HAL9000

HAL9000
"It just isn't conceivable that you can design a program strong enough to beat players like me."

April 27, 2017

NEW APP: Chess Tournament 0.5.5 by Javiolo

Very good news to see Javiolo releasing this long awaited app. I'm sure he's got what it takes to implement something even better than Chess for Android. More significantly, he's dedicated to develop several chess apps in parallel and improve them regularly.

Indeed, CfA is simple, stable, handles XB engines and has low memory usage but that doesn't mean it's complete. So, Chess Tournament, available for free download from GOOGLE PLAY has the opportunity to become the king vey soon.

Now, test it with your tourneys and share your opinions with Javiolo on Google Play and with me here.

Chess for Android 5.2.5: The missing network version

Aart Bik has finally made available the missing network version of CfA. The basic version is not new and was uploaded to Google Play long ago.

The network version is more useful to me thanks to the ability to play games between Android engines and remote engines installed on a Windows PC.

The description of the new features added in v5.2.5 is the following:

The new Modern and Russian sets will remind to most users the mobile version of Richard Lang's ChessGenius. It's not a coincidence because they are designed by Bryan Whitby, the same artist.

A notice from Bryan explains: "I initially designed both sets for Richard Lang's ChessGenius handheld computers. Richard still uses my original Modern set whilst Aart will use a slightly updated version. The Russian pieces were designed as an additional set for a recent ChessGenius update only Richard's are silver & black and Aart's are Brown & Silver."

Chess for Android is indeed more attractive with these new goodies. The network version is not available in Google Play but you can download the standalone installer HERE.

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Stockfish dev't 2017.04.23.ACH

This is the most recent build available as of today, based on the dev version of 4 days ago.

GET Stockfish 2017.04.23.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

April 24, 2017

RAPIDROID RELOADED: April-2017 ft Stockfish 8, Komodo 10.3 and Chiron 4

Here's the April-2017 list after two major replays due to an unsatisfying attempt to reduce time control to 900+2. I simply disliked mixing two TC's. Besides, seeing Komodo ranked lower than expected made me think i should rather go back to 900+1. Yes, i did this in weeks but the big surprise was that the lizard couldn't do better.

Anyways, it's Komodo 10.3 itself to blame possibly for a bad build. As i stated before, i'll miss Komodo 10.2 that reached 3390 ELO, close enough to SF8. Shame, that one is gone already.

Nevertheless, i guess this release is the best Rapidroid ever, given that all 11 divisions contained 10 engines each without variations in number of games played. If you see some differences in the list, it's because of the manual games added at the final step.

I've tried to improve the calibration system as well. Now the arm build architecture is taken into account too.

And last but not least, all previous games played on Rockchip 3188 processor have been updated on Exynos 4412. Rapidroid is based on Exynos 4412 and Rockchip 3066 only now.

I hope to respect the restrictions of this test environment in future releases. Shortly said: all updates replace previous games and all impacted divisions are partly replayed in respect to 3 promotions and 3 relegations per division. This system is very demanding in terms of duration but the outcome looks accurate.

Regarding the ranking, numbers are speaking: Stockfish 8 is decisively the leader ahead of disappointing Komodo 10.3 while Chiron 4 is a nice surprise surpassing the old Critter at last!

Multicore Ivanhoe is also welcome with a significant boost.

And still no news of a Houdini for Android...

The highlights of this release:
* ADDED Nemorino 1.02.AP (2900 ELO!)
* UPDATED Arasan 18.3 to 20.0.AP
* UPDATED Bobcat 6.4b to 8.0.AP
* UPDATED Chiron 3 to 4
* UPDATED Crafty_25.0.JA_xb.arm7 to 256MB hash
* UPDATED Ethereal 7.78 to 8.05
* UPDATED Firenzina 2.4.1 xTreme to 2.4.3.AP
* UPDATED IvanHoe 9.47c beta to 1945a.AP
* UPDATED K2 v.083 to v0.87
* UPDATED Komodo 10 to 10.3
* UPDATED Laser_0.2beta.JA_uci2xb to 1.3 beta
* UPDATED Rhetoric 1.4.1 to 1.4.3
* UPDATED RobboLito 0.085e4l to 0.085g3l.AP
* UPDATED Rodent II 0.8.7 to II 0.9.68.AP
* UPDATED Sayuri 2016.04.09 to 2016.10.07.AP
* UPDATED Sting¨SF 4.8.4 JA to 7.3.AP
* UPDATED Stockfish 2016-07-16 to 8.AP
* UPDATED Texel 1.06 to 1.07a6
* UPDATED Zurichess¨Graubuenden to Jura
* DELETED Bison 15.1 (frequently exits)
* DELETED Bruja_1.9.1.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Claudia¨v.¨0.5 (bad terminations)
* DELETED DanChess_1.04.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Faile_1.44.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Jester_0.84.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Kitteneitor_060513.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Knightcap_3.7F.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED MangoPaola_1.1.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Micromax_4.8W.JA_xb (pratically same as FairyMax)
* DELETED Minimardi_1.3.AB_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED MorphyChess_1.05.JA_xb (bad time usage)
* DELETED Natwarlal_0.14.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Romichess_p3k.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Samchess_JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Sjeng_1.12.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Sungorus 1.4 JA (bad terminations)
* DELETED Typhoon_1.0.r358.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Witz_Alpha21.JA_xb (bad terminations)
* DELETED Woodpecker_2.11.JA_xb (bad terminations)

