+ 36.Kh2
					R1g2+ 37.Kh3 R2g3+ 38.Nxg3 hxg3
					39.Qxh5+ Ke7
0:00	1/5	3.20	13543		34.Nf5 Rxg2+ 35.Kh1 Rg1+ 36.Kh2
					R1g2+ 37.Kh3 R2g3+ 38.Nxg3 hxg3
					39.Qxh5+ Ke7
0:00	1/5	3.22	18568		34.Qxh5+ Kd8 35.Qf3 Kc7 36.Nf5 Rg4
0:00	1/6	3.28	39099		34.Qxh5+ Kd8 35.Qf3 Kc7 36.Nf5
					Rg4 37.e7 Kd7 38.Qd3+ Ke8
0:00	1/6	4.12	45491		34.Nf5 Rxg2+ 35.Kh1 Rg1+ 36.Kh2
					R1g2+ 37.Kh3 R2g3+ 38.Nxg3 hxg3
					39.Qxh5+ Kd8 40.Qa5+ Ke7 41.Qxa7
					Kxe6 42.Qxb7
0:00	1/7	4.27	100111		34.Nf5 Rxg2+ 35.Kh1 Rg1+ 36.Kh2
					R1g2+ 37.Kh3 R2g3+ 38.Nxg3 Rxg3+
					39.Kh2 Rg5 40.Qxa7
0:00	1/7	6.94	177523		34.Qd6 Rxg2+ 35.Kf1 Rg1+ 36.Ke2
					R1g2+ 37.Kd3 R8g3+ 38.Kc4 b5+ 39.Kb4
					Rxb3+ 40.axb3 a5+ 41.Kc5 Rg5+ 42.Kxc6
					
0:00	1/8	9.43	360770		34.Qd6 Rxg2+ 35.Kf1 Rg1+ 36.Ke2
					R8g2+ 37.Ke3 Rg3+ 38.Nf3 Rxf3+
					39.Kxf3 Rg3+ 40.Kf4 Rg7 41.Qb8+
					Ke7 42.Qxb7+ Kxe6 43.Qxg7
0:01	2/9	19.32	679886		34.Qd6 Rxg2+ 35.Kf1 Rg1+ 36.Ke2
					R8g2+ 37.Ke3 Rg3+ 38.Kd2 Rd1+ 39.Kxd1
					Rd3+ 40.Ke2 Rxd4 41.Qxd4 Kf8 42.Qxf6+
					Kg8 43.e7 Kh7 44.Qf7+ Kh6 45.e8=Q
0:04	3/10	Mate15	2328189		34.Qd6 Rxg2+ 35.Kf1 Rg1+ 36.Ke2
					R8g2+ 37.Ke3 Rg3+ 38.Kd2 R1g2+
					39.Kc1 Rc3+ 40.Kb1 Rg1+ 41.Kb2
					Rc2+ 42.Ka3 Rxa2+ 43.Kxa2 Rg2+
					44.Ka3 Rg7 45.Qb8+ Ke7 46.Nf5+
					Kxe6 47.Qe8+ Re7 48.Qxe7#
0:15	4/11	Mate15	8965060		34.Qd6 Rxg2+ 35.Kf1 Rg1+ 36.Ke2
					R8g2+ 37.Ke3 Rg3+ 38.Kd2 R1g2+
					39.Kc1 Rc3+ 40.Kb1 Rg1+ 41.Kb2
					Rc2+ 42.Ka3 Rxa2+ 43.Kxa2 Rg2+
					44.Ka3 Rg7 45.Qb8+ Ke7 46.Qc7+
					Ke8 47.Qc8+ Ke7 48.Nf5#
0:45	5/12	Mate15	26247945	34.Qd6 Rxg2+ 35.Kf1 Rg1+ 36.Ke2
					R8g2+ 37.Ke3 Rg3+ 38.Kd2 R1g2+
					39.Kc1 Rc3+ 40.Kb1 Rg1+ 41.Kb2
					Rc2+ 42.Ka3 Rxa2+ 43.Kxa2 Rg2+
					44.Ka3 Rg7 45.Qb8+ Ke7 46.Qc7+
					Ke8 47.Qc8+ Ke7 48.Nf5#

