Chessmaster

a series of chess programs developed and released by Ubisoft. It is the best-selling chess franchise in history, with more than five million units sold as of 2002. Due to its sophisticated GUI, graphics and animations, adjustable playing strength and countless features, Chessmaster is dedicated to the [|mass market], and due to the strong engine with configurable "personalities", integrated database support, annotated games, and chess lessons and tutorials, also interesting for advanced users.
 * Home * Engines * Chessmaster**
 * [[image:chessmaster_head.jpg width="265" height="278" link="http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/896/the-chessmaster-died-in-1997"]] ||~  || **Chessmaster**,

Chessmaster **XI**, released in 2007, is the most recent version. Dedicated for chess beginners and casual chess fans, Chessmaster **Challenge** differs from Chessmaster **10th** Edition in its simplified interface, and scaled-down tutorials. It’s a non-retail product available for trial and purchase through download only.

toc =Screenshots=
 * Face and hands of the Chessmaster ||~  ||^   ||
 * Face and hands of the Chessmaster ||~  ||^   ||

CM 2100 & CM 4000

 * [[image:CM2100.JPG height="232" link="http://www.septober.de/chess/index.htm"]] ||~  || [[image:cm4000.JPG height="232" link="http://www.septober.de/chess/index.htm"]] ||
 * Chessmaster 2100 ||~  || Chessmaster 4000 ||

Chessmaster 10th

 * [[image:Chessmaster10thEditionDemo.jpg link="https://archive.org/download/Chessmaster10thEditionDemo/Chessmaster10thEditionDemo.jpg"]] ||
 * Chessmaster 10th Edition Demo ||

Chessmaster Challenge

 * [[image:chessmaster_challenge_3_rm.jpg link="http://www.download-free-games.com/chess_game_download/chessmaster_challenge.htm"]] ||
 * Chessmaster Challenge 2D Graphics Board ||

Chessmaster XI

 * [[image:HouseofStauntonchesssets.jpg width="640" link="http://chessmaster.de.ubi.com/xi/pcScreens.php"]] ||
 * Chessmaster XI - House of Staunton chess sets, 3D Graphics Board ||

=Chess Engines=

MyChess II
Chessmaster was first released as Chessmaster **2000** in **1986** by Software Toolworks, Inc., a software and computer game publisher located in [|Los Angeles], co-developed by its founder Walt Bilofsky and Michael E. Duffy , with a chess engine by David Kittinger, loosely based on MyChess II published by the same vendor since 1984. CM 2000 was released for various 8- and 16-bit [|home computer] platforms based on 6502, Z80, 68000 and 8086 processors, such as Amiga, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Macintosh, and DOS PCs. The PC version was a rewrite in C based on the 6502 assembly version, which also went into Novag's dedicated Constellation some years before, as mentioned by Larry Kaufman in the USOCCC 1986 tournament report : 

Sargon 3
After a deal with Fidelity Electronics in **1988**, //Software Toolworks// continued the Chessmaster series for Apple computers with a Sargon III based program by Kathe and Dan Spracklen, market as //Fidelity Chessmaster **2100**//. PC versions of CM 2100 were based on a Kittinger program. 

Chessmaster 3000
The //Chessmaster **3000**// was released in **1991** for MS-DOS and Windows 3.x PCs, as well for Apple Macintosh, based on a Kittinger program as confirmed by John Merlino  , and mentioned in CCR 5.1 :

Fernando Villegas recalled Michael E. Duffy and Andrew Iverson working on the engine, which does not necessarily imply they had an own one developed from scratch, but interfacing the Kittinger engine to the GUI. 

The King
With the release of //Chessmaster **4000 Turbo**// in **1993**, The King by Johan de Koning became the CM engine until the present, with annual, biennial and triennial releases for major Windows versions until //Chessmaster **XI**// in 2007, incorporating the //The King **3.50**// with a parallel search able to support multiple processors. The King Version **3.12** has become a WinBoard engine within the //ChessMaster **8000**// and newer versions. Some versions were also made available for Mac OS computers, and the [|Xbox Live Arcade].