Targets for next release:
* UPDATE Gull 3r5.JA to 3.AP
* UPDATE Ethereal 8.05 to 8.12
* UPDATE Rodent II 0.9.68 to III.0.171
* UPDATE Texel 1.07a6 to 1.07a9lazy

BAYES RATINGS AFTER 20099 GAMES PLAYED BY 124 PROGRAMS
Rnk Name                        O/S T TC  Elo   +   - Gam Sco Oppo Dra
001 Stockfish 8.0.AP            A32 4 bf 3442  42  39 360 89% 3117 21%
002 Komodo 10.3                 A32 4 bf 3293  33  32 360 72% 3133 28%
003 Chiron 4                    A32 4 bf 3167  30  30 360 55% 3139 38%
004 Critter 1.6a                A32 4 bf 3138  29  29 368 53% 3128 45%
005 Firenzina 2.4.3 xTreme      A32 4 bf 3136  30  30 360 53% 3125 41%
006 BlackMamba 2.0              A32 4 bf 3106  29  29 364 51% 3110 46%
007 Gull 3 x64 (syzygy)         A32 4 bf 3105  31  30 360 57% 3058 38%
008 IvanHoe 1945a AP            A32 4 bf 3093  30  30 360 49% 3103 46%
009 Sting SF 7.3                A32 4 bf 3092  30  30 360 48% 3110 41%
010 Rybka 2.3.2a mp             W64 4 bf 3086 147 142  14 57% 3037 43%
011 Fritz 14                    A32 4 bf 3086  30  30 360 49% 3095 43%
012 Texel 1.07a6                A32 4 bf 3068  30  30 360 49% 3075 37%
013 DeepSaros ver.2.3f          A32 1 bf 3040  30  30 360 48% 3059 42%
014 Hiarcs 13.71                IOS 2 bf 3026 140 125  22 75% 2848 23%
015 Senpai 1.0                  A32 4 bf 3009  31  31 366 51% 3008 30%
016 RobboLito 0.085g3l AP       A32 1 bf 3007  29  29 360 52% 2992 46%
017 Cheng 4.39                  A32 4 bf 2990  30  30 360 48% 3009 43%
018 Bobcat v8.0 AP              A32 4 bf 2984  31  31 360 48% 3000 35%
019 Arasan 20.0                 A32 4 bf 2983  30  30 360 50% 2985 40%
020 ExChess_7.88b.JA_xb.arm7    A32 4  b 2924  30  30 360 52% 2914 40%
021 Shredder 1.7.0              IOS 2  b 2903 123 122  20 53% 2892 45%
022 Gaviota v1.0-d              A32 4 bf 2903  30  30 370 48% 2915 36%
023 Nemorino 1.02 AP            A32 4  b 2900  31  31 360 45% 2933 34%
024 Hakkapeliitta 3.0           A32 1 bf 2895  31  31 362 53% 2873 32%
025 Scorpio_2.7.7.JA_xb.arm7    A32 4 bf 2867  30  30 360 49% 2870 33%
026 Grapefruit 1.0              A32 4 bf 2860  30  30 374 46% 2886 37%
027 Toga II 3.0                 A32 1 bf 2839  30  30 362 47% 2864 35%
028 DiscoCheck 5.2.1            A32 1 bf 2838  30  30 374 50% 2835 33%
029 Deep Saros 0.9              A32 4 bf 2825  29  29 372 50% 2824 39%
030 Laser 1.3 beta              A32 4  b 2799  31  31 360 47% 2820 33%
031 Rodent II 0.9.68            A32 1  b 2797  30  30 360 50% 2801 33%
032 Crafty_25.0.JA_xb.arm7.pie  A32 1 bf 2785  31  31 360 48% 2802 27%
033 Doch32 1.3.4 JA             A32 1  b 2778  30  30 378 50% 2779 36%
034 Fruit Reloaded 2.1          A32 1  b 2774  29  29 376 51% 2766 38%
035 Chess Pro 2016.02           IOS 2 bf 2761 111 113  22 45% 2791 55%
036 Murka 3                     A32 1 bf 2759  29  29 386 49% 2772 33%
037 GNU Chess 5.60              A32 1 bf 2755  30  30 364 54% 2730 31%
038 Deuterium v14.3.34.130      A32 1 bf 2751  29  29 378 51% 2741 40%
039 Strelka 5                   A32 1 bf 2732  30  30 364 52% 2713 31%
