10 of the Best Free Linux Chess Apps
Chess is a recreational and competitive board game played
between two players. It is a very popular game, played by millions
across the world, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in
tournaments.
Chess has the virtue of being suitable for people of all
ages. It has many positive attributes such as to help individuals
develop their memory, improve and enhance their concentration, as well
as logical thinking. It also promotes and improves
imagination and creativity. Chess is one of those games that
takes a few days to learn and the rest of your life to master, with the
game being a never ending learning process, even for the top players.
The game is played on a square chessboard
with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Each player
controls 16 pieces, and the object of the game is to checkmate the
opponent's king.
Linux chess software generally is separated into a "front end"
application and a "chess engine". There is a wide range of
chess-playing software for Linux, which can defeat most master players
under tournament conditions. Computer chess has been a phenomenal
success, aiding chess analysis, and allowing players to play when no
human opponents are available. Other types of chess software include
chess databases and tournament managers. Chess databases provide a
convenient way to store your own games, a time-efficient method to
study, and offers
access to statistics about your own games and of titled chess
players.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is
available, we have compiled a list of 10 top chess applications,
identifying our favorite front ends, chess engines and chess
databases. All of these tools are released under a freely
distributable license, with the exception of Crafty, which does place a
few restrictions on
commercial use.
So let's explore the 10 chess applications tools at hand. For
each application we have compiled its own portal page, a full
description with an in-depth analysis of its features, screenshots,
together with links to relevant resources and
reviews. Start playing one of the greatest games ever devised. Play
chess, have fun!
| Clients |
| PyChess |
Gnome inspired chess client written in Python |
| Jin |
Java
based graphical client for internet chess servers |
| decaf |
Java based chess client for FICS |
|
|
|
Database |
| Scid |
Shane's Chess Information Database |
| ChessDB |
Based on Scid with some enhancements |
| jose |
Database with a graphical front-end for viewing and
editing games |
|
|
|
Engines |
| Toga
II |
Has
a chess strength in excess of 2800 ELO |
| Glaurung |
Like Toga II, this is a very strong UCI chess
engine |
| Crafty |
Highly competent chess engine |
|
|
|
Tournament Manager |
| SOSS |
Chess pairing software |
|
|
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Tests, identifying the finest Linux software.
Last Updated Sunday, April 29 2012 @ 09:04 AM EDT
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