Author: AsimPereira

Categories
chessbookstudy

Chess Book Study Tips n Tricks

Chess Book Study v2.5 was released today (May 27th, 2014).
These are some handy tips and tricks.

Swipe to load next/prev game
Once you load a game from the Games browser, you can simply swipe the board left/right to load the next/previous game!

Already in v2.1…

Swipe to flip board
Just like the Analyze This app, you can now swipe your finger down on the board to quickly turn/flip the board!
Double tap book to show/hide board
Many of you requested for a quick way to show/hide the board. Now, just tap your finger twice (doube tap) on the book to show or hide the board (and notation)
Free Chess ebooks
You can download some free (copyright free) ebooks right from within the app.
Click Menu > Open eBook > Opds browser (folder icon with a globe) > Free Chess ebooks
Once the book is downloaded, press the Back key and you should see it in the Library, or you can manually locate it in the Downloads folder.
Categories
analyzethis

Analyze This – Tips and Tricks (new in v3.0)

Many features have been added in v3.0. Here are some Tips and tricks.

NOTE : When in doubt, press the Menu key (indicated by 3 vertical dots on the Top right/left of the device. On some devices, the Menu can be accessed with a physical button)!

Delete game from PGN file

Added a game to your PGN file by mistake and wish to delete it? Touch and Hold the game and you will see the Delete icon on the top right. Press the icon to delete the game. (Note : the game will be permanently deleted. Always create a backup of your important PGN files!)

Play against Mobile / Engine shootout (PRO Only)

The one important thing that Analyze This lacked was the ability for the engines to play against you or against other engine. Not anymore! Say you are practicing Endgames or just want to understand why the GM resigned in a given position; you can test your skills against the machine!
Tap the Engine name (hyperlink) and choose ‘Play this side’ and the engine will automatically make moves for that side, while you play the other. If you choose ‘Play this side’ again, then the engine will make moves for both sides and finish the game. This way, you could use any combination of engines!! (Psst: I tried to play the Shak vs Svidler Candidates game where Svidler resigned after the awesome Rg5. I played with the White pieces, but I still could only draw against the Engine!! Envy those Super GMs. Try it!)

Engine output to Notation


You can copy the engine output to the notation! There are two ways to do this:
* Clip main-line – Tap the engine name to see the option. This will copy the engine’s main line to the notation
* Touch and hold the engine line – Alternately, you can touch and hold any of the variation in the engine window and that variation will be copied to the notation.

Annotation editor

Analyze This now has the option to annotate your games. You can use the Annotation Editor to annotate multiple moves in one sitting! Just tap on the move that you wish to annotate and choose the appropriate symbols. Add a comment if you like and press ‘Apply Comment’.

Quick Annotation Palette

What if you only wish to quickly add some symbols to the game without having to load the complete Annotation Editor!? Simply double tap on any empty square on the board and you will see the above Annotate Palette. Then choose any symbol and it will be added to the move. Note the palette will auto close in 5s.

Promote variation

Touch and hold the move in the Notation window to see the option to “Promote variation”. This will make the sub-variation into the main line.

Auto-replay game (PRO Only)

A good way to go through master games is to play through them quickly, as many times as possible and as many games as possible. Analyze This now allows you to do that. Just press the green button and the game will auto-replay every few seconds. Sit back and enjoy the game!

Variation chooser

When you are reading a annotated game, its not always easy to find the sub variation and jump to it. Now, Analyze This will pop up the available variations and you can tap any of the move to jump to that variation. Bonus Tip : At the end of the sub-variation, you can continue to hit the right arrow and you will automatically jump back to the main-line!

Player lookup via Wikipedia


Note the hyperlinks on the Play names in the first picture. You can lookup the Player profiles on Wikipedia. Handy if you are browsing through some international games and wish to lookup on some favorite players or somebody unknown.

Swipe to change games

When you load a game from the games browser, you can swipe from right-to-left on the board to load the next game. Similarly, swipe left-to-right to load the previous game. (Note : Every time you launch the app, the app may show you the Games list the first time. Then subsequently, swiping will load the game)

Arrows and Highlights

Sharing Board as image with Analyze This just got better! You can now highlight squares or draw arrows. Simply touch any square to highlight it. Swipe your finger across to draw the arrow! (Thx Carlos). Coordinates are automatically added to the image, so that your readers are not left wondering which side moves up or down!

