===========
RIVAL CHESS
===========

Version  1.5e
June 6th 1995

Russ Newman
Chris Moreton

chris-m@gemini.co.uk

Latest Updates of Rival available on the Internet via the World Web Wide at

http://www.gemini.co.uk/gemini/biopages/coffee/coffee.html

Or direct download from

www.gemini.co.uk/gemini/biopages/coffee/rival.zip

--------
Contents
--------

1. Quick Help
   1a. Known Problems
2. What's it all about?
3. Registration
4. Using The Game
     4a. Starting a game of Chess
     4b. Computer Opponent Options
	   4b1. Playing Method
	   4b2. Opening Book.
     4c. The Program's Move.
     4d. Taking back, Replaying Moves
     4e. Configuring The Display
     4f. Saving and Loading Games
     4g. Playing alternative games
	   4g1a. Rules of Kinglet
	   4g1b. Tactics for Kinglet
	   4g2a. Rules of Giveaway Chess
	   4g2b. Tactics for Giveaway Chess
	   4g3a. Rules of Shatranj
     4h. Setting up the board
     4i. Statistics
     4j. Solving Chess Problems
     4k. The End Of a Game.
6. Brief History
7. Icon Descriptions.


Section 1
----------
Quick Help
----------

If you are reading this file because you are bewildered for any reason,
here is some quick help, otherwise jump to the What's it all about?
section.

You should have the following files in your Rival directory

File          Purpose
-----------------------------------------
RIVAL.EXE     Executable file - essential
OPENINGS.LIB  Opening library
RIVAL.HLP     Internal help file
README.TXT    This file
OPTIONS.RIV   Saved options file
REGISTER.TXT  Registration Form

To run Rival you must have a PC with a 286 or better processor and a
standard VGA graphics display.  Unfortunately you must also have a
mouse and a Dos mouse driver loaded, even when Rival is launched
from Windows.  Keyboard support will be added very shortly but for the
time being if you load Rival without a mouse driver, the only way to
quit is to press ESC.

When playing Rival, clicking the right mouse button will bring up a
brief help text about the object or icon you are pointing to with the
mouse.  This is the best way to learn what each icon does.

When an icon has a green tick on it, this shows that the option is
active, e.g. when the opening book icon is ticked, the program will
use its opening book.

Section 6 gives a complete description of each of Rival's icons.

(1a)
Known Problems
--------------
All problems listed here will be fixed by the end of May '95, some may
be sorted out sooner.

Pawn promotion
--------------
At present, you can only promote to a Queen.  This is except for Kinglet
games where you can promote only to a King.

Mouse
-----
If you do not have a DOS mouse driver loaded, Rival will not work because the 
Keyboard is not supported.  This is true even if you start Rival from within
MS-Windows.  You must quit Rival by pressing ESC if your mouse does not respond.  
Usually you can load a DOS mouse driver by typing MOUSE at the dos prompt
(or adding it to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file).  Alternatively, you may be able
to add the line DEVICE=C:\DOS\MOUSE.DRV (or another path) to your CONFIG.SYS
file.  Keyboard support is being added.

Section 2
--------------------
What's it all about?
--------------------

Rival plays chess and chess variants.  Rather than take the sensible
approach and allow you to operate the program via drop down menus,
Rival uses icons, great big chunky ICONS.  We'll leave it up to you
to decide if this was a good idea or not but Russ spent a lot of
time  drawing those icons so please try to love 'em!  We're very
pleased with the way it looks, and once you've figured out where
everything is and what it does, you may well find Rival a lot easier
to use than if it used words and stuff.

As well as playing a respectable game of chess, Rival plays various variant
games using the regular chess pieces (see 'Rules For Variant Games').
Very shortly, Rival will be able to play half a dozen or more variant chess
games, at present it plays only tow, Kinglet and Giveaway chess.

There are always additions to the game that we have wanted to include and
we are updating the program almost constantly.

Other features that haven't made it into this version are our opening
editor which is still almost impossible to use and the ability to print
game records from within the program.  These things will be making an
appearance very shortly however.  We will be particularly enthusiastic
to improve the program if you all register!, which beings us neatly onto
section 3...

