Welcome

Overview, FAQ, Keys

Play menu

New game

Hint

Show threat

Undo/Enter moves

Move now

Menu

Options

Flip board

Setup board

Start/Stop training

Help

About

License

Welcome to PocketGrandmaster for Smartphone by www.clevergames.com 

PocketGrandmaster is a fully featured chess playing program for Smartphones running the Microsoft Smartphone 2002 operating system. PocketGrandmaster offers a configurable board, two comfortable ways to enter moves, a chessclock, hints and a training mode. It also lets you select between a variety of preconfigured levels.

PocketGrandmaster is very easy to use and allows you to enter moves or replay a game quickly, once you get used to it. The main screen shows a full-size board where you usually play. Below the board is a line displaying the chessclock and information about the search-process (mode, time, score, best line). Depending on the mode selected in the Menu, you can use the actionkey to enter moves or undo moves (e.g. take back moves).

In the Enter moves-mode, moves are entered in two steps:

1. Select piece.
Move the red frame to the piece you want to move and press the actionkey.
2. Select destination.
Move the red frame to the square you want to move to.

In the Undo moves-mode, you can use the actionkey to browse through the moves of a game:

• Left take back a move
• Right move forward one move
• Down take back 10 moves
• Up move forward 10 moves
• Press: return to Enter moves mode.

When you want to play Black, you can use Flip board to flip the board and Move now to let the computer make the first move.
When PocketGrandmaster is started, it loads the state of the game last played.

Frequently asked questions:

• How do I get the program to play white? Select "Move now" from the menu.
• Is there a two player mode? Yes, uncheck "Autoanswer" in Menu - Options.
• How to I enter moves? See here.
• How to I take back moves? See here.

When searching, the chess-engine displays search-related information below the board. For example:
04:45 +0.81 3..e4 4.Nd4 Bc5 5. e3

This means:

• 04:45 the clock of the player to move (4 minutes and 45 seconds left for the rest of the game).
• +0.81 the score. The engine thinks blacks position is better by about a pawn (a pawn is 1.00). The score is always from the engines point of view - positive if the engine thinks it's position is better.
• 3..e4 4.Nd4... the Principal Variation is 3...e4 4.Nd4 Bc5... The principal variation shows the moves the engine expects, the first move (3. ... e4) is the move the engine would currently play if it was stopped.

Starts a new game from the initial position and with the currently selected level.

Lets PocketGrandmaster suggest a good move for you. The engine performs a brief search (of about 5 seconds) and suggests a move by highlighting it with an arrow on the board.

Shows which move PocketGrandmaster plans to make if you don't prevent it. The engine performs a brief search (of about 5 seconds), and highlights the threatening move with an arrow.

PocketGrandmaster knows two modes to enter moves: normal and smart. The smart mode allows you to enter moves quickly, but can be confusing when you are not used to it. The normal mode is straightforward:

1. Select piece.
The currently selected piece is marked by a red frame to provide visible feedback. With the actionkey you can move the frame up/down/left/right and select every piece which can make a legal move. When you press the actionkey, the current piece is selected, it's frame becomes white and the first destinationsquare gets a red frame.
2. Select destination.
Move the actionkey to the desired square and press it to enter the move. Pressing the actionkey has no effect when trying to enter an illegal move.

1. Select piece.
With the actionkey you can move the frame to every piece which can make a legal move. When you move the actionkey in a direction, the mark jumps to the next piece in the given direction. When you press the actionkey, the current piece is selected, it's frame becomes white and the first destinationsquare gets a red frame.
2. Select destination.
Move the actionkey up or down to select the next or previous move from the list of moves of the selected piece. When you move a Bishop, Rook or the Queen, you can also move the actionkey left or right to change the movedirection and then up or down to select the next move in the current direction.

• Level
  Lets you select the level of play. There are three different categories and an infinite level. The first category are four "Easy"-levels for beginners ("Easy 1" is the weakest level). The second category are fixed time per move levels "x/move", for example "5sec/move": PocketGrandmaster thinks for a maximum of 5 seconds per move. The third category are fixed time per game levels "x/game". This level set the thinking time for the whole game. E.g. "5min/game" means PocketGrandmaster will make all moves of a game in 5 minutes. At infinite level the engine will think until the user stops it. Only if a mate is found or if there is only one move to avoid a mate the engine will stop thinking earlier.
• Pieceset
  Select between three different styles of chessmen for the board:
  • Leipzig: slightly old-fashioned.
  • Spanish: detailed and modern.
  • Mark: modern and plain.
• Colors
  Select the design of the squares of the chessboard (brown, maple, ash, oak, blue/green/red marble, slate).
• Enter moves
  Select the normal or smart mode to enter moves. See here.
• Autoanswer
  If checked PocketGrandmaster will start thinking after each move you make, otherwise you can make moves for both sides (2-player-mode).
• Highlight last move
  Tells PocketGrandmaster to highlight the last move made by the engine with an arrow.
• Show mainline
  Uncheck if you don't want to see search related information when the engine is running.
• Sound effects
  Uncheck to switch off sound effects.

