DOSBox Windows 95 for Chess

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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

I played around a bit more this morning to see what else I could get working in DOSBox Windows 95 and I was pleasantly surprised at what else works.


Der Bringer 1.9 by Gerrit Reubold

Bringer 1.9 was a really good amateur Engine in the old days so I am really happy to see it working.

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As you can see at 230,000 cpu_cycles it calculates well easily reaching 10 ply and more.


Chessmaster 5000

When Chessmaster 5000 first came out it was the strongest program around easily leading the pack at the very top of the SSDF Lists of that time. As you can see it works great!

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Chessmaster 4000

Of course I also have this one under DOSBox Windows 3.11 but I wanted to see if it also works under Windows 95, which it does.

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Extreme Chess

I also have this one running under DOSBox Windows 3.11 but as you can see it works well as well with DOSBox Windows 95. Extreme chess has two Fritz programs which you can use. Fritz 3.10 Hong Kong Version and also Fritz 4.01.

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DOS playing inside DOSBox Windows 95

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Every DOS program works with DOSBox Windows 95. As you can see below with Mephisto Gideon. Graphically its sharper than Dfend and the window is a little bigger too which I like. Also I am seriously considering moving all my DOS Programs to DOSBox Windows 95 rather than laying them under DFend because the configuration is much more convenient by just configuring the config file to suit the speed you want to play and you are done. Rather than as under DFend where you have to configure each one individually. So better graphically and more convenient as you can see from the next picture.


DOSBox Windows 95 Desktop

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All I have to do is click on an icon on the Desktop and I am ready to play.


Current programs working with DOSBox Windows 95

Here are all the programs that I have working currently with DOSBox Windows 95.

Chessmaster 4000
Chessmaster 5000
Comet B50
Comet B68
Crafty 16.3
Crafty 18.12
Crafty 19.01
CSTal II
Der Bringer 1.9
Extreme Chess Fritz 3.10 Hong Kong Version
Extreme Chess Fritz 4.01
Fritz 5.32
Fritz 6
Fritz 7
Fritz 8
Gandalf 432F
Genius 1
Genius 2
Genius 3
Genius 4
Genius 5
Genius 6
Genius 6 2nd Gen
Genius 7
Genius 7.1
MChess Pro 8
Mephisto Gideon
Mephisto Shredder (14th WMCCC - 1996 Jakarta WM Version)
WBNimzo2000B
WChess 2000
Zarkov 5

Best regards
Nick
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

A few more programs I got working yesterday, with the help of Marco (M.Z.) who showed me how to figure out loading complete disk images and using a virtual drive.

Mephisto Classic Champ

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This is a Windows 3.11 program which until now I could only play through DOSBox Windows 3.11 by keeping the original CD in the drive. But I could also get it to work the same way under DOSBox Windows 95. The program is based around the DOS program Chess Genius 1 which was converted for Windows 3.11 and sold by Hexaglot.

Chess Tiger 15

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Cool program works well.

Shredder 4

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Shredder 4 works well too!

Shredder 5.32

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And Shredder 5.32 gui works as well.

Deep Junior 6

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Deep Junior 6 gui also has Junior 5 included.

Chess Master 5500

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I showed previously Chessmaster 4000 and 5000. Well Chessmaster 5500 and 6000 work as well!

Chess Master 8000

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Chess Master 8000 works just fine as well, so Chess Master 7000 should work too.

I have run out of Windows 95 virtual hard disk space so for now I am going to leave at that. With DosBox you can create a master hard drive and a secondary hard drive. These last few programs are much bigger in size so they filled up the secondary hard drive.

But what you can do if you want even more programs to work, you create a third and fourth hard drive and attach them as the secondary hard drive and so you can play more and more if you want. I am satisfied with what I have for now.

Maybe someday I will build another hard drive and attach some missing stuff such as Shredder 1-3 and 5 and Power Chess but beyond that there is not much more that I would want. Perhaps a secondary hard drive where I put all the DOS Programs into it.