Quick access to recent PGN files

Like me, if you access multiple PGN files from different folders (Download, Dropbox folder etc), then Analyze This v3.0 has a handy little feature. It shows your last accessed PGN files at the top (in light gray) irrespective of which folder you are current in. Simply tap the file to load it!

Different ways to Paste in Analyze This

Analyze This has a single “Paste” option, but it is smart enough to know what you are actually pasting!
So you can paste a complete PGN or only the FEN string or only the moves, and Analyze This accepts them all!

Say you have received a PGN in your email or have it on a website. 
You can paste the complete PGN.
Ex:
[Event “New Jersey State Open Champion”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “1957.??.??”]
[Round “7”]
[White “Fischer, R.”]
[Black “Sherwin, J.”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “B30”]
[WhiteElo “”]
[BlackElo “”]
[PlyCount “65”]
[EventDate “1957.??.??”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nbd2 Rb8 8. Re1
d6 9. c3 b6 10. d4 Qc7 11. e5 Nd5 12. exd6 Bxd6 13. Ne4 c4 14. Nxd6 Qxd6 15.
Ng5 Nce7 16. Qc2 Ng6 17. h4 Nf6 18. Nxh7 Nxh7 19. h5 Nh4 20. Bf4 Qd8 21. gxh4
Rb7 22. h6 Qxh4 23. hxg7 Kxg7 24. Re4 Qh5 25. Re3 f5 26. Rh3 Qe8 27. Be5+ Nf6
28. Qd2 Kf7 29. Qg5 Qe7 30. Bxf6 Qxf6 31. Rh7+ Ke8 32. Qxf6 Rxh7 33. Bc6+ 1-0
Or you can paste only the FEN string (frequently available in diagrams on the ChessCafe website). Ex:
 [FEN “8/4pkPp/7B/3K4/8/8/8/8 w – – 0 1”] 
or
“8/4pkPp/7B/3K4/8/8/8/8 w – – 0 1”

or you can paste only the moves from a game (from starting position)

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2

Now isn’t that one smart app!?

=======================================

//The following features were already part of v2.0.x

PGN delete and share

Now delete or share the PGN file with your coach right from within the app!
In the File Browser (via Open PGN), touch and hold the pgn file that you are interested to delete or share. You should see options to the top right as shown below.

Then you can Delete the file or Share it via Email, Dropbox, Google docs etc

Create new PGN

While saving a game, you are asked to Choose a File. You can even create a new PGN from within the app!
Press the physical menu key and choose “Create New PGN”. If your device does not come with physical menu key, then its even easier. You can simply choose the “Create New PGN” option from the drop down located at the top right of your screen (indicated with 3 vertical dots)

Long press notation/moves for more options

You can select a move from the move/notation window. Then touch and hold it and a popup should appear with more options.
“Delete this move” – Delete the currently selected move including itself. This can be even used to delete a complete variation by selecting the first move from the variation and then choosing “Delete this move”

Swipe to turn board

Wish to turn/flip the board? Now thats easy. Simply swipe your finger down the board as shown below! Turning the board was never so easy!

Tap engine analysis

Now you don’t have to manually enter moves. If you like the engine’s suggestions, then Tap on the engine move in the list and it will be played on the board!
For ex. in the image below, once you tap the variation, the first move Ra3 will be played on the board.
You can continue to tap to make subsequent moves

Tilt to move

    Give your fingers some rest. Simply tilt your device left/right to take back or move forward through the notation! I use this feature, when I am relaxing on the couch and wish to play through some recent master games. What best is that I can even use it while moving around and move back/forth through the moves with a single hand!
    Note: Tilt = move the left/right vertical edge of your device such that one edge of the device is up while other edge is down.
    Categories
    Uncategorized

    A random act of kindness

    asimpereira vs NightFury
    This was a position from my 5min blitz game on FICS today. I have 3 pawns for a piece. My opponent just played …Re8 to support the e7 pawn.

