Grandmaster Chess (CD-ROM Edition) (Game)

Grandmaster Chess (CD-ROM Edition)

GAME » on 1992

A computer chess game from Capstone.

Overview

Grandmaster Chess is a digital chess game developed and published by Capstone for DOS PCs in 1992.

An adaptation of the chess board game, Grandmaster Chess makes use of John Stanbeck's Zarkov chess engine while featuring numerous training tools, high-resolution SVGA graphics, and a variety of chess boards and chess pieces in both 2D and 3D perspectives. It is notable for its "Compute Rating" system, which approximates a player's U.S. Chess Federation rating based on their previous games, and for its persistent "Learning" system, which recognizes mistakes it made in previous games and tries to avoid it.

The game later received a licensed spin-off with the Terminator (Franchise) series in 1993, known as Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Chess Wars. It also received an enhanced "Deluxe Edition" (also known as Grandmaster Chess Deluxe) in 1993, adding networked and dial-up modem multiplayer. It also received an enhanced "CD-ROM Edition", updating the theme selection while including Chess Wars as a bonus. All versions feature a special promotion where owners of the game can get a refund if they can defeat the A.I. Grandmaster difficulty using the A.I. from another popular PC chess game they own.

The game later received ports for Macintosh computers in 1994 and for Windows PCs in 1995. The Mac version uses a new chess engine by Mark Lefler (who previously written the shareware game NOW: A Computer Chess Program and later co-developed Zillions of Games). The Windows version, developed by Imagination Enterprises and released as Grandmaster Championship Chess, added further engine customization options, animated lessons, and the option to play against others in dial-up multiplayer where the opponent does not need the game installed (instead using the terminal, with the host player sending the board in ASCII text). The Windows version was re-released by SoftKey in 1996, where it is also known as Grandmaster Chess Ultra.

The original edition was later digitally re-released for modern PCs by Ziggurat on September 3, 2021.

Boards & Sets

Board Surfaces

Floppy/CD-ROM

Standard
Circuit
Glass
Mystery
Marble - Removed in CD-ROM.
Metal
Stone
Tiles
Wood

CD-ROM

Diagonals
Marble (Azure)
Marble (Lime)
Marble (Rose)
Stars & Stripes
Wicker

Macintosh

Clear
Glass
Invisible
Marble
Metal
Normal (2D)
Spectral (3D)
Stone
Tile
Wicker
Wood

Windows

Marble
New Marble
Wood
Metal
Clear
Glass
Stone
Plain
Wicker
Tiles

Piece Sets

DOS/Macintosh

All Versions

Standard
Human
Monster
Glass

Floppy

Robots
Space
Abstract

CD-ROM/Macintosh

Egypt (3D)
Toys (3D)
Tropical (3D)
Animals (3D)
Civil War (3D)
USA (3D)

Windows

Classic
Standard
Modern
Metal

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