Zarragon Chess Game to Improve Chess Skill

The Zarragon Chess System has a current rating of 2390 at level 9 on the www.instantchess.com website under the name of "Human Robot". This rating is equivalent to a strong Master player, and is just short of International Master.

The following options are available from Menus :

File menu: "New" game, "Open" a saved game, "Save" current game and "Exit" Zarragon.

Edit menu: "Undo last move" to take back the last move that was made, and "Go back to move" which can be used to restart play at a specific move number.

Options menu: "Set play Level" allows you to set Zarragon's playing level of which there are the following four options : "Fixed Ply" which Zarragon uses to search down the number of ply (player turns), the lower the level, the better your chance of beating Zarragon. The "Fixed time per move" option sets Zarragon's move response time in seconds, and again, the lower the value, the better your chance of beating Zarragon. "Incremental" play and "Tournament" styles of play are available for experienced players. "Game options" from which the following options can be set : "Enable hint in game play", "Beep after move", "Beep after error", "Players can resign", "Flash piece on moving", "Compute move when idle" and "Black at bottom" to invert the chess board display. The "Book options" controls use of the openings book at start of new games. The "Problem options" is used to enable/disable control of hints in problem solving and to set the default time in seconds to become familiar with a new problem position to be solved. The "Change Side" allows you to switch sides if required. "Change styles" allows you to select a different board or piece style from the available options. You can also set up your own styles if required. The "Resign" option allows you to Resign if there is no hope of you winning ! The "Force computer's move" option allows you to force Zarragon to make the current best move which is displayed in the statistics area. The "Hint" option if enabled, allows you to request Zarragon to provide you with a 'suggested' move. The final option is to "Stop Clock" or "Start Clock" depending on the state of game play with regard to the clock - this option is useful if your game is interrupted, and you need to leave the game without clock time being adjusted.

View menu: Controls display of the "Statistics" area and "Clock" if it is not required.

Openings menu: comprises "Book options" to control use of the openings book in game play. "Add openings" to add a new opening to the book. "View openings" to view all details about the catalogued openings and watch the moves being played.

Problems menu: contains "Problems options" to enable/disable control of hints in problem solving and to set the default time in seconds to become familiar with a new problem position to be solved. The "Solve problems" menu option takes you to the Zarragon problem solving facility where you will be presented with a problem at random for you to evaluate the position and come up with the moves for the solution. Each problem has its own theme, like "destroy pawn structure" and "double attack". The "Add problems" facility allows set up of your own problems if required. The "View problems" option allows you to view all the problems and details and watch the moves being played. The "Setup position" facility allows you to set up of your own chess position for continued game play or analysis. The "Solve current game" facility solves the current chess game position by entering automatic play mode, stopping when the end of game is reached, or when interrupted between moves when this menu option changes to "Stop solving game" (for about 5 seconds).

Help menu: is where you can find the FIDE "Rules" for the game in HTML format. The "Design Bitmaps..." facility displays documentation on how to design and use your own board square and piece bitmaps if required. The "Example game" option shows a complete example classic game with annotated notes to help you understand some of the tactics and ploys in the game ! The "About" dialog box can also be displayed from the Help menu items.