040 The King 3.50 x64           W64 1  b 2728  56  58  98 40% 2791 36%
041 Zurichess Jura              A32 1  b 2699  31  31 360 53% 2673 32%
042 Tucano_6.00.JA_xb.arm5      A32 1 bf 2693  30  30 360 51% 2677 35%
043 RedQueen 1.1.98             A32 4 bf 2686  31  31 360 50% 2686 31%
044 CNVCS 1.2.0                 IOS 2  f 2655 114 117  22 43% 2694 50%
045 Alfil 12.10                 A32 1 bf 2649  31  31 362 50% 2647 25%
046 Pawny 1.2                   A32 1 bf 2645  31  31 360 47% 2670 28%
047 Rhetoric 1.4.3              A32 1 bf 2639  31  31 360 53% 2616 30%
048 Rodin v8.00                 A32 1 bf 2627  31  31 360 49% 2633 28%
049 Daydreamer 1.75 JA          A32 1 bf 2609  30  30 364 49% 2614 33%
050 Cheese 1.8                  A32 1 bf 2602  31  31 360 51% 2594 30%
051 Chess Genius 4.0.00         IOS 2 bf 2582 196 253   8 13% 2837 25%
052 Chess Genius 2.6.4          A32 1 bf 2580 224 239   4 38% 2629 75%
053 Glaurung Mainz              A32 1  b 2563  31  31 360 55% 2525 31%
054 Phalanx_XXIV.JA_xb.arm7     A32 1 bf 2561  31  31 360 48% 2577 28%
055 K2 v.087                    A32 1  b 2552  32  31 360 54% 2511 28%
056 GarboChess 3                A32 1 bf 2545  31  31 362 51% 2536 27%
057 Rotor 0.8                   A32 1 bf 2539  31  31 362 50% 2532 28%
058 Sloppy_0.23.JA_xb           A32 1 bf 2527  31  31 360 50% 2522 28%
059 Fridolin 2.00               A32 4 bf 2509  31  31 360 51% 2499 27%
060 Maverick 1.5 arm            A32 1 bf 2505  32  32 360 55% 2464 25%
061 Ethereal 8.05               A32 1  b 2504  32  32 360 54% 2473 23%
062 GreKo_2015.JA_xb            A32 1 bf 2492  31  32 360 47% 2504 26%
063 DanaSah 6.1                 A32 1 bf 2491  31  31 360 48% 2501 27%
064 Dirty_030411.JA_xb          A32 1 bf 2490  31  31 360 48% 2491 28%
065 BBChess 1.3b JA             A32 4 bf 2487  31  32 362 47% 2510 23%
066 Pepito v1.59                A32 1 bf 2449  32  32 360 51% 2437 24%
067 Ifrit_m1.8.JA_uci2xb        A32 1 Bf 2411  32  32 360 52% 2388 24%
068 BetsabeII_1.47.JA_xb        A32 1 bf 2401  33  33 360 51% 2387 20%
069 Diablo 0.5.1b JA            A32 1 bf 2369  33  33 360 49% 2374 22%
070 Olithink_5.3.2.JA_xb        A32 1 bf 2349  34  33 360 54% 2314 20%
071 Amy_0.8.JA_xb               A32 1 bf 2346  34  34 360 54% 2314 12%
072 TJchess 1.1U                A32 1 bf 2267  33  33 360 50% 2265 18%
073 Bitfoot 150922.JA           A32 1 bf 2242  34  34 360 50% 2244 14%
074 Myrddin_0.86.JA_xb          A32 1 bf 2229  33  33 360 49% 2241 17%
075 Beowulf_2.4a.JA_xb          A32 1  b 2205  33  33 360 46% 2233 18%
076 Rattate_Nosferatu.JA_xb     A32 1 bf 2188  33  33 360 47% 2217 17%
077 KmtChess_1.21.JA_xb         A32 1 bf 2151  33  33 360 46% 2187 20%
078 Resp_0.19.JA_xb             A32 1 bf 2145  33  33 360 52% 2132 21%
079 Scidlet_2.61b2.JA_xb        A32 1 bf 2136  33  33 360 47% 2165 18%
080 Floyd 0.7 JA                A32 1 bf 2106  33  33 360 52% 2094 17%
081 AnkanChess 0.0              A32 1  b 2081  33  33 360 51% 2073 18%