Crafty

Code: Select all

        depth     time       score   variation (1)
         15->   1.11/18.90    6.07   0. ... () 1. Kh1 Rxg2 2. Nf5 Rg1+ 3. Kh2
                                     R1g2+ 4. Kh3 R2g3+ 5. Nxg3 Rxg3+ 6. Kxh4
                                     Rg5 7. Qxa7 Rg4+ 8. Kxh5 Rxe4 9. Qb8+ Ke7
                                     10. Qxb7+ Kxe6 11. Qxc6+ Kf5
         16     1.21/18.90      ++   0. ... () 1. Kh1! (>+6.23)                 
         16     1.27/18.90      ++   0. ... () 1. Kh1! (>+6.39)                 
         16     1.33/18.90    6.53   0. ... () 1. Kh1 Rxg2 2. Nf5 Rg1+ 3. Kh2
                                     R1g2+ 4. Kh3 R2g3+ 5. Nxg3 Rxg3+ 6. Kxh4
                                     Rg4+ 7. Kh3 Rg5 8. Qxa7 Ke7 9. Qxb7+ Kxe6
                                     10. Qxc6+ Ke5 11. a4
         16     2.03/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+6.71)                 
         16     2.14/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+6.87)                 
         16     2.28/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+7.19)                 
         16     2.42/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+7.83)                 
         16     2.71/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+9.11)                 
         16     4.10/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+11.67)                
         16     5.24/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+16.79)                
         16     7.44/36.00   20.33   0. ... () 1. Qd6 Rxg2+ 2. Kf1 Rg1+ 3. Kf2
                                     R8g2+ 4. Ke3 Rg3+ 5. Kd2 R1g2+ 6. Kc1 Rc3+
                                     7. Kb1 Rg1+ 8. Kb2 Rc2+ 9. Nxc2 Rd1
                                     10. Qxd1 Kf8 11. Qd8+ Kg7 12. e7 h3
                                     13. Qf8+ Kh7 14. e8=Q
         16->   7.46/36.00   20.33   0. ... () 1. Qd6 Rxg2+ 2. Kf1 Rg1+ 3. Kf2
                                     R8g2+ 4. Ke3 Rg3+ 5. Kd2 R1g2+ 6. Kc1 Rc3+
                                     7. Kb1 Rg1+ 8. Kb2 Rc2+ 9. Nxc2 Rd1
                                     10. Qxd1 Kf8 11. Qd8+ Kg7 12. e7 h3
                                     13. Qf8+ Kh7 14. e8=Q
         17     7.66/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+20.49)                
         17     7.72/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+20.65)                
         17     7.77/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+20.97)                
         17     7.81/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+21.61)                
         17     7.88/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+22.89)                
         17     8.11/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+25.45)                
         17     8.16/36.00      ++   0. ... () 1. Qd6! (>+30.57)                
         17     8.63/36.00   Mat15   0. ... () 1. Qd6 Rxg2+ 2. Kf1 Rg1+ 3. Kf2
                                     R8g2+ 4. Ke3 Rg3+ 5. Kd2 R1g2+ 6. Kc1 Rc3+
                                     7. Kb1 Rg1+ 8. Kb2 Rc2+ 9. Kxc2 Rg2+
                                     10. Ne2 Rg7 11. Qb8+ Ke7 12. Qc7+ Ke8
                                     13. Qxg7 c5 14. Qd7+ Kf8 15. Qf7#
         17->   8.88/32.40   Mat15   0. ... () 1. Qd6 Rxg2+ 2. Kf1 Rg1+ 3. Kf2
                                     R8g2+ 4. Ke3 Rg3+ 5. Kd2 R1g2+ 6. Kc1 Rc3+
                                     7. Kb1 Rg1+ 8. Kb2 Rc2+ 9. Kxc2 Rg2+
                                     10. Ne2 Rg7 11. Qb8+ Ke7 12. Qc7+ Ke8
                                     13. Qxg7 c5 14. Qd7+ Kf8 15. Qf7#
         18     9.56/32.40   Mat14   0. ... () 1. Qd6 Rxg2+ 2. Kf1 Rg1+ 3. Kf2
                                     R8g2+ 4. Ke3 Rg3+ 5. Kd2 R1g2+ 6. Kc1 Rc3+
                                     7. Kb1 Rg1+ 8. Kb2 Rc2+ 9. Nxc2 Rd1
                                     10. Qxd1 Kf8 11. Qd7 Kg8 12. Qf7+ Kh8
                                     13. e7 a5 14. e8=Q#
         18->   9.75/29.10   Mat14   0. ... () 1. Qd6 Rxg2+ 2. Kf1 Rg1+ 3. Kf2
                                     R8g2+ 4. Ke3 Rg3+ 5. Kd2 R1g2+ 6. Kc1 Rc3+
                                     7. Kb1 Rg1+ 8. Kb2 Rc2+ 9. Nxc2 Rd1
                                     10. Qxd1 Kf8 11. Qd7 Kg8 12. Qf7+ Kh8
                                     13. e7 a5 14. e8=Q#
         19    10.49/29.10   Mat14   0. ... () 1. Qd6 Rxg2+ 2. Kf1 Rg1+ 3. Kf2
                                     R8g2+ 4. Ke3 Rg3+ 5. Kd2 R1g2+ 6. Kc1 Rc3+
                                     7. Kb1 Rg1+ 8. Kb2 Rc2+ 9. Nxc2 Rd1
                                     10. Qxd1 Kf8 11. Qd7 Kg8 12. Qf7+ Kh8
                                     13. e7 a5 14. e8=Q#

Just amazing....

jm

This is the release version of McBrain 9.7 . Finds a mate-in-42 first with Nf5 first , then find Mate-in-13 Qd6.
Source is available on Github now, exe's to follow.

