FAQ

## What is your privacy policy?

Our privacy policy:

As human beings, we have grown extremely concerned by the massive personal data collection operations that several big information technologies companies are engaging in. This data collection applies not only to people who use their services, but also to people who do not use them.

This vast amount of personal data has already been misused by the companies that collect it, and by the companies they sell it to.

It will be misused again, with sinister consequences to be expected.

For this reason, as a company, we do not want to have anything to do with the business of collecting and selling personal data.

With this in mind, our privacy policy is extremely simple: this app collects absolutely NO personal information.

We list the following points not in the hope of drowning you in an endless reading or to sneak in backdoors that would allow us to do the opposite of what we announce. These points should simply give you a better idea of what we are doing in order to avoid collecting data about you:

- We have NO customer or user list. Apple does not communicate this information to us, and we do not try to obtain it.

- The app has NO access and does not ask access to any personal data (contacts, agenda, location...). If the app tried to get access to any of this, your device would tell you.

- The only information the app has access to is the chess settings you are using and the games you play. NONE of this information is transmitted, in any form, to anyone, not even to us. What you do in the app stays in the app.

If you contact us by email:

- Your email address is used to answer you, and for nothing else. We never send any unsolicited email.

- Your email address will never be shared with any third party. We treat it as a confidential information.

- Any email we have received from you will be deleted after three months at the latest (this includes your email address).

- If you contact us with the "Report a problem or send a suggestion" option, your message contains information about your device (model, iOS version...) in plain text. This information is used to understand your problem and answer your question, and for no other purpose. You can, if you wish, erase this information before you send the message. If you leave it in, this information will be deleted when your emails are deleted (see previous paragraph).

- You can at any time contact us and ask for any email or information we have received from you to be deleted, and we will honor your request immediately.

## How do I castle?

Move the King two squares towards the Rook.

Above, the "short castle" (castle with the King's Rook) is shown. There is another castle move, the "long castle", which involves the Queen's Rook. In the long castle move, the King also moves by two squares (and the Rook travels a little bit more).

If the castle move is legal, the Rook will also move.

The position after the short castle is shown above.

Please read carefully the rules, they explain when a castle move is possible and when it is not.

If CHESS refuses your castle move, then you can be certain that it is not legal at the moment you play it. The rules will tell you why.

Remember:

• You cannot castle when you are in check (when your King is under a direct attack).

• You cannot castle if your King moves to a square where it is attacked, or even just walks on a square where it would be attacked.

• You cannot castle if either the King of the Rook have already moved (even if they are now back on their original squares).

The idea is that castling is only allowed as a quiet development move in a quiet position.

## The App Cheats!

No it does not.

First of all, the chess engine has been tested extensively for years when it was competing in official tournaments. If it was not following every rule of chess, it would have been disqualified.

Second, please think about it for a while. Why would the app cheat? It has been designed to help you improve your chess, not to try to win against you at any cost! It would not make any sense!

Third, we have noticed that a number of points in the official rules of chess are vastly misunderstood or not known at all. They are the en passant capture, the stalemate, pinned pieces and the ability to have more than one Queen.

* The "en passant" capture is a strange move where a pawn capture another pawn located at the left or right of it, and lands on an empty square. It is a legal move and you will find it in the rules.

* En passant is a retaliatory reply to the opponent's opening pawn move to the fourth row from the second row to avoid capture by the other player's pawn which has advanced to their fifth row.
* The passing pawn can be captured by the pawn next to it on the next move only in a diagonal capture on to an empty square on the board as though it was actually capturing a physical pawn.

* A stalemate occurs when you manage to totally block your opponent. Generally he has almost no piece left, just his King and maybe a pawn or two, and he has no legal move anymore. Some people believe that they have won the game at this point, but in reality it is a DRAW! Your job is to checkmate the opponent's King, not to block it. You will find the stalemate in the built-in rules, and also here.

* Sometimes the app will not allow you to make a move. It generally means that by moving this piece, you would leave your King exposed to a direct attack, which is not allowed (in chess, you cannot commit suicide). The piece is said to be "pinned".

* A side is allowed to have more than one Queen. If a player has still his Queen and manage to push a pawn to promotion, then he can promote the pawn to Queen and therefore have two Queens on the board. In theory, it would be possible for a player to have up to 9 Queens on the board, by promoting all of his pawns. It does not matter that a physical chess set has only one Queen of each color. In real life, if a player needs an additional Queen he can use a small object (a lighter, a coin, a pebble or anything...) to represent a Queen so he can continue the game. When a Rook of the right color is available (because it has already been captured) it is common to use it and to put it upside down on the chessboard to represent a Queen. On a computer we do not have this problem and so we draw as many Queens as required.

When you believe the app is trying to cheat on you, please contact us. Take a picture of the current position by pressing both the "Home" button (the button that takes you back to the list of your apps) and the button located on the corner of your device (the on/off button). You will hear a distinct sound and the screen will flash.

