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- Ever wanted to play Chess Titans on Windows XP?
- Ever wanted to play chess with a real chess engine?
- Ever wanted to play chess online with real opponents?
Then Chess Giants is for you.
Chess Giants is a chess software for Windows that enables you to play chess either against a friend, or alone against the computer, or else against real opponents on the Internet in a virtual chess club.
Contrarily to the other chess softwares which are generally targeted for the experienced chess fans, Chess Giants tries to be the most intuitive, the most aesthetic, and the most pleasant to use of the chess softwares, whatever the skills at chess of the user are.
Some may notice that Chess Giants to large extents look like Windows® Vista's Chess Titans software, at least for the aesthetics part (actually, it's a rewrite from scratch). This software does provide the exact same look and feel. But in addition to the standard features, it has many other flavors:
It doesn't require Windows Vista.
It doesn't need a fast machine to run.
It plays at the International Great Master level (2700 ELO).
It reads and saves games in the PGN and FEN formats.
It has additional options, such as displaying the game history or a game clock.
It can change its appearance thanks to user-creatable visual themes.
It can be interfaced with other chess engines that comply to the Chess Engine Communication Protocol.
It enables you to play online in the FICS virtual chess club (http://www.freechess.org).
It comes in two languages, French and English, and is very easily translatable into another one.
It is an open specifications project, meaning you can still contact the author to request to add such or such feature.
All this for less than € 10!
Download an free evaluation version here
- Check out the screenshots!
 The splash screen |
 Initial choice |
 During the game |
 Threats are highlighted |
 Many appearances |
 And many game options |
 Multiple PGN file support |
 Internet mode |
- Donate
Chess Giants was initially distributed as a donateware (the software was given away against donations of any amount). Unfortunately, a too large number of people have been unfair with this principle and just pillaged the software without any counterpart - which is why this distribution mode has been stopped.
Consequently, in order to download the software, a fixed contribution of € 9.90 is now requested.
You will receive an e-mail containing the download link as soon as your donation will have been committed.
Note: if you don't have a PayPal account, just click on the Continue link at the bottom left of the page, above the bank card logos.
What to do if you don't get the download link e-mail ? If for whatever reason you didn't receive the download link by e-mail once your donation has been committed, please click here and follow the instructions.
Can we try the software for free? To download a demo version, click here. This version is limited to 5 minutes of use. It enables you to know the "look & feel" of the software.
What if you have no credit card nor Paypal account? Maybe you can make a bank transfer directly? Send me an e-mail and I will give you my bank information code. As soon as I receive your donation I will send you the software.
If there was the slightest problem just e-mail me and provide your name, and the date and amount of your contribution. I will help you solve it right away.
Pierre-Marie Baty
- Change Log
Click on an item to expand it:
- PGN and FEN files are now associated with Chess Giants in Windows Explorer.
- Added a checkbox in the message of the day display window.
- Online play!
- Rewrote the 3D engine for better performance.
- Added a (long) help file in HTML format.
- Reorganized the options menu with tabs.
- Reorganized the change appearance dialog box.
- The symbols are automatically displayed in top view.
- The new translations can now be added "on the fly".
- Added a materials configuration file, that can be used with the visual themes.
- Added the possibility to use new 3D models in the visual themes.
- Added the possibility to customize the smileys used in the private discussions online.
- Various corrections & enhancements.
- No more .NET Framework dependency.
- Chess Giants works with Windows 2000 again.
- No more requirement for admin rights in order to play against the computer.
- Chess Giants now works with non-privileged Windows user accounts.
- Added an intuitive parts placement mode, upon request of J. and N. Hemez (enables to specify a start position).
- Fixed a mouse pointing bug on the game interface icons when the game window is resized.
- New: realistic part animations!
- Visual themes (user-creatable) support
- Added the Madera and Marmol Negro themes (author: E. Stigliano)
- Lighting parameters entirely customizable on a per-theme basis
- Better support for games written in Forsyth-Edwards notation
- Added the possibility to browse directly to a particular move inside a game
- Rewrite of the chess engine communication protocol to better comply with the CECP standards.
- Fixed a display bug that occured when displaying very long games history.
- IMPORTANT: fixed a bug related to the chess engine that could cause a game to freeze.
