Wyllie Draughts Pro

Introducing the newly released Wyllie Draughts Pro with full 8-piece endgame databases. This is the version of Wyllie Draughts that defeated World Champion Alex Moiseyev by the impressive score of 16-3 in the Stonehaven Man v Machine Match in July 2002. Wyllie Draughts Pro is supplied with the full 8-piece Chinook endgame databases, as used by the famous Chinook Program. This means that Wyllie Draughts Pro has perfect information for all positions with a total of 8 or fewer pieces remaining on the board. That is over 443 billion (443,000,000,000) positions!

The opening book has been greatly expanded. It is fully editable, allowing the user to add and delete positions and moves, and also allows positions to be stored (and deleted) from a database of known losses, allowing Wyllie Draughts Pro to instantly recognise losing positions, thus avoiding them for the side it is playing, and trying to trap its oponent in such a loss.

Wyllie Draughts Pro is more than just a program to play draughts: it is also a powerful historical research tool, with an integrated archive of more than 17,000 master games from 1841 to the present, including almost all World title matches ever played. The games can be searched for games by a particular player, or in a specified year, or, most useful of all, for games that reach a specified position, regardless of the different run-ups that might have led to the position. Scanning the archive for a position automatically generates a report of the moves that have been played in that position, with the number of wins, losses and draws that have resulted from each of these moves and the percentage score for each move. The archive thus offers greater flexibility than any indexing scheme that would be possible in conventional book form, as well as a vollume of games unsurpassed anywhere. Some of the games in this archive are not published anywhere else, having been collected personally by the author at the tournaments where they were played. Users can add an unlimited number of their own games to this archive.

Two new menu buttons allow the user to play random 3-move openings chosen from a variety of 3-move opening decks, including the new EDA 155 opening deck with the mailplay openings.

System requirements for Wyllie Draughts Pro are a Pentium 2 or better, minimum 512MB of RAM, 6 GB of free hard disk space, a CD ROM drive and any 32-bit Windows operating system (eg Win95, Win 98, Win ME, Win2000, Win NT or WinXP)

Features of Wyllie Draughts Standard also offered in Wyllie Draughts Pro include:

Numbered board numbers may be turned on or off. Very handy for players who are still getting used to the numbered board, necessary for understanding standard draughts notation.
Solo-play (human plays both sides) and Auto-play (Wyllie plays both sides) modes. Solo mode is useful for running up specific openings you are interested in, or for starting a game on any 3-move ballot.
Help button with detailed sections on all of Wyllie's features
Ability to step forwards or backwards through a game.
Ability to set up any position for solving problems etc.
Ability to adjourn games and later resume them at the point where they were left - especially useful for mail play games.
Ability to print games for a permenant hard copy of any game played.
Infinite variety of playing levels/time controls
Ability to add comments to individual moves.
Name of opening, position evaluation, level of play, search depth and all previously played moves are displayed throughout the game.

Wyllie Draughts Pro is now available for $90+$10 shipping =$100 total (US dollars), or Ł65 (UK pounds), and can be ordered here online by credit card via PayPal. If you do not already have a PayPal account it only takes a few minutes to set one up. It's quick, easy and secure.

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UK customers may send a cheque for Ł65 to the address below. Remember to include your address so I know where to send the CD!

RE Waldteufel
229A Tottenhall Road
Palmers Green
London
N13 6DJ
England