Alybadix - 2004 Manual

Alybadix - Operation Instructions for IBM Versions 2004

Obs. This manual is for the NON-final version AP.EXE 2004 and for the new Alybadix Demo program APD.EXE 2004 (dated 2004-03-03)! OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALYBADIX CHESS PROBLEM SOLVING PROGRAMS IBM versions 2004 (Protected mode programs AP.EXE and APD.EXE) Load this file (APMANU.TXT) to a proper editor or with the help of the built-in editor (LT in Disk Menu)! If built-in editor, use its Find options (Shift-Arrow) to find very quickly the proper chapter or subject! If needed, please print on your own printer. See also the file APINFO.TXT for additional info! Contents: -------- I. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS II. THE CARRY RETURN KEY <CR> III. ALYBADIX INSTALLING AND LOADING a) Aly-CD b) Aly-diskette c) Path for Alybadix d) Password IV. ALYBADIX MAIN MENU V. NEW NOTATION VI. SOLVING A CHESS PROBLEM a) Entering the position using notation b) Entering and modifying positions using diagram VII. TEST MENU a) Variation, Threat, Key-move only and Try testing b) Quick modes c) White checking d) Options F/X/Y/Z e) Other options in TEST MENU VIII. LISTING AND DISPLAYING SOLUTION AND DEFENSIVE MOVES IX. INTERRUPT, MEMORY FULL AND ERROR MESSAGES X. PRINTER COMMANDS XI. DISK COMMANDS XII. OTHER COMMANDS IN MAIN MENU a) G = Figbadix b) Z = Disk / Printbadix c) F10 = Editor d) Esc/Tab e) B = Beeps f) T = Title g) O = Queue and movability of pieces h) L = Moving men (vers 2001-) i) F2 = Show solution with/without diagram j) F3 = Display options k) 9 = Mouse l) Ins = Mode (1-6) m) I/V = Tree size n) E = EverTree o) K = Keep Mode/Tree p) D/Y = Duplex q) Q = Quick tree On/Off (v.2004-) r) X = New problem genre / Quit Alybadix. XIII. INTELLIGENT MODES a) Helpbadix and Seriehelpbadix, old versions 1990-2000 b) Helpbadix and Seriehelpbadix, new versions 2001 c) Seriehelpbadix Intelligent 2001 d) Matebadix, Selbadix and Reflexbadix Intelligent 2002 e) Serieselfbadix and Seriereflexbadix Ibtelligent 2003 XIV. SOME REMARKS New features in the 2003 versions --------------------------------- a) Helpbadix C Helpbadix C replaced by improved Helpbadix (quicker!) b) Quickness The genres where white mates black should solve remarkable quicker. Seriehelpbadix Intelligent 2-1000 times quicker! Thanks for the code rearranging Fairybadix 2003 solves often 2-3 times quicker than Fairybadix 2002 on quick computers (from 1 GHz up). c) Intelligent modes Intelligent mode for seriesself- and seriesreflex- problems added. New speed options s+, s1+...s8+ added (seriesself intelligent only). Also the non-intelligent mode is often many times quicker than in 2002 versions. See chapter XIII e). d) Duplex Duplex test added (hit D/Y in the Main menu). This y-option also allows you to view any solution as colors inverted and the board rotated! e) Loading positions When a position or solution file is loaded from disk, Alybadix automatically switches to the Non-Fairy mode, if compatible, otherwise to Fairybadix. This works also under automatic solving. f) Automatic solving In DISK MENU hit '6' to solve ALL current type positions (pos- or po- or poo- files). Hit '7' to solve ALL position files (pos+po+poo). Option '7' is proper to use with APwin co-operation. g) White must capture options Options wC+ (white must always capture), wC+1, wC+2,..., wC+15 added. For instance, wC+2 means, that white must capture 2 or more times. These options are especially good for helpSTALEmates with many black pieces. Not available in circe problems and serieshelp problems. h) Anti-Circe The following Anti-Circe genres added: Anti-Circe Calvet/Cheylan Anti-Diagram-Circe Calvet/Cheylan Anti-File-Circe Calvet/Cheylan Anti-HMirror-Circe Calvet/Cheylan Anti-PW-Circe (*) Anti-Spiegel-Circe Calvet/Cheylan Anti-Symmetric-Circe (*) Anti-VMirror-Circe Calvet/Cheylan (*) Capturing to the circe-square not possible. Thus no Calvet/Cheylan needed! Please see the example problems in the folder EX8. More hints for the users can be found on the Internet Homepage for Alybadix: http://www.saunalahti.fi/~iblom/alybadix/ New features in the 2002 versions --------------------------------- a) Intelligent modes The intelligent mode works now with Matebadix, Sidebadix, Selfbadix and Reflexbadix also. See chapter XIII d). b) Variation search Improved variation search. The older versions sometimes find variations very slowly. Versions 2002 should generally find variations quickly (both in normal and intelligent modes). c) Threat testing Threats only and Threats+Variations test added. See chapter VII a). d) Z-option New z-option added. This works in connection with the old y-option. Especially good for long selfmates. See chapter VII d). e) Symmetry In non-fairy problems Alybadix sees the symmetry up to 5 men (4 men in the former versions). Thus it is possible to solve quicker 5 men problems without the position tree pruning (about 120 000 000 non-symmetric positions), if enough memory (1.5 GB or more). Fairybadix sees the symmetry up to 8 men, if a 8-symmetric small board is in use. The small board (as 4x4, 6x6) must be designed with the help of the fairy 'piece' Edge-Block. f) Joker Fairy piece Joker rules fixed. Works now also with seriesproblems. g) Others -Improved hash testing. Works better with the old and new Windows versions. -Display of the chess piece figurines should now work better with the various display cards. However, under Windows you should use the fullscreen mode as before (Alt-CR). -Much other little changes and improvements. Please see the example problems in the folder EX7. -------------------------------------------------------------------- New features in the 2001 versions --------------------------------- a) Mating square In Test Menu hit Right/Left arrow keys to select Edge/Corner/Side/Middle/One square mate or stalemate. This works also with the intelligent modes now. Thus there is no more need for any special Intelligent Menu. See chapter VII e). b) Intelligent modes The intelligent parts for serieshelpmates were completely reprogrammed. Solving speed is often 10-1000 times quicker than in the older versions! You can see already in Test Menu the possible mating squares. See chapter VII e) and XIII b) c). c) Moving men For each move the user can tell which man must move and to which officer a pawn must promote, if the move is promoting. See chapter XII h). d) Entering pieces Now you can enter the position with or without spaces like: ke1pa2b2c2d2th1, which is the same as Ke1 Pa2 Pb2 Pc2 Pd2 Th1. See chapter VI. e) Take position During displaying the solution of a solved problem, hit 'T' to take the current position. Alybadix at the same changes the stipulation length properly. See chapter VIII. f) Pawn moves (Fairybadix only) White/Black pawn or pawn-like piece can NOT move or check from row 1/8. Exception: CAN move or check, if the problem includes Orphans or Friends, since these fairy pieces must be able to move from row 1/8 also, when pawn powered! --------------------------------------------------------------- I. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS ======================== A proper computer is an IBM-compatible machine with 80386 or higher processor and VGA/SVGA display. The clock frequency, processor model (80386/80486/different Pentiums) and the size of cache memory affect on the solving speed. All free extended memory (XMS) up to 2000 MB (1 MB = 1 megabyte = 1024 kB = 1048576 bytes) can be reserved for the position tree (hash table). Part 1/32 (minimum 1 MB) from the tree size is reserved for address table. For instance, if the size of available extended memory is 2-32 MB, the tree is 1-31 MB and address table 1 MB. The protected mode Alybadix is DOS and Windows compatible. However, under DOS it should work somewhat quicker. Also the hash size is bigger since Windows needs some extended memory for itself (about 5 MB or more). Alybadix and Windows: The chessboard diagram may become distorted, if you change the screen size (Alt-CR or mouse) or go to some other application (Alt-Tab) and back to Alybadix. In case hit F1 for refreshing the diagram (works also during solving). Generally Alybadix should be run in the fullscreen mode - otherwise the diagram is destorted. On the other hand, under Windows it is easy to open several Alybadix programs simultaneously and copy Alybadix solutions and AlyBase VGA screen to clipboard, and import to various publication programs (mark-copy-paste technique). A proper printer is any IBM-compatible matrix printer and a postscript laser printer (Printbadix). Very good utility program is GSview, which is available also on Internet. The complete version on CD can be ordered from its author. It 'changes' any printer to postscript compatible. See file GSVIEW.TXT for details. Alybadix works with and without a mouse. Before loading Alybadix, the mouse driver should be activated. Generally the files CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT take care of this, when the computer is booted. If not, try command MOUSE in DOS. II. THE CARRY RETURN KEY <CR> ============================= After entering a text line the user must generally press the CARRY RETURN key (called often as: RETURN, RTN, ENTER, LINE FEED, CR or LF key) at the end of the line before the program continues. We shall abbreviate the CARRY RETURN key later as follows: <CR> = CARRY RETURN key. III. ALYBADIX INSTALLING AND LOADING ==================================== a) Aly-CD Read the file READTHIS.TXT and/or READTHIS.DOC on the Aly-CD for installing instructions. It is possible to run some parts directly from the Aly-CD without installing them on the hard disk. Simply double-click the program icon (as AP.EXE) by mouse (under Windows): -Solving program: Run AP.EXE in the CD's folder ALY -AlyBase: Run AB.EXE in the CD's folder ALY -Alybase FAS: Run AB.EXE in the CD's folder FIDE -Alybadix demo solving program: Run APD.EXE in the CD's folder APDEMO However, installing on the hard disk is recommended for easier usage. Observe also that the Windows front APwin (by P.H. Wiereyn) for Alybadix does not work without installing it on the hard disk! b) Aly-diskette Alybadix diskette includes a separate installing program AINSTALL.BAT. Enter the command AINSTALL for seeing help. c) Path for Alybadix Alybadix programs can be loaded from any directory (=folder), if you define the path of your Alybadix directory in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, like: PATH C:\DOS;C:\ALY;D:\UTIL; if Alybadix was installed in directory ALY, drive C. } d) Password After installing you can run the solving program AP.EXE by double-clicking its icon (Windows) or using the DOS command AP (DOS or DOS-window of Windows). Alybadix programs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the author. Thus the program will ask for your Personal Password, which you have received with the program: Please enter your personal password: Answer by typing your password and hit <CR>-key after. Warning: The attempts to change the password will result in defects during solving! IV. ALYBADIX MAIN MENU ====================== *** NON-FAIRY MAIN MENU *** G = Figbadix Z = Disk / Printbadix version 2004 <F10> = Editor (C) 2004, I. Blom, FINLAND Esc/Tab = Mate (#) N / A = New problem / same Again Ins = Mode (1-6): 4 1/Space/Down/PgDn/+/<CR> = List Solution *) E = EverTree no: 2 / Right = Display Solution *) 3 = List Tries/Defences *) I/V = Tree size (MB): 872 M = Select Manually *) D / Y = Duplex K = Keep Mode/Tree F = Select Dualfree U = Select Dualfree + Underprom. P = Printer Q = Quick tree On/Off 4 = Select All variations 7 = New Notation O = Queue and movability 8 = No/With/Only Setplay B = Beeps T = Title L = Moving men 9 = Mouse <F2> = Show solution with/without diagram <F3> = Display options X = New problem genre / Quit Alybadix <F1> = Diagram *) Special keys: <F1>, Right, Left, S , - , 1...9, Space, Down, PgDn, + Select now from the menu by hitting a proper key. The user may select different notations of the chessmen separately for the input and output of the moves. At the beginning the Own (=default) notations are valid. If you want to change the notation(s), hit 7: V. NEW NOTATION =============== SELECT NOTATION: Pawn Knight Bishop Rook Queen King 0=SRLTDK Own in 0=PSLTDK Own out 1=PSLTDK Fide 2=PSBRQK English 3=PCFTDR French 4=BSLTDK German 5=PCATDR Spanish 6=PJSVDK Czech 7=GHFBVK Hungarian 8=PSGWHK Polish 9=SRLTDK Finnish :=PNBRQK English 2 For Input (0)? Select now the notation, which you want to use for entering positions. Then Alybadix prompts: For Output (0)? Select the proper notation 0-9 or : (or <CR> for no changes), which will be used in listing of solutions and defensive moves. After this you will return to MAIN MENU instantly. VI. SOLVING A CHESS PROBLEM =========================== a) Entering the position using notation In MAIN MENU select No Setplay or With Setplay or Only Setplay testing by hitting 8 one or two times. The selected mode is seen as an inverse first character. Setplay means here that problem solving begins from the second move. Thus the setplay variations will be one ply (half move) shorter than in non-setplay testing. Hit A in order to solve/modify the previous problem again. If you begin to solve a new problem, hit N, and Alybadix will ask for the position: White's position? The position may be entered using only notation or diagram or both. Enter now the white pieces and press