Sargon 4
Michael M Gorman Jr
A local store is selling it for only $10. I know it's nothing
like MChess and the like, but it's also r e a l l y c h e a p .
Any advice or comments will be greatly appreciated! (Quick!
Before they sell out!)
Michael Gorman
Jeff Kenton
>Could someone let me know how good (or bad) Sargon 4 (not 5) is?
>A local store is selling it for only $10. I know it's nothing
>like MChess and the like, but it's also r e a l l y c h e a p .
I got a copy for my Mac recently ($17). It's OK -- it will trap you
if you play too fast to see the tactics, but you can beat it if you
pay attention. I hate the 3D display board, but the 2D board is fine.
--
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= Jeff Kenton (617) 894-4508 =
= jke...@world.std.com =
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Roy Eassa
>v587...@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Michael M Gorman Jr) writes:
>>Could someone let me know how good (or bad) Sargon 4 (not 5) is?
>>A local store is selling it for only $10. I know it's nothing
>>like MChess and the like, but it's also r e a l l y c h e a p .
>I got a copy for my Mac recently ($17). It's OK -- it will trap you
>if you play too fast to see the tactics, but you can beat it if you
>pay attention. I hate the 3D display board, but the 2D board is fine.
If your Mac is fast (say a Quadra or PowerBook 180), Sargon IV will be
rated over 2100 and maybe over 2200. That's not too shabby. The program
is essentially Fidelity's Mach 2 software, written by Dan & Kathe
Spracklen. In its day, it was king (no pun intended).
BTW, Sargon V for Macintosh is due soon.
Kenneth Sloan
>
>If your Mac is fast (say a Quadra or PowerBook 180), Sargon IV will be
>rated over 2100 and maybe over 2200. That's not too shabby. The program
>is essentially Fidelity's Mach 2 software, written by Dan & Kathe
>Spracklen. In its day, it was king (no pun intended).
Sargon III still runs on my "day 1 - original Mac", and *almost - but
not quite* runs on my PB180 [any gurus who would have a chance of
telling me how to get it to run on the PB? Presumably System 7 is the
problem]. Does anyone think I could get an upgrade??? Anyway - on the
original Mac, Sargon III feels like USCF1600 or so. I recall hearing
claims (when I first got it) that it was supposed to be USCF1800 - but
my experience with it doesn't support that claim. Still, it's an
interesting blitz opponent, and I wouldn't mind having it operational on
the PB. At least it understands en passant, and doesn't crash two moves
before being mated, like a gncertain gnother gnprogram I could
mention...
I always felt that Psion was a better program - but I don't have a
working copy anymore.
I've heard (but can't confirm) that Sargon IV was generally considered
to be a step backward from Sargon III.
>
>BTW, Sargon V for Macintosh is due soon.
>
I'll buy it tomorrow - if I can find it. Any concrete pointers?
Calling all salesmen...e-mail your quotes.
--
Kenneth Sloan Computer and Information Sciences
sl...@cis.uab.edu University of Alabama at Birmingham
(205) 934-2213 115A Campbell Hall, UAB Station
(205) 934-5473 FAX Birmingham, AL 35294-1170
Swartz
>
>>v587...@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Michael M Gorman Jr) writes:
>
>>>Could someone let me know how good (or bad) Sargon 4 (not 5) is?
>
>rated over 2100 and maybe over 2200. That's not too shabby. The program
>is essentially Fidelity's Mach 2 software, written by Dan & Kathe
>Spracklen. In its day, it was king (no pun intended).
Is this correct? I thought that ChessMaster 2100 used Fidelity software.
Did Fidelity help two competing software companies?
JOHN
--
JOHN A. SWARTZ - The MITRE Corp. Bedford, MA * John_...@iegate.mitre.org
"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." J.R.R. Tolkien
Roy Eassa
>In article <C7pA4...@world.std.com> m...@world.std.com (Roy Eassa) writes:
>>jke...@world.std.com (Jeff Kenton) writes:
>>
>>>v587...@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Michael M Gorman Jr) writes:
>>
>>>>Could someone let me know how good (or bad) Sargon 4 (not 5) is?
>>
>>If your Mac is fast (say a Quadra or PowerBook 180), Sargon IV will be
>>rated over 2100 and maybe over 2200. That's not too shabby. The program
>>is essentially Fidelity's Mach 2 software, written by Dan & Kathe
>>Spracklen. In its day, it was king (no pun intended).
>Is this correct? I thought that ChessMaster 2100 used Fidelity software.
>Did Fidelity help two competing software companies?
>JOHN
Yes, it is correct. Sargon is definitely the Spracklen program, which was
also used in a line of Fidelity machines in the mid-to-late '80s.
Chessmaster 2100 on the PC was David Kittinger's program, which was also
used in the Novag line of computers of the same time period. As I recall,
when CM2100 arrived for the Mac, it was indeed a different (botched) port
of the Spracklen program. At one time, Fidelity had *nothing* to do with
the Chessmaster series of programs. Later on, they were involved in a
marketing arrangement (i.e., they lent their name).
Bottom line is, as of today there is no *strong* chess program that will
run on today's Macs (with 68040s and/or built-in video). This is likely
to change soon, with 3 or 4 strong programs coming down the pike.
Wouldn't it be interesting if a chess program, running on Apple's
RISC-based Macs (due in January), ends up as stronger than any PC-based
program? The PowerPC processor to be used in the coming generation of
Macs will easily outperform Intel's Pentium at a much lower cost, so hold
onto your hats for a fun ride.