Fritz
7 Beta Test
At the end of October ChessBase will release the long-awaited Fritz 7.
It is the program that was to play BGN world champion Vladimir Kramnik
in October due to the recent terrorist attacks in New York and
Washington the match has been postponed to early next year.
Fritz 7 will be considerably stronger than its predecessor. But it is
another feature of the program that will generate even greater interest.
Fritz 7 gives you direct and uncomplicated access to the ChessBase Playchess
server. With just two clicks you can log on and start playing against
other people all over the world.
If you are interested in trying out these features you can download a
beta version of Fritz 7 it has the whole chess server functionality,
but not the other Fritz 7 functions (which are very close to those of
Fritz 6). No engines are included, however the server client will use
any Fritz-compatible engines you already own. You can use these to play
against other computers or to analyse games after they have been played.
You cannot start an engine when you are playing againt another human on
the Playchess server.
How to download the
Fritz 7 Beta
- Download the file F7setup.zip (7 MB) from the link given below.
- Unpack the zip file in a directory on your hard disk
- Start the program Setup.exe and follow the instructions. Allow the
program to be installed in the directories it suggest (in Programs Files/ChessBase/Fritz7/).
- Start ChessProgram7 (which should appear as an icon on your desktop)
- Set up an account for yourself (don't worry, it's completely free).
Once you have started playing you may notice problems or errors on your
system. Please report these using the report page given below. Please
report each problem individually. And please do not use the report page
to ask questions regarding the operation of the program. They cannot be
answered in this way.
Many thanks for your help and hope you enjoy playing chess on our new
server.
A brief introduction to the Playchess server
When you start you should first set up an account. You can also enter
as a guest, but you will have fewer rights.
It is good to give your town, country and geo-coordinates, as you will
then appear as a dot on the world map when you are online. If you cannot
find your town in the "Find coordinates" dialog you can do so
at MapBlast. Enter
your city and street and copy the geo coordinates on the top right of
the map that appears. Your picture must currently be in BPM format and
no larger than 100 KB. A good size is 130 x 180 pixels.
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Once you have filled out the account data you will
be prompted for a password. You should also give a password hint
which will be sent to you in case you forget your password.
In the future, whenever you go to the Playchess
server you will get the dialog box on the right. You simply need
to click "OK" or hit Enter to log on.
Note that all of the above personal data,
password can be changed at any time from within the program.
Naturally none of the information will be passed on to any third
party or used for advertising purposes.
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The main Fritz 7 server screen (picture compressed)
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On the bottom right you can see the different rooms,
which you can reach by clicking.
The rooms appear on the top left, with tabs that
allow you to view general information, the players currently present,
the games in progress and a world map with the location of all visitors.
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Note that you can play with computers in the special room set up for
them (Computers and Centaurs). In the main playing hall computers are
strictly forbidden. This is only for human vs human games.
In the players window you can see all the visitors who are currently
in the room. Note that you can sort the list by clicking on the headers
on the top. You can challenge any visitor who is not playing or paused
by clicking "Challenge" (or double-clicking the name).
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In the challenge window you can suggest time controls,
colours, etc.
"Challenger sends game is if you want to continue
from a given position.
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If you are challenged you can accept, decline or modify the challenge
(i.e. negotiate the conditions).
You get a special playing board for the game. Simply enter moves onthe
board. You will not be able to start a Fritz engine to assist you, and
a number of other normal Fritz functions are disabled.
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In all rooms you can chat with other visitors. Click
the name of your chat partner and type in messages (hit Enter to
send).
You can also send a message to all visitors, but
only use this if you have some general announcement to make. Note
that you can Ctrl-click a number of visitors to chat with them all.
The chat has no word-wrap. You get one line per
message. So keep your remarks brief, otherwise they will be difficult
to read.
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If you click "Games" in any room you can see the games that
are in progress (and the last set that has been played). Double-click
a game to load it on the board.
When you are "kibitzing" a game you can switch on one or more
chess engines ("Engine" menu). If you want to analyse on the
board you must "unplug" the transmission, which is done in the
"Game" menu. You can also press Ctrl-U to unplug and plug back
into a transmission.
- Note that you can save a game by simply pressing Ctrl-S and selecting
a database in which it should be stored. All games you play are automatically
saved in \My documents\ChessBase\Autosave.
A full documentation will be supplied with the program when it is becomes
available at the end of October. Keep checking out on the ChessBase
web site for the latest information on Fritz 7.
In the meantime have fun with the Fritz 7 beta and
our new Playchess server!
