Tarrasch GUI V3.13a Released

[Roland Chastain]

By the way, would you still have the old red and blue icon of the application? The new icon is very nice, but I would like to have the old icon too, and I can't find it on my hard disk.

[Bill Forster]

By the way, would you still have the old red and blue icon of the application? The new icon is very nice, but I would like to have the old icon too, and I can't find it on my hard disk.

I have racked my brains trying to work out what you mean by this. I had a very dull, black and white, low res and poor Windows icon for a long time. Then I made the current, much nicer icon in a couple of different sizes out of the upgraded graphics when I finally implemented scalable colour graphics for Tarrasch in 2016 (ish). This icon didn't make it over to the Linux build until someone complained after a year or two. So before that the Linux version had the default wxWidgets icon, which is called Mondrian. It's red and blue (and yellow) and can be found on the wxWidgets website. That's my best guess as to what you mean!

[Chessqueen]

I tried several times to install Tarrasch Gui , but with no success, is there any tutorial on Youtube how to install it properly ? This video does not tell you what to do when it is NOT installing ==>

In that video Tarrasch is already installed. Installation is very easy and unchanged for many years. Go to the project's home page https://triplehappy.com/. Click on the link that says "Click here to download Tarrasch for Windows". Run the program that gets downloaded. Click Click Click. The only real issue is that Windows and or the Browser will ask you if you are really sure you want to run a program that is downloaded from the internet, and is not from a big software company. I could address that at least partially by getting a code signing certificate, but it's not that straightforward or inexpensive and I haven't got around to it yet.

Incidentally, as in so many of your comments, the quoted text you include with your post has absolutely nothing to do with your post. Why do you do that?

There must be something wrong with my two computers since I went to the project's home page --> https://triplehappy.com/ I did the Click on the link that says "Click here to download Tarrasch for Windows". Run the program that gets downloaded. Click Click Click. and nothing happened, both of my computer simply freeze. It is very strange because when I went to the Setup of under Arena, it automatically installed the Arena Gui, and the only question that it asked me was weather I wanted the Full Database and what Language I wanted to use.

[Roland Chastain]

By the way, would you still have the old red and blue icon of the application? The new icon is very nice, but I would like to have the old icon too, and I can't find it on my hard disk.

I have racked my brains trying to work out what you mean by this. I had a very dull, black and white, low res and poor Windows icon for a long time. Then I made the current, much nicer icon in a couple of different sizes out of the upgraded graphics when I finally implemented scalable colour graphics for Tarrasch in 2016 (ish). This icon didn't make it over to the Linux build until someone complained after a year or two. So before that the Linux version had the default wxWidgets icon, which is called Mondrian. It's red and blue (and yellow) and can be found on the wxWidgets website. That's my best guess as to what you mean!

Thank you for your answer, and sorry for my question which wasn't clear. I was speaking of the Windows version that I used eight or ten years ago, before I switched to Linux. If I remember correctly, I had downloaded it on this page. Indeed, from what I see on the wxWidgets website, it seems that what I have in mind is the Mondrian icon.

Regards.

Roland

[Chessqueen]

Vous et moi voulons juste encourager les améliorations de l'interface graphique Tarrasch et du moteur Sargon

[Bill Forster]

There must be something wrong with my two computers since I went to the project's home page --> https://triplehappy.com/ I did the Click on the link that says "Click here to download Tarrasch for Windows". Run the program that gets downloaded. Click Click Click. and nothing happened, both of my computer simply freeze. It is very strange because when I went to the Setup of under Arena, it automatically installed the Arena Gui, and the only question that it asked me was weather I wanted the Full Database and what Language I wanted to use.

That's sad and disappointing. Ten years and tens of thousands of downloads and I've never heard of such a problem. But for you it happens on two independent computers!

Can you offer any extra information at all? Once you reboot the computer after the freeze (I'm guessing), has Tarrasch been even partially installed? For example, can you run Tarrasch manually? I.e. pull up a command prompt and go;

cd "\Program files (x86)\Tarrasch"
tarrasch

Also, how about downloading the portable no setup version? For that one download the zip, unzip anywhere, run the Tarrasch.exe. Does that work?

I am not sure what Arena has to do with anything. Although from memory it has a very similar installation program. But if you like Arena, Tarrasch is probably not for you anyway. Tarrasch is really a program for people who want something completely different to Arena.

[matejst]

Bill,

I use both, and for the same thing: analysing games from pgn collections, or a game I have in one of my old books.

I like the simplicity of Tarrasch, but there are a few simple things lacking for my taste, so I prefer to "unbloat" the Arena interface (or the SCID interface), and use it (them) like a pgn reader.

What I miss is the ability to tweak a bit the interface: change pieces, e.g., or remove the coordinates. I would also prefer if the database windows remained open/visible in the background/another windows. This few options would not change the overall concept of Tarrasch GUI. Most of the time, I use/watch the GUI board to calculate variations, and I like when it fits my habits.

For the rest (e.g., an option to see the opening book). I am well aware that it is probably not in the concept you have of your program, and I think that the program author has to be the one that controls the development and the aim of its software. We just have seen recently how a nice chess GUI has been transformed in a complicate engine testing program -- it is almost unusable for the casual chess lover. A balance between features and simplicity of use is not easy to obtain.

[Bill Forster]

What I miss is the ability to tweak a bit the interface: change pieces, e.g., or remove the coordinates. I would also prefer if the database windows remained open/visible in the background/another windows. This few options would not change the overall concept of Tarrasch GUI. Most of the time, I use/watch the GUI board to calculate variations, and I like when it fits my habits.

I have learned to live with the fact that there are changes people would like that I might never get to. For a long time I didn't have co-ordinates and I didn't really want or believe in co-ordinates (I felt Tarrasch is for good players who just want an easy computer program - not for engine only people or computer people who are not real players - and I don't think any good players want or need co-ordinates. If you don't know that g3 is a black square immediately - are you a real chess player?). Also I hate doing any graphics programming, it's not my strength. But it seemed everyone wanted damn co-ordinates. I swore if I ever did them it would not be the default, and it would be an option only. But one day I found the enthusiasm and energy to re-vitalise the graphics completely, and I thought better add this co-ordinates option, and what do you know it looked pretty good almost immediately, and it was pretty small and unobtrusive, and I forgot all my previous plans and just went with always on co-ordinates. It doesn't surprise me at all there are people who would really love to turn off the co-ordinates .

Co-ordinates is not a big thing. But different piece graphics would be a major exercise. The way I've implemented anti-aliased scalable graphics is very quirky and odd - I didn't know what I was doing but still managed to get it done including adjusting anti-aliasing for arbitrary colour based on algorithm that just spilled out of my intuition - and it just works and I am reluctant to revisit it. It would probably have to be completely revamped for a different piece set to be practical.

Making the database window modeless rather than modal is actually a really good idea. I keep forgetting to even investigate the possibility. Maybe it wouldn't be too much work. But like graphics programming wxWidgets UI programming is horrible and I don't really like doing it.

It all comes back to the fact that I started this when I was 50. Ten years later I am 60 (not surprising I suppose), after putting in maybe 6000 hours or so unpaid hours into the program. Have I got the energy to put another 6000 hours in to make it a much stronger program? Do I want to still be working on it when I am 70? Maybe and maybe, but I am far from sure.

I honestly think the best thing I can do for the program is get the source code into better shape and hope that some other, younger programmers can take an interest in it and take it to the next level. I have at least made a start on that.