Anyway here is the list of what currently works:

Chessmaster 4000
Chessmaster 5000
Chessmaster 5500
Chessmaster 6000
Chessmaster 8000
Chess Tiger 15
Comet B12
Comet B37
Comet B50
Comet B68
Crafty 16.3
Crafty 18.07
Crafty 18.12
Crafty 19.01
Deep Junior 6
CSTal II
Der Bringer 1.9
Extreme Chess Fritz 3.10 Hong Kong Version
Extreme Chess Fritz 4.01
Fritz 5.32
Fritz 6
Fritz 7
Fritz 8
Gandalf 432F
Genius 1
Genius 2
Genius 3
Genius 4
Genius 5
Genius 6
Genius 6 2nd Gen
Genius 7
Genius 7.1
Junior 6
MChess Pro 8
Mephisto Classic Champ
Mephisto Gideon
Mephisto Shredder (14th WMCCC - 1996 Jakarta WM Version)
Shredder 4
Shredder 5.32
WBNimzo2000B
WChess 2000
Zarkov 5

Best regards
Nick
fdimeglio
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Post by fdimeglio »

Nice ! Thank you fo doing that.
This is a Windows 3.11 program which until now I could only play through DOSBox Windows 3.11 by keeping the original CD in the drive. But I could also get it to work the same way under DOSBox Windows 95. The program is based around the DOS program Chess Genius 1 which was converted for Windows 3.11 and sold by Hexaglot.
I am a proud owner of the real Chess Genius 1 and it was definitely a better User Interface.

Version 1 Memories Regards,

Fabrice
Looking for a nice Fidelity EAG or A/S and a Odin Encore. Please send me a private message.
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

fdimeglio wrote:Nice ! Thank you fo doing that.
This is a Windows 3.11 program which until now I could only play through DOSBox Windows 3.11 by keeping the original CD in the drive. But I could also get it to work the same way under DOSBox Windows 95. The program is based around the DOS program Chess Genius 1 which was converted for Windows 3.11 and sold by Hexaglot.
I am a proud owner of the real Chess Genius 1 and it was definitely a better User Interface.

Version 1 Memories Regards,

Fabrice
Hi Fabrice

For Chess it is really worth trying to build your own DB Win 95. Because everything works on it once you have figured it all out. DOS overall works better on it too especially if you are playing games inside a window instead of full screen. The below images are actual size from my laptop.

Genius 1 DOS with Dosbx DFend

Image

At the Pentium 400 speed i am playing Dosbox Dfend for Genius 1 cannot keep the speed needed. So those eleven seconds on the clock are in real time on your watch approximately 30 seconds. So Genius 1 under DOSBox Dfend at best achieves about a Pentium 90 speed if you want the clock matching real time.

Genius 1 DOS with Dosbox Windows 95

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Playing Genius 1 DOS inside Windows 95 the DOS Screen is larger and more pleasant to the eyes and in addition it keeps the real time clock performance that I want of 400 MHz. The picture again is actual size. So Genius 1 runs properly under DB Win 95.

Btw... DOSBox Windows 95 are full size windows as you see them on your laptop (not fullscreen). Look Like this:

Image

Those are the actual size windows you have on your laptop. Nice and large and pleasant to use. The size and graphics setup you can see from the picture above. True Color 32 Bit and Desktop Area 1024 x 768 pixels (your window size)

If you play DOS inside WIn 95 it automatically changes the window size to the example I showed for Genius 1. When you exit DOS you revert back to the WIN 95 desktop size.

Best regards
Nick
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BenRedic
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Post by BenRedic »

What setup did you use, or what guide did you follow, to get this working? I have tried it myself, and gotten Win95 installed, but it is a total crash-fest. Bluescreens half the time, crappy performance the rest. Performance seems to be similar to 486, forget Pentium II. Host is an i7.

Using SVN Daum, a 1 GB imagefile as disk, Windows 95 Retail, machine=svga_s3, core=normal, cputype=pentium, non-recursive page fault=true. Anything I am missing?

I have Windows 95 running just fine in VirtualBox and PCem, but would like to have a working installation in DosBox.
Thank you for an interesting game.
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

BenRedic wrote:What setup did you use, or what guide did you follow, to get this working? I have tried it myself, and gotten Win95 installed, but it is a total crash-fest. Bluescreens half the time, crappy performance the rest. Performance seems to be similar to 486, forget Pentium II. Host is an i7.

Using SVN Daum, a 1 GB imagefile as disk, Windows 95 Retail, machine=svga_s3, core=normal, cputype=pentium, non-recursive page fault=true. Anything I am missing?

I have Windows 95 running just fine in VirtualBox and PCem, but would like to have a working installation in DosBox.
Just do search on DosBox Windows 95 an d Dark Traveller should come up. You have everything there except the Windows program to do the install correctly. Its a step by step instruction. Only thing I would change is do the Win 95 service pack first after installing Windows 95 and don't install the usb supplement as that will crash your work.