Allows you to set up any (legal) position. With the Board menu, you can clear the board, undo your changes or reset it to the initial position. Cancel leaves the dialog. To set up a piece or clear a single square,

1. move the red frame to the desired square
2. press the actionkey
3. move the actionkey up or down to select the desired piece.
After setting up the pieces press Done to move to the next dialog where you can set the player on move, the castling rights and the enpassant file. Again, press Done when you're done. You can't close the window until the position is legal. For example it is not legal if:
• there are more than 8 pawns, 9 queens or 10 other pieces of a given color
• castling and enpassant status do not match the given position
• a king can be captured

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Training

The training mode allows you to practice your chess-skills - your task is to find the best moves for one side in a given testposition. PocketGrandmaster will automatically play the moves of the other side and load the next position after all moves were entered correctly.
When you activate the "Training"-mode, PocketGrandmaster loads a database of testpositions and then displays the first position from the database. The board automatically flips, so that the side to move plays from bottom to top. The information below the board shows that you are in "Training"-mode and which side is to move. Think about the best move in the position and then play your move. When you enter a wrong move, you can select if you want to try again or need help. After a position is solved, PocketGrandmaster will ask if you want to stop or continue with the next position. To stop the training mode you can select Stop training or Move now at any time.

Many thanks to Ulrich Haug, who helped with the testpositions!

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Help

Shows this help-page.

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About

Pops up a window with version- and copyright-information.

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License agreement, limited warranty

LIMITED WARRANTY AND DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
THIS SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS (INCLUDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE) ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. FURTHER, Frank Schneider, Kai Skibbe GbR, Softwaredevelopment DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE, OF THE SOFTWARE OR WRITTEN MATERIALS IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU. IF THE SOFTWARE OR WRITTEN MATERIALS ARE DEFECTIVE YOU, AND NOT Frank Schneider & Kai Skibbe, Softwaredevelopment OR ITS DEALERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AGENTS, OR EMPLOYEES, ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.
THE ABOVE IS THE ONLY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, THAT IS MADE BY Frank Schneider & Kai Skibbe, Softwaredevelopment, ON THIS PRODUCT. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY Frank Schneider & Kai Skibbe, Softwaredevelopment, ITS DEALERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AGENTS OR EMPLOYEES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OR IN ANY WAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY AND YOU MAY NOT RELY ON ANY SUCH INFORMATION OR ADVICE.
NEITHER Frank Schneider & Kai Skibbe, Softwaredevelopment NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION OR DELIVERY OF THIS PRODUCT SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH PRODUCT EVEN IF Frank Schneider & Kai Skibbe, Softwaredevelopment HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN OTHER WORDS: THERE IS NO GUARANTEE! YOU USE THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT ON YOUR OWN RISK!
IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS, SIMPLY DON'T USE MY PRODUCTS! IN STATES/COUNTRIES WHERE THESE RESTRICTIONS ARE ILLEGAL, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE ANY OF MY PRODUCTS! IN OTHER WORDS: YOU TRY AND USE ALL MY PRODUCTS AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF YOU DON'T LIKE THEM, DON'T USE THEM.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
BY DOWNLOADING OR USING OF ANY OF MY PRODUCTS YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS LIMITED WARRANTY, UNDERSTAND IT, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ITS' TERMS AND CONDITIONS. YOU ALSO AGREE THAT THE LIMITED WARRANTY IS THE COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES AND SUPERSEDE ALL PROPOSALS OR PRIOR AGREEMENTS, ORAL OR WRITTEN, AND ANY OTHER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE PARTIES RELATING TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE LIMITED WARRANTY.

If you wish to license or distribute PocketGrandmaster, please contact info@pocketgrandmaster.com.

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Copyright (C) 2001, 2002, 2003, Frank Schneider, Kai Skibbe GbR, Softwaredevelopment.