Code: Select all

dep	score	nodes	time	(not shown:  tbhits	knps	seldep)
 44	  #13 	1.61G	0:46.91	Qd6 Rxg2+ Kf1 Rg1+ Kf2 R8g2+ Ke3 Rg3+ Nf3 Rxf3+ Kxf3 Rg7 Kf4 b6 Kf5 Rh7 Qb8+ Ke7 Qc7+ Ke8 Qxh7 b5 Qf7+ Kd8 Qd7# 
 43	  #13 	1.53G	0:44.52	Qd6 Rxg2+ Kf1 Rg1+ Kf2 R8g2+ Ke3 Rg3+ Nf3 Rxf3+ Kxf3 Rg7 Kf4 b6 Kf5 Rh7 Qb8+ Ke7 Qc7+ Ke8 Qxh7 b5 Qf7+ Kd8 Qd7# 
 42	  #13 	1.33G	0:38.21	Qd6 Rxg2+ Kf1 Rg1+ Kf2 R8g2+ Ke3 Rg3+ Nf3 Rxf3+ Kxf3 Rg7 Kf4 b6 Kf5 Rh7 Qb8+ Ke7 Qc7+ Ke8 Qxh7 b5 Qf7+ Kd8 Qd7# 
 41	  #13 	1.29G	0:37.22	Qd6 Rxg2+ Kf1 Rg1+ Kf2 R8g2+ Ke3 Rg3+ Nf3 Rxf3+ Kxf3 Rg7 Kf4 b6 Kf5 Rh7 Qb8+ Ke7 Qc7+ Ke8 Qxh7 b5 Qf7+ Kd8 Qd7# 
 40	  #13 	1.20G	0:34.35	Qd6 Rxg2+ Kf1 Rg1+ Kf2 R8g2+ Ke3 Rg3+ Nf3 Rxf3+ Kxf3 Rg7 Kf4 b6 Kf5 Rh7 Qb8+ Ke7 Qc7+ Ke8 Qxh7 b5 Qf7+ Kd8 Qd7# 
 39	  #13 	1.16G	0:33.18	Qd6 Rxg2+ Kf1 Rg1+ Kf2 R8g2+ Ke3 Rg3+ Nf3 Rxf3+ Kxf3 Rg7 Kf4 b6 Kf5 Rh7 Qb8+ Ke7 Qc7+ Ke8 Qxh7 b5 Qf7+ Kd8 Qd7# 
 38	  #13 	889.1M	0:24.56	Qd6 Rxg2+ Kf1 Rg1+ Kf2 R8g2+ Ke3 Rg3+ Nf3 Rxf3+ Kxf3 Rg7 Kf4 b6 Kf5 Rh7 Qb8+ Ke7 Qc7+ Ke8 Qxh7 b5 Qf7+ Kd8 Qd7# 
 37	  #42 	725.2M	0:19.82	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc8 Qxa7 Kc7 Qc5 Kd7 Qf8 Kc7 Qxf6 Kb8 Qd6+ Ka8 Qf8+ Ka7 Qd8 Ka6 Qd4 b6 Qd6 Kb7 Qd7+ Kb8 Qxc6 Ka7 Kg2 Ka6 Qa4+ Kb7  
 36	  #45 	700.2M	0:19.08	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc8 Qxa7 Kc7 Qc5 Kd7 Qf5+ Kd6 Qf4+ Kd5 Qc4+ Kd6 Qf7 b6 Qxf6+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc7 Qf4+ Kd7 Qf6 b5 Qe5 Kd8 Qd6+ Ke8 Qxc6+ K 
 35	  #45 	661.5M	0:17.91	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc8 Qxa7 Kc7 Qc5 Kd7 Qf5+ Kd6 Qf4+ Kd5 Qc4+ Kd6 Qf7 b6 Qf8+ Ke6 Qe8+ Kd5 Qd8+ Ke5 Qe7+ Kf5 Qd7+ Ke5 Qxc6 f5 Qc7+ K 
 34	  #43 	642.2M	0:17.35	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc8 Qxa7 Kc7 Qc5 Kd7 Qf8 f5 Qxf5+ Kc7 Qf7+ Kb8 Qd7 Ka8 Qe8+ Ka7 Qd8 Ka6 Qd4 b6 Qd8 Kb5 Qc7 c5 Qd6 Ka6 Qd7 b5 Qd6+  
 33	  #45 	638.2M	0:17.23	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc8 Qxa7 Kc7 Qf2 Kc8 Qd4 f5 Qf4 b6 Qxf5+ Kc7 Qf4+ Kd7 Qf6 b5 Qf5+ Ke7 Qc5+ Kd7 Qa7+ Kc8 Qe7 b4 Qxb4 Kd7 Qb7+ Kd6 
 32	  #42 	619.6M	0:16.70	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc8 Qxa7 Kc7 Qf2 c5 Qxc5+ Kd7 Qb6 Kc8 Qd4 f5 Qc5+ Kd7 Qxf5+ Kc6 Qc8+ Kb6 Qc4 Ka7 Qc5+ Ka8 Kh4 Kb8 Kg4 b5 
 31	  #41 	617.1M	0:16.63	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc8 Qxa7 Kc7 Qc5 Kd7 Qf8 f5 Qxf5+ Kc7 Qf4+ Kb6 Qd6 Ka7 Qd8 Ka6 Qd4 b6 Qd6 c5 Qd7 b5 Qd6+ Ka7 Qxc5+ Kb7 Qxb5+ Kc7 Q 