=Releases=  =Endgame Tablebases= Chessmaster **9000** and later versions support their own compact 3-5-man Endgame Tablebases designed by Johan de Koning, which can be generated with the //Final Endgame Generator// (FEG) via the Windows Command Prompt. Tablebase researcher Marc Bourzutschky further created some theoretically important six piece EGTBs in 2003.
 * 1986: Chessmaster 2000 - based on MyChess II by David Kittinger
 * 1989: Fidelity Chessmaster 2100 - based on Sargon III by Kathe and Dan Spracklen
 * 1991: Chessmaster 3000 - Kittinger program
 * 1993: Chessmaster 4000 Turbo - The King by Johan de Koning
 * 1995: Chessmaster 4000 - The King 2.0
 * 1996: Chessmaster 5000 - The King 2.x
 * 1997: Chessmaster 5500 - The King 2.55
 * 1998: Chessmaster 6000 - The King 2.6D or 2.61
 * 1999: Chessmaster 7000 - The King 3.x
 * 2000: Chessmaster 8000 - The King 3.12a, 3.12c, 3.12d
 * 2002: Chessmaster 9000 - The King 3.23
 * 2004: Chessmaster 10th - The King 3.33
 * 2007: Chessmaster XI - The King 3.50

=Companies= Software Toolworks was founded in 1980 by Walt Bilofsky, who was one of three programmers who designed and created the Chessmaster in the mid 80s. In 1994, //Software Toolworks, Inc.// was merged to Mindscape in conjunction with the acquirement by [|Pearson PLC] with Michael E. Duffy and David Grenewetzki involved, in 1998 sold to [|The Learning Company], in the same year bought by [|Mattel] and renamed to //Mattel Interactive//. In 2000, [|The Gores Group] carves out the re-renamed //Learning Company// from Mattel, and the //Game Studios// of The Learning Company was sold to Ubi Soft - all employees were given the opportunity to become employees of their most well-known studio, [|Red Storm Entertainment].

=Associated People=

Engine

 * David Kittinger
 * Johan de Koning
 * Dan Spracklen
 * Kathe Spracklen

Database

 * Jessica Harmsen
 * Hans Kuijf

Tablebase

 * Marc Bourzutschky

Chess Tutorials

 * [|Larry Christiansen]
 * [|Bruce Pandolfini]
 * [|Yasser Seirawan]
 * [|Joshua Waitzkin]

Project Lead & Misc Programming

 * Walt Bilofsky
 * David Bringhurst
 * Michael E. Duffy
 * Rick Glenn
 * David Grenewetzki
 * Andrew Iverson
 * Carlos Justiniano
 * Donald W. Laabs
 * Mark Manyen
 * Henrik Markarian
 * John Merlino
 * Richard L. Seaborne

=Selected Games= Aegon 1995, round 5, David Bronstein - Chessmaster 4000 code [Event "Aegon 1995"] [Site "The Hague NED"] [Date "1995.05.02"] [Round "5"] [White "David Bronstein"] [Black "Chessmaster 4000"] [Result "1-0"]

1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 e5 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Bd6 8.Na3 Nc6 9.Bc4 Qe4+ 10.Be2 Qg6 11.Nc4 Bc7 12.d4 exd4 13.cxd4 Be6 14.Ne3 Nge7 15.O-O Rd8 16.Ba3 Bb6 17.Qa4 O-O 18.Ne5 Qf6 19.Nxc6 bxc6 20.Bc5 Bxc5 21.dxc5 Rd2 22.Bf3 Rfd8 23.Qxa7 Nf5 24.Nxf5 Bxf5 25.Qc7 Qd4 26.Ra7 Rf8 27.Qxc6 Bd3 28.Rfa1 Qxf2+ 29.Kh1 Bf5 30.Qc7 Bg4 31.Qg3 Bxf3 32.Qxf2 Rxf2 33.gxf3 Rxf3 34.c6 Rc3 35.c7 h5 36.Rd1 Rc2 37.Rd8 g5 38.Rxf8+ Kxf8 39.Ra8+ Ke7 40.c8=Q 1-0 code

=See also=
 * ChessMaster aka Chess Champion Super System III
 * Chess-Master
 * Masters
 * MyChess
 * Sargon III
 * The King
 * WChess

=Publications=
 * [|Tim Carter] (**1992**). //Knight Stalker - Software Toolworks' Chessmaster 3000//. [|Computer Gaming World], 08/1992, [|pdf]
 * Nick Schoonmaker (**1996**). //Chess Master 4000 - Windows 95 Review//. Computer Chess Reports, Vol. 5, Nos. 3+4, p. 49
 * Al Cargill (**1996**). //CM 4000 Personalities//. Computer Chess Reports, Vol. 5, Nos. 3+4, p. 72

=Forum Posts=

1994

 * [|Chessmaster 4000T Performance Benchmark] by Harold Jack Meadows, rgc, October 22, 1994
 * [|ChessMaster 3000] by Donald B. Moran, rgc, December 05, 1994
 * [|Software Toolworks (Mindscape) is there, and *yes* they do care!] by Joe Stella, rgc, December 24, 1994
 * [|CM5000 We welcome input!] by Carlos Justiniano, rgc, December 29, 1994

1995 ...

