Shredder 9 Running on Windows 7

[Ian Thompson]

Does anyone know if Shredder 9 should run on Windows 7 or not?

It appears to install successfully. It then (as expected) asks for the CD the first time it is run. Then it says the CD in the drive is the wrong one, when it isn't. It's not clear to me whether this is a Windows 7 problem (so I need to run it using a Windows XP VM within Windows 7) or a fault with Shredder 9 which might be solvable.

[Geoff Chandler]

It's done a quick scan of your hard drive, found the database with your games
and is now too scared to come out and play.

(have you tried switching your computer off and on?)

Remove from your system all traces of a previous Shredder/Rybka/Fritz/Houdini.
(apparently they are all the same program anyway.)
There maybe a minor conflict in your registry and it is possibly asking for an old CD.

One wee question.
If you cannot beat Shredder 1 to 8 why do want No.9?

[Ian Thompson]

Remove from your system all traces of a previous Shredder/Rybka/Fritz/Houdini.
(apparently they are all the same program anyway.)
There maybe a minor conflict in your registry and it is possibly asking for an old CD.

I am pretty sure there are no traces of other programs on my computer because it's brand new. My suspicion is that the problem may be poor quality software that assumes the CD-ROM drive will be the D drive and can't cope with it actually being the X drive.

One wee question.
If you cannot beat Shredder 1 to 8 why do want No.9?

Who says I can't beat them? I'll bet I could beat Shredder 1 at least. Shredder 9 is really old - I've had it about 8 years. I want to transfer it from my old computer to the new one to avoid having to buy a new engine.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Who says I can't beat them? I'll bet I could beat Shredder 1 at least. Shredder 9 is really old - I've had it about 8 years. I want to transfer it from my old computer to the new one to avoid having to buy a new engine.

Have recently been reading about the early history of chess computers, and it is fascinating to see how much things have changed. The book (Total Chess by David Spanier, 1986-ish paperback edition) includes a great description of the David Levy match to settle that famous bet. Does anyone here remember playing the early really rubbish chess computers? I think chess computers were already too strong by the time I started playing seriously (around 1994), but it must have been 'fun' to see computers swiftly overtake 95% of players in terms of playing strength.

[Paolo Casaschi]

Assuming it's their product, just email the folks at [email protected] they usually are very responsive about these issues.
If it's the chessbase version, then email chessbase's support.

[Ian Thompson]

Who says I can't beat them? I'll bet I could beat Shredder 1 at least. Shredder 9 is really old - I've had it about 8 years. I want to transfer it from my old computer to the new one to avoid having to buy a new engine.

Does anyone here remember playing the early really rubbish chess computers?

I remember spending a Saturday in a department store in about 1977 playing against whatever the latest chess computer was. I would have been graded about 150 and I beat it every time. The shop sold a couple during the day - several hundred pounds each, but unfortunately I wasn't paid on commission.

I also remember being really disappointed about 20 years ago to only come second in the Observer Christmas competition. I won a signed copy of John Nunn's Best Games. First prize was the latest PC chess program - Chess Genius 3, I think. Now, the chess program would be useless and worthless. The book probably isn't worth much either, but at least I might still get round to reading it one day.

[Paolo Casaschi]

First prize was the latest PC chess program - Chess Genius 3, I think. Now, the chess program would be useless and worthless.

I would not be so sure. Try chess genius 3 for free on a modern PC and let me know how often you win against it:
http://www.chessgenius.com/cg3dos/

[Ian Thompson]

First prize was the latest PC chess program - Chess Genius 3, I think. Now, the chess program would be useless and worthless.

I would not be so sure. Try chess genius 3 for free on a modern PC and let me know how often you win against it:
http://www.chessgenius.com/cg3dos/

I wasn't thinking of the playing ability of Chess Genius 3 when I said useless and worthless. I was thinking useless because the computers and operating systems it would run on are now obsolete, and worthless because no-one would want Chess Genius 3 in preference to newer programs. I'll take back the "useless" comment because your link indicates that it will run on Windows 7 if you run it in a Windows XP VM, but I'm sticking with the "worthless".

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I wonder which early chess programs have value to collectors, either due to rarity or due to being collectible for other reasons? You might need to have kept a sealed, pristine copy of whatever packaging these things came in.

[Paolo Casaschi]

First prize was the latest PC chess program - Chess Genius 3, I think. Now, the chess program would be useless and worthless.

