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Home | Gambіt | Features | Download | Purchase | Support | Contact
Q. What is Gambіt?
A. Gambіt is a Mаc
OS X shareware application for chess play and analysis. Gambіt allows
play against the chess engine "Crаfty" developed by Dr. Robert
Hyatt. It allows completed games to be recorded, replayed, and annotated, and
employs Crаfty for computer-aided analysis.
Q. What do you mean: "Gambіt
is shareware"?
A. It means that you can
try it before you buy it. Gambіt can be downloaded and the fully-featured
trial (unregistered) form used at no cost for 30 days.
Q. What does a Registration Key
for Gambіt cost?
A. The price of an individual license for use of Gambіt on a single
computer is $20. A family license that allows use on up to 5 computers is $30.
See the Purchase
page for more information.
Q. What are the System Requirements
for Gambіt?
A. Gambіt is a Cоcoa
application that runs natively under Mаc OS X 10.3 (Panther) or later.
Gambіt 1.0.1 has been tested on Intel-based Macs and runs perfectly under
"Rosetta" emulation. Recommended monitor size is 1024 x 768 or larger.
Q. In what languages is Gambіt
localized?
A. Gambіt 1.0.1 is localizedEnglish and French. Localization in French
is by Philippe Bonnaure.
Q. Is documentation available
for Gambіt?
A. A Read Me document
with installation instructions and an User Guide with operating instructions
are available. Both are included in the Gambіt download and also can be
obtained individually from the Support page.
A "Sample PGN File" is included in the complete download.
Q. Why was Crаfty selected
as the first chess engine used by Gambіt?
A. Because Crаfty is among the strongest computer chess programs in
the world and is open-source freeware.
Q. Can Gambіt use chess
engines besides Crаfty?
A. Gambіt 1.0 cannot, but UCI (Universal Chess Interface) support
is planned for a future version. When UCI support is added, Gambіt will
be able to use many other engines.
Q. Can any version of Crаfty
be used as the chess engine for Gambіt?
A. No, currently only "CrаftyG" can be used with Gambіt.
CrаftyG includes modifications to Crаfty that improve the integration
between Gambіt and Crаfty. (These modifications do not affect the
ability to run CrаftyG as a terminal application under Mаc OS X.)
Q. How do I get opening book
files and endgame tablebases?
A. Opening book or endgame tablebase files are available at no cost. An opening
book is included with the Gambіt download. It is based on a collection
of 25,000 games in which both players had ratings above 2600. Alternate opening
books can be compiled using Crаfty as a terminal application (see the
Crаfty Read Me document for details). All of the three to five-piece endgame
tablebases, as well as some of the six-piece tablebases, can be downloaded for
free from ftp://ftp.cis.uab.edu/pub/hyatt/TB/
.
Getting and Exchanging PGN Files
Q. What data formats are supported
by Gambіt?
A. Gambіt uses and is 100% compatible with the PGN (Portable Game
Notation) format standard. Not only does Gambіt read, display, and save
all of the standard PGN tag-value pairs, it retains non-standard pairs when
a game with any is modified and re-saved.
Q. Where can I get PGN files?
A. Lots of places; here are three: "The
Week In Chess" has a new download each week and an extensive archive
of important international games. The University
of Pittsburgh student chess group maintains a library of PGN files. (The
user interface for FTP is very basic but the content is worth it.) And finally,
Lars
Balzer's site provides links to many other chess-related sites.
Q. Can Gambіt exchange
files with other chess programs?
A. Yes. It can read files
written or exported by any chess program that is PGN-compatible. The converse
also is true: files written by Gambіt can be read by other PGN-compatible
programs.
Q. Can Gambіt exchange
files with chess programs on the PC?
A. PGN files can be exchanged, and endgame tablebases also can be if they
are formatted as "Nalimov endgame tablebases." But currently, Crаfty
opening book files cannot be exchanged because Mаc and PC processors use
different byte orders.
Installing and Registering Gambіt
Q. Where do I get Gambіt?
A. Go to the Download page.
Q. How do I purchase a Registration
Key for Gambіt?
A. Sales of Registration Keys are handled via Kagi. Go to the Purchase
page for more information.
Q. How do I enter a Registration
Key?
A. You select Gambіt > Register... to open the Registration
panel and enter your Licensee Name and Registration Key. The procedure is described
in the Read Me document included in the Gambіt download.
Q. Can Gambіt be used by
more than one user per computer?
A. Yes. When an account
holder with administrator privileges enters a Registration Key for Gambіt
every account holder can use the registered software and set personal preferences.
But, note that access to Gambіt also depends on how accounts are set up
on the computer.
Q. How do I obtain updates and
upgrades?
A. When updates and upgrades are released they will be available on the
Gambіt download page. They also can be identified and downloaded via VersionTracker,
MаcUpdate and similar web sites. Registration Keys purchased for Gambіt
1.0 will be valid for all v1.x updates.
Q. Can I recommend new features
for Gambіt?
A. Absolutely. We're very interested in recommendations! Please go to the
Contact page to email us.