082 Robocide 28.12.14.JA        A32 1 bf 2070  32  32 388 49% 2079 17%
083 Gk_0.90.JA_xb               A32 1  b 2057  33  33 360 51% 2053 19%
084 Kurt 0.9.2.2 JA             A32 1 bf 2053  33  32 360 50% 2054 22%
085 Cinnamon 2.0                A32 4 bf 2026  33  32 360 53% 2010 22%
086 NGplay_9.86.JA_xb           A32 1 bf 2017  32  32 360 48% 2032 21%
087 Sunsetter_C10.JA_xb         A32 1  b 2013  33  33 360 47% 2035 19%
088 Gunborg_1.39.JA_uci2xb      A32 1 bf 1998  32  32 360 49% 2010 25%
089 BikJump v1.8                A32 1 bf 1949  31  31 388 51% 1939 22%
090 Soldat-III_0.178.JA_xb      A32 1  b 1934  33  33 360 51% 1922 18%
091 AdroitChess0.4 JA           A32 1 bf 1916  35  35 360 54% 1879 12%
092 Gullydeckel_2.15.pl10.JA_xb A32 1  b 1914  33  33 360 47% 1930 16%
093 Mephisto Roma Turbo         W64 1  b 1906  80  84  56 37% 2009 16%
094 Cilian_4.14.JA_xb           A32 1 bf 1889  33  33 360 53% 1853 23%
095 Fairymax_4.8V.JA_xb         A32 1  b 1886  32  32 360 49% 1889 22%
096 ZCT-0.3.2500                A32 1 bf 1885  33  33 360 49% 1890 14%
097 Leonidas_r83.JA_xb          A32 1 Bf 1875  33  33 360 46% 1904 15%
098 Colchess_8.0.JA_xb          A32 1 Bf 1864  33  33 360 55% 1816 21%
099 Ecce rev. 508               A32 1 bf 1836  35  34 360 53% 1805 13%
100 Sayuri 2016.10.07           A32 4 bf 1823  34  34 360 54% 1789 17%
101 Smash 1.03 JA               A32 1 bf 1806  34  34 370 53% 1771 14%
102 Surprise_4.3.b13.JA_xb      A32 1  b 1725  35  36 360 51% 1699 14%
103 Hoichess_0.12.1.JA_xb       A32 1 bf 1683  35  35 360 51% 1659 16%
104 Chenard_2015.08.15.JA_xb    A32 1 bf 1648  34  34 360 52% 1611 14%
105 Tscp_1.8.1.AB_xb            A32 1 bf 1628  35  35 360 52% 1587 16%
106 Zzzzzz_3.5.1.JA_xb          A32 1 bf 1602  34  34 360 52% 1553 23%
107 Rocinante 2.0 JA            A32 1 bf 1590  38  38 360 56% 1462 11%
108 Darky_0.5d.JA_xb            A32 1  b 1532  37  37 360 51% 1462 16%
109 Colossus 4.0 100X           C64 1 bf 1530 277 235   8 88% 1106 25%
110 Mephisto Roma 68020 UCI     W64 1  b 1508 132 141  20 35% 1627 30%
111 Pulse 1.5-cpp               A32 1 bf 1448  37  37 374 53% 1344 25%
112 VIRUTOR CHESS 1.1.1         A32 1 bf 1437  39  40 366 51% 1368 13%
113 Mizar_3.0.JA_xb             A32 1  b 1414  41  42 360 51% 1346 11%
114 Chess for Android           A32 1 bf 1350  41  41 363 56% 1221 13%
115 Superpawn b108 JA           A32 1  b 1277  40  40 360 59% 1127 18%
116 Chess Titans                W64 1  f 1245 216 204   7 57% 1216 29%
117 Toledo_Nano_2010.JA_xb      A32 1  b 1088  38  39 360 49% 1061 23%
118 Trappy_Beowulf_2.0.JA_xb    A32 1 bf 1081  40  40 366 49% 1061 11%
119 Colossus 4.0                C64 1 bf 1061 175 123  14 36% 1157 14%
120 Xadreco_5.7.JA_xb           A32 1  b  949  43  23 360 36% 1076 11%
121 Byak 8.10.14.JA             A32 1  b  929  45   5 366 35% 1079 21%
122 Novag Secondo               TTC 1 bf  831 309 -95   6 42%  873 17%
123 OliveChess 0.2.7            A32 1 bf  608 324-315 366 13% 1114  4%
124 DanaSah 6.0 RND             A32 1 bf  277 653-646 360  1% 1151  3%