the <CR>. You can also instantly press <CR> and enter the position using the diagram as described later. If the position is defective, the cursor is set on the place or near, where the error occured and Alybadix's built-in editor allows you to correct the position! Fairybadix: Observe that you cannot enter fairy pieces in this way. They must be entered with the help of the diagram! When succeeded Alybadix prompts: Black's position? Enter the position at the same way as to white. You may enter the pieces in any order and in many ways. Learn this by means of the following example (FIDE notation supposed): Adriano Chicco 3. n. "Szachy" 1948 Fide Album 1945-55/787 White: Ke2 De7 Th5 Ld3 Lf8 Pb3 Pb5 Pd2 Pe3 (9) Black: Kd5 Tc6 Lg3 Sb7 Se5 Pb6 Pd7 Pg4 (8) Mate in 3 moves (#3) Both capital and small letters are allowed with or without spaces. Enter the white pieces for instance: KE2 DE7 TH5 LD3 LF8 PB3 PB5 PD2 PE3 or: Ke2 De7 th5 LD3 F8 PB3 B5 D2 E3 or in the shortest way: ke2de7th5ld3f8pb3b5d2e3 or in different order: PD2 KE2 PB3 E3 B5 LD3 F8 TH5 DE7 Alybadix is able to find strong moves automatically. However, the entering order of the pieces may have a remarkable affect on solving time (not generally in helpmates and series movers, however)! Hint: In long problems you could try to feed at first the pieces, which seem to have the best possibilities to check and capture. See also chapter XII g) O = Order of pieces and l) Ins = Mode (1-6)! After entering the black pieces the chessboard diagram is displayed on the screen and you can modify the position if desired. b) Entering and modifying positions using diagram When the chessboard diagram is displayed hit the function key F2 to see the INPUT DIAGRAM HELP: + INPUT DIAGRAM HELP + (Hit <F2> several times for Fairy help!) Arrows,Home,PgUp,End,PgDn,Mouse= Move cursor/piece in all 8 directions Esc,Ins,Center,Mouse left button=Toggle between cursor/piece movement modes (Center-key works only when NumLock is ON!) , = Move cursor (Ex. ,E4 means cursor to E4) X = Place to the beginning . = Move piece (Ex. .E4 means movement to E4) of the piece queue Letter = Add the corresponding piece on the cursor square Hit quickly TWO TIMES for BLACK piece! 0 = Delete piece Shift-Del = Delete all pieces Del = Delete piece / Undelete last deleted 7 = Color change 8 = Board mirroring (A1=H1) 9 = Board rotation 90ø Y = Duplex (same as 7899) Shift-Arrow = Shift position Z = Mark Ziel square (Fairybadix) <F1> = Figurines <--> Names (diagram) <F10> = Figurines <--> Letters (moves) Hit F2 several times for additional help about fairy options, rules and fairy piece abbreviations. The refresh keys F1 and F10 redraw the screen. This is useful if the screen is distorted (under Windows). Observe that you can refresh the screen also later, even during solving, by the F1-key! The coloured 'cursor' square situates at first on a1. The 8 cursor/piece movement keys work in their 'natural' directions. Selection between cursor mode (cursor position only changes) and piece movement mode (the piece is moved with the cursor) is made using Esc, Ins, Center keys or mouse left button as a toggle. (Center locates in the middle of the arrow keys and works only when the NumLock key is ON). Hitting a key, which is an abbreviation of some piece as defined in the input notation, will cause appearing of the corresponding WHITE piece on the cursor square, and soon the cursor will go onto the next square right. But hitting TWICE the same key before the cursor has moved off will change the piece's colour to BLACK. Naturally also other ways described in the HELP MENU may be used, but they are slower. To shift the position in any of the 4 directions both the shift key and one of the 4 arrow keys must be hold down simultaneously. When the position is correct, press <CR> to continue. The diagram disappears and Alybadix prompts: DURING SOLVING: F1 = Text-Board-Text / Refresh diagram F2 = See/Unsee current testing data F3 = See/Unsee variations B = Beeps On/Off C = Stop/Continue S = Stop Enter problem length (1-50, 1-99 if series): 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, A10-A99, < or <CR> ? Enter now the length of the problem. The <CR> or < key or clicking mouse right button accepts the current length seen on the first row of the screen. Before solving TEST MENU is still seen: VII. TEST MENU ============== ** TEST MENU ** <F1>/<F2>/<F3>/Esc = clear Parts <F4> = clear All A = Model/Ideal (black in #=) N = Madrasi/RI G = other Genres S/I = Intelligent R = Rec/HS/Sem (h#= sh#= r#=) M = Max/Min C = Circe U / Q = Quick mode: (Q/QQ = from wh. 1./2. move up. # s# r#) 4 = White checking: w**... (+ check, - no check, * any. Not series) 5 = Black must check (b+, h#=) 6 = White captures: (wC-/wC+, no any or named/must 1,2,...times) 7 = Black cannot capture (bC-, h#= sh#=) K = King guards opponent's King (K=, before mating or in stalemate) O = wProm H = wCastl W = wMovable E = Ep (capturable by 1. move enp.) P = bProm J = bCastl B = bMovable L = MMen (m, moving men) T / Left / Right = Mating square: Sq-* (Edge,Corner,Side,Middle,One) D / F = Black King flights (0-7): f= (#= s#= r#=. f/ff, x/xx, y/yy X/Y/Z = Black moves, #men/#moves: x= y= z= mean from b. 1./2. move up) 1 = All / Dual / Dualfree test 2 = Search variations 3 = Non-Try test 9 / V = Variation search depth in plies (v1-100): 100 < or <CR> = Continue If Evertree is in use, you may select from the last two lines only after the 0-round. Press <CR> or < or mouse right, if no changes are needed. Otherwise select by hitting the desired key. Select a proper condition using the on-off switches A, S/I, R, M or C. Observe the restrictions in the brackets. For instance, C = Circe is not possible with Helpbadix Intelligent! a) Variation, Threat, Key-move only and Try testing -Mode 1 = All (default) means that all variations up to the selected ply depth 1-100 are searched. Naturally this mode takes generally more time and memory space than the other modes. -Dual mode means that after finding a dual in white's move, Alybadix goes straight to the previous new black move and doesn't seek for more dual continuations. -Dualfree mode means that all dual variations are rejected already during solving. This mode is useful, if very many variations exist, which may fill computer's reserved memory area and stop solving. In all previous cases it is possible to select instantly the dualfree variations after solving (F or U in MAIN MENU). Normally 2 = Search variations test is done by default, but you may select also other tests by hitting 2: -Threats only (vers 2002-): After white first move black king makes a 0-move (as Ka2-a2). Thus you will get the white first move threats with the continuations up to mate (stalemate). -Threats+Variations (vers. 2002-): As above, but the solving variations are also found. -Key-moves only: Alybadix doesn't look for variations. Thus the keys (=first moves) only are found. 