Knight Edit

KnightEdit 1.5.2 is a chess notation editor for the Classic Mac, released in October 1992 by Eric Peters and distributed as shareware by Carpenter Software of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The author is careful to note that KnightEdit is not a computer chess opponent. It reads and writes long algebraic notation and animates the moves on a graphic chess board.

What it is

KnightEdit has been described as a game recorder. It loads long algebraic chess notation from a text file, plays the moves back on screen, and lets the user edit or compose new games using the mouse. Finished games can then be shared by email, posted on a network, or printed and mailed to a friend.

Smart board

The built-in board enforces legal moves: only one move per turn, only to legal squares, with castling, en passant, and pawn promotion handled automatically. It also performs error checking when reading text files and detects check, checkmate, and stalemate, refusing to move the king out of a terminal position.

Study mode

Animate, under the Chess Moves menu, plays the recorded moves from a text file and can be interrupted by holding the mouse button. Study mode steps through a game without altering the saved notation, with forward and reverse buttons plus jump-to-set and jump-to-last-move controls for reviewing play.

Shareware terms

The program could be tried free for 15 days. Continued use carried a $10 registration fee payable to Carpenter Software. Commercial redistribution required a separate license from author Jesse Carpenter, who retained ownership of the program.