    In this position, I played Bb6 since the Queen has no place to move. But my opponent replied with Rc6???

    What would you do in this position?

    .
    .
    .
    It was obvious that he had a “Freudian slip” (or a mouse slip!) and ofcourse wanted to move his Rook to c7 instead of c6. So I captured his Queen and immediately offered him a draw! He accepted the draw.

    Then I asked him on chat if he accidentally moved the Rook to the wrong square which he confirmed. He thanked me for offering a draw.

    Feels good! 🙂 Happy Christmas!

    Final position:

    Categories
    Uncategorized

    Can you find the best move for Black? (Warning: bloodshed ahead!)

    My 3 min Blitz game on FICS. Can you find what I played in this position as Black? (full game replay at the bottom)

    How should one think in this position?
    In a blitz game, there is not much liberty to “think”. But this is where Chess Intuition plays a big role.

    1. White has just moved his Rook to e1 (away from his King and the important f-file)

    2. Black has a nice pressure against the g2 pawn.
    These two points should ring a bell that a Tactical shot is lurking and one should FIRST start calculating …Bxg2 (even before thinking of …Rxg2 since its easier to sacrifice a piece of lesser value)

    3. After …Bxg2 Bxg2, the natural Qe4 pinning the piece should be considered. This brings Black’s most important piece in the game and closer to the enemy.

    4. Analyze White’s most obvious response i.e. f3 which protects the g2 Bishop and attacks the Black Queen which is on e4.

    5. This is a somewhat critical position and you should spend some time here. Consider the “shocking” …Rxg2 which takes away the last defender of the King and since you have another check with Rdg8.
    The first obvious reply you should calculate is Kxg2 (Rook). When one has plenty of time on the clock, other King replies like Kh1/f1 can be considered (but why worry, since you have already recovered the piece if the White King does not capture your Rook!).

    6. But what happens after Rxg2 and Kxg2 and Rdg8+? What now if the King moves to f2 i.e. Kf2? At this point, one should be happy to spot the nice little …Bh4 which brings the last Black piece into attack and takes away important dark squares from the White King.

    7. I did not calculate any other move beyond …Bh4 except a quick little Rg2+ in case the King moves to d2. But this kind of think comes automatically to a “trained chess eye”. It should be comforting enough to know that the White King is all alone (except the passive e3 Bishop which is actually and unfortunately blocking his own Queen from protecting the King-side), whereas Black now has his Queen, Rook and Bishop. Apart from the King moving to f2, you would know that any other King move like Kh1 or Kf1 (moving to a White square) is bad since the Black Queen captures on f3 with a check.

    Full game replay

    Categories
    android

    World Championship App, Carlsen and some pics

    “The first of its kind!”
    This World championship match touched many lives, and mine has been no different.

    Back in September, I approached the AICF with a proposal to develop a Android app for the Match. They liked the idea and the rest is history!

    There were lots of new things that I had never done before with my other Chess apps. It was a big challenge. 

    ♚ The first line of code!
    On, September 1st, 2013, I wrote the first line of code!
    Given my familiarity with Java and affinity towards Google, I chose the Google App Engine as my server. (One of the main reason to use a separate server for my app was to reduce the load on the official servers, especially after the London Candidates’ debacle during the earlier rounds). There were many technical hurdles that had to be crossed.
    Line by line, file by file, the Android app and the corresponding server was brought to life.
    But the main setback was not a technical problem, but a lack of response from the concerned teams that almost threatened to derail the app or some of its features. 
    There were so many questions that needed answers, but there was no one to answer!

    ♚ First board prototype

    The first board prototype, using the color scheme matching the actual board from the Candidates! Lol. The teak theme was too dark on some phones, especially the black pieces on dark square.


    ♚ What you “fore-see” is not what you get!
    But as it happens with so many projects, the end-product is almost always completely different from the initial idea that you had envisaged, and some times its good.
    At some point, the “Cool Anand” and “Hot Carlsen” board ideas struck my mind.
    The app had to be made personal. After all it was all about the duo. And the fans. Let chess fans proudly choose the board theme matching the player they support, is what I thought!


