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1.1       root        1: [This article was reproduced from a GNU Bulletin.]
                      2: 
                      3:                           GNU Chess
                      4:                       by Stuart Cracraft
                      5:                copyright 1987 Stuart Cracraft
                      6: 
                      7: 
                      8:    GNU Chess is a communal chess program. Contributors donate their
                      9: time and effort in order to make it a stronger, better, sleeker program.
                     10: Contributions take many forms: interfaces to high-resolution displays,
                     11: opening book treatises, speedups of the underlying algorithms, additions
                     12: of extra heuristics. These contributions are then distributed to the
                     13: large user-base so that all may enjoy the fruits of our labor. The
                     14: original and continuing purpose of this project is to permanently end 
                     15: the rampant hoarding of computer chess software that has been the 
                     16: case for the past 20 years.
                     17: 
                     18:    Many people have contributed to GNU Chess. Their contributions have
                     19: improved the program from being a patzer (weak program) to being a
                     20: grandpatzer (decently strong program). In its growth since initial
                     21: release, GNU Chess has gone from approximately class D to expert
                     22: strength. It beats the Fidelity Excel commercial unit rather handily.
                     23: 
                     24:    GNU Chess's structure is a hybrid of the Shannon Type-A and
                     25: Type-B methods. It conducts a full-width search to a fixed-depth
                     26: and then continues with a quiescence search for many more ply.
                     27: This quiescence search helps the program find positions which
                     28: can be safely evaluated and which are not too turbulent. If
                     29: a terminal position is too turbulent, the evaluation will be
                     30: highly inaccurate. Additional searching by investigating series
                     31: of captures, checks, and other potentially imbalance-producing
                     32: moves is quite helpful.
                     33: 
                     34:   GNU Chess will sacrifice pieces in order to reach known winning
                     35: endings. Also, it uses a trade-down bonus to encourage the stronger
                     36: side to trade off certain types of pieces thus reaching a more
                     37: simplified and therefore ostensibly "clearer" position.
                     38: 
                     39:   GNU Chess has certain types of knowledge regarding easier endgames.
                     40: This allows it to play these endings somewhat better than might be
                     41: expected.
                     42: 
                     43:   GNU Chess has time heuristics that it uses to improve its handling 
                     44: of time-controls and hasten its making of "obvious" moves.
                     45:  
                     46:   GNU Chess is interfaced to the SUN Windows and X Windows
                     47: display protocols and can display its pieces in elaborate format,
                     48: similar to chess diagrams.
                     49: 
                     50:   GNU Chess has an opening book which consists of many variations
                     51: from MCO (Modern Chess Openings).
                     52: 
                     53:   For comparison purposes, GNU Chess running on a VAX 8650 is
                     54: stronger than the famous Chess 4.5 running on a CDC 6400.
                     55: 
                     56:   We wish to acknowledge the contributions of the following
                     57: individuals: (in alphabetical order) Jim Aspnes, Wayne Christopher,
                     58: Steve Dougherty, David Goldberg, Richard Greenblatt, David Kittinger,
                     59: Richard Stallman, John Stanback, and Ken Thompson.
                     60: 
                     61:   Contact information: The author may be reached by a variety of
                     62: methods. Via U.S. mail: Stuart Cracraft, 5 Via Amistosa, Suite G,
                     63: Rancho Santa Margarita, Ca. 92688 USA. 
                     64:     By Internet: 'cracraft at wheaties.ai.mit.edu'
                     65: The author may also be contacted via the Free Software Foundation, Inc.
                     66: 675 Massachusetts Ave.,Cambridge MA 02139.

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