Section 3
------------
Registration
------------

If you do enjoy Rival or continue to use it please register.  On
registration you will receive the latest version of the program, a printed
manual, frequent updates and any goodies that we can think of, such as
our opening editor which is currently undergoing work to make it usable.
Registered users will also of course receive support.  Any correspondence
regarding the program can be made via Email at the address

     chris-m@gemini.co.uk

To register please write with your name, address and 15 pounds to the
address given below.  If you prefer, a form is available by printing
the file REGISTER.TXT

Please make cheques/postal orders payable to Chris Moreton (or Russ Newman)

P.O. Box 138
Southampton
SO15 0ZD

Section 4.
-----------
Using Rival
-----------

(4a)
Starting a Game of Chess
------------------------

To start a game, make sure that you are playing the right game.  You can
see, and change, what game you are playing (Chess, Kinglet or Giveaway)
by clicking the Game Rules icon on the main menu.

You can then start the game by either making a move as white or instructing
the program to make the white moves (make sure that you first that you
switch the black pieces to be played by a human player, unless you want to
watch an autoplay game).
To restart a game at any time, choose the trash can icon on the main menu
to discard the current game.

(4b)
Computer Opponent Options
-------------------------

(4b1)
Playing Method
--------------
There are currently three playing methods.  These are

   Fixed Level
   Fixed Time
   Championship

Your prefered mehthod can be selected from the Change Timing Method
icon on the main menu.  When this menu is up, you can change the
settings for each of these methods by clicking the button on which
the current settings are displayed.


Fixed Level
-----------
When using a fixed level method, the program will play at one of seven
skill levels from 2 through to 8.  The skill level is directly related
to how many half-moves ahead the program will look (that is at level 2
it will fully search 1 full move ahead even though it may look briefly
at moves beyond this).

Fixed Time
----------
When using a fixed time method, the program will take a given amount of
time to play each move.  This time can be between 5 seconds and 995
seconds.

Championship
------------
When playing in championship mode, the program will make a given amount
of moves within a given time.  The default setting for this option is
40 moves in 120 minutes.  In this version, this is controlled in the
most basic of ways.  Embarassingly, this is simply a division of moves
and time to give a fixed time for each move.  O.K. so this is to all
intents and purposes identical to the Fixed Time method but it will
become useful shortly.

(4b2)
Opening Book
------------
The opening book option is ticked by default allowing the program to
use its opening book for the initial moves of a game.  This can be
turned off though by clicking the opening book icon.  There is no
opening book for variant games.

(4c)
The Program's Move
------------------
You can do one of three things whilst the program is deciding on its
move.

    Wait for it to make a move
    Stop it
    Force it to play the best move found so far

To stop it from making its move, left click the red button to the right
of the screen where the top row of icons normally are.

To force it to play its best move so far, left click the green button
next to the red button.

(4d)
Taking Back, Replaying Moves
----------------------------
There are four icons on the main menu for taking back and replaying moves.
We agree that these are at first sight rather similar but then again,
they do have rather similar functions.  The icons are situated on the
third row of the main menu and reading from left to right do the
following:-

   Play the last move taken back
   Take back the last move
   Play back all moves
   Take back all moves

The last option is useful if you want to replay a game move by move.
An automatic replay function will be added to Rival very soon.


(4e)
Configuring The Display
-----------------------
All the icons for configuring the Rival display are found on the second
the second menu which is reached by clicking the right arrow at the bottom
right of the main menu.  Reading from left to right, the icons are:-

  Change chess set
  Change chess board
  Change white piece colour
  Change black piece colour

There are three chess sets, eight chess boards and the pieces can be any
of eight colours.


(4f)
Saving and Loading
------------------
At the bottom left of the main menu are the save and load icons.  The
save icon has an arrow pointing into the disk and the load icon has
an icon coming from the disk.  When you select either of these icons,
a further menu of fifteen icons will be brought up.  You can save or load
a game in any of these positions.  On each icon in which a saved game is
stored, a letter will appear representing the variant being played when the
game was saved, the codes are:-

   R - Regular Chess
   K - Kinglet
   G - Giveaway Chess
   S - Shatranj

This method of saving and loading will soon change as we are aware that
it is far from the best way of doing things.


(4g)
Playing alternative games
-------------------------

Rival currently plays three chess variants.  These are

    Kinglet
    Giveaway
    Shatranj

Whenever you start Rival, it will be set up to play by normal chess rules.
This is the only option not saved when the save options icon is pressed.
In order to select another game, either click the Variant button on the
opening screen, or once inside Rival, click the Game Rules icon on the main
Menu.  In either case you will be given a selection of variant games, as
well as, of course, the choice of playing by the regular chess rules.

You can choose a different game even if a current game is in progress.
However, the current board position must be a legal position for the
game rules you wish to switch to.  For example, if you are playing
Kinglet and wish to switch to regular chess, both kings must be
on the board and the side not on the move must not be in check.