 * [|Re: CM5000 is it out yet?] by Eric Schiller, rgc, March 27, 1995
 * [|Net Contact List of Chessmaster] by Carlos Justiniano, rgc, April 06, 1995
 * [|CM5000 Ideas, Part 1 of 2] by dtre...@gss.efn.org, rgc, April 06, 1995
 * [|CM5000 Ideas, Part 2 of 2] by dtre...@gss.efn.org, rgc, April 06, 1995
 * [|ChessMaster 4000] by ArturoA433, rgc, April 09, 1995
 * [|Which Version of "The King" Powers "The Chessmaster 4000 Turbo"?] by Ernst A. Heinz, CCC, May 08, 1998
 * [|Re: Versions of Chessmaster] by Fernando Villegas, CCC, May 09, 1998
 * [|Chess Master 3000 is Underated] by Komputer Korner, rgcc, June 17, 1998
 * [|Re: Good news for ChessMaster 6000 users] by Detlef Pordzik, CCC, November 01, 1998
 * [|Chessmaster and SSDF] by Micheal Cummings, CCC, November 09, 1998
 * [|Chessmaster 6000 1.0.2 Patch now available] by John Merlino, CCC, December 22, 1998
 * [|Chessmaster 6000 1.0.3 Patch now available] by John Merlino, CCC, February 04, 1999
 * [|How really strong is ChessMaster 6000?] by Leonid, CCC, July 03, 1999
 * [|Chessmaster 7000 "FAQ"] by John Merlino, CCC, September 23, 1999
 * [|Chessmaster 7000 Patch v1.0.6] by John Merlino, CCC, December 17, 1999

2000 ...

 * [|Potential STRONG Chessmaster personality] by John Merlino, CCC, January 07, 2000
 * [|Re: Chessmaster on winboard?] by John Merlino, CCC, February 28, 2000 » WinBoard
 * [|An open call to all USCF rated players from the Chessmaster developers] by John Merlino, CCC, May 24, 2000
 * [|Chessmaster 8000 FAQ] by John Merlino, CCC, July 19, 2000
 * [|Chessmaster 8000 Updated FAQ] by John Merlino, CCC, September 06, 2000
 * 2001**
 * [|Further news in the Chessmaster saga (some parts are OT)] by John Merlino, CCC, March 05, 2001
 * [|Software Toolworks to Ubi Soft (OT)] by John Merlino, CCC, March 20, 2001
 * [|A questionarre for all Chessmaster users] by John Merlino, CCC, October 22, 2001
 * 2002**
 * [|Chessmaster 9000 Beta Report] by John Merlino, CCC, May 07, 2002
 * [|Frank Poole v HAL 9000 -- or is it CM9000?] by John Merlino, CCC, July 10, 2002 » HAL
 * [|is chessmaster a french program?] by Rajen Gupta, CCC, July 28, 2002
 * [|Chessmaster 9000's EGDBs] by John Merlino, CCC, August 12, 2002
 * [|The Life and Times of Chessmaster] by John Merlino, CCC, August 16, 2002
 * [|Re: Please Explain Depth in Chessmaster 9000] by John Merlino, CCC, September 03, 2002 » Depth
 * [|CM9000 default selective search] by Javier Ros Padilla, CCC, September 18, 2002
 * 2003**
 * [|Need help with CM 9000 and WB2UCI] by Ralph Patriquin, CCC, January 02, 2003 » Wb2UCI
 * [|Chessmaster 2000 for Amiga, Release: 1986] by Omid David, CCC, January 16, 2003
 * [|Re: Just Curious - Does anyone know Johan de Koning of Chessmaster fame?] by John Merlino, CCC, February 28, 2003
 * [|Usage of general.ctg book+CB learner by ChessMaster in SSDF testing] by Gian-Carlo Pascutto, CCC, October 30, 2003
 * 2004**
 * [|Chessmaster X release forecast] by Johan de Koning, CCC, February 29, 2004
 * [|Why dont engines support the egtb format that Chessmaster uses?] by [|Jason Kent], CCC, April 01, 2004
 * [|Re: Chessmaster and DGT] by Odd Gunnar Malin, CCC, April 24, 2004 » DGT Board
 * [|Chessmaster 10th Edition Announced] by John Merlino, CCC, May 14, 2004
 * [|Chessmaster 9000 and SSDF summary] by Johan de Koning, CCC, May 15, 2004
 * [|Chessmaster Fidelity 2100] by Alain Zanchetta, CCC, June 10, 2004
 * [|Chessmaster 10th Edition Demo] by John Merlino, CCC, June 22, 2004
 * [|Re: Chessmaster 10th Edition demo (technalities)] by Johan de Koning, CCC, July 20, 2004
 * [|Chessmaster 9000 for Macintosh has been released] by Richard A. Fowell, CCC, December 30, 2004

2005 ...

