Mac computers and chess software. . .some questions

[Amstaff]

Hello, for various reasons I am thinking of replacing my PC with a Mac.
Are there any Mac users in the newsgroup? If so, what are my choices for chess-playing programs and databases. Also, do the "windows environment" software available work well to run pc chess programs on a Mac?

Many thanks in advance,
Gerald

[LaurenceChen]

You can use Parallels Desktop for Mac to create a virtual Windows PC. It will allow you to run Windows XP in parallel with your Mac. You won't be able to play any DirectX8 and above games or any games which required 3D acceleration. But, for chess GUI, it matters not. Fritz10 GUI should work, but don't count on the 3D board to work because it requires the 3D acceleration video card and DirectX9. You can find out more about Parallels Desktop for Mac at this website: http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/

[Alessandro Scotti]

There are many options available on the Mac.

Native GUIs: SigmaChess, Shredder, Jose

Unix: XBoard (use Fink to download and install)

Windows GUIs: Arena, Winboard, Winboard "X" (use Codeweavers' CrossOver to run directly on Mac desktop, otherwise a virtual PC like suggested in the above post would also work, but at a performance penalty)

Native engines: Glaurung, Crafty, Fruit (I think), Kiwi, Hamsters, Hiarcs and many others I can't remember right now

Windows engines: each one I tested worked without problems using one of the Windows GUIs listed above

Databases: Jose

[rafowell]

> Are there any Mac users in the newsgroup?

Yes

> If so, what are my choices for chess-playing programs and databases.

For databases, mainly ExaChess and SCID.

ExaChess, at http://www.exachess.com/ ,
is not a Intel/Universal app (and likely will never be),
but it should run fine on an Intel Mac under emulation.
It has database features like creating a composite tree from all the
games in a collection, position search, etc.

The full version is $125 Australian. There is a free version, "ExaChess
Lite", available for download, that has most of the features, but is limited to collections of 256 games or less. Between this
and the (very extensive) manual that comes with the free version, one
can decide whether it suits.

There is also the free chess database, SCID.
Supposedly, SCID runs on the Mac, and has database features.
The newest version is here:
http://prolinux.free.fr/scid/index.html
and the features are described here
http://scid.sourceforge.net/

However, it seems to be something the user is expected to compile
themselves, which is something I've never done myself.

[rafowell]

> If so, what are my choices for chess-playing programs and databases.

I have a list of 65 links here:
http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Recre ... Macintosh/

For chess programs, you can choose one of these UCI GUIs:
Sigma Chess, http://www.sigmachess.com/
Shredder, http://www.shredderchess.com/mac.html
Jose http://jose-chess.sourceforge.net/
or Scatha http://www.glaurungchess.com/
and run many UCI engines compiled for Mac, including:

HIARCS 11.1 ( single or multi processor) http://www.hiarcs.com/mac_chess_hiarcs.htm
Toga II 1.2 Beta 2a
Shredder 9.11 ( single or multi processor)
Fruit 2.21
Gambit Fruit
Glaurung
< and more - see: http://www.sigmachess.com/_chesslinks/c ... s.html#UCI >

I like the Sigma Chess GUI myself - the manual can be read online here:
http://www.sigmachess.com/_usersmanual/ ... anual.html

Richard

[dvash]

Does anyone have recommendations for Mac software on chess servers? It seems like the Javaboard option on FICS is pretty basic and doesn't even give you a move list during a game. Is there anything that has more features?

[zullil]

http://www.jinchess.com/

[rafowell]

Does anyone have recommendations for Mac software on chess servers? It seems like the Javaboard option on FICS is pretty basic and doesn't even give you a move list during a game. Is there anything that has more features?

The two programs I'm aware of are Fixation and Jin.
Both are free, and support FICS and ICC.
The other Mac internet chess programs listed at
http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Recre ... ltiplayer/
seem to be ICC-only, or not for OSX.

Here's Fixation:
http://cknelsen.sasktelwebsite.net/fixa ... title.html

Here's Jin:
http://www.jinchess.com/

[Marc]

I know I'm posting very late to this thread, but what the heck. I have the full version of ExaChess on my MacBook and Mac Mini, both with Intel processors. Yes, a single license does permit putting it on two computers, if you aren't using them simultaneously. The awkward thing about ordering was sending a cashier's check to Australia by snail mail.

Other than that, it's a great product. It has a few bugs, for all of which I've found work arounds, but basically it's not too far off from say, Chess Base 6. That is to say, it doesn't have all the current Chess Base bells and whistles, but it's quite flexible, and does everything I want. I also have the full version of Sigma Chess. By itself, it's not as good a database program as ExaChess, but it integrates with ExaChess to let you use any engines you have installed with it for analysis. It will work with, for example, the current Mac versions of Hiarcs and Fruit (which cost extra).

Shredder is also available in several Mac versions. For playing on ICC and FICS, both Jin and Fixation work fine. Jin has a slightly more polished look. Chessic didn't work out that well for me.