 30	+153.66 	531.8M	0:14.46	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc7 Qxa7 Kc8 Qc5 Kc7 Qe7+ Kc8 Qf8+ Kd7 Qb8 b5 Qb7+ Kd6 Qa7 b4 Qd4+ Ke6 Qxb4 f5 Qa4 Kd6 Qa5 c5 Qb6+ Kd5 Qb5 Kd4 
 30	+71.95?	453.3M	0:12.44	Nf5 a5? 
 30	+153.31!	434.8M	0:11.94	Nf5! 
 30	+87.18!	433.7M	0:11.90	Nf5! 
 30	+79.32!	433.0M	0:11.88	Nf5! 
 29	+72.07 	377.8M	0:10.38	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R8g7 Qd6 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 hxg3 Qb8+ Ke7 Qxb7+ Kxe6 Qxg7 g2 Qxa7 Ke5 Qe7+ Kd4 Qxf6+ Kc5 Kxg2 Kb5 Qg5+ Ka6 Qxh5 Kb6 Kh3 Kc7 Qa5+ Kc8 Kh4 Kd7 Qb6 Kd6 Qd8+ Kc5 Qf8+ Kb5 Qb8+ Ka6 Qc8+ Kb6 Kh3 Kc5 
 28	+71.95 	345.5M	0:09.47	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R8g7 Nxg7+ Rxg7 Qd6 Rh7 Qb8+ Ke7 Qxb7+ Kxe6 Qxh7 Ke5 Kxh4 a5 Qe7+ Kd4 Qxf6+ Kc5 Qe7+ Kb6 Qd8+ Kb5 Qc7 Kc5 Qxa5+ Kd6 Kxh5 Kd7 Qa7+ Ke8 Qc5 Kd7 Qd4+ Kc7 Qa7+ Kd8 Qb6+ Kd7 Kh4 
 27	+71.95 	335.7M	0:09.20	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R8g7 Nxg7+ Rxg7 Qd6 Rh7 Qb8+ Ke7 Qxb7+ Kd6 Qxh7 Kxe6 Kxh4 f5 exf5+ Ke5 Qc7+ Kd4 Qxc6 Kd3 Qc4+ Kd2 Kxh5 a5 Qd5+ Kc2 Qc5+ Kd3 Qxa5 Ke4 Qb4+ Kf3 Qc3+ Kf2 Qc5+ Kg2 Kg4 
 27	+69.71!	320.5M	0:08.77	Nf5! 
 26	+63.34 	275.7M	0:07.60	Nf5 a5 Nxg7+ Rxg7 Qd6 a4 Qb8+ Ke7 Qxb7+ Kxe6 Qxg7 axb3 axb3 Ke5 Qe7+ Kd4 Qxf6+ Kxe4 Qxc6+ Ke5 Qc5+ Kf6 Qxh5 Ke6 Qxh4 Kd5 Kf2 Ke5 Kf3 Kd6 Kg4 Kd5 Kf5 Kc5 Qc4+ Kb6 Ke6 Kb7 Kd5 
 26	+61.95?	223.7M	0:06.20	Nf5 Kd8? 
 25	+62.19 	192.5M	0:05.33	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc7 Qxa7 f5 Qa5+ b6 Qxf5 Kd6 Qf7 Kc5 Qc4+ Kd6 Qb4+ Kc7 Qe7+ Kc8 Qd6 Kb7 Qd7+ Ka6 Qxc6 Ka7 
 24	+60.71 	166.4M	0:04.64	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Ke6 Qxa7 b5 Qc7 Kd5 Qd7+ Kc5 Qe7+ Kd5 Qxf6 b4 Qf3+ Kd6 Qf8+ Kc7 Qe7+ Kc8 Qxb4 Kd7 Qb8 Ke6 Qc7 Kd5 Qa5+ Ke6 
 24	+60.53!	148.7M	0:04.16	Nf5! 
 24	+46.10!	147.9M	0:04.14	Nf5! 
 24	+38.38!	147.3M	0:04.12	Nf5! 
 24	+32.57!	145.9M	0:04.08	Nf5! 
 24	+27.95!	121.9M	0:03.40	Nf5! 
 23	+14.24 	11.0M  	0:00.30	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd6 Qb4+ Kc7 Qa5+ Kd6 Qxa7 b5 Qb8+ Kd7 Qf4 Ke6 Qc7 Kf5 Qxc6 Kg6 Qxb5 Kh7 Qb7+ Kh6 
 22	+13.27 	6.00M  	0:00.17	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Kc7 Qxa7 Kc8 Kh2 Kc7 Qd4 f5 Qf4+ Kb6 Qxf5 Kc7 Qe5+ Kb6 Kg2 Ka7 Qc5+ Kb8 
 21	+13.19 	4.72M  	0:00.13	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd6 Qd4+ Kc7 Qxa7 Kc8 Kh2 Kc7 Kg2 Kc8 Qa8+ Kc7 Qa5+ Kd7 Qf5+ Kc7 Qxf6 