Rapidroid test platform:
* GT-N7100 1.6 * 4 + 256MB hash: All Android progs
* GT-N5105 1.6 * 4 + 256MB hash: All Android progs
* Codegen Novatab 1.4 * 4 + 256MB: Single thread Android progs,
* Polypad 1010IPS tablet 1.61 * 2 + 128MB: Single thread Android progs
* HTC Diam 528Mhz, 16MB hash: Windows Mobile
* i7 M620 2.67 Ghz dual + Arena 3.5 + 2GB hash: Windows 64
* iPhone5S A7 1.3 Ghz * 2: iOS progs
* DosBox 1.74: DOS progs
* WinVICE 2.24: Commodore-64 progs
* Messtiny UCI adapters or CB-Emu2014: Mephisto progs
* Openings: 20 ply Adam Hair or 16 ply TCEC, no Q exchange, +0.15 to +0.40
eval by Stockfish and Komodo, depth 20 minimum, played twice both sides
* Repeating openings and twin games not allowed between two programs
* Tablebases off and pondering off
* Time control: 600+0 to 1800+5 (optional 1/10 to 1/30 for manual games)

Calibration:
* Based on 42 engines rated in CCRL 40/4
* 32 bit arm5 vs CCRL 32-bit: Exynos 4412 = (Athlon X2 4600+) - 95 ELO
* 32 bit arm5 vs CCRL 64-bit: Exynos 4412 = (Athlon X2 4600+) - 118 ELO
* 32 bit arm7 vs CCRL 32-bit: Exynos 4412 = (Athlon X2 4600+) - 60 ELO
* 32 bit arm7 vs CCRL 64-bit: Exynos 4412 = (Athlon X2 4600+) - 83 ELO
* Bayeselo offset = 2312 (Mean of ELO error vs target: 46.9)

Termination stats:
* W:41.1% D:25.7% B:33.2% (54.0% vs 46.0%)

Legend:
* T = threads
* tc= f (playes fixed time only), b (plays Fischer clock only), bf (plays both)
* O/S: A32=Android 32bit, W64=Windows 64bit, C64=Commodore 64, TTC=Tabletop, IOS=iPhone

April 23, 2017

New Android UCI engine: CorCfish Extended 2017.04.23.ACH

CorCfish is an attempt to improve Cfish, in a similar way to what was done with Stockfish to obtain CorChess. Even though the aim may be not extactly the same in detail, the method looks similar. I don't know what the outcome is but you can test it to reveal your opinion.

GET CorCfish Extended 20170423.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Stockfish dev't 2017.04.20.ACH

Latest fish compiled by Alexei for Android. Enjoy!

GET Stockfish 2017.04.20.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Cfish 2017.04.18.ACH

Cfish is probably the strongest engine you can run on your mobile. Enjoy the latest build available as of today.

GET Cfish 20170418.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

April 22, 2017

Android UCI engine update: SugaR XPro1c.20170409.ACH

Another SugaR build by Alexei dated April,9th. Only for users interested in Stockfish derivatives. My humble opinion is that all derivatives are dependant on the original. So i'm not spending time with these. The only interesting one should be Cfish for me. Besides, i wouldn't call it a derivative as it keeps the same algorithm as Stockfish. 

GET SugaR XPro1c.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Corchess 1.1.20170408.ACH

The description of the engine taken from its homepage:

"Corchess is a clone of Stockfish source code maintained by Ivan Ivec for better performance on long time controls, trying at least partially to fill the gap between regular tests and demands of correspondence players.

The idea is to improve the following scalability of Stockfish 8.

Starting from version b3, all patches are first tested at 200+2 time control (1 thread, 64 MB hash, 1000-2000 games) and then tested with 10000 games at 40+0.4 time control (1 thread, 16 MB hash). To minimize statistical errors, all patches will be tested against Stockfish rather than against previous version."

Thanks to Alexei for porting it to Android:
GET Corchess 1.1.20170408.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Stockfish dev't 2017.04.08.ACH

Latest fishes compiled by Alexei. Enjoy!

