info-mac@uw-beaver (info-mac) (10/15/84)
From: mclure@sri-prism I have received my copy of Sargon III (finally) and have checked it out. Not bad! It certainly beats out all previous micro-computer chess programs in styling due to the bit-mapped nature and higher resolution. Also, there are quite a few more features. o choose from 9 different levels of play A special switch boosts this to 18 o plays has an opening library of 68,000 moves o Sargon III has beaten a chess master rated over 2200 in tournament time limits [I think only one other micro-computer program can make this claim.] o winner of the 1984 PC World Magazine micro-chess tournament [Never heard of this tournament.] o Probably rated around 1800 (private communication with Sargon III's authors) ... and so forth. A friend and I played a quick game against it and liked what we saw, generally. There are three displays. One is the main board. The second is the current game listing (updated dynamically) and the third is the 'window into the search', a way of reading variables as they are modified by the underlying assembly language program. You use the mouse to move the pieces on the board. A 'replay' feature is amusing. It plays over the just-played game, graphically, at blinding speed as it moves all the pieces. All in all an excellent buy for $50. Stuart