Power Chess

Developer(s)| Sierra On-Line
Publisher(s)| Sierra On-Line
Platform(s)| Microsoft Windows 95
Release| September 30, 1996
Genre(s)| Chess
Mode(s)| Single player

Power Chess is a chess-playing video game originally released in September 1996 by Sierra On-Line for the Microsoft Windows 95 operating system. Later revisions of the software were released as Power Chess 98 (1997) and Power Chess 2.0 (1998).[1] Power Chess was also the "intermediate" game included in Sierra's Complete Chess (1998) along with Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess (1995) and Extreme Chess (1996).[2][3]

## Contents

* 1 Engine
* 2 Gameplay
* 3 Narration
* 4 "Great Games"
* 5 Reception
* 6 See also
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## Engine

Its chess engine is "Wchess" by David Kittinger, which played against Deep Blue in the 1995 World Computer Championship in Hong Kong. The game is included as a watchable "Great Game" in Power Chess.

## Gameplay

Power Chess had two major innovations: the program would adjust its level during the game trying to match that of the player (presaging Chessbase Fritz's Friend Mode). In addition, after each game, a female voice, the Queen, walks the player through the game, pointing out and explaining where the player could have played better.[4] The program keeps track of the player's rating. Players can also create their own characters with differing gameplay styles and difficulty.

## Narration

The voice of the Power Chess Queen was voiced in English and French by voiceover artist Natacha LaFerriere.[5]

## "Great Games"

A collection of famous games is included for review and study, each one narrated turn-by-turn by the Queen. The games include:

* The Evergreen Game, Adolf Anderssen vs. Jean Dufresne (1852)
* The Opera Game, Paul Morphy vs. Duke Karl of Brunswick and Count Isouard (1858)
* Wilhelm Steinitz vs. Curt von Bardeleben (1895)
* Ruger vs. Gebhard (1915)
* Vasily Smyslov vs. Bobby Fischer (1970)
* Wchess vs. Deep Blue (1995)
* Deep Blue vs. Garry Kasparov, Game 1 (1996)

## Reception

Power Chess won Computer Games Strategy Plus's award for the 1996 "traditional" game of the year.[6]

In a comparison between four chess programs, PC Joker rated Power Chess the highest.[7]

## See also

Comparison of chess video games

## References

1. ↑ "Power Chess 2.0". Catalog 98 99 (UK: Sierra On-Line): 24. CAT JX 98/99 FE S0013471. https://www.sierrachest.com/index.php?a=publications&id=10&pid=104.
2. ↑ Budinska, Agata (Feb 1999). "Sierra's Complete Chess". PC PowerPlay (Redfern, NSW, Australia: Next Publishing) (33): 113. https://archive.org/details/PCPowerplay-033-1999-02/page/n112. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
3. ↑ King, Nancy, ed (1998). "It's Your Move". InterAction Magazine (US: Sierra On-Line) (Holiday Issue 1998): 18. https://archive.org/details/InterAction_Magazine_Holiday_1998_1998_Sierra_On-Line_US/page/n21.
4. ↑ Dulin, Ron (1996-11-15). "Power Chess Review". http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/power-chess-review/1900-2545814/.
5. ↑ "Power Chess 98 | Natacha LaFerriere". http://www.natlaf.com/games_pc.html.
6. ↑ Staff (1997-03-25). "Computer Games Strategy Plus announces 1996 Awards". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on 1997-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/19970614161401/http://www.cdmag.com/news/0325971.html. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
7. ↑ Duy, Manfred (March 1997). "Strategie - 4 Neue Schachprogramme" (in German). PC Joker (Joker-Verlag) (3/97): 72–74. https://archive.org/details/pcjoker-februar-1997-images/page/n69/mode/2up.

## External links

* Power Chess at MobyGames

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