WML Software for Chess

How to use Crafty as chess engine with ChessPad 1

First, if you haven't already, put Crafty on your system.
(I have tested ChessPad exclusively with Crafty, though other chess engines might work).
You can download Crafty from Robert Hyatts' ftp site.
(If this site does not work for you, you could try Crafty Home Page instead.)

In ChessPad,

* Select Database | Preferences, and the choose the Engine page.
* Click the Add button to open the Add Engine window
* In the Executable file box, enter the location of "wcrafty.exe"
* In the Info file box, select the "crafty18_10.ini" file, located in the ChessPad directory.
* Click OK to close the Add Engine window.

The Crafty engine is now present in the Available Engines list.

* Select it, and click the Load button.

Crafty will now become the Active Engine.

* Click OK to close the Preferences window

The Engine menu will now be available, as well as the A (Analysis), P (Play) and M (Move Now!) buttons.

The P-button needs some explanation:

In the initial state, if you press it once, it becomes depressed and show P*.
This means that the game is stopped, but that the chess engine will respond to the next move you make.

After you make your first move, it will remain depressed, but just show a P, meaning that a game is in progress. Whose move it is, you can see from the running clock.

If, while playing a game, you do anything that is not making a move (like moving back), the game will become stopped again, the P button remains depressed, again showing P*. (Meaning that the engine will respond to your next move).

If you click the P button when it is depressed, it will go to the unpressed state, and no game is played or stopped.

Last modified July 14, 2009