- Added the possibility to switch sides in a game versus the computer, so as to play black.
- You may now display the game moves listing in real time.
- You can now change the color of the game clock and the game moves text for a better contrast.
- Changed the transparency of the black pieces in the glass theme for a better contrast.
- Fixed a bug where the castling possibilities were sometimes not correctly evaluated.
- IMPORTANT: fixed a bug in version 1.5 related to the chess engine that could cause a game to freeze.
- The Forsyth-Edwards notation is now supported for loading/saving game positions.
- Possibility to continue a saved game against the chess engine.
- Chess board can now be rotated with a mouse right click only (often requested).
- Fixed a small bug where the suggestion of a kingside castle was not correctly interpreted.
- Added the possibility for the chess engine to commit blunders from time to time.
- Parts can be displayed as symbols for 2D view (often requested).
- Possibility to choose a personal picture as the background display.
- MUCH improved graphic quality in fullscreen mode (no more pixellization).
- Support for screens of any size, including the small netbook screens.
- The "Undo" command should now work as expected on any computer.
- Added the possibility to switch part selection in one click.
- Thanks to the new setting possibilities, the game is much funnier to play for beginners and players of average skill!
- Added the possibility to save one's games in the PGN format (standard abbreviated algebraic notation used by the FIDE).
- Added a game playback mode that can read the PGN format.
- Possibility to choose one specific game in a multiple games PGN file.
- Added the possibility to comment a move or to modify an existing comment.
- Intuitive browsing of the game history using the arrow buttons and the arrow keys.
- Graphics engine improvement.
- MUCH better chess engine (2700 ELO, Chess Giants now plays at IGM level).
- Added the possibility to switch to top view, default view or custom view with just one key press.
- Possibility to cancel a move in human vs. computer and human vs. human play.
- Unlimited undo levels, all moves are cancellable up to the beginning of the game.
- Added the possibility to ask the chess engine what it thinks is the best move in human vs. computer play.
- Added a desktop shortcut during setup.
- Added a single-click uninstaller.
- Much better resource compression resulting in a dramatic reduction of the installer's size (20 Mb -> 9 Mb).
- Automatic language detection.
- Fixed a bug where taking a pawn en passant would not trigger the right sound.
- Fixed a bug where the quit message box would sometimes be ignored.
- Initial release.
- Has human vs human and human vs computer play.
- Uses GNUChess as a chess engine.
- Online play code not finished yet (I'm working on it).
- PLEASE send me a mail for any bug you find, so that I can fix it right away.
Pierre-Marie Baty
- Frequently asked questions
Click on an item to expand it:
Chess Giants works with all Windows versions since year 2000, namely: Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 2008 Server, Windows 7 and Windows 8.
Yes it does. Chess Giants runs similarly on 32 and 64-bit systems.
Most certainly it's not. If the game clock still ticks then you can tell it's not. But the computer may be pondering, especially if you've set the engine difficulty level very high. In this case, either wait for it to finish, or start a new game with a lower difficulty level.
Well, if you are SURE it's a bug then PLEASE let me know as soon as possible. Drop me an email. Don't just wait for the fix. If nobody tells me there's a bug around, I may very well not notice it at all during my tests.
Sure. Drop me an email, tell me what you exactly want and we'll discuss that.
They are Anatoli Karpov, on the left, and Garry Kasparov to the right. They were having what is considered one of the tensest tournaments of the 20th century. At this time Karpov was the world champion and the challenger had to win 5 matches against him to become the new champion. Meantime the tournament would continue as long as these 5 games haven't been scored, either side. It took literally months and an incredible number of draw games for Kasparov to start earning points, and the tournament had to be stopped - officially to preserve the players' health.
He's the young Anatoli Karpov. Yes, you guessed it, he's my favourite. I like his style of play, maybe because he was fan of the Cuban chess genius Capablanca, as I am.
Really, you should think of a better opponent. :)
I am an independent IT generalist and an experienced programmer. If you think your company could hire me, feel free to make an offer. Here is my resume.
- Reviews and links
I will add links to articles and reviews about this software as soon as some are published. If you intend to write one, please tell me about it, so that I can add the link and your website logo here.