This will store a snapshot of what you see on the screen into your camera roll. Then you can send us the picture by email, with your question, to support@chesstiger.com

## The App keeps crashing!

Then it is very likely that your copy of the app has been corrupted for an unknown reason (it may have happened during the initial download of the app or at a later stage).

To fix the problem you have to reinstall completely the app.

So here is the procedure:

1. Just in case, turn your iOS device off by pressing the top button for several seconds until you see the message "Swipe to power off". Swipe so it does turn itself completely off. Then turn it on again by pressing the same button for one second. This is the same thing as rebooting, sometimes it helps.

2. DELETE the app from your device.

3. DELETE the app from your iTunes apps collection.

4. Download the app again from the App Store. You will have to enter your iTunes password but you will NOT be charged, because Apple knows that you have already purchased the product. Downloading again is free of charge. You can download directly from your device if you want (it's generally more convenient) but you can also use iTunes and then sync your device.

The steps where we ask you to delete the app are important because that's how you get rid of a corrupted download.

If the procedure does not solve your problem, please contact us by email at support@chesstiger.com

## I have no sound in the app!

In the app, please check that you have sounds enabled in the Settings.

In the device's Settings, go to the "Sounds" tab. Then, in the "Ringer and Alerts" frame, move the slider to the middle and activate "Change with buttons".

Now check if you have sounds in our chess app.

If you don't, you need to restart your device: press and hold the button located at the top until "Slide to power off" appears. Slide the red arrow so your device turns itself completely off. When the screen is completely dark, press and hold the same button for one second. Your device will restart.

If you still have no sound in our chess app, then you are hit by a known bug of iOS (the iPad is the worst offender): some apps, for absolutely no reason, cannot emit sounds at all. Then sometimes the problem fixes itself after a while, again for no apparent reason.

People have reported success after rebooting their device several times, or after deleting then re-installing the app (you will NOT be charged for reinstalling, even if you have to enter your Apple password).

## Some games in the classical collections are not finished!

Some games in the classical collections are not finished!

It's simply how these games, historically, have been recorded, and they DO stop at that point.

It happens very often that masters and grandmasters do not play the game until checkmate. The player who is obviously losing simply decides to resign.

This decision saves him both the pain and the energy to go to the end of the game, so he can start concentrating on the next game instead. It is also seen as a kind of courtesy to his opponent: if you continue playing a lost position it can be interpreted somehow like you are only waiting for your opponent to make a mistake because it is the only way you could not lose.

It can also happen that both players agree that the game is going to be a draw, because with a lot of experience you can recognize such cases. So they both agree to stop the game by offering each other a draw, which is permitted by the rules of chess. If the referee also agrees, the game is stopped and recorded as a draw.

There can also be other special cases:

* A player can forfeit at some point in the game if he feels that, for any reason, he cannot continue (maybe he has caught a cold and must take some rest)
* A player can behave badly in the tournament room and the referee decides to declare his opponent as the winner and to exclude him from the competition
* ...

If you want to know why the game has been stopped, just tap

Game > Game information

Look at the result. If it's 1-0 or 0-1, then one player resigned. if it's 1/2-1/2, it was a draw by mutual agreement.

There is also a special case which happens very seldom. The result "\*" (a star) means that the game has been unfinished. Maybe the tournament has been interrupted, or it is an historical game which has not been fully retrieved, and we do not know how it has ended.

## What is this stalemate thing I keep getting when I should actually win?

So you were completely crushing your opponent, he only had his King left and maybe a pawn or two, and you thought the victory was yours.

And suddenly, out of nowhere, the app tells you that it is a "stalemate" and that you have NOT won. It is a draw!!!

What is it? A trick to cheat on you?

No. It's just that the side to move has no legal move. And the very important point is that IT IS NOT IN CHECK either: your opponent's King is not attacked, you cannot capture it with the next move.

Here is an example (white to move):

It is called a stalemate, and unfortunately for you the game is really a draw. You did not checkmate your opponent, and it could not make any move. You win the game only if you checkmate.

Blocking your opponent so it cannot move is not winning.

These are the official rules of chess. These rules have been in effect for centuries and they make sense.

The stalemate offers a very small opportunity for a player who is losing to snatch out a draw. The winning side must be extremely careful to always leave at least one possible move to its opponent. So even when you are desperately losing (or winning), the game is not over until checkmate. That's one of the beauties of chess.

## How can I send you a position?

You can take a picture of the current position by pressing both the "Home" button (the button that takes you back to the list of your apps) and the button located on the corner of your device (the on/off button). Your will hear a distinct sound and the screen will flash. This will store a snapshot of what you see on the screen into your camera roll. Then you can send us the picture by email, with your question, to support@chesstiger.com

## How do I use this app to get better at chess?

This app works on the principle of learning by example. You will find no lesson and no exercise in this app.

By playing from the weakest levels and progressing to the stronger levels, your brain will automatically learn and you will play better and better. There is no better method, and we can guarantee that reading pages after pages of lessons would only help you to sleep, not learn.