    Tactics were never part of the initial idea, but they became one of the most liked features of the app! (Full set of 300 tactical puzzles of Anand and Carlsen are available for purchase via my iChess Android and iOS app)
    Live video was! But even after the app was officially released, there were no details on how to access the live video! (lol, can only laugh when I think about it now!)
    Picture gallery was optional, and remains optional till date! 😉
    There were so many features that I wanted to add and so many changes that were requested by Chess fans, but then there is a limit to time, energy and motivation!

    ♚ Who will annotate the previous encounters?
    The previous encounters had to be annotated. With my limited time and Chess skills, I could never had done justice to the master pieces. I initially approached a couple of Indian GM’s, one of whom is well known for his satirical posts. But I did not have the money to offer nor did they have the time. (Note, the app was developed for FREE with no monetary payment. Just for honor and pride, or “loyalty huh?” as Vishy Anand told me at the pre-match dinner party!)
    Then entered, Sagar Shah, the most energetic and entertaining Chess annotator I have ever seen. His annotations are like poetry! He agreed to annotate for the share of the “glory” and no money, although I did tell him that in case there is a chance to monetize the app, then I shall pay him 30% of the revenue. Thanks to the server costs, the revenue is negative! Ofcourse, being the “official” app, it could not serve any Ads and generate revenue. Imagine the app saying, “you can only watch the first two games for free. Rest of the games need $0.99, each) 😛

    ♚ The first version
    After several internal Beta test versions from Oct 21st to Oct 25th, the first version was released for public download on Oct 26th. I could now breathe easy, atleast that is what I thought!
    Then followed a series of changes, bug fixes, improvements, additions, deletions. Overall, 15 versions were released since then, each carrying some improvement or bug fix or some unavoidable design change!

    ♚ Stats & Dates

    • Development started – Sep 1st
    • First version released – Oct 26th
    • Total active users – >45,000 (as of Nov 27) (my expectation before the match was a modest 5000!)
    • Average rating – 4.72/5 (389 of 471 were 5 stars!)
    • Top 3 countries – India (37.8%), Spain (7.72%), Germany (7.52%). Norway was #5 with 3.87% sessions.


    ♚ Thanks
    This app would not have been possible without the kind support of so many Chess enthusiasts and even non-enthusiasts (the app icon was developed by a “non-Chess” guy!)
    Starting with Bharat Singh, who liked the app idea and immediately called up to take this forward. Sagar Shah and Swayams Mishra who helped with the Previous encounters and Tactics respectively. Such was Sagar’s enthusiasm and commitment, that he would burn the midnight oil and stay up late till the morning and annotate the game (before he got busy with his own tournament)! I think it took a toll on him and he had a disastrous performance at the recently concluded Chennai Grand Master open tournament.
    Soni Prasad, my college mate who designed the app icon even though he was faced with some personal tragedy and difficult situations.
    Aart Bik, who offered the first “foreign” hand and translated the app to Dutch. BTW, he is the developer of the popular “Chess for Android” app.
    Many of them came ahead on their own accord and helped with the translation. This is the real Chess spirit! Bruno Pellanda, David Kaufmann, Houssem Collo, Jan Hotarek, Michael Meyer, Sverre Eugen. And the many people on G+, Twitter and FB who helped with their kind and encouraging words.
    Some times users don’t realize how their words (reviews in this case) can positively or negatively affect others. For instance, a user did not like the recently added Norwegian translation and chose to give a bad review. That was enough to upset Sverre, who had spent the time and effort to help translate and had personally offered his help in the first place. “So let them do it from here. I stick to only playing chess”, Sverre argued. The user who chose to award a bad review, never offered any help to correct the translation, inspite of asking for his feedback! Thats life!

    ♚ Future of the app?
    Dalila – “I’ll miss seeing the coloured notification ‘a move has been made’“. It was indeed a part of my life for the past 3 months and for many fans world wide. This is quite evident from the amazing response the app received. And I am truly grateful.


    At one point, the app was #6 in the Top New Free Apps in the Brain & Puzzle Category on the Google Play Store!
    So whats next? Like Deep Blue, the super computer, the app will be disassembled! But the parts will be used for a future project with the intention of watching live games and even more! Stay tuned!

