Power Chess
| Company type | Video game |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | September 1996 |
| Founder | Sierra On-Line |
| Products | Chess video games (Power Chess, Power Chess 98, Power Chess 2.0) |
| Parent | Sierra On-Line |
Power Chess is a chess video game launched in September 1996 by Sierra On-Line for the Microsoft Windows 95 platform. Later editions included Power Chess 98 (1997) and Power Chess 2.0 (1998). Additionally, it appeared as the intermediate-level title within Sierra's Complete Chess (1998), alongside Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess (1995) and Extreme Chess (1996).
Engine
This title operates on the "Wchess" engine developed by David Kittinger, which gained recognition for its participation against Deep Blue during the 1995 World Computer Championship. Users can view this historic match directly inside Power Chess under the "Great Game" section.
Gameplay
Power Chess was among the first to implement an adaptive difficulty system that modifies itself based on the player's abilities throughout each game, a concept that prefigured features later seen in Chessbase's Fritz Friend Mode. Post-game, a female narrator known as the Queen delivers comprehensive feedback, pinpointing areas for skill enhancement. The program also monitors player ratings and permits users to design personalized characters exhibiting diverse playing styles and difficulty settings.
Narration
Natacha LaFerriere provided the Queen's voiceover in both English and French versions of the game.
"Great Games"
Included within the game are narrated historic chess matches intended for educational purposes, such as:
- The Evergreen Game, Anderssen versus Dufresne (1852)
- The Opera Game, Morphy against Duke Karl of Brunswick and Count Isouard (1858)
- Steinitz versus von Bardeleben (1895)
- Ruger versus Gebhard (1915)
- Smyslov against Fischer (1970)
- Wchess facing Deep Blue (1995)
- Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov, Game 1 (1996)
Reception
In 1996, Power Chess was honored with the "traditional" game of the year award by Computer Games Strategy Plus.
Among four chess programs evaluated by PC Joker, it received the highest rating.
See also
Comparison of chess video games