GET Stockfish 2017.04.08.ACH for arm7
GET Stockfish 2017.04.02.ACH for arm7
GET Stockfish 2017.03.17.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Cfish 2017.04.13.ACH

The latest Cfish port to Android by Alexei.
GET Cfish 20170413.ACH for arm7

And also some older Cfish builds by Alexei as well, just for collectors. They were available but not posted here previously.
GET Cfish 20170317.ACH for arm7
GET Cfish 20170403.ACH for arm7
GET Cfish 20170412.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Sayuri 2017.04.09

Anyone able to get these builds of Sayuri running well, please comment here about your hardware / software environment.

GET Sayuri 2017.04.09 for arm5

In case of trouble downloading from box, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Cfish 2017.04.03 OEX installer by Javiolo

Thanks to Javiolo for keep the Cfish updated for Android.

WHAT'S NEW (6-Apr-2017):
Cfish 8 20170403 Open Exchange protocol
Old Cfish 8 20161218
This chess engine app need a chess board, see app description
Now, this app has a layout

You can download the latest version from GOOGLE PLAY.

Users who want to install the builds without OEX or want to keep a copy of the builds in case the app gets future updates may refer to this ARCHIVE.

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Lichess 4.12.1

GET latest Lichess for Android at GOOGLE PLAY.

WHAT'S NEW (16-Apr-2017):
- Autocomplete username in compose message form
- Better endgame positions in board editor
- Fix crazyhouse games that where crashing at game startup
- Fix some characters display

There have been a previous update 4.12.0 on 05-Apr-2017 which i didn't notify about here. It can be skipped.

Android UCI engine update: Gull 3.AP with better SMP

A second attempt by Aprijal Pasaribu seems to help Gull ensure better SMP usage. I can confirm this version shows more CPU usage. It's currently playing gauntlets for Rapidroid as the best Gull compile.

GET Gull 3.AP for arm7 pie/nopie 32-bit and arm8 64-bit

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Rodent III.0.171.AP

Aprijal Pasaribu is still working on Android builds of chess engines but not as frequently as in th beginning. He released this month the new version of Pawel Koziol's rat.

This Rodent deserves attention thanks to the SMP feature implemented. That means +100 or more ELOs can be expected by default in addition to the code improvements.

I guess Rodent will be 2900+ in Rapidroid in a future release.
  
GET Rodent II 0.9.68 Risky for arm7 32-bit nopie/pie and arm8 64 bit

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Stockfish dev't 2017.03.26 OEX installer by Javiolo

Two Stockfish OEX installers came from Javiolo in the beginning of April. He deserves the best of the appreciations for porting the strongest engine to Android regularly. Thanks again.

WHAT'S NEW (1-Apr-2017 & 4-Apr-2017):
new release Stockfish 8 20170326 Open Exchange protocol
old release Stockfish 8 20170227
this chess engine app need a chess board, see app description
Now, this app has a layout
Other Stockfish derivatives
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.packs.chessenginesotherfishpack
for more engines see Chess Engines app

You can download Stockfish OEX installer PIE for modern devices from GOOGLE PLAY.
You can download Stockfish OEX installer noPIE for old devices from GOOGLE PLAY.

You can also install these builds manually from this ARCHIVE, in case you don't need OEX feature or you wish to keep backups available after a future update of this app.

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

April 19, 2017

Whispering about Rapidroid April-2017

Stockfish 8 will be clearly on top thanks to the huge improvement over the last development version 20160716. I don't even mention 40 more ELO potential of recent Cfish builds.

No matter how well plays SF8, Komodo 10.3 is a big disappointment after 10.2 which didn't find a chance to be announced. Komodo 10.3 is more than 130 ELO behind SF8! The last remaining explanation would be a careless 32-bit compile, given that 10.2 was only 40 ELO behind SF8 in my previous unreleased ranking, partly based on a faster TC of 600+2 that i decided to refresh and align to regular 900+1. So TC is not the cause because one wouldn't believe Komodo needs blitz to perform better. Conclusion: I'll really miss Komodo 10.2.

Chiron 4 is the new #3 with +70 ELO over Chiron 3. Mr.Farina boosted more than expected. We finally see the old arm5 build of Critter overtaken by a third engine. What a long wait has it been indeed...

Firenzina 2.4.3 was very close to follow Chiron the same way but it missed the chance by a few ELOs. Remains #5.

And if you ask for Houdini for Android... Nope. Thanks to Mr.Houdart once again.

I plan to release the new rankings by next week after a few more verifications, including manual games played by non-Android engines.


April 18, 2017

Chess Online 11.0.0 by Miroslav Kisly

This may be the first time i'm referring to this app in Chesstroid but don't think it's a newborn.

