GChess

User friendly but challenging chess emulator ~ Unlock your inner Kasparov!

Developed for free download by Giuseppe Margarone for educational purposes, "GChess" has nothing to do with Google, in fact the "G" standing for "Giuseppe". The game is programmed from beginner level of 25 Elo up to grand master levels of 2500 Elo.

"GChess" is a relatively user friendly configurable chess game that is developed with the intention of offering expert chess players a more challenging experience than previous free download chess simulators. The player can select the difficulty level in 2 manners, firstly by limiting how many moves ahead the AI opponent can analyze or by limiting the time the player has to make the next move. For those who are beginners in playing chess, or class themselves as "intermediate" or "improving", the option of limiting the next moves is an excellent way of incrementally improving game and strategy skills.

The Graphical User Interface is easy to navigate and is very user friendly. Players opening the game for the first time simply click on the piece they want to move and the square they wish to move it to. The AI will light the chosen squares as the players place the selected piece. The player will automatically start as the white pieces but if the player wishes the AI opponent to start as white, it is simple to change by clicking on the "play" options when commencing a new gaming session. The "play" options also offer players the chance to adjust the difficulty settings to an appropriate level as the skill levels accrued (hopefully) increase.

Pros

• Lots of adjustable difficulty settings
• Easy to get going
• Great for strategic thinking

Cons

• No variety of templates
• Unlikely to convert those who already hate chess!
• May be confused with a Google product due to the "G" in title