Stockfish for iphone/itouch

[Andre]

A few weeks ago Tord mentioned he was very close on having the new version ready... is there any news on when it will be available?

Thanks!

[Tord Romstad]

A few weeks ago Tord mentioned he was very close on having the new version ready... is there any news on when it will be available?

Nothing more precise than "some time soon", I'm afraid.

I've had unexpectedly much to do at my job the last couple of weeks, and haven't had as much time for computer chess as I hoped. Not even my beta testers have heard anything from me for a while, but I hope to send them a new beta version this weekend, and to upload the new version to the App Store a week or two later. How soon it will be available for download depends on how fast Apple approves the app (this can take anything from a couple of days to several weeks).

Apart from the updated engine, there will be a new default piece set, a few very minor user interface improvements, more detailed search information in analysis mode, a new play style "Random", weaker play at the lowest strength settings, various little bug fixes, and a single new killer feature which I won't tell you about quite yet.

[Andre]

This looks great! I'm very excited now... Looking forward to playing with it.
Thanks for sharing the news

[M ANSARI]

I was playing with Glaurung for iphone and I must say I find it even better than the paid versions of Hiarcs and Shredder. I especially like how the pieces move and playing strength is quite good. I really think that it should have not been free as that would give more incentive to develop it further. Even something as little as $.99 would probably get some cash to make development worthwhile. Personally I think it would be worth it even if they charge the 9.99 that others are charging. It is BY FAR the best free chess application for the Iphone.

[Werewolf]

I was playing with Glaurung for iphone and I must say I find it even better than the paid versions of Hiarcs and Shredder. I especially like how the pieces move and playing strength is quite good. I really think that it should have not been free as that would give more incentive to develop it further. Even something as little as $.99 would probably get some cash to make development worthwhile. Personally I think it would be worth it even if they charge the 9.99 that others are charging. It is BY FAR the best free chess application for the Iphone.

Shredder has received a nice iPhone update, now claiming to be the strongest as it's using the v12 engine. Hoping H13 comes out soon for both P.C & iPhone. R4 running as an app / online would be incredible too!

[Mark]

I was playing with Glaurung for iphone and I must say I find it even better than the paid versions of Hiarcs and Shredder. I especially like how the pieces move and playing strength is quite good. I really think that it should have not been free as that would give more incentive to develop it further. Even something as little as $.99 would probably get some cash to make development worthwhile. Personally I think it would be worth it even if they charge the 9.99 that others are charging. It is BY FAR the best free chess application for the Iphone.

I had tried to convince Tord to charge for it earlier. Unsuccessfully, of course... Anyway, it is a _very_ nice program!

[Cubeman]

Tord, how many postcards have you recived in the mail.I see in the Options/About/Help you mention this Postcard-ware.
Also the latest Shredder for iphone is still a hassle to use.Still can't play a time level game, so can't match it against other apps to test the claim "Strongest" iphone app.I have seen that term used by many of the chess apps on itunes who is telling the truth
Still I find all applications on the ipod touch drain battery quite quickly and have virtually given up playing around with them.Just use it as a dedicated music player now.I think those Capacitive touch screens use more power than the normal TFT stylus controlled screens or screens with no imput control at all.

[M ANSARI]

Tord, how many postcards have you recived in the mail.I see in the Options/About/Help you mention this Postcard-ware.
Also the latest Shredder for iphone is still a hassle to use.Still can't play a time level game, so can't match it against other apps to test the claim "Strongest" iphone app.I have seen that term used by many of the chess apps on itunes who is telling the truth
Still I find all applications on the ipod touch drain battery quite quickly and have virtually given up playing around with them.Just use it as a dedicated music player now.I think those Capacitive touch screens use more power than the normal TFT stylus controlled screens or screens with no imput control at all.

Battery life is a problem with chess application in every batter operated computer or smartphone (including iPhone). It is just that chess is an extremely CPU intensive application that maxes out the CPU and thus utilizes battery the most. A killer application would be to have a "hook" from the iPhone chess application to your home PC. This way the battery intensive operation would be on your home PC and the iPhone would be acting simply as a communication device with a GUI ... I bet that would solve completely the problem of battery drain. You would of course need internet connectivity on your phone plan or WiFi, but there are new phone plans coming out that seem extremely affordable ... and I believe very soon that internet connectivity will come to any phone plan free of charge.

[Tord Romstad]

Thanks to everyone for your kind words!

Tord, how many postcards have you recived in the mail.I see in the Options/About/Help you mention this Postcard-ware.

I haven't received a lot of them -- about 20 in total, I guess. Honestly I never expected to receive very many, so I'm not at all disappointed.

Also the latest Shredder for iphone is still a hassle to use.Still can't play a time level game, so can't match it against other apps to test the claim "Strongest" iphone app.

I agree, claiming to be the strongest without supporting timed games doesn't make sense.

[Tord Romstad]

A killer application would be to have a "hook" from the iPhone chess application to your home PC.

Shame on you -- you just busted my secret new killer feature!

This way the battery intensive operation would be on your home PC and the iPhone would be acting simply as a communication device with a GUI ... I bet that would solve completely the problem of battery drain.

I haven't tested enough to be completely sure about this yet. Wireless internet also drains the battery somewhat, I'm not sure whether it is better or worse than CPU intensive work on the device.

You would of course need internet connectivity on your phone plan or WiFi, but there are new phone plans coming out that seem extremely affordable ...

The protocol I use is designed to minimize the amount of data transferred. Even with an expensive data plan, playing a full game of chess remotely should be virtually free.