a freeware chess program
Introduction
I have written a freeware chess program called Chenard.
Although it is not in the same league as commercial programs, it plays a fairly strong game.
Chenard is written totally in C++ and the source code
is portable to just about any operating system.
The code has a built-in opening library, special endgame tactics,
and the usual min-max search algorithm.
One of the more interesting features of Chenard is that it automatically learns new openings
and does not have to spend time thinking when it re-encounters any position in the first 15 moves of a game.
Versions of Chenard that you can download
All of the following versions of my chess program are freeware.
This means that you may use these programs for free on your computer.
Also, it means that you may distribute the original, unmodified zip files to other people.
Windows XP/NT/98/95 (not yet tested with Vista)
Here are ZIP files (compressed archives) that you can download and decompress into a directory on your computer
(I recommend something like C:\CHENARD).
winchen.zip [142K] - [Version 1.050 added 3 May 2008.]
This zip file contains a version of Chenard for 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows.
It also contains documentation for installing and using Chenard (mirrored here).
chenwav.zip [133K]
This zip file contains some WAV file recordings of my voice which Chenard can use to say the notation for each move played in the game. Enable this with the View|Speak option in Chenard. If you don't want to enable the View|Speak option, there is no need to download this file.
Revision history - Tells what has changed recently.
Source code for Chenard
chensrc.zip [240K]
- This is the complete C++ source code for Chenard.
This source code is public domain.
All I ask is that my name (Don Cross) and the Chenard web site address (http://cosinekitty.com/chenard/)
remain intact in any distributed works.
I would also like to hear of any interesting uses you have made of the source code.
Please email me: cosinekitty {at} hotmail {dot} com.
WinBoard version
Jim Ablett has adapted the source code for Chenard (and several other chess engines) into a
WinBoard compatible version.
Last updated this page on 3 May 2008.