Chess Pp

Chess++ is a 1993 chess program by Steven J. Bushell, written in Symantec C++ with TCL 1.1.3. It pairs a serviceable engine with thoughtful interface touches that helped beginners learn the game, including a hint mode that lights up legal destinations whenever you option-click a piece.

Playing and learning

The program offers multiple difficulty levels and a learning mode that surfaces legal moves on demand, making it approachable for newcomers while still giving stronger players a workout.

Background thinking

Chess++ keeps mulling over the position on your time, with an adjustable MultiFinder friendliness slider so you can decide how much CPU it grabs while you do other work.

Notifications and voice

The engine pings you when it has settled on a move, and a voice-based time-telling feature reads the clock aloud, a nice touch for the early Sound Manager era.

System requirements

Chess++ is a 68k application that runs from System 6.x through Mac OS 9, and works reliably under modern emulation such as Mini vMac, SheepShaver, or Basilisk II.