 20	+13.16 	4.41M  	0:00.12	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R8g2+ Kh3 Rg3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd6 Qd4+ Kc7 Qxa7 f5 Qa5+ Kd6 Qxf5 b5 Qf6+ Kd7 Qf7+ Kd6 Kg2 
 19	+13.22 	4.18M  	0:00.12	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd6 Qd4+ Kc7 Qxa7 Kc8 Qa8+ Kc7 Qa5+ Kc8 Qa7 Kc7 
 18	+13.14 	3.88M  	0:00.11	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R8g2+ Kh3 Rg3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd6 Qd4+ Kc7 Qxa7 Kc8 Kg2 b5 Qf7 Kb8 Qxf6 
 17	+13.14 	3.79M  	0:00.11	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Kd8 Qh8+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd6 Qd4+ Kc7 Qxa7 Kc8 Qa8+ Kc7 Qa5+ Kb8 Kg2 
 16	+13.09 	3.48M  	0:00.10	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 R8g7 Nxg7+ Rxg7 Qxa7 f5 exf5 Ke7 Qd4 Rg4 Qd7+ Kf6 e7 Re4 e8=Q Rxe8 Qxe8 Kxf5 Qxh5+ Ke6 Qxh4 Kd5 Kh2 
 15	+12.94 	2.86M  	0:00.08	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R1g2+ Kh3 R2g3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rg7 Qxa7 f5 Qb8+ Ke7 Qc7+ Kf6 e5+ Kg6 e7 Rg8 Qd7 Kg5 e8=R Rxe8 
 14	+9.61 	2.37M  	0:00.07	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R8g2+ Kh3 Rg3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rg7 Qxa7 f5 Qb8+ Ke7 
 13	+12.50 	1.75M  	0:00.06	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R8g2+ Kh3 Rg3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg4+ Kh3 Rxe4 Qxh5+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kxe6 Qxe4+ Kd7 Qd4+ Ke6 Qxa7 b5 Qd4 Ke7 Kg2 
 12	+11.66 	1.12M  	0:00.04	Nf5 Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg1+ Kh2 R8g2+ Kh3 Rg3+ Nxg3 Rxg3+ Kxh4 Rg7 Qd6 f5 Qb8+ Ke7 Qxb7+ Kf6 e5+ Kg6 e7 Rg8 Qd7 
 11	+8.60 	449567	0:00.02	Nf5 h3 Nxg7+ Rxg7 Qxh5+ Ke7 Qxh3 Kd6 Qh8 Re7 Qxf6 Rxe6 Qf8+ Re7 Qb8+ Ke6 Qxa7 Kf6 Qd4+ Kf7 Qc5 Ke6 Qh5 
 10	+8.60 	325216	0:00.01	Nf5 h3 Nxg7+ Rxg7 Qxh5+ Ke7 Qxh3 Kd6 Qh8 Re7 Qxf6 Rxe6 Qd8+ Kc5 Qa5+ b5 Qxa7+ Kb4 Qe3 
  9	+7.78 	129998	0:00.01	Nf5 h3 Nxg7+ Rxg7 Qxh5+ Ke7 Qxh3 Kd6 Qf5 Re7 Qxf6 Rxe6 Qg7 Re7 Qg4 
  8	+7.69 	79891  	0:00.00	Nf5 h3 Nxg7+ Rxg7 Qxh5+ Ke7 Qxh3 b6 Qh8 Rg3 Qh7+ Kxe6 
  7	+7.65 	71458  	0:00.00	Nf5 h3 Nxg7+ Rxg7 Qxh5+ Ke7 Qxh3 Rg5 Qe3 Kxe6 
  6	+6.38 	56263  	0:00.00	Nf5 a6 Kh1 Rh7 Kh2 Kd8 Qd4+ Kc7 Qxf6 
  5	+5.28 	26134  	0:00.00	Qxh5+ Kd8 Qxh4 Rxg2+ Kf1 Kc7 Qxf6 
  4	+3.65 	6385    	0:00.00	Qxh5+ Kd8 Qxh4 Rxg2+ Kf1 Rxa2 
  3	+3.65 	4816    	0:00.00	Qxh5+ Kd8 Qxh4 Rxg2+ Kf1 
  2	+3.70 	3251    	0:00.00	Qxh5+ Kd8 Qa5+ Kc8 
  1	+4.91 	1768    	0:00.00	Qxh5+ Kd8 
  0	# 