 * [|A question to the ChessMaster tuners] by Peter Berger, CCC, February 20, 2005
 * [|Historical Chessmaster ?] by Mike Byrne, CCC, April 23, 2005
 * [|What is "randomness" for a CM9k personality?] by Wilma, rgcc, June 12, 2005
 * [|Chessmaster 11 - 19/10/07] by Wardy, Hiarcs Forum, August 07, 2007
 * [|Chessmaster 11 - first thoughts...] by Steve Maughan, CCC, November 05, 2007
 * [|Chessmaster 11] by Fernando Villegas, Hiarcs Forum, January 08, 2008
 * [|Chessmaster 11 settings testing - Default 4CPU added] by Graham Banks, CCC, March 12, 2008
 * [|Chessmaster Grandmaster version] by Dann Corbit, May 17, 2008
 * [|Be aware - very aware - Chessmaster for Nintendo DS] by Monsieur Plastique, Hiarcs Forum, November 15, 2008
 * [|Chessmaster 11 from Ubisoft works as WinBoard-engine?] by Norbert Raimund Leisner, CCC, May 25, 2009 » WinBoard
 * [|Chessmaster 4, 5, 5.5, 6 & 7 under Windows XP] by Nick M., CCC, December 25, 2009

2010 ...

 * [|Chessmaster Personality Development] by Mark Loftus, CCC, October 17, 2011
 * [|David K: did you write CM3000 code? Great discussion here...] by Fernando Villegas, CCC, April 24, 2012
 * [|Blincoe Knows the Truth about CM3000] by Fernando Villegas, CCC, April 24, 2012
 * [|Chessmaster (+engine) version history] by Vincent Lejeune, CCC, August 28, 2013
 * [|Which is the best personality CM XI ? (in elo strength)] by Gustavo Mallada, CCC, January 07, 2014

CM11 Settings and Testing

 * [|CM11 settings and testing] by Graham Banks, CCRL Discussion Board, January 26, 2008
 * [|CM11 Championship (completed)] by Graham Banks, CCRL Discussion Board, January 19, 2009
 * [|CM11 Teams Challenge II (completed)] by Graham Banks, CCRL Discussion Board, February 22, 2009
 * [|CM11 Teams Challenge III (completed)] by Graham Banks, CCRL Discussion Board, April 15, 2009
 * [|CM11 Slugfest (completed)] by Graham Banks, CCRL Discussion Board, June 19, 2009
 * [|CM11 Knockout 2010 (completed)] by Graham Banks, CCRL Discussion Board, May 12, 2010
 * [|CM11 Slugfest II (completed)] by Graham Banks, CCRL Discussion Board, May 30, 2010
 * [|CM11 Champions 2011 (completed)] by Graham Banks, CCRL Discussion Board, July 18, 2011

=External Links=
 * [|Ubisoft - Chessmaster XI]
 * [|Chessmaster from Wikipedia]
 * [|Walt's Home Page - Software Publisher]
 * [|The chess games of Chessmaster] from [|chessgames.com]
 * [|Chessmaster 11 | Forums]
 * [|Jason Kent's Chess Notes]
 * [|Chessmaster series] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|VC&G | The Chessmaster Died in 1997] by Benj Edwards, August 27, 2012
 * [|The Life, and Death, of PC Gaming's Most Famous Cover Star]
 * [|Chessmaster] in CCRL 40/4
 * [|Chessmaster] in CCRL 40/40

CM 2000

 * [|The Chessmaster 2000] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|Commodore 64/128 Old Computer Chess Game Collection - Chessmaster 2000] from The Spacious Mind
 * [|Commodore 64 Emulator - Computer Chess Game Collection - Chessmaster 2000] from The Spacious Mind
 * [|The Chessmaster 2000: Box and Manual Scans] from [|c64sets.com]
 * [|Chessmaster 2000, The - World of Spectrum]
 * [|The Chessmaster 2000 - Amiga Game]
 * [|Chessmaster 2000, The : Hall Of Light – The database of Amiga games]

