From: Larry Kaufman <lkaufman <at> WIZARD <dot> NET>
Date: 19 jul 1999
Subject: Re: shogi software (How to get AI Shogi? And how to work it in

-----Original Message-----
From: George Jost <shoegi <at> HOTMAIL <dot> COM>
To: SHOGI-L <at> TECHUNIX <dot> TECHNION <dot> AC <dot> IL <SHOGI-L <at> TECHUNIX <dot> TECHNION <dot> AC <dot> IL>
Date: Sunday, July 18, 1999 9:09 PM
Subject: Re: shogi software (How to get AI Shogi? And how to work it in
English)


>Larry mentioned that a 3 dan player can get an initial challenge from this
>game. I am interested to hear more on this. Can it work on the standard
>english version of Windows 95

     Yes, as I said, but the Japanese menus will be blank lines, so you
either need some instructions or must figure it out by trial and error.
Probably if you or someone you know can read the Japanese manual, you will
be able to use all the features even though the menu captions are missing.

 and what must be done to make it work.

    Nothing at all.

 I am a
>very weak of a player but the two strongest members of my club member would
>probably enjoy to give the program a try. How fast is the program. (Shogi
>Master runs like lightning on a Pentium because it was designed for a much
>weaker computer.)

     Even on the top level it moves in about 10 seconds on my 400 MHz
machine.

 How many levels does it have?

Eight.

How weak are the weakest
>levels.

I think that even the initial  (nearly instant) level is at least shodan.
>
>George :)
>
>George Jost
>Self appointed president and co-founder of the Ottawa-Hull Shogi club.


     To answer another question, there are two or three database programs
for shogi on sale in Japan (presumably not as sophisticated as ChessBase,
but along the same lines), but I was advised that I wouldn't be able to do
much with them on an English-language machine, other than play thru games
more or less at random.  Since that can already be done on the free
Gnu-shogi, I didn't see much point in getting the program.

                                                               Larry Kaufman