Previous Next

The program comes neatly packaged in a cassette box with instructions on how to use the tape on the inlay card. There are two copies of Artic Chess II on the tape, one on each side. the instructions are clear and to the point, so I had no problems using the program.

Once loaded you are prompted to input P, A or L for Play, Analyse or Load. I decided to Play and was then offered a choice of colours (black or white) and a choice of levels to play on (0-6).

Having decided to play white on level one, I was presented with a large chessboard with the pieces set up in the starting position. I entered 'E2 E4' and to my delight the pawn at E2 was moved up to E4. The program is in full machine code so I did not have to wait long for a reply (on this level it took one second).

It is a good idea to have a chess set and board handy to start with until you get used to the screen display. On all levels except 0 the computer will recommend a move for you if you press M, except in the very early stages of the game. Other options are as follows:

1. T saves the game on to tape (so it can be continued at a later date)
2. Z copies the position onto a printer
3. S pressed at any time during the game will return you to the Play, Analyse or Load prompt. This can be usefully used for resigning and going into Analyse mode in which you can place and delete pieces as you want. I have one major quibble here, playing on from the set-up position.

You have to press Z and then you have to enter a move depending on whether you are black or white, before going into Analyse mode, only then does it ask you what colour you want to resume play as, and at what level you wish to play.

Overall, this is a superb chess game for the ZX81 with 16K RAM which plays a strong game with varied openings and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who wants a good game of chess.

Artic Chess II is available from Artic Computing, for £9.95.