    ♚ Perks of the job

    Watching the Opening ceremony from the front row!


    Sitting on that chair, touching those pieces!



    Oh and, congratulations to MAGNUS CARLSEN, the new World Chess Champion!
    (My 10 year old niece, who was “not interested” in Chess, now likes Magnus Carlsen and has taken to chess again! She plays Chess with her 8 year old brother who coincidentally likes Anand…still!)

    PS. Some photos from the event:
    https://plus.google.com/photos/109229292553599584633/albums/5943560829066629073

    Categories
    android

    Introducing the Official App of the FIDE World Championship Match 2013

    First time in the history of a World Chess Championship match, fans world wide can follow the action on their Android devices! And not just follow, but immerse into it with this feature packed Android app!

    DOWNLOAD

    Get it on Google Play

    APP HIGHLIGHTS


    ♚ Live Moves
    Follow the live moves on a beautiful Chess board, and watch as the drama unfolds in real-time!

    ♚ Notifications
    Get notified when the game starts or after moves are made. What more, after every game is over, you will be immediately notified of the result*

    Sample game notification in the Notification tray during the game and after the game is over


    ♚ Engine Analysis
    One click engine analysis of the current board position with two Strong Chess engines (Critter & Stockfish). Needs ‘Analyze This’ Android app

    ‘Analyze This’ Android app



    ♚ Annotated Previous Encounters
    Get ready for the match as Sagar Shah (ELO 2373) walks you through some selected previous encounters of Anand and Carlsen, with some entertaining annotations and commentary.



    ♚ Tactics of Anand & Carlsen
    Solve 30 tactical puzzles of Anand and Carlsen (15 each), carefully selected by IM Swayams Mishra (ELO 2434). These are “awesome tactics worth solving”, as he puts it.



    ♚ Integrated Tweets
    Stay abreast with expert opinion and comments with the integrated Tweets. Also, Tweet while you watch the live moves right from the Board screen!



    ♚ 2 Board Designs
    Whom are you supporting? Choose either the “Cool Anand” or the “Hot Carlsen” board design and support your man!

    ‘Cool Anand’ & ‘Hot Carlsen’ board designs!




    ♚ Home Screen and Lock Screen Widgets
    What if you could follow the action without even opening the app!!? Too good to be true?
    Yes, you can! Add the Board widget to your Android Home screen (or Lock Screen!!) and watch as the widget updates automatically when the moves are made!*
    The home screen widget can be resized and made bigger!




    ♚ Match Score
    View match schedule (in your local time!) and follow the score as the match progresses

    ♚ Available in International languages

    Thanks to some awesome Chess enthusiasts, the app is available in native Portuguese (BRL), Dutch, French, Czech, German and Spanish languages!**


    ♚ Optimized for Battery and Data
    The app only does its work when the server notifies it that a move has been made, instead of continuously connecting to the server every few minutes. This saves a lot of device battery and data charges. Hence you can always keep your data connection ON and never miss a beat!

    TIPS N TRICKS

    • Live Board – Swipe down to flip the board


    • Tactics – Swipe right-to-left to load next puzzle


    • Tweets – Pull down to refresh tweets


    FAQs

    “Google Play Services not available.” What does this mean?

    To save device battery and data charges, the app uses Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to send moves and other details from the server down to the devices. If the correct version of Google Play Services is not available on your device, then cloud messaging will not work. Instead, the device will resort to pulling moves from the server. This has the following implications:
    • Server will not be able to push any move notification to the device. This in turn means that the device will periodically try and fetch this information, resulting in higher Battery and data charges
    • No move notifications from the server. Hence moves may be delayed
    • Game start/end notification will not work 
    • Home/Lock screen widget will NOT automatically show the latest board position.


    With “Google Play Services” error, will I be able to watch live games? 

    Yes! However, there will be no moves pushed by the server to your device automatically, nor will there be any game start/end notifications. As long as you are on the “Live Board” screen, the app will show the latest board position and refresh at a 2 minute interval.


    How do I add the Board widget to my Home screen?

    Click ‘Widgets’ category on your Android device and scroll right till you locate the ‘World Championship Match 2013’ widget shown below:

    Then drag it and place it some where on your home screen. The widget will automatically update and show you the latest game position, when the game is in play*.