3 = Try test looks for TWO black defensive moves after each white first move. If only one defensive move exists, the white first move is considered as a try. Try test takes generally 50-100% more time than non-try test. Observe that there are some limitations depending on the selected options. For instance, Threat, Key-move only, Try and Dualfree tests are not possible in helpmates and series problems. Dual test is possible also in helpmates and series problems (generally not recommended, but may be proper for pruning variations, if a problem is badly cooked). Hints: Alybadix has several fine features for more effective testing: -In All variations and Dual tests you should use the maximum search depth for selecting the dualfree variations reliably after solving. However, Dualfree test finds dualfree variations correctly although the search depth is less than maximum. For instance, using Dualfree test and depth=1, Alybadix searches for one variation only after each key-move and this variation is dualfree! -If all variations are dualistic in Dualfree test, Alybadix saves the key-move. Thus the solution is not missed. b) Quick modes Hit Q to select a quick mode Qn (mate programs 1-4 only). In quick mode any white non-checking move is a threat of 1#-->n# (excluding white's last move in Selfmates and Reflexmates). U selects between Q and QQ modes. If Q, then white must threat from white 1. move up. If QQ, then white must threat from white 2. move up. For instance, the Q5+/Q5-/Q5 modes in different program genres mean: Matebadix/Sidebadix, Q5 modes Q5+: w- 1.w+ b 2.w+ b 3.w+ b 4.w+ b 5.w# Q5-: w- 1.w b 2.w+ b 3.w+ b 4.w+ b 5.w# Q5: w- 1.w b 2.w b 3.w b 4.w b 5.w# Selfbadix, Q5 modes Q5+: w- 1.w+ b 2.w+ b 3.w+ b 4.w+ b 5.w+ b# Q5-: w- 1.w b 2.w+ b 3.w+ b 4.w+ b 5.w+ b# Q5: w- 1.w b 2.w b 3.w b 4.w b 5.w b# Reflexbadix, Q5 modes Q5+: w- 1.w+ b 2.w+ b 3.w+ b 4.w+ b 5.w b# Q5-: w- 1.w b 2.w+ b 3.w+ b 4.w+ b 5.w b# Q5: w- 1.w b 2.w b 3.w b 4.w b 5.w b# w = any white move w- = white non-checking move w+ = white checks w# = white mates b = any black move b# = black mates Threating depth range is from 1 (Q1) to 5 (Q5). Observe that f.i. Q5 testing begins from 6# up. Thus shorter mates (1#-5#) should be at first tested with the help of lower Q value or without quick mode! Also quick mode testing is not possible with the last 3 white check options (w++, w-+ and w*+). Some hints: At first try w++, w*+, Q1, Q2+, Q3+... tests, which are the quickest. If testing takes too much time, try also to limit black King's flight squares (especially f0...f3). Since Q-test always accepts white checking moves, all Q-tests include w++ test. Higher Q test includes lower Q tests as follows (Eg. Q5 in 6# or longer): Q5 test includes Q1...Q4, Q2-...Q5- and Q1+...Q5+. Q5- test includes Q1,Q2-...Q4- and Q1+...Q5+. Q5+ test includes Q1+...Q4+. Since Quick mode looks for white threats, it is NOT proper for finding white waiting moves (tempo, zugzwang). Hint: Try options f/x/y instead! Threat testing: White first moves are checks or threats, when Quick mode testing is used. Use w-* option, if you want threats only without the checking first moves. c) White checking Hit 4 for selecting one of the 6 white checking options: w** = any (default). w+* = first move is check. w-* = first move is not check. w++ = all checks (same as w1+ in old versions). w-+ = first move is not check, other moves checks. w*+ = first move any, other moves checks (same as w2+ in old versions). d) Options F/X/Y/Z These options work with the genres 1-4 only (direct, self and reflex). Hitting F changes the amount of black King's available flight squares from 0 to 8 after each white move. Especially f0-f3 may be useful in practice. X and Y limits the maximum number of black moving men (x1-x16) and black moves (y1-y48). If y0, only black king can move. D selects between f,x,y (from black 1. move up) and ff,xx,yy (from black 2. move up) modes. Like in many other selections the Shift-keys can be used together with F,X,Y,Z: F/X/Y/Z: Increase by one LeftShift-F/X/Y/Z: Decrease by one RightShift-F/X/Y/Z: Clear Z-option is used with Y-option in long tests (v. 2002-): -range z1-z99 (z10,z20,...,z90 not possible). -works only in connection with the y-options y1,y2,y3,... -allows more black moves than the y-option alone. -z2 means that the y-value can be exceeded 2 times by any number of moves. -z23 means that the y-value can be exceeded 2 times by max 3 moves. Examples of black moving possibilities in a 8# problem (black 1.-7. move): y1: 1111111 (always one move only) y1/z2: 11x111x or 111xx11 ... (2 times any, 5 times one) y1/z23: 4111411 or 1141114 ... (2 times max 4 moves, 5 times one) Observe that z1 includes z11-z19, z2 includes z21-z29 and so on! Hint: Option y is very strong in long selfmates. At first try y1, then y2. If y2 takes too much time, try y1/z1 or quicker y1/z11 etc. e) Other options in TEST MENU The selections 5-7,K,f,x,y,z,Sq- may accelerate solving very much, but naturally the danger of missing cooks (=extra, unwished solutions) and desired variations exists in most cases. 5 = black must check (b+) is available in helpmates only. Each black move must be a check. This special condition is used sometimes in helpmates. 6/7 disables white/black captures (wC-/bC-). For instance, you can safely select '6 = white cannot capture' in selfmates and reflexmates (not in stalemates!), if black has only king + one piece. From versions 2003- up 6 allows also selecting white must capture options (in non-circe problems only), which are often useful in helpstalemates: wC+ = each white move is a capture wC+n = white must capture n or more times (n=1...15). K forces king to participate in mating (K=). In mate problems this means that king must guard the opponent's king already BEFORE the last move (in stalemates AFTER the last move). Especially in miniatures this is often evident. O = wProm / P = bProm selects allowed promotion combination of DTLSF, where F means a fairy promotion. H = wCastl / J = bCastl disables castlings: OO-/OOO-/O- means that O-O/O-O-O/(O-O + O-O-O) are not allowed. W/B = White/Black movable increases the number of movable pieces. The movable pieces must generally situate at the beginning of the piece queues. The other pieces are non-movable ('frozen'). Exception: In genres 1-4 the black movable pieces must situate at the end of the the black queue. Thus white must move so that only the black movable pieces are able to move. However, if a black non-movable piece can move, this black move is considered as