I would not be so sure. Try chess genius 3 for free on a modern PC and let me know how often you win against it:
http://www.chessgenius.com/cg3dos/

I wasn't thinking of the playing ability of Chess Genius 3 when I said useless and worthless. I was thinking useless because the computers and operating systems it would run on are now obsolete, and worthless because no-one would want Chess Genius 3 in preference to newer programs. I'll take back the "useless" comment because your link indicates that it will run on Windows 7 if you run it in a Windows XP VM, but I'm sticking with the "worthless".

Still, it would be fun to know how many blitz games would you, or the average forum player, win.
Does that make "worthless" players of all of us that would not win a single game?
Anyway, it's still strong, he has won a rapid game against Kasparov on hardware slower than XP running on a VM (or slower than your mobile phone) and it's free.

PS: it works on any 32bit windows, so you need the VM stuff only if you have a 64bit windows.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Ian

I used to sell chess computers for a living from 1985 - 1992 I saw them getting
better and better I butted out the right time.
My top seller was a computer called Advanced Star Chess also Con Chess.
Best mark up was Phantom Chess, it moved the pieces by itself.

I played a simul v 7 computer programs designed by Texas Instruments in the 80's.
I beat the lot. There is a PC World from that era knocking about somewhere with all the
details in it.
I say something like; "There is no doubt computers are getting better but I doubt
if one will ever beat a really good chess player."

I'm not eating my words. Borislav Ivanov says he can beat Rybka 10-0 so the humans are back on top again.

As well as computers I also sold all the fantasy RPG stuff including lead figures from Games Workshop.
I had a gang of school kids from Heriots painting them up for me at £1.00 a figure.
I sold them for £4.00. The Dragons I paid them £5.00 and sold them on for £15.00
(the kids called me Fagin. ). Good days.

I think some of these old fashioned computers are selling. You can pick up a ZX81
for between 99p to £500 on E-Bay. I also see a 1979 Star Chess is up for £55.00.

I downloaded that Chess Genious - I beat it on 5 secs a move.
It actually took a lot longer than 5 seconds to move in some postions.
I of course took my own sweet time.
(it knocked me off-line. I had to re-boot to go back onto the net. No big deal.)

[Ian Thompson]

Still, it would be fun to know how many blitz games would you, or the average forum player, win.

Not to me it wouldn't. I gave up playing against computers years ago when every game went the same way - I'd get a good position (which I'd have good chances of winning against another person), overlook some tactic, and lose. What's the point of that?

Does that make "worthless" players of all of us that would not win a single game?

By worthless I mean the program has no monetary value.

PS: it works on any 32bit windows, so you need the VM stuff only if you have a 64bit windows.

I do.

[Roger de Coverly]

PS: it works on any 32bit windows, so you need the VM stuff only if you have a 64bit windows.

Windows 7 is usually supplied as 64 bit, so far as I'm aware. There's a program called dosbox which does a very good job of pretending to be a 1994 pre Windows machine without the aggravation of trying to get round Bill Gates's 640k limitation. Run it and you get a command line. Genius 3 will then load without any problems from the graphical interface. It's still as crab like as it ever was, liking plans with Black involving Bg4 x f3 and then digging in on the white squares. It wins as it always did by handling the tactics better.

Just as an aside, I wonder if the supposedly sophisticated engine detection programs would actually pick up something like Chess Genius. Maybe the tactical accuracy would be the give away, because I doubt the positional ideas would.

[Paolo Casaschi]

Still, it would be fun to know how many blitz games would you, or the average forum player, win.

Not to me it wouldn't. I gave up playing against computers years ago when every game went the same way - I'd get a good position (which I'd have good chances of winning against another person), overlook some tactic, and lose. What's the point of that?

The point would be to show that even today chessgenius is not a worthless player, in term of chess skills.

Does that make "worthless" players of all of us that would not win a single game?

By worthless I mean the program has no monetary value.

Well, if you can download it for free it's worthless by your definition. All the same though the latest software you buy for 30 pounds is worthless in the sense you can't make any money out of it; same for the old book you compared chessgenius to.

[Geoff Chandler]

"The book probably isn't worth much either..."

..." you can't make any money out of it; same for the old book you compared chessgenius to."

They are talking about a signed copy of John Nunn's Best games.

A) It is a good chess book. Good chess books do not get 'old.'

B) There are E-Bayers out there who buy any book signed by an author.

In the disapointing intro John mentions how a computer helped him
(Fritz3 and Mephisto Genius 2) and how a computer is not laboured with
chess patterns like a human is.

I say 'disapointing' because John states he has not included any flashy wins
against inferior opposition. I like seeing flashy wins against inferior opposition.