    How do I add the Board widget to my Lock screen?

    Lock your device and swipe the lock screen widget till you see the below:
    Touch the ‘+’ area and scroll to locate the World Championship match widget.

    Then touch to select the widget and it will be added to the Lock screen.

    Now when the game starts, you only have to look at your lock screen to see the current game position!*
    Adding widgets to lock screen is available only on Android 4.2 and higher

    CREDITS


    * – Notification feature is not available on devices like the Amazon Kindle Fire etc which do not have the Google Play Services.
    Please see ‘Google Play Services not available’ FAQ above for other restrictions for devices that do not support Google Play Services.
    Lock screen widgets are only available on devices running Android 4.2 and above. 

    ** – If you would like to help and translate the App to your international language, please mail me at pereiraasim@gmail.com. Only the App could be translated. The vast amount of Game annotations and commentary will still be in English.

    ♚ IMPORTANT: The app supports nearly 4200 different Android devices! So there is a possibility that the app may not always look “pretty” on your device. If you are one of those, please drop me a mail at pereiraasim@gmail.com and I shall try to fix it. A bad review will not automatically fix the issue since most likely I would need more details from you! 


    DOWNLOAD

    Get it on Google Play

    Categories
    android ichess

    300 tactical puzzles from the games of Anand and Carlsen

    The biggest Chess match of the decade is just around the corner. What better way to celebrate this historic moment, than by solving puzzles derived from the games of these two brilliant players?

    300 puzzles from the games of Anand (166 puzzles) and Carlsen (134 puzzles) are now available for purchase inside iChess. Now, get into the Championship mood!
    (Note: First 166 puzzles are from Anand’s games followed by that of Carlsen. As usual, all puzzles are arranged in increasing order of difficulty starting with basic one-movers and going on to several moves)
    Sample Puzzle
    How did Anand (White) destroy Black’s King side?
    White to play and win

    Apart from the default free 1000 puzzles arranged into Normal, Advanced and Master levels, iChess also has lots of other puzzles that you can purchase.

    Some of the puzzles available inside iChess for purchase

     Solution

    App Download

    Categories
    android ichess

    iChess – Chess puzzles app now on iPhone and iPad!

    Hurray, iChess is now available on the iPhone/iPad!

    Disclaimer: It does not have the usual flair of the Android version, but it will get there!

    You can open your own tactics PGN file (by placing the PGN file in the iChess Documents folder via PC/Mac). However this option is available only for Paid users (iChess upgrade). You can grab one of the Promo codes below to upgrade iChess!

    PROMO CODES (Hurry before somebody else uses them!)
    4RW4NFXYHJX7
    YLT37W47HKLW
    WJ96A79NWM7T
    K6K446FAFH6E
    JFTLPXRWTE3A
    Edit: It turns out that Promo codes cannot be used for In-App purchases, but only for Paid apps! (sigh)

    Categories
    ichess

    New Chess puzzles from June 2013 and Mate in 1 move!

    Today I have released new puzzles which can be purchased via iChess app!

    Mate in 1 (400 puzzles!)
    Check mate in only one move. Nothing more, nothing less!
    This is great for beginners and kids but can also be good fun for more serious players!

    June 2013 (300 puzzles)
    300 puzzles from recent games played in June 2013. Featuring games from Tal Memorial, FIDE World Blitz, Russian Championship etc and games played by Anand, Mamedyarov, Andreikin.


    Categories
    analyzethis

    Minor update to Analyze This app – Stockfish 4.0 & less battery drain and heating!

    I have just released v2.0.6 of Analyze This app, with some important improvements:

    • Stockfish 4.0 – The Stockfish engine has been upgraded to v 4.0! I have found this version to be definitely better. This is also good on your battery, since by default it uses only a single core.
    • Less battery drain and heating – Using iChess on a multi-core device would often cause the device to heat up when continuously solving puzzles. This update brings better battery usage and definitely lesser heating!
    • Bug/Crash fixes – Some important bugs and crashes have been fixed.

    This is just a small release. More “feature” updates are in the pipleline!