WinBoard

WinBoard is a piece of chess 2D freeware that allowed players to play against each other via chess servers using a graphical Windows interface, it is derived from XBoard which performs the same function for the Unix based X Window system. WinBoard also was sometimes issued with a copy of GNU Chess.

When the version that was used to produce this submission, version 4.2.3, was installed the user would find multiple links and entry points to the program had been placed in the Windows START menu under the WinBoard program group, these entry points were:* A pre-configured connection to the chessclub.com server

• A pre-configured connection to the freechess.org server

• An unconfigured connection which could be used to play games, play against a chess engine, play one chess engine against another, or view and edit game files.

• A game viewer with a library containing some of Bobby Fischer’s games starting with the New jersey State Open Championship in 1957 and ending with a Sousse Interzonal game against Leonid Z Stein in 1967.

• A game viewer with a library containing the Kaparov v Kasparov match from the 1990 World Championship in Lyon, France

• WinBoard opens in game viewer mode with no default library. The game viewer will automatically play the selected game file once it has been selected, any comments recorded are displayed in a separate window. The player has options to pause the game and step forwards/backwards as often as they wish.

• GNU Chess versions 4.0 and 5.0 were installed with this game and options to use both plus links to their documentation were installed. When run both versions use WinBoard rather than their own in-built graphical interfaces.

• A link to the WinBoard Help system which can also be accessed in-game via the menu bar

• A link to the WinBoard README file

• An option to open the WinBoard Startup dialogue and either play on-line or against a chess engine

WinBoard has many options to play chess games in different sized window with a wide range of colour options. Though was supplied with WinBoard it could also be used with many others including Arasan, Comet, Crafty, The Crazy Bishop, Comet, EXChess, Fortress, Gromit, OliThink, Inmichess, La Dame Blanche, OliThink, Phalanx, Rival, SSEChess, Tristram, and ZChess. Game files in .pgn format could be played and edited, there is also a training mode which could be used in conjunction with a game file. In the training mode the player tries to guess what move was made next.

Players could also play chess on-screen, pieces are moved by dragging & dropping or by typing in the move using standard chess notation. Such games could be saved to be replayed later with the game viewer, they could also be printed.