19
You may now press RED and take your move back, pressing on the squares as indicated by the lights
and prompts. Or if you want your move to stand, press GREEN.
5.11.5
Opts: Book1
The King Performance is equipped with 9 ‘books’ (or ‘libraries’) of standard chess openings. Two of the
books are comprehensive in scope:
•
‘Master’
Book by M.Uniacke, containing over 300,000 positions
•
‘Aegon 1994’ Book by C. de Gorter, with 61,000 moves; it contains many forgotten
and ‘dubious’ lines.
There are also seven specialized books, each dealing with a specific area of chess opening theory:
•
Open Games (1. e4 e5, without Spanish)
•
Spanish
(or Ruy Lopez)
•
Semi-Open
(1. e4 without 1…e5 or 1…c5)
•
Sicilian
•
Q. Gambit
•
Indian
•
Gambits
By setting the ‘Book1’ parameter, you specify which book the computer will use as the first choice for
determining its opening moves. In addition to the 9 settings listed above, there are 2 more:
•
User
The book, if any, that you have installed via a USB connection – see Section 6.
•
Off
If this is chosen, the computer will only consult ‘Book2’ – see 5.11.6.
5.11.6
Opts: Book2
This parameter specifies the openings book of second choice: if ‘Book1’ supplies no move in the
current position, The King will if possible play a move from ‘Book2’.
If either of the books is set to ‘Off’, only the other book will be used. If ‘Book1’ and ‘Book2’ are
both
‘Off’, The King will compute its moves independently right from the start of the game.
5.11.7
Opts: Permanent Brain
If the computer’s ‘Permanent Brain’ is switched ‘on’, it continues calculating when it is your turn to
move (see Section 4.5). One way to lower the computer’s playing strength and give yourself an easier
game is to switch this function ‘Off’ ( X ).
Note:
On the ‘Easy’ and ‘Fun’ levels (see 5.4.2 and 5.4.3), the computer operates without its
‘Permanent Brain’ even if this option is selected. In that case, if you switch to a level category
other
than ‘Easy’ or ‘Fun’, The King will revert to thinking in its opponent’s time.
5.11.8
Opts: Randomness
This option introduces a small element of randomness into the computer’s assessment of the moves
that are immediately available in the current position.
The random element can be increased on a scale from 0.00 to 0.50. A high value can be helpful if (e.g.)
the openings ‘books’ are set to ‘Off’ (see 5.11.5 and 5.11.6): the random element will increase the
variety of moves that the computer can play in the opening stage.
5.11.9
Opts: Contempt
This parameter has a scale of values from -2.00 to +2.00. By increasing the value, you increase the
program’s aversion (i.e. ‘contempt’) for a drawn result. If the value is negative, The King will show
more readiness to accept a drawn or drawish position.