a defensive move! See also 'O = Queue and movability' (chapter XII g)! E = Ep enables enpassant as a key-move. Hit E several times and Alybadix suggests the possible e.p. squares one by one. Option T clears and Right/Left arrow sets the mating/stalemating squares (Sq-) as follows: Sq-E: Edge (with corners), Sq-C: Corner, Sq-S: Side (without corners), Sq-M: Middle, Sq-a1...h8: The named one square. Be careful with Sq-a1...h8. Generally this option is not proper for normal mates. Use it with helpmates, selfmates and series only! Please see the files LIST.TXT, LIST1.TXT,... in Alybadix main and example directories (EX1, EX2,...) for details and examples of the above accelerating options! Option search depth (v): V/Shift-V increases/decreases the variation search depth by one and 9 sets the maximum depth of 100 plies (half moves). Good for limiting the number of variations searched. Hitting F1/F2/F3/Esc clears the equally colored parts and F4 clears all special settings to default. At last hit <CR> or < or mouse right to begin solving. During solving the hot keys are: F1: Flip between the text and graphics mode (if diagram OR text display selected) or Refresh diagram (diagram AND text). F2: See additional solving data on the 2. and 5. rows of the screen. F3: See variations On/Off. If Off, solving is quicker! B: Beeps On/Off. C: Stop solving. Hit C again to continue solving. S: Interrupt solving and return to MAIN MENU. VIII. LISTING AND DISPLAYING SOLUTION AND DEFENSIVE MOVES ========================================================= After problem solving it is possible to select variations in different ways in MAIN MENU: 4: Selects all variations. F: Selects the dualfree variations only. U: As F, but accepts also the underpromotion 'duals' . M: Manual selecting. All variations are seen one by one and you should answer by typing '-' (minus) or clicking mouse right to take off the current variation. The other keys or mouse left accept the current variation. Option M is thus also good for viewing variations one by one! Now you may list the selected variations as follows: Space: List one line and stop. Down: List 8 lines and stop. PgDn: List 18 lines and stop (mouse right button makes the same). Plus: List 100 lines and stop. <CR>: List continuously. 1..9: Go to the next variation, which begins from the given (1-9) or lower ply depth and stop. Or hit 2 or Right to display the selected variations. During listing/displaying hit Right or Left for moving between the 4 possible modes MVCL (this is seen on the first row): M: Display one move and stop. V: Display one variation and stop. C: Display continuously. L: List continuously (without diagram display). If display is On (MVC), hit + or - to increase/decrease the display speed 0-9 (seen on the first row). Other selections during listing/displaying: T: Take position. Hitting T takes the current position on the screen. Alybadix at the same changes the stipulation length properly and you may immediately solve from this point again. Useful in long problems for dual testing and studying interesting variations. Hint: Use evertree for quicker resolving (unfortunately, evertree does not work still with intelligent modes in Help- and Serieshelp-problems). F1: Flip between the text and diagram screen (if diagram OR text display in use) or Refresh diagram (diagram AND text). S: Stop listing/displaying. Return to MAIN MENU. Other keys: Stop/Continue. Example of the screen view during listing: ______________________________________________________________________ 0787 ] #3 (9+8) #3 S:002 V:0007 MVCL 2 b ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.Lf8-g7 Tc6-c1 2.Th5xe5+ Lg3xe5 3.De7xe5 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Adriano Chicco 3. n. "Szachy" 1948 Fide Album 1945-55/787 White: Ke2 De7 Th5 Ld3 Lf8 Pb3 Pb5 Pd2 Pe3 Black: Kd5 Tc6 Lg3 Sb7 Se5 Pb6 Pd7 Pg4 #3 (9+8) Solution: 3# 1.De7-f7+ Tc6-e6 2.Ld3-c4+ Kd5-e4 3.Df7-f5 # 1.Lf8-g7 d7-d6 2.De7-f7+ Kd5-c5 3.Df7-c4 # Tc6-c7 2.Th5xe5+ Lg3xe5 3.De7xe5 # 2.Lg7xe5 d7-d6 3.Le5-f4 # Tc6-c8 2.Th5xe5+ Lg3xe5 3.De7xe5 # 2.Lg7xe5 d7-d6 3.Le5-f4 # Tc6-c1 2.Th5xe5+ Lg3xe5 3.De7xe5 # ______________________________________________________________________ The first (uppermost) row contains: 0787: Problem name in the previous disk operation. #3: Stipulation (Mate in three moves) and current depth (#1,#2...) (9+8): Number of the white and black pieces. S:002: Solution counter (=different first moves). V:0007: Variation counter. MVCL: Current display mode (letter inversed). 2: Current display speed (0-9). b: Beeps On (blank, if Off). If * precedes the stipulation, Setplay testing is going. In addition, the last character of the first row is inversed, if the option 'See variations' (F3 key during solving) is Off. During solving following info is seen also: -Used solving time (row 1). -Letter 'V' after time indicates that Alybadix has found a key move and is searching for variations. Letter 'T' indicates that Alybadix is running in Threat-testing loop (vers. 2002-). -Current two first moves (row 2). -Position tree data, if tree is On (row 2). -Name of the solving program (row 2). -Current (stale)mating square in Help- and Serieshelp-problems, if Intelligent mode is On (row 2). -Separate accelerating options selected in TEST MENU (row 5). Hit F2 to switch the info of rows 2 and 5 On/Off. The little window of rows 3 and 4 includes max 8 moves (16 plies) of the current variation. This is the same as on the lowest row (25), but is seen often only partially there. The rows 6-25 include separate solving variations. The 'empty' moves mean that the move is the same as in the previous variation on the row above. Choose 3 in MAIN MENU for seeing Tries and Black's Defensive moves. Naturally the tries are available only after try-testing. In helpmates and series problems only first moves are listed. IX. INTERRUPT, MEMORY FULL AND ERROR MESSAGES ============================================= If solving is interrupted after hitting the S key the message: SOLVING INTERRUPTED!!! is seen after the variations. If the solution includes very many variations, it is possible that they fill computer's reserved memory space. In this case solving stops and the MEMORY FULL!!! message is seen. After returning to MAIN MENU you may list the solution until the break point. The number of the variations can be pruned by using Dual or Dualfree test instead of testing All variations, or decreasing the variation searching depth. If an error is found during solving (for instance, in case of illegal position), the ERROR!!! message is seen. Hit any key to return MAIN MENU. X. PRINTER COMMANDS =================== In MAIN MENU choose P for going to PRINTER MENU: +++ PRINTER MENU +++ <CR> / P = Exit Obs. This menu is for old IBM-compatible matrix printers. For better quality use Printbadix menu! Warning: If the diagram is printed, Alybadix uses CGA-graphics. Some new video cards/drivers are not CGA compatible! <F1> = See CGA diagram (without printing). SETTINGS: R = Ports 1 = Normal / Condensed text (60 / 120 Chr/line) 2 = Single / Double density diagram PRINT: 3 = Title and Diagram 4 = +Stipulation 5 = ++Position 6 = +++Solution 0 = Title + Diagram + Stipulation + Solution 7 = Solution without diagram 8 = Tries / Defences 9 = One blank line F = Form feed As stated, the above menu is for matrix printers. If you want to add special effects in texts and better diagram quality, try Printbadix! Change at first printer Port (R), the Density for text/diagram (1/2), if needed, and hit the proper key (0/3-8) for printing diagram/solution/defences. For diagram printing the printer should be an IBM-compatible matrix printer. Check also the printer hardware settings, if printing is not correct. For instance, in NLQ (Near Letter Quality) mode many printers cannot print condensed text. If you want to interrupt printing, hit any key during printing, and you are prompted to stop or continue printing. However, if the printing data is already in printer's own buffer memory (its size depends on the printer model), you should use printer's own controlling switches for interrupting. XI. DISK COMMANDS ================= Select Z in MAIN MENU for disk operations: --- DISK MENU --- <CR> = Return Z = to Printbadix Load: Save: Delete: Insert: Current name: ---- ---- ------ ------ ------------ Position LP SP DelP [EX_1 .POS] Solution LS SS DelS [ - " - .SOL] print Memory LM SM DelM InsM [NONAME .PS ] 1 = Ext Text LT ST DelT InsT [APMANU .TXT] <-- 2 = Ext fiGure set LG SG DelG [FB .FSE] Chessboard SC DelC [EX_1 .TIF] Figure SF DelF [NONAME .TIF] 6 = Solve all POS files 7 = Solve all POS+PO+POO files A , B , C , D , E , F , G , H , I , J , K / 8 = Change Drive / Directory Current Drive/Directory: C:/ALY The options 'print Memory' / 'Text' are Printbadix related and the options 'fiGure set' / 'Chessboard' / 'Figure' are Figbadix related. Choose LOAD/SAVE/DELETE Position/Solution using keyboard or mouse. After this the names of the positions/solutions in the Current Directory are shown on the screen and you may choose the desired name with the help of arrow keys or mouse. You may also instantly type the wished filename. Warning: When deleting positions/solutions the global character (*) deletes ALL positions/solutions in the Current Directory! Generally drives A and B are diskette drives and C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K are hard disk drive(s) partitions and/or CD-ROM drives. After hitting 8 the current subdirectories are seen on top of the screen (observe that [.] means the current directory and [..] the parent directory). Select the desired directory with the help of arrow keys or mouse or type the pathname for a new directory. If the directory does not exist, Alybadix creates it. Automatic solving: Choose 6 and Alybadix solves all current type positions (POS or PO or POO files) in the current directory automatically and saves the solutions (SOL or SO or SOO files) on the disk. Choose 7 and Alybadix solves all positions (POS+PO+POO files) in the current directory. Chess problem file types: POS/SOL: mate problems PO/SO: stalemate problems POO/SOO: special condition problems, as check (+), doublecheck (++) capture (/), win a piece (%) and Ziel (Z). XII. OTHER COMMANDS IN MAIN MENU ================================ a) G = Figbadix G calls Figbadix. With Figbadix you can save piece figures and diagrams as TIFF-format. Possibility to design your own figure sets. b) Z = Disk / Printbadix Z calls Disk Menu or Printbadix, if you hit Z twice. c) F10 = Editor F10 calls the built-in editor of Printbadix. There are two parallel editors Edit 1 and Edit 2. Switch by F8-key between these. d) Esc/Tab Esc/Tab switches between Mate (#), Stalemate (=) and Doublestalemate (==) conditions. If the program Seriebadix is in use, also the condition serieswhitestalemate (sw=, white plays itself to stalemate) can be selected, Fairybadix: Plus several Special conditions (+ ++ / % Z). e) B = Beeps The default setting is that only one beep is heard at the end of solving. Hitting B gives beeps also, when mating move number (1#,2#,3#...) changes and when a new solution is found. Hitting B again returns the default setting of one beep. You may hit B also during solving. f) T = Title Title consists of TWO parts: The first above the diagram (max 152 characters) and the second below the diagram (max 101 characters). The title is entered with the help of editor's 5 lines mode. Thus it is easy to modify the title. You can also copy parts from the main editor to title or vice versa with the help of editor's buffer (hit Shift-Ins to insert the contents of the buffer to the current position). g) O = Queue and movability of pieces Possibility to change quickly the order of white and black pieces. This may have a remarkable affect on the solving time in genres 1-4 (Matebadix - Reflexbadix). Generally the order of the black affects more than the white. Good for testing very long problems. Versions 2000- have several new options for solving very long problems, as: w/wu/wq/wk and b/bu/bq/bk = movable/promoting+uncapturable/ quick promotion/keep promotion order. Hit H for closer rules for these options! Obs. If some of the movability options is selected, then 'T = Take order for Alyread' is automatically set 'yes' since the order of the pieces should be unchanged during Alyread/Alywrite operations (Alyread 2001- adds order-w and order-b fields to the chess problem list files)! h) L = Moving men (vers 2001-) For each move the user can tell which man must move and to which officer a pawn must promote, if the move is promoting. With the help of this option practically all helpmate and series problems can be solved. Good for chess problem databases (as Alybase FAS). After L hit H for help and E for editing the moving men list. For instance, if black pawns on e4 and b4 and serieshelpmate: e4 e4 e4T * b4 (or shortly: e4e4e4t*b4) could mean 1.e4-e3 2.e3-e2 3.e2-e1T 4.any move 5.b4-b3 6.any etc... i) F2 = Show solution with/without diagram Switch for viewing the solution with or without the diagram. If digram, then the text length is 40 characters/line. If without the diagram, then 80 characters/line. During solving you can use F1-key for refreshing the screen and/or switching bewteen the diagram and the text. j) F3 = Display options Menu for several selections of colors and screen length of 25-28 lines. Also selections for used font sets. This may help sometimes, if the diagram