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This is computer chess with an extra dimension - the third dimension. It presents you with a stunning 3D display which surely spells extinction for the old-fashioned 2D graphics we've all lost to so many times. What Cyrus doesn't do is spell the end of losing to chess games, because it's a horribly strong program. The graphics use only blue, black and white, but by sophisticated use of shading it seems as if a much wider range is being employed. The board appears suspended on a background of black space and is tilted towards you so that the white pieces are at the bottom of the screen and the black ones at the top. Each individual piece is clearly defined and then shaded to give an excellent impression of solidity.

But when you actually move this impression fades - in a most amusing way. The pieces actually seem to wobble as they slide from square to square, as if they were made in jelly-moulds. Strangely, this somehow improves the program as you're always interested in watching the display. Another nice touch is that pieces merge when they capture - two pawns become one, a knight changes into a bishop, and so on.

All this would be very pretty but very useless if the program didn't play a decent game. Unfortunately for the human ego, it does. And very quickly too. At Level 1 it moves almost instantly yet with considerable sharpness. At Level 3 - usually the level at which computer chess games start to get stroppy - it never takes more than 30 seconds and always comes up with a move that will cause you trouble. Even at Level 9 the average response is only 14 minutes.

Cyrus has considerable knowledge of book openings and more than holds its own in the murky waters of the middle-game. It generally plays aggressively, but - at Level - 3 didn't quite have the killer instinct in a close end-game. The program has all the usual features, enabling you to print out, set up problems, change sides and even get hints from the computer. Frankly, I wouldn't trust it Cyrus is out to win.