[BrendanJNorman]

That's wonderful. Thanks for the info!

However, this may not be a new version of The King.

Here's a picture from January showing the hardware (I think?) with The King's version number from back in January.
https://picochess.com/millennium-2000-t ... berg-2018/

It shows v2.61, which was the same version used in back in 1998 with Chessmaster 6000. So, I'm not sure what to think. This might have been an early testing version. The most recently released version of The King that I'm aware of is v3.50, from 2007, used in CM11.

If you're going to play against it, which I suppose is the idea of a dedicated unit, I think the CM6000 version of The King is easily strong enough for any of us.

It was number 7 on the November 1999 SSDF list at 2575 Elo which is quite above GM strength.

http://www.oocities.org/marochess/ssdf/ ... df9905.htm

I'll be keeping an eye on developments, always been a big fan of ChessMaster fan!

[BrendanJNorman]

And BTW... This post resparked by interest in The King and so I loaded up The King 3.12d and ran a gauntlet against all of my "personalities".

Here's an interesting example against a Komodo 1.0 personality (Freddy Sanchez).

[pgn][Event "King vs Personalities"] [Site "MacBook Pro 2015"] [Date "2018.08.19"] [Round "1"] [White "King 3.12d"] [Black "Freddy Sanchez"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2200"] [ECO "C11"] [Opening "French"] [Variation "Steinitz, 6.Nf3"] [WhiteElo "2200"] [TimeControl "180+2"] [Termination "normal"] [PlyCount "52"] [WhiteType "program"] [BlackType "program"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 a6 7. Be3 {(Be3 Nc6 Be2 g5 fxg5 cxd4 Bxd4 Nxd4 Qxd4 Bc5 Qh4 O-O) +0.15/20 6} b5 8. g3 {(g3 cxd4 Nxd4 Bc5 a4 b4 Nce2 O-O Bg2 Bb7) +0.42/44 4} cxd4 {(c5xd4 Nf3xd4 Bf8-b4 Nd4-e2 Bc8-b7 Bf1-g2 Nd7-b6 Qd1-d3 O-O O-O-O Nb8-d7 a2-a3 Bb4-e7 Kc1-b1 Nd7-c5 Qd3-d4 Nb6-c4 h2-h3 Nc4xe3 Qd4xe3 Ra8-c8 b2-b4 Nc5-d7 Nc3xd5 e6xd5 Bg2xd5 Bb7xd5 Rd1xd5) +0.01/16 5} 9. Nxd4 {(Nxd4 Bc5 Bg2 O-O Qd2 Bxd4 Bxd4 Nc6 O-O Nxd4 Qxd4) +0.46/20 6} Bb4 {(Bf8-b4 Nd4 -e2 Nd7-b6 Qd1-d3 O-O O-O-O Nb8-d7 Bf1-g2 Bc8-b7 Be3-d4 Bb4-e7 a2-a3 Qd8-c7 Kc1-b1 Ra8-c8 h2-h3 Nd7-c5 Qd3-f3 Nb6-c4 Rh1-e1 Qc7-c6 Ne2-c1 a6-a5 Nc1-d3 Nc5xd3 Qf3xd3 Rf8-e8) 0.00/17 8} 10. a4 {(a4 Nc5 axb5 Ne4 Ne2 Bd7 Ra4 Qe7 Qd4) +0.67/44 5} bxa4 {(b5xa4 Qd1-g4 Ke8-f8 Ra1xa4 Bb4xc3+ b2xc3 Nd7-b6 Ra4-a3 Qd8-e7 Ra3-b3 Qe7-c7 f4-f5 Nb6-c4 f5-f6 g7-g6 Bf1xc4 d5xc4 Rb3-b4 a6-a5 Rb4-b5 Bc8-a6 Be3-h6+ Kf8-g8) +0.17/16 5} 11. Rxa4 {(Rxa4 a5 Bg2 Nb6 Ra1 Nc4 Bc1 O-O O-O Bd7) +0.54/44 6} Bxc3+ {0. 00/15 5} 12. bxc3 {(bxc3 Qc7 Bg2 Nb6 Rb4 Nc4 Qe2 Nxe3 Qxe3 Nc6) +0.48/44 1} O-O {(O-O Bf1-d3 Qd8-c7 Ra4-a3 Nd7-c5 O-O Bc8-b7 Qd1-b1 Nb8-c6 Nd4-b3 Nc5-d7 Nb3-c5 Rf8-b8 Ra3-b3 Nc6-a5 Rb3xb7 Rb8xb7 Nc5xb7 Na5xb7 c3-c4 d5xc4 Bd3xc4 Qc7xc4 Qb1xb7) -0.07/17 13} 13. Bg2 {(Bg2 Qc7 O-O Nb6 Rb4 N8d7 Qe2 Bb7 Bd2) +0.50/44 5} Nb6 {(Nd7-b6 Ra4-b4 Nb8-d7 c3-c4 a6-a5 Nd4-c6 a5xb4 Nc6xd8 Nb6xc4 Be3-d2 Rf8xd8 Bd2xb4 Nc4-e3 Qd1-d2 Ne3xg2+ Qd2xg2 Ra8-a4 Bb4-d6 Bc8-a6 Ke1-f2 Ra4-e4 Kf2-f3 Rd8-c8 Qg2-d2 Re4-e2 Qd2-a5 Ba6-c4 Qa5-c3) +0.15/17 5} 14. Ra1 {(Ra1 Nc4 Bf2 Qc7 O-O Nd7 Qe2 Bb7 Rfb1 Rfc8) +0.19/20 5} a5 {(a6-a5 O-O Nb6-c4 Be3-f2 a5-a4 h2-h3 a4-a3 Nd4-b3 Qd8-c7 Ra1-a2 Bc8-a6 