and/or piece figurines are distorted. k) 9 = Mouse Menu for changing the mouse sensitivity separately for text and graphics display. l) Ins = Mode (1-6) Used solving mode in genres 1-4 (Matebadix - Reflexbadix). All modes are proper for 100% testing, but select 'good' moves in different ways. A move is considered 'good' as follows: -Modes 1 and 4: checks, promotions, queen captures -Modes 2 and 5: checks, promotions, officer captures -Modes 3 and 6: checks, promotions, all captures In addition, if mode is 1-3, Alybadix tries to optimize the order of pieces during solving. Mode 4 corresponds to the former Alybadix versions (1994.2 and older) without the mode option. Generally mode 1 or 4 is the quickest, especially in complicated positions. The used mode is seen after the program name (as Matebadix-3). m) I/V = Tree size V selects the size of Position Tree between 0 (tree is not in use) and maximum. The maximum tree size is about 2000 megabytes depending on the amount of installed extended memory. I/Shift-I increases/decreases the tree size by the step of 1 MB = 1024 kB. n) E = EverTree E switches Evertree ON/OFF. Evertree is a permanent position tree, which is NOT cleared after solving. Thus you can solve the same or samelike problem again much quicker. This is ideal together with Dualfree test to construct miniature length records (such as KLS-K). After 0-round you can NOT change the accelerating options in TEST MENU. However, Evertree is automatically cleared in the following cases: -after changing the problem genre -after switching between mate and stalemate -after changing the allowed promotions -after changing the tree size -after loading an uncompatible problem from disk -when Intelligent mode is selected in Help- and Serieshelp-problems -in Helpmates and Series movers, when the tree holds many solving variations -if you change the position, when movability options are in use There is still a little difference between the 'standard' position tree and Evertree: Standard tree is packed, but Evertree not. Thus standard tree of same size can include even 100% more positions, if many pieces. In miniatures the difference is unsignificant. Position tree can be used in all genres for pruning identical and symmetrical positions. It is especially effective in moremovers and miniatures (generally in all problems, where the number of different positions is not very high). If a tree is filled, it is pruned to about 25% of maximum size in an intelligent way. During and after solving Alybadix shows separate tree info. For instance, 5-3-8123456e (122 MB) means: 5 trees, max pruning depth 3 plies, max 8123456 positions occured before pruning and tree size 122 megabytes. Letter 'e' means, that Evertree round 1-n was in use (if 'E', then round 0). o) K = Keep Mode/Tree If keep is ON, the current mode and/or tree setting is NOT changed, when a new position or solution is loaded from disk. Works also in automatic solving. p) D/Y = Duplex Hitting D gives help how to solve duplex problems. Hitting Y sets the duplex display On/Off. With help of duplex option (2003-) you can view any solution as inversed (for instance, in normal mates black begins and mates white). q) Q = Quick tree On/Off (v.2004-) Switch for the Quick tree (qTree). qTree is a special position tree mode for long non-pawn problems with 4-5 men only. Solving is about 2-3 times quicker than under the standard tree. r) X = New problem genre / Quit Alybadix. After hitting X you may select a new problem genre of any 10 genres (1-9,A) without missing the current position. Hit X two times to switch between Non-Fairy solving and Fairybadix. Also you can exit Alybadix by hitting Q = Quit Alybadix (this is recommended, although Ctrl-Break does the same at any time). XIII. INTELLIGENT MODES ======================= In helpmates (Helpbadix) and serieshelpmates (Seriehelpbadix) the intelligent mode is possible with the Non-Fairy solving only. In direct-, self- and reflex-problems the intelligent mode works with the Non-Fairy and Fairybadix parts (vers. 2002-). In TEST MENU hit 'S' or 'I' to select the intelligent mode. a) Helpbadix and Seriehelpbadix, old versions 1990-2000 Helpbadix Intelligent program was designed for mainly moremovers miniatures and problems with only a few white men. In 1-3 movers and many piece problems the non-intelligent mode is generally more practical. The speed of the Intelligent mode is partly based on the fact, that it tries mating on every square of the board one by one beginning from A1 and stopping to H8! Thus the program lists during solving the current mating square. The same square may occur many times corresponding to different white guarding combinations. The white guarding pieces are the men, which participate in mating. The program is able to evaluate the minimum amount of the black blocking men needed after black's last move (=in mate, if white's last move is not a capture), corresponding to any white guarding combination. Before solving begins, the following menu is seen: *** INTELLIGENT MODE *** Castling variations may be missed! Number of white pieces should be 1...8! WHITE PROMOTING: 0 = No 1 = Must 2 = Must before last move S = Intelligent Speed (0-4): 0 < or <CR> = Continue MATING/STALEMATING SQUARES: 3 = Corner 4 = Edge, no corner 5 = Edge 6 = Middle 7 = Black 8 = White 9 / F / L = Range (All/First/Last): a1-h8 S = Intelligent Speed is at the beginning always = 0 corresponding to the minimum amount of black blocking men. Hitting S increases the speed by one. If a speed 1-4 is selected, higher than minimum amount of black blocking men is supposed. Thus the solving time will be shorter, but the danger of missing solution(s) is existing. Therefore use the speeds 1-4 only for fast preliminary testing and use the speed=0 for final testing! Options 0-2 are used for controlling white promoting: 0: White promoting not accepted. 1: White must promote. 