(4g1a)
The Rules of Kinglet
--------------------

We got the rules for this game from the book 'New rules for Classic
Games' by R. Wayne Schmittberger.  He acredits the invention of Kinglet
to V.R. Parton.

To win a game a Kinglet, your opponent must have no pawns left on the
board.  This can be achieved either by capture or by forcing pawn
promotion.  There are no rules regarding check and the king may be
taken like any other piece.  All pawns reaching the last rank are
promoted to Kings.  All other regular chess rules apply.

(4g1b)
Tactics for Kinglet
-------------------
I've never beaten the program at this game, so I can't really help with
tactics.  We would be very grateful if anyone can give hints on how to
play this game.


(4g2a)
The Rules of Giveaway Chess
---------------------------
The rules of giveaway chess are as follows.

Their are rules regarding check or checkmate, the King is treated as any
other piece.
The winner is the first player to lose all their pieces.
A player must capture if a capturing move is available.

(4g2b)
Tactics for Giveaway Chess
--------------------------
Can't really help on this one either I'm afraid but I can tell you that this
is the program's strongest game and I am getting to like it a lot.

(4g3a)
The Rules of Shatranj
---------------------
Shatranj evolved into Medieval chess which in turn evolved into the modern
othordox chess.  In some ways some people may consider it superior to
modern chess mainly due to its great sublety.  The style of play is
reminisent of a great end-game.  The rules are the same as regular chess
except:-

Bishops (elephants) jump two squares diagonally.  For example, an elephant
on c3 can move to a1, a5, e1 or e5 and may leap as a knight can over
any pieces that block its path.

Queens (generals) move one square diagonally.

There is no castling move.
Pawns may not move 2 squares on their first move.
Pawns may only promote to queens.

The object is to checkmate, or stalemate the opposing king or to capture
all enemy pieces (including pawns) other than the king.  This last rule
is known as the bare king rule.


(4h)
Setting up the board
--------------------
When you choose the setup board option from the main menu, you will be
presented with a new menu displaying a choice of each white and black
piece as well as four other icons for cancelling, confirming, clearing
the board and changing the side to move.

To place a piece on the board, choose that piece from the menu and then
use the left mouse button to place it on the board.  To wipe a piece
from the board, use the right mouse button.

To return to the game without changing anything, choose the cancel (red
cross) icon to leave setup.  To confirm your new board setup, choose the
confirmation (green tick) icon.  You will only be allowed to confirm a
position if it is a legal chess position, that is, the side not on the
move is not in check, there are no pawns on the first or last ranks, etc.

WARNING
-------
When confirming a setup position, you reset any moves that have been made
in the current game.

(4i)
Statisitics
-----------

Selecting the Examine Analysis icon (question mark) on the main menu will
bring up a statistics window.  These statistics regard the previous move made
by the computer.  On the left is this window you will see the path of moves
that the program's analysis was based upon.  On the right, there are four
boxes containing the following information:-

    Nodes searched
    Time taken
    Nodes per second (saves you working it out I s'pose)
    Depth searched to

Nodes searched
    This figure shows the number of board positions that the program
    examined whilst deciding on a move.  For example, if White has 20
    available moves and Black has 20 replies to each of these moves, then
    if the program looked at all possible positions up to and including
    Black's next move then it would look at 400 nodes.

Time Taken
    Shown in seconds, the amount of time the program took to decide on
    the last move that it made.

Nodes Per Second
    This shows the average amount of nodes searched per second.  Should
    give you some indication of how fast Rival is running.  On a 486DX50
    Rival averages at about 5000 nodes per second.

(4j)
Setting Up and Solving Chess Problems
-------------------------------------
The Solve For Mate icon can be found on the second menu.  When the icon is
clicked, the program will search to see if there is a forced checkmate
available within four moves.  The forced checkmate must be for the side
to move so you should make sure that the correct side is to play before
choosing this option.  You can change the side to play within the Setup
Board menu (see Section 5a, above).

(4k)
The End Of A Game
-----------------
Briefly.  When a side is checkmated, their King will have a red splat on
it.  When a draw has occurred, each King will have a flag on it.

In a game of Kinglet, all the pieces on the losing side will be ticked.
Er... not quite sure why.

Section 6
-----------
About Rival
-----------

Russell drew almost all of the graphics.  The only things that Russell
did not draw because he was not available are the mouse icon and the
confirmation question mark (you'll notice the difference!).  The
programming was my doing although Russell wrote the routines for displaying
the graphics.

Section 7
-----------------
Icon Descriptions
-----------------

The icons are listed as they appear on the menus reading from left
to right and then top to bottom.