Rf1-e1 Nb8-d7 Qd1-f3 Rf8-c8 Bf2-d4 h7-h6 Re1-a1 Qc7-c6 Ra1-e1 Rc8-e8 Qf3-f2 Ra8-c8 Qf2-f3 Rc8-c7 Re1-a1) +0.55/16 5} 15. O-O {(O-O Nc4 Bc1 Qc7 Re1 a4 Ba3 Nxa3 Rxa3 Bd7 Qd3) +0.01/44 3} Nc4 {(Nb6-c4 Rf1-e1 a5-a4 Bg2-f1 Bc8-a6 Bf1-d3 Nc4xe3 Re1xe3 Qd8-a5 Ra1-a3 Rf8-c8 Qd1-a1 Ba6-c4 f4-f5 Qa5-a7 f5xe6 f7xe6 Kg1-g2 Nb8-c6 Bd3xc4 d5xc4 h2-h3 Qa7-c5 Ra3xa4 Ra8xa4 Qa1xa4 Nc6xe5) +0.44/16 9} 16. Re1 {(Re1 a4 Bc1 Qb6 Ba3 Nxa3 Rxa3 Bd7 Qd3 Nc6) -0.13/44 6} a4 {(a5-a4 Bg2-f1 Bc8-a6 Bf1-d3 Nc4xe3 Re1xe3 Qd8-a5 Qd1-d2 Ba6-c4 Bd3xc4 d5xc4 Ra1-a3 Qa5-c5 Qd2-c1 Nb8-d7 Qc1-a1 Nd7-b6 h2-h3 Rf8-c8 Re3-e2 Ra8-a7 Qa1-b2 h7-h6 Re2-e1 Nb6-d5) +0.49/16 7} 17. Bf1 {(Bf1 Bb7 Rb1 Qc7 Nb5 Qc8 Nd6 Nxe3 Rxe3 Qc5) -0.28/44 9} Ba6 {(Bc8-a6 Bf1-d3 Nc4xe3 Re1xe3 Qd8-a5 Qd1-d2 Ba6-c4 Bd3xc4 d5xc4 Ra1-a3 Qa5-c5 Qd2-c1 Nb8-c6 Qc1-a1 Rf8-d8 Ra3xa4 Ra8xa4 Qa1xa4 Nc6xd4 c3xd4 Qc5xd4 Kg1-f2 Qd4-d2+ Re3-e2 Qd2-d5 Qa4-b4 Rd8-a8 Kf2-g1) +0.45/17 5} 18. Bd3 {(Bd3 Qd7 Qh5 h6 f5 Nxe3 fxe6 fxe6 Rxe3 Nc6 Rxa4 Nxd4 Rxd4) -0.36/44 5} Nxe3 {(Nc4xe3 Re1xe3 Qd8-a5 Qd1-d2 Ba6-c4 Bd3xc4 d5xc4 Ra1-a3 Qa5-c5 Qd2-c1 Nb8-c6 Qc1-a1 Rf8-d8 Ra3xa4 Ra8xa4 Qa1xa4 Nc6xd4 c3xd4 Qc5xd4 Kg1-f2 Qd4-c5 Kf2-f3 Qc5-d5+ Kf3-f2 Rd8-c8 Qa4-b4 Rc8-a8) +0.44/176} 19. Rxe3 {(Rxe3 Bxd3 cxd3 Qa5 Qd2 Rc8 Ra3 Nd7 Qb2 Rab8 Qa2) -0.35/20 3} Qa5 {(Qd8-a5 Qd1- d2 Ba6xd3 c2xd3 Rf8-c8 Ra1-a3 Nb8-c6 Nd4xc6 Rc8xc6 d3-d4 Qa5-c7 Re3-e1 Rc6-c4 Re1-a1 Qc7-c6 h2-h3 Ra8-b8 Qd2-c2 Rb8-c8 Qc2-f2 Rc4xc3 Ra3xc3 Qc6xc3 Ra1xa4) +0.53/16 5} 20. Bxh7+ {(Bxh7+ Kxh7 Qh5+ Kg8 g4 Qc5 Rh3 f6 f5 Bc8 Qh7+ Kf7 exf6 Kxf6 fxe6 Bxe6 Rf3+ Ke7 Qxg7+ Rf7) +0.08/44 4} Kxh7 {(Kg8xh7 f4-f5 Ba6-c8 f5xe6 Bc8xe6 Nd4xe6 f7xe6 Qd1-d3+ Kh7-g8 c3-c4 Rf8-c8 c4xd5 Qa5xd5 Ra1-a3 Qd5xd3 c2xd3 Rc8-c1+ Kg1-f2 Nb8-d7) +1.58/13} 21. Qh5+ {(Qh5+ Kg8 g4 Qb6 Rh3 f6 f5 Qb2 Qh7+ Kf7 fxe6+ Ke8 Qg6+ Kd8 e7+ Kxe7 Qxg7+ Rf7 exf6+ Kd6 Qxf7 Qxa1+ Kf2) +0.65/44 5} Kg8 {(Kh7-g8 f4-f5 Nb8-d7 f5xe6 f7xe6 Qh5-g6 Rf8-f7 Qg6xe6 Ra8-f8 Qe6-d6 Ba6-c4 e5-e6 Rf7-f1+ Ra1xf1 Rf8xf1+ Kg1-g2 Nd7-c5 Qd6-b8+ Rf1-f8) +0.67/12 1} 22. g4 {(g4 Qb6 Rh3 f6 f5 Qb2 Qh7+ Kf7 fxe6+ Ke8 Qg6+ Kd8 e7+ Kxe7 Qxg7+ Rf7 exf6+ Kd6 Qxf7 Qxa1+ Kf2) +0.66/44 3} Qc5 {(Qa5-c5 f4-f5 f7-f6 Re3-h3 Ba6-c8 Qh5-h7+ Kg8-f7 e5xf6 Kf7xf6 f5xe6 Kf6-e7 Qh7xg7+ Ke7-e8 Qg7-g6+ Ke8-d8 Rh3-h7 Nb8-c6 Qg6-g5+ Kd8-e8 Rh7-c7 Qc5xc3 Ra1xa4) -1.66/14 4} 23. Rh3 {+2. 16/44 12} f6 {-3. 96/17 24} 24. f5 {(f5 Bf1 Rxf1 Ra6 Qh7+ Kf7 exf6 Ke8 fxg7 e5 g8Q Rxg8 Qxg8+ Kd7) +7.55/67 5} Bf1 {(Ba6-f1 Ra1xf1 Ra8-a6 Qh5-h7+ Kg8-f7 e5xf6 Kf7-e8 f6xg7 e6-e5 g7xf8Q+ Qc5xf8 Qh7-c7 Qf8-g8 Qc7xb8+ Ke8-f7 Qb8-b7+ Kf7-e8 Qb7xa6 Qg8xg4+ Rh3-g3 Qg4-e4 Rg3-g8+ Ke8-d7 Qa6xa4+ Kd7-e7) -13.59/14 5} 25. Rxf1 {(Rxf1 Ra6 Qh7+ Kf7 exf6 Ke8 fxg7 e5 gxf8Q+ Qxf8 Qc7 Rd6 Qxb8+ Kf7 Rh7+ Kg8 Qxf8+ Kxf8) +12.06/67 5} Ra6 {(Ra8-a6 Qh5-h7+ Kg8-f7 e5xf6 Kf7-e8 f6xg7 e6-e5 g7xf8Q+ Qc5xf8 Qh7-c7 Qf8-g8 Qc7xb8+ Ke8-f7 Qb8-b7+ Kf7-e8 Qb7xa6 Qg8xg4+ Rh3-g3 Qg4xg3+ h2xg3 e5xd4 Rf1-e1+ Ke8-d7 Qa6xa4+ Kd7-d8 Qa4-a5+ Kd8-c8 Qa5-c5+ Kc8-b8 c3xd4) -17.77/16 12} 26. g5 {(g5 Qxc3 g6 Qxd4+ Rf2 Qd1+ Qxd1 Rf7 Rh8+ Kxh8 gxf7 g6 f8Q+ Kh7 fxg6+ Kxg6 Rxf6+ Kh7 Qh5+) +M9/67 5} Qxc3 {(Qc5xc3 Qh5-h7+ Kg8-f7 Rh3xc3 Kf7-e8 Qh7xg7 Nb8-c6 Nd4xc6 Ra6xc6 Rc3xc6 Rf8-f7 Qg7-g8+ Ke8-d7 Qg8-c8+ Kd7-e7 Rc6xe6+) -M8/11 1 Arena Adjudication} 1-0 [/pgn]