2: White must promote. All promotions must happen before white's last move. This concerns the white guarding pieces only. Options 3-9,F and L are for selecting the mating squares. The default setting is that all mating squares from A1 to H8 are tested. As seen above, it is possible to select only one mating square testing or a range of mating square testing very many-sidedly. This may be useful for instance in time-consuming problems, which can be tested in many parts. An example: (Daniel Meinking, Chess Life, 1986): White: Ka5 Tb6 Lb5 (3) Black: Kg4 Dc7 Th5 Lg2 Pg6 (5) H#3 (4 sol) In case of white Bishop and Rook guarding, the program evaluates, that theoretically there must be minimum two/one black blocking men in Middle/Edge mate. Thus the speed=0 is corresponding to this two/one black blocking men. However, Helpbadix Intelligent finds all 4 solutions, if any speed 0,1 or 2 is entered (relative solving times 60/13/1, respectively), since there are four/three (=minimum+2) black blocking men around the black King in Middle/Edge mate, as seen in the solutions: 1.Th5-h4 Lb5-d3 2.Dc7-h2 Tb6-b3 3.Kg4-h3 Ld3-f5 # (Edge mate) 1.Dc7-h2 Tb6-e6 2.Th5-h4 Lb5-d7 3.Kg4-h3 Te6-e3 # (Edge mate) 1. g6-g5 Lb5-c4 2.Dc7-g3 Tb6-b4 3.Lg2-f3 Lc4-e6 # (Middle mate) 1.Dc7-g3 Tb6-e6 2. g6-g5 Lb5-d7 3.Lg2-f3 Te6-e4 # (Middle mate) b) Helpbadix and Seriehelpbadix, new versions 2001 Version 2001 no more include the special Intelligent Menu, but all mating square selections can be done in TEST MENU. The user can also enter the intelligent Speed (s1-s8) by hitting 'S'. This speed means the minimum number of black blocking pieces (=blocks) needed for mating/stalemating after black's last move. Thus it is NOT the same as the speed in the older Alybadix versions (1990-2000). If the intelligent speed (s) is in use, then the test is generally not 100% (C+)! c) Seriehelpbadix Intelligent 2001 You can see already in TEST MENU the possible mating squares on the row 2: Depth/Blocks/Square Blocks = The minimum number of black blocking men needed for mating/stalemating. Depth = The previous depth (in plies = half-moves) where the block number changed (during solving, when white pieces are captured). Square = The current mating square (if there is '!' instead of the square, then mating is not possible). Obs. -Intelligent mode is very quick in mates, not so quick in stalemates! -Unlike in the former versions (1990-2000), Seriehelpbadix Intelligent 2001 and Helpbadix Intelligent 2001 test one square throughout (from 1# to maximum#) before proceeding to the next square! d) Matebadix, Selbadix and Reflexbadix Intelligent 2002 In the versions 2002- intelligent mode works also with direct-, self- and reflex-problems, even with Fairybadix. The difference between the normal and the intelligent mode is that intelligent mode finds SHORT mates quicker. Thus after EVERY black move white tries 1#,2#,3#,... for finding the shortest mating. Observe that the intelligent mode is not always quicker than the normal mode. Generally it is quicker from 7-8 movers up. In some cases the intelligent mode may solve even 10-100 times quicker than the normal mode! e) Serieselfbadix and Seriereflexbadix Intelligent 2003 Works like Seriehelpbadix Intelligent (see above), but the needed blocking is seen during solving, not in TEST MENU. In addition Serieselfbadix Intelligent allows additional speed options s+,s1+,...,s8+. This (+) means that white blocking must be ready already before white last move, which generally is a non-blocking check (s+ test is often 2-6 times quicker than the complete test). XIV. SOME REMARKS ================= -Sidebadix program supposes that the mating square must be on the edge of the board. When typing in the black pieces enter at first the black King for getting the quickest solving. -Reciprocal helpmate or serieshelpmate means that black a) mates white at his last move and b) allows white to mate him. -In Doublestalemate (==) both white and black are in stalemate at the end. -Serieswhitestalemate (sw=) is available with Seriebadix. Only white moves and plays itself to stalemate. -Helpselfmate (hs#) is available with Helpbadix (R in TEST MENU). Like helpmate, but white begins and black's last (mating) move as in selfmate. -The program Helpbadix Intelligent is not proper for problems with more than 8 white pieces. In addition it may miss white or black castling variations. In these cases you should use the non-intelligent mode! -The program Seriehelpbadix Intelligent (old vers. 1990-2000) may miss black castling variations. In case use the non-intelligent mode! Fairybadix differences (packet AP2): ---------------------- Compared with the Non-Fairy solving programs there are some differences in using Fairybadix, as: -Fairybadix solves non-fairy problems also, but is generally much slower. -Entering a position with the help of diagram: Hit F2 key several times for Diagram Help, Fairy Help and Fairy Rules. With the help of F1 key and/or mouse it is easy to enter any of available 216 fairy pieces as white/black/neutral. -Automatic solving mode: Possibility to solve separately all non-fairy positions only or all fairy positions only. -Fairybadix does not accept Helpbadix C. Also the Intelligent modes in programs Seriehelpbadix and Helpbadix are not available. -Several special conditions added (vers. 1998-): Check(+), Doublecheck(++), Capture(/), Win_a_piece(%) and Ziel(target square). Hit Tab-key in MAIN MENU to select between these. While diagram, hit Z to change the Ziel-square. The filename extensions are POO/SOO. -Fairybadix cannot solve Model/Ideal mates nor stalemates. Selection G = other Genres in TEST MENU allows solving K”Ko and Anti-K”Ko problems. Also N = Madrasi/RI in TEST MENU enables Madrasi and Madrasi Rex Inclusive. In addition several special-Circe and Anti-Circe (2003-) conditions included. -More detailed info about fairy rules etc is found in the file APINFO.TXT. Printbadix instructions ----------------------- The help files are: APHLP1.TXT (general instructions) and APHLP2.TXT (built-in editor instructions). You can print these files on your own printer. Load them from Disk Menu (LT) and read with the help of the editor. Both files include the detailed instructions for proper page settings and printing. See also the files APMAIL1.TXT and APMAIL2.TXT, which describe the mailing features of Printbadix! Alywrite and Alyread -------------------- Program Alywrite (AW.EXE) was written by John Beasley and Simo Blom. This C-languaged program loads many chess positions from one text file (as LIST.TXT, LIST1.TXT,...) and writes each position on disk in Alybadix POS/PO/POO-format. Enter AW for seeing instructions. Run it as follows: AW LIST.TXT or AW LIST1.TXT or ... Program Alyread (AR.EXE) by Simo Blom is 'reverse' Alywrite. Thus this program is able to combine any Alybadix POS/PO/POO and SOL/SO/SOO files to one easily readable text file. Enter AR for help. It loads even the key moves from solutions. Example: AR LISTALL *.SOL *.SO *.SOO or shorter AR LISTALL *.SO? combines all solution files in the current directory to file LISTALL. Use the built-in editor or Dos command TYPE or a proper text editor (EDIT etc...) for viewing or modifying the text files of Alywrite/Alyread format. Observe still that the nice chess problem-base program AlyBase uses the same format as Alywrite and Alyread! _____________________________________________________________________ Ilkka Blom, Salmikatu 27 A 16, FI-65200 Vaasa 20, FINLAND email: iblom@saunalahti.fi home: http://www.saunalahti.fi/~iblom/alybadix/