Miroslav maintains his app since a long time and he managed to release the eleventh update. Although some may state it's not the best choice for online chess play (btw what's the measurable criteria for that?), there's an embedded "own" engine which i'd consider an interesting opportunity for Rapidroid in the future via manual games vs uci engines.

What i mean by "future" here is probably the 22nd century if i keep working for automotive industry until i finish all the remaining tasks.

WHAT'S NEW (01-Apr-2017)

v11.0.0:
* Ability to choose 9 boards
* Boards: wood, marble, classic
* Many Engine fixes!
* Show attacked pieces
* Undo fixes
* Ability to undo ended game
* Export chess game to PGN
* History dashboard fix
* Improved game end descriptions
* Castling move hint
* En passant move hint

Features:
* On-line and Bluetooth multiplayer
* Accessibility - Adapted for people with visual impairments
* Ability to compose own figures position
* AI engine with 10 difficulty levels
* Parental control - control your children progress
* One or Two player mode
* Auto-save
* Attractive classic wooden interface
* Undo move
* Ability to save games and continue later
* Statistics
* On-line ELO and Scores, leaderboards, achievements, chat, player invitations

GET Chess Online on GOOGLE PLAY

Acid APE Chess Beta 14

APE is a challenging chess GUI's for Android, though my preference still goes to Chess for Android for UCI/XB engine management and tournament features. However, i'm probably the one to blame for specific expectations.

WHAT'S NEW (30-Mar-2017):
Beta 14:
- The game page has seen a slight facelift.
- A new pager has been designed.
- The ELO range of online opponents can now be filtered.
- The ELO ratings of engines are now automatically displayed.
- Numeric engine options having a large range are now easy to input.
- Improved resign/draw handling for UCI engines.
- The human player name can now be edited.
- Performance has been improved and memory footprint decreased.
- Various other functional and technical improvements have been made.

Download latest version from GOOGLE PLAY.

CEPA 0.6.3 by Javiolo

Thanks to Javiolo for continously improving his nice GUI. Keep up the good work dear friend!

WHAT'S NEW (26-Mar-2017)
v0.6.3
- Solved bug ponder and book
- Improved Analysis
- Fixed bug on Edit board
- New Engines https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.packs.activechessenginespack

You can get the latest CEPA from GOOGLE PLAY.

Big Bull Chess Free 2.7.2

Kind of a strange chess app with a powerful engine that you are not allowed to run at full pace because of weird time usage. Even at the highest level, the engine does not spend more than some seconds per move.

I usually don't take seriously the chess apps without clocks. A lot of them offer "levels" which don't reflect a standard. Good for casual play but nothing more.

This update of Big Bull is here for the sake of the internal engine, though there's no information about the programmer. Let's be positive and think it's not based on Stockfish source.

The description by the developer says:
"Simply the best free chess app for Android!
* 10 play levels from very easy to extremely hard. There is one level for everyone no matter if your a beginner or an expert!
* Very impressive chess engine which teaches you the names of famous chess openings by showing the name of openings as you play them.
* Play Online against players from all over the world. Get started right away by playing as guest or register for an account at freechess.org (link in the app).
- Get your ranking in three different game modes (Lightning, Blitz, Standard).
- Improve your game skill by watching other players games live.
- Chat with your opponents or other people that are online.
* Send PGN files so you can review your games on your computer or anywhere you like.
* 2 player hot-seat.
* 3 Chess Board colors and 3 Chess Piece Sets.
* Clean and simple interface.
* Keeps statistics so that you can keep track of your improvement.
* Designed for both Tablet and Phone."

WHAT'S NEW v2.7.2 (21-Mar-2017):
* Minor bugfixes

The app comes in two versions, free and paid. You can take a look at the recent version on GOOGLE PLAY.

Android UCI engine update: SugaR XPro.AP of 2017.03.20

On 20th of March, it was Aprijal's turn to prepare a SugaR build. He didn't release this one in his blog for an unknown reason. I guess Aprijal doesn't mind i'm sharing that SugaR here. Thanks go to Alex for sending it.

I know, i know. It's not very recent news. I'm just delayed.

GET SugaR XPro.AP for arm7 pie and arm8

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

April 17, 2017

Android UCI engine update: Texel 1.07a9.ACH

In contrast to my expectations, Peter Österlund didn't release Texel 1.07 after last TCEC. There are only development builds available here and there. One of them, 1.07a6 currently finished playing in Rapidroid and reached 3067 ELO. Not bad at all!

