Chessking

ChessKing is a 1997 hot-seat chess application by Craig Shoemaker, designed to let two people play chess across a single Macintosh and a single screen. The program enforces legal moves, supports several chess variations, and can save out the move list in standard computer notation for later review or sharing.

Two players, one Mac

The Macintosh Garden description frames ChessKing as a tool for two individuals sharing one computer and one terminal screen — a deliberately stripped-down hot-seat setup rather than a network or AI opponent app.

Variants and rules

Beyond standard chess, the program supports multiple chess variations, with built-in legal move checking handling the rule enforcement so players can focus on the game rather than refereeing.

Move recording

Games can be exported as move lists in computer notation, letting players archive sessions or feed positions into other chess software for analysis.

Author and release

ChessKing was written by Craig Shoemaker and released in 1997. The Macintosh Garden listing characterizes it as somewhat primitive, befitting a single-author hobbyist chess tool from that era.