20.Bxh7+ is a unique variant of the familiar Greek Gift theme and The King found (and played) this in 4 seconds.

Wasp 3.0 (a 3000 level engine) took 12 seconds to find the move.

Impressive.

[Colin-G]

If you're going to play against it, which I suppose is the idea of a dedicated unit, I think the CM6000 version of The King is easily strong enough for any of us.

It was number 7 on the November 1999 SSDF list at 2575 Elo which is quite above GM strength.

http://www.oocities.org/marochess/ssdf/ ... df9905.htm

I'll be keeping an eye on developments, always been a big fan of ChessMaster fan!

In my Scid database of 32000+ engine-engine games, Chessmaster6000 has an elo rating of 2345 having played 118 games.
It still plays on an old computer using an Athlon 1.67Ghz cpu running Windows 98. It does not work with WinXP or newer.
A section of my elo table showing all my Chessmaster versions is below.

[IanO]

I definitely agree that this is still excellent news. Working with Johan on Chessmaster was both a great honor and a great pleasure.

Also, to IanO, if you are collecting Kittinger engines, were you aware of a PC game called "Majestic Chess", published by Vivendi in 2003? It used a Kittinger engine, but I can't recall the version number or how "new" it was. I also worked on that, with several ex-Chessmaster team members. Another great pleasure.

Absolutely!! I specifically scoured Ebay for this game. It was the key software which got my RPG-addicted nephew on to chess, thanks to the clever linking of chess puzzles and training to a fantasy quest. I think it would be very useful to port this to modern cell-phone and tablet environments to hook the latest generation of gamers on to chess.

Thanks for all your efforts; the Chess Master series was stellar.