To add some more cream to the pie, Alexei Charnakoff compiled a newer alpha code for Android, which i hope to perform slightly better than its predecessor. The builds were made on 15th of March.

GET Texel 1.07a9.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: SugaR XPro.1U.ACH

Another SugaR build by Alexei dated March,14th and it's still not the last one to share. SugaRs are forever...

GET SugaR XPro1U.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

New Android UCI engine: Symphysodon 2017.03.07.ACH

I know very little about this derivative and i have no idea about its strength. Just let me share what Alexei has compiled for Android devices. Thanks again.

A short script by the author Jose Perez taken from a very old forum post says: 
"I must THANK those who are helping me to the project by testing the engine derived from SF and using it in different game servers, that I am only learning and that every day I hope to increase the strength to the engine and the speed / agility of search and to find an optimum point . I just started, I hope you do not demand that I be the number 1, it's just the beginning. Thank you."

GET Symphysodon 2017.03.07.ACH for arm7
GET Symphysodon 2017.03.06.ACH for arm7

I assume the never build was made for improvement only, from the same source code.

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Stockfish dev't 2017.03.06.ACH

Alexei Chernakoff rocks during Aprijal's silence. Thanks for keeping Android builds in line with Windows.

GET Stockfish 2017.03.06.ACH for arm5 and arm7 in a single 7z package

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: SugaR Xpro.1a.ACH

This build by Alexei is dated March,3rd. Several builds have come in 2017 and others still remain to be shared here. This one is not the last one. So, it should only appeal to collectors.

GET SugaR XPro1a.ACH for arm7

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Cfish 2017.02.21.ACH

Yet another Cfish build made by Alexei in February for arm5 and arm7. There are four arm7 versions: two regular nopie/pie and two others with PGO optimization added. If PGO one works for you, no need for the regular arm7 build. Just start with arm7 pie pgo and try others if error

GET Cfish 20170221.ACH

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Stockfish derivatives by Javiolo: Arm8 builds

Below builds were taken from Javiolo's OTHER FISHES app which is designed to install several Stockfish derivatives in OEX format.

Shared with kind permission by Javiolo:
Brainfish 20170128.JV for arm8: HERE
Cfish 20170105.JV for arm8: HERE
Corchess 20170127.JV for arm8: HERE
McBrain 20170127.JV for arm8: HERE
Nayeem 20170115.JV for arm8: HERE
SugaR 20170214.JV for arm8: HERE

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

New Android UCI engine: Aristides 1.0.ACH

Aristides is a C port of the Stockfish chess engine, forked from Cfish by Michael Byrne.

It includes play by UCI_LimitStrength (play by ELO rating), UCI Move Delay, Fast Play when mate is found, Study option (from Matefinder), Hide Info ( some information output may be skipped to reduce output) and various search tweaks.

I guess that we owe THIS Android port to Alexei Chernakoff, the only active build maker nowadays. The package features arm7 builds only.

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Sugar XPro1.ACH

Alexei's build of this SugaR version was dated Feb,14th, just like the regular SugaR version of the same date, posted here a few minutes ago.

I don't know exactly what's the difference of Xpro here. Indeed, when something is labeled Pro, one would naturally expect something extra added in. I hope this is the case for SugaR Xpro.

GET SugaR XPro1.ACH for arm5, arm7 and arm8

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

April 16, 2017

Android UCI engine update: Sugar 2017.02.14.ACH

Alexei's build of Marco Zerbinati's SugaR, based on the source of Feb,14th, prepared for arm7 and arm8.

GET SugaR 20170214.ACH

Alternative build for arm8: HERE

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Cfish 2017.02.12.ACH

Another Cfish build made by Alexei in February for arm7 and arm8.

GET Cfish 20170212.ACH

Alternative arm8 build: HERE

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Cfish 2017.01.05.ACH

This post is only for collectors. I'd already shared a newer version by Alexei, dated Feb,7th.

GET Cfish 20170105.ACH

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.

Android UCI engine update: Gull 3r5.AP

That was Aprijal Pasaribu's first attempt to help Gull work better with Android. Please note that the build is not new. It was made on Feb,9th. It's just because of my late "reprise".

As the current build prepared by Jim Ablett didn't seem to fully use the SMP function, it was logical to call for help for debugging the port, considering that the Android version had lower ELO than expected, approximately 40 ELO missing.

Even though Aprijal's build can't do better than JA, there's a 64 bit version available at least, so he deserves our appreciation.

GET Gull 3r5.AP for arm7 nopie, arm7 pie and arm8

In case of trouble downloading from your PC, use your mobile device or refer to THIS POST.