CM 2100

 * [|The Fidelity Chessmaster 2100] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|Commodore 64/128 Old Computer Chess Game Collection - Fidelity Chessmaster 2100] from The Spacious Mind
 * [|Commodore 64 Emulator - Computer Chess Game Collection - Chessmaster 2100] from The Spacious Mind
 * [|The Fidelity Chessmaster 2100 – C64-Wiki] (German)

CM 3000

 * [|The Chessmaster 3000] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|Chessmaster 3000 - Overview - allgame]
 * [|Chessmaster 3000 1.0 - Stats, Downloads and Screenshots :: WinWorld]

CM 4000
> [|The Chessmaster 4000 Turbo - Credits - allgame]
 * [|The Chessmaster 4000 Turbo for Windows 3.x (1993)] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|The Chessmaster 4000 Turbo - Overview - allgame]
 * [|Chessmaster 4000 Turbo for Windows from Mindscape], review by Mads Brevik

CM 5000

 * [|Chessmaster 5000 for Windows (1996)] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|Chessmaster 5000 (Video Game 1996)] - [|IMDb]
 * [|Chessmaster 5000 Review] - [|GameSpot]

CM 5500

 * [|Chessmaster 5500 for Windows (1997) - MobyGames] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|Chessmaster 5500 | ICHEG Online Collections | The Strong]

CM 6000
> [|Chessmaster 6000 (1999) Macintosh credits - MobyGames]
 * [|Chessmaster 6000] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|Chessmaster 6000 Credit Information - GameFAQs]
 * [|Chessmaster 6000 Details and Credits for PC - Metacritic]
 * [|Chessmaster 6000 Review] - [|GameSpot]
 * [|Mindscape - Chessmaster 6000 | ITReviews]

CM 7000
> [|Chessmaster 7000 (1999) Windows credits - MobyGames]
 * [|Chessmaster 7000] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|Chessmaster 7000 - Credits - allgame]
 * [|Chessmaster 7000 Review] - [|GameSpot]

CM 8000

 * [|Chessmaster 8000] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|Chessmaster 8000 Review] - [|GameSpot]
 * [|Chessmaster 8000 Credit Information - GameFAQs]
 * [|The Chessmaster 8000 - PC - GameSpy]
 * [|Chessmaster 8000 (Video Game 2000)] - [|IMDb]
 * [|What can Winboard do?] by Aaron Tay, March 01, 2002, hosted by Ron Murawski » WinBoard

CM 9000
> [|Chessmaster 9000 (2002) Windows credits - MobyGames]
 * [|Ubisoft - Chessmaster 9000]
 * [|Feral Interactive : Chessmaster 9000 for Mac]
 * [|Chessmaster 9000] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|Chessmaster 9000 - Credits - allgame]
 * [|Chessmaster 9000 Details and Credits for PC - Metacritic]
 * [|Chessmaster 9000 Review] - [|GameSpot]
 * [|Chessmaster 9000] by [|Peter Cohen], [|Macworld], March 10, 2005
 * [|Der Gralshüter des Königsangriffs - Chessmaster 9000] by Thomas Lagershausen and Detlef ELVIS Pordzik, hosted by Schachversand Niggemann (German)

CM 10th Edition

 * [|Ubisoft - Chessmaster 10th Edition]
 * [|Chessmaster 10th Edition for Windows (2004)] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|Chessmaster 10th Edition Review] - [|GameSpot]
 * [|Chessmaster 10th Edition - PC & Tech Authority] by [|Des McNicholas], October 14, 2004
 * [|Chessmaster 10th Edition Demo : Ubi Soft Entertainment Software : Free Download & Streaming] : [|Internet Archive]
 * [|Chessmaster 10th Edition - Results of The King 3.33] by Kurt Utzinger

CM Challenge

 * [|Ubisoft - Chessmaster Challenge]
 * [|Chessmaster Challenge Game - Download and Play Free Version!]

CM XI

 * [|Ubisoft - Chessmaster XI]
 * [|Chessmaster: Grandmaster Edition for Windows (2007)] - [|MobyGames]
 * [|CM11 settings and testing] from CCRL Discussion Board
 * [|Chessmaster 11 4CPU] in CCRL 40/4
 * [|Chessmaster 11 2CPU] in CCRL 40/40

=References= =What links here?= include component="backlinks" page="Chessmaster" limit="120"
 * Up one level**