Software for handling chess problems
Software for handling chess problems is software intended for handling with chess problems. There are many chess playing and analyzing program, whether commercial or free stuff, while chess problems are less covered. Chess problem is based on rules of chess, but chess playing programs are mostly useless for problemist. Many of chess playing programs have also option for solving direct mates, some of them also helpmates and selfmates.
Chess problems software can be used for entering and solving problems - checking soundness, collecting them into databases, printing and publishing, saving and exporting them. Software can solve (not too long!) direct mates, helpmates and selfmates but also problems with fairy pieces and fairy conditions. There are also some attempts for composing problems with computer.
Here is alphabetically list of software for handling and solving chess problems.
Alybadix
Alybadix is one of the oldest chess problem software. It is one of the best and fastest solving written by Ilka Blom. It is proprietary software, written for DOS with free independent Windows interface. Alybadix support classical problems: direct mates, helpmates and selfmates but also many fairy pieces and conditions, it comes with large problem collection, allowing also quality printing.
Web page http://www.saunalahti.fi/~iblom/alybadix/
Chloe and Winchloe
Chloe (DOS) and Winchloe (proprietary software) are excellent and extremely fast solving program written by Christian Poisson. Winchloe support classical problems: direct mates, helpmates and selfmates but also many fairy pieces and conditions with different size of chessboard (up to 250x250), it comes with large problem collection. Christian Poisson also maintains the Web site Problemesis.
Web page
Explorer
Explorer (for DOS) or Windows version Chess Explorer is shareware written by Jan Nowakowski. It solves problems with mate, selfmate or helpmate. It has interesting option of creating #2 or #3 problems. It can also solve 8 queen and similar problems.
Web page http://www.geocities.com/explorer127pl
MateMaster
MateMaster is Windows freeware written by Frank Schindler. MateMaster solves conventional mate problems. The board position can be copied/saved as a bitmap.
Web page http://www.matemaster.de/
MatPlus Librarian (MPL)
MatPlus Librarian is written by Yugoslav problem grandmaster Milan Velimirović. It is a kind of a shareware (is not a freeware program, though it can be used unregistered without any restriction). MatPlus Librarian is able entering the chess positions, solving with its own module or other programs (Alybadix, Popeye, Chloe), it has powerful database module with dynamic creation of indexes of themes, authors or sources etc. It is possible to import and problems from chess problem bases Problemiste, export position to Windows Bitmap, export to HTML format for Web pages design; print out in various formats with selectable layout and size of diagram and font. MatPlus Librarian also include "books" with more than 5000 problems from articles published in Mat Plus chess magazine (1994-1999), Anthology of 2345 Problems (2345 problems) and many more problems.
Web page: http://www.matplus.org.yu
Natch and iNatch
Both are freeware written by Pascal Wassong for DOS/Linux. Natch solves retrograde analysis problems by constructing "proof games" - the shortest possible game leading to a certain position. Natch is a command line utility, but there is a Java based graphical interface. iNatch also provide playing moves with fairy conditions: monochrome chess, Einstein chess, vertical cylinder.
Web page: http://natch.free.fr/
Problemist(e)
Problemist is shareware by Matthieu Leschamelle, run on Windows. Problemist solves direct mates, helpmates, selfmates and reflexmates. You can rotate positions, print diagrams and much more. With Problemist come two true type chess fonts, from web page you can download more than 100.000 problems. Problemist is actually the first chess problems exchange format.
Web page:
Popeye
Popeye is probably the most widened chess problem solving software. Itself has no graphical interface, can be used in DOS, Windows, Linux, MAC and many OS other since it comes with source code in C which can be compiled. Popeye it is one of the best solving programs. It can solve problems with many fairy pieces and conditions, it has also output to LATEX. The original author of Popeye was Philippe Schnoebelen, first version was written in COMAL (around 1989). Later a group of people convert and rewrite code to C, main contributors were Elmar Bartel, Norbert Geissler, Thomas Maeder, Torsten Linss, Stefan Hoening, Stefan Brunzen, Harald Denker, Thomas Bark and Stephen Emmerson.
Web page:
There are many Windows interfaces for Popeye.
EGChessPro
EGChessPro is freeware by Salvador Bosch Pérez (DOS/Windows). EGChessPro work like interface for the Crafty, Popeye or Chest using the right syntax. It does not work with Windows NT or Windows 2000.
Web page: http://egchesspro.sourceforge.net/
Fancy
Fancy is shareware written by Marek Kwiatkowski. It is basically Windows interface for Popeye, it can read his own file format but also Problemiste (PBM) format. It comes with FancyPub for publication problem, uses 1echess. ttf TTF made by Christian Poisson.
Web page: http://www.free.of.pl/c/ccintorun/g/fancy.htm
Popeye Windows Shell
Popeye Windows Shell is basically freeware Windows interface for Popeye written by Thomas Bark, it has only German interface.
Web page: http://www.blanco-y-negro.de/
Windows Popeye Shell
Popeye Windows Shell is freeware Windows interface for Popeye written by Christian Mathes, it has only German interface.
Web page: http://www.christian-mathes.de
Problem Data Base
Problem Data Base is a interactive database of chess problems with 140.000 problems maintained by Gerd Wilts. Problems are represented also graphically with solutions and commentary.
Web page: http://www.softdecc.com/pdb/index.pdb?langt=EN&langn=EN
Retractor
Retractor is freeware (Win 95/NT) by Chad Whipkey and Theodore Hwa. Program is proposed only for solving retractors and composing retrograde chess problems.
Web page: http://www.stanford.edu/~hwatheod/Retractor
VKsach
VKsach is freeware written by Václav Koteševec, it has only Czech interface. It is suitable for solving and composing problems.
Web page: http://web.telecom.cz/vaclav.kotesovec/index0.htm