For your config file I use Pentium (of course), 230,000 cpu cycles and dynamic (not max +5%)

On your I7 230,000 cpu cycles work and therefore you should be simulating at around a Pentium with 400 MHz. BTW you can set the cpu_cycles to whatever you want so long as it does not exceed what your PC is capable of in performing with proper clock speed on the chess programs.

You just need to follow the instructions and not be creative with it as you will then get yourself messed up if you start messing around with the configs.

Also back up your virtual drives before you try install programs on to it in case you mess up that way all you have to do is use your back up virtual drive to get you t where you were before.

You can see it works properly from the games that have been posted in the Aegon Tournament so far.

I have finished my DOSBox Win 98 build and installing chess programs that work with it at the moment.

ps as perhaps being a purist you might argue that the virutal hardware solutions are better.. (Been there heard it a thousand times before). But if you are are a tournament game player where you want control and opponents for your dedicateds including Millennium. The virtual hard ware solutuons are totally crap as they either too slow or too fast and they have zero speed control which makes them worthless.

Regards
Nick
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Reinfeld
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Post by Reinfeld »

Wonderful thread. Very impressed with the alchemy, especially the Chessmaster versions and CS Tal II. I have all those discs.

I keep veering back and forth between the simplicity of Thorsten's solution - an older, ultra-cheap laptop - and Nick's more convenient method, which doesn't involve as many machines and cords.
Maybe someday I will build another hard drive and attach some missing stuff such as Shredder 1-3 and 5 and Power Chess.
Man, would I love to get Power Chess going. What a fussy little sucker. I've owned that one for years, and I've never, ever been able to make it work. My old XP machine wouldn't play it. My older PC with Win 7 won't play it in compatibility mode, and my Mac just laughs.

- R.
"You have, let us say, a promising politician, a rising artist that you wish to destroy. Dagger or bomb are archaic and unreliable - but teach him, inoculate him with chess."
– H.G. Wells
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BenRedic
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Post by BenRedic »

Reinfeld wrote:Man, would I love to get Power Chess going. What a fussy little sucker. I've owned that one for years, and I've never, ever been able to make it work. My old XP machine wouldn't play it. My older PC with Win 7 won't play it in compatibility mode, and my Mac just laughs.
I have Power Chess working under Windows 98 on VirtualBox. Does not seem completely stable though. After playing with it the VM is often suffering from hanging processes and locked resources, and needs a reboot to breath freely. Though I suspect that this has nothing to do with the emulation, rather that the program would have similar issues on real legacy hardware.

A lot of software from that time was fussy about both hardware and OS. I remember finding Chessmaster 7000 in a bargain bin back in the day, and installed it on my Windows 2000 computer. The GUI worked fine, but the engine did not, so it just threw out seemingly random moves. Did not work properly under anything other than Windows 95/98. This was fixed in Chessmaster 8000, which works fine under 2000. 8000 has some bugs under XP, though. Also, it does not like multi monitor setups.
Thank you for an interesting game.
nathanhoover
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Post by nathanhoover »

There are some nice programs here. I run some old chess programs using VMware running MS-DOS, Windows 3.1, and Windows 98. I enjoy seeing them play on today's hardware. Does anyone know where I can find some of these programs, such as CSTal II and Shredder 4 (or any old Shredder)? Most of the others I already have including CSTal for DOS.
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Tibono2
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Post by Tibono2 »

Hi,
uploaded just now for you:
CS Tal II 4Mb
old Shredder (including 4) 15Mb
Regards,
Tibono
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mclane
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Post by mclane »

The problem with CSTAL 2.03 is that the win version misses important features.
What seems like a fairy tale today may be reality tomorrow.
Here we have a fairy tale of the day after tomorrow....
nathanhoover
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Post by nathanhoover »

Thanks Tibono!
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Fernando
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Post by Fernando »

Tibono2 wrote:Hi,
uploaded just now for you:
CS Tal II 4Mb
old Shredder (including 4) 15Mb
Regards,
Tibono

Wooow, what a gift, man!!!
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Ladyhawk
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Post by Ladyhawk »

I like the book making option of Chessmaster 9000. Chessmaster 9000 was the latest version that supports book making by importing a pgn file with games. I know Chessmaster 8000 also support obk book making from a pgn file. Are there previous versions of Chessmaster 8000 that supports this book making from pgn. And was the format of the book also obk? Ho is he programmer that invented it? There are many programmers that worked on Chessmaster. But I wonder ho programmed the book making functions.
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