======
MENU 1
======

Examine Analysis
----------------
This will bring up details of the search that resulted in the program's
last move.  Amongst other things, the number of nodes (board positions)
evaluated and the time taken to make the move.  This icon can only
be selected when the last move was made by the program.  For more information
see the section 'analysis statistics'


Invert Board
------------
When the icon has a tick on it, the board has been inverted.  Click
the icon to add or remove the tick.  On an inverted board the pieces
are displayed as if black were playing from the bottom of the screen.

Setup Board
-----------
Pressing this icon will take you into setup mode which allows you
to set up the pieces on the board however you like.  For more information
on this mode, please see Section 4g.

Change White Player
-------------------
Pressing this icon lets you choose who controls the white pieces.
If the program is currently using them, pressing this icon will give
control to you and vice versa.  In the main help text and this file
the opposing sides are referred to as black and white regardless of
the colour of the displayed pieces.  White always plays up the board
and black always plays from the top down, unless the board is inverted.
You can tell if the board is inverted by looking at the Invert Board
icon on Menu 2; it will be ticked if the board is inverted.

Change Black Player
-------------------
See Change White Player.

Select Timing Method
--------------------
When this icon is left-clicked, you will be given a selection of timing
methods to choose from.  See section 4b1 for a description of timing
methods.

Game Rules
----------
Left-clicking this icon will give you a menu of game rules to choose from.
For more information on this see section 4f - Playing alternative games.

Play Last Move
--------------
If you have taken back any moves with the Take Back icon, this icon
will allow you to replay them.

Take Back Move
--------------
This icon allows you to take back the last move made.  When you take
back any moves, both black and white pieces are placed under user
control, i.e. the computer will not make a move until you tell the
program which pieces to use.  The reason for this is simply that if
you were to take back a move made by the computer and the program was
still in control of that colour, it would go ahead and make the move
right back again.

Play all Moves
--------------
Pressing this icon causes all taken back moves to be replayed bringing
the board back to the displaying the current state of the game.

Take Back All
-------------
This option takes back all the moves made in the game.  The difference
between this option and starting a new game is that when this option
is selected, you can replay all the moves.

Save Game
---------
This is used to save the current game.  For more information on this
see Section 4e.

Load Game
---------
This is used to load a previously saved game.  For more information
on saving and loading games, see Section 4e.

New Game
--------
Use this icon to start a new game.  The game rules you selected under
the computer options menu will still be in effect for the new game.
Confirmation will be asked for when you select this option.

Next Menu Icon
--------------
Selecting this icon will take you to Menu 2.  This menu is primarily
concerned with configuring the look of Rival.  Descriptions of the icons
in this menu follow.

======
MENU 2
======

Previous Menu Icon
------------------
This option returns you to Menu 1.

View Analysis
-------------
When this option is selected the program will show its processes while
it is deciding on a move.

Opening Library
---------------
When this icon is ticked, the program will use its opening library when
it can.  This option requires that the file OPENINGS.LIB is available.

About Icon
----------
This icon will bring up information about Rival.

Change Chess Set
----------------
You can use this icon to cycle through the three available chess sets.
It's hard to imagine that you would prefer any of these but Russ got
carried away.  Have a quick look anyway.

Change Board
------------
This icon will allow you to cycle through the eight different chessboard
designs.  There is a plain black and white board if you don't like our
other efforts.

Change White Colour
-------------------
Pressing this icon will change the colour of the white pieces, i.e. the
pieces that are playing up the board (if not inverted)

Change Black Colour
-------------------
See Change White Colour.

Default Options
---------------
Clicking this icon will reset all options to their default settings.

Save Options
------------
Clicking this icon will save the current option settings.  Saved settings
will be automatically loaded when Rival is started.  The only option not
saved is the alternate game option.  Rival will always start ready to
play regular chess.

Piece Slide
-----------
When this option is ticked, the pieces will slide when moved rather than
jumping.

Solve For Mate
--------------
Clicking this icon will cause the program to search for a forced mate
from the side to move within a maximum of 4 moves for each side.  If the
program does find a forced mate you can click the green button above the
anaylsis box to play the first move.  During the search you can click the
red button above the analysis box to stop the search and return you to the
menu.

Mouse Sensitivity
-----------------
This option allows you to select the speed at which the mouse travels
in relation to the amount you physically move it.  Currently it will
either be set to Low, Medium or High.  This will soon change to allow
for a sliding scale.

Quit To DOS (or wherever)
-------------------------
Selecting this icon will allow you to leave Rival.  You will be asked
for confirmation before you say goodbye.