Here is how you should use our app if you want to improve at chess:

* In the settings, you use the "Me vs Trainer" mode.
* Find the trainer level that matches your current level. Maybe you can start at one of the lowest levels (250 or 550 Elo). You play a game against this level with the suggestions turned OFF. You are probably going to beat the trainer. So you switch to the next level and play again. Repeat until you feel that the trainer is smarter than you.
* Now that you have found a trainer that is challenging but not crushing, you are going to play with the suggestions turned ON. You are going to slaughter the trainer thanks to the suggestions.
* Play again, but this time you turn the suggestions OFF. When you do not know what to do, turn them ON just for this move. If you make a mistake, take back your move and use the suggestions.
* Play again and again, using the suggestions less and less, until you feel that you can beat this trainer level most of the time without any help. IMPORTANT: it is not required to be able to beat it EVERY time - most of the time is OK. Being stronger than your opponent does not mean that you can beat it in every game. It means you can beat it in more than 50% of the games.
* Congratulations, you have improved! Switch to the next trainer level and repeat: first game with the suggestions ON all the time, then next games with suggestions only when needed, until you feel you don't need the suggestions to be able to beat that trainer in more than 50% of the games you play against it.

Most of the time, you can leave the "Threats" button turned on. It's even better if you are able to beat the trainer without even being warned of the threats, but don't worry too much about that.

The most important things to remember are:

* Play over and over again. You become good at chess by practicing, not by reading books.
* Don't skip levels. When you have improved to the point that you can beat trainer level 1200 Elo, don't skip to trainer 1300 Elo. Switch to 1250 Elo because this one will teach you things you need to know before you can face trainer 1300.

Thousands of players use our app daily to improve their chess. And they tell us that it works. So it will work for you!

## Which one of the green lines is the best one?

It does not really matter!

All the suggested moves are excellent. Inferior moves are never suggested, this is why sometimes you see less than 4 suggestions. Just pick the one that looks the most natural to you, and that fits your playing style.

If you really want to know:

Thicker = slightly better

More opaque = slightly better

So thickness and opacity are saying the same thing.

But, again, you don't need to focus too much on this. All the suggested moves will win the game. Picking one is a matter of playing style.

## How do I import a game from email?

You import a game by first using the "Copy" function.

In the Mail app, open the email. Hold your finger on the email's body (the part that contains the text of the game) until the device shows a magnifying glass. Lift your finger. Touch "Select all", then "Copy".

It also works in Safari (in this case you can copy a game from a web site), and even in iBooks. It works in any app where you can select text and use the "Copy" function.

Now go back to the CHESS app and use:

Game > Load or import game > Import from clipboard

Please note that it will only work if your email contains a game in PGN format. Here is how a game in PGN look like and you can actually import this one if you want:

[Event "Alabama "]

[Site "Alabama"]

[Date "1855.??.??"]

[Round "?"]

[White "Morphy, Paul C"]

[Black "Maurian, Charles Amedee"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "C33"]

[EventDate "1855.??.??"]

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 b5

5.Bd5 Nc6 6.Nf3 Qh5 7.d4 Nf6 8.Bb3 Ba6

9.Qe2 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 b4 11.Qxa6 Qd1+

12.Kf2 Ng4# 0-1

WARNING: the lines between brackets are important. You cannot import a game if you do not have these lines (i.e. a list of moves is not enough).

In order to import the above game for example, you must select either the whole page (it will work), or the game, starting at the first "[" and up to "0-1".

## Can I import a collection from a PC/MAC?

Yes!

A "game collection" is a file that contains one or several chess games. The file name ends with ".pgn", which means "Portable Game Notation". PGN files are standard, and can be used by most chess apps or programs.

Our chess app saves games in standard PGN files.

Here is how you can transfer games collections to your iOS device:

1. Connect your device to your computer with a cable.

2. If iTunes is not already launched, open it now.

3. In iTunes, go to your device's page:

 iTunes

                      device page

4. Click on "Apps", as shown above. Now in the center you can see a list of all your apps. Below this list, there is a section called "File sharing". You may have to scroll down to see it.

iTunes File sharing section

5. In the apps list under "File sharing", you will find Chess Pro. Click on it.

iTunes app's Document

6. Now on the right side you can see the app's files, as shown above. These files are inside your iOS device.

7. To copy a game collection from your computer to your device, drag a ".pgn" file from your computer's desktop (or any folder) to the "Document" frame in iTunes. The file will immediately be copied to your iOS device. Repeat if you have several collections to copy.

8. You can disconnect your device from your computer without synchronizing: the files are copied when you drag and drop them, no need to take any additional action.

Now in our chess app use:

Game > Load or import game > Load a saved game

You should be able to see your new collections in the list and to to access their content.

## Can I save my collections to a PC/MAC?

Yes!

A "game collection" is a file that contains one or several chess games. The file name ends with ".pgn", which means "Portable Game Notation". PGN files are standard, and can be used by most chess apps or programs.

Our chess app saves games in standard PGN files.

Here is how you can save your games collections to your computer:

1. Connect your device to your computer with a cable.

2. If iTunes is not already launched, open it now.

3. In iTunes, go to your device's page:

 iTunes

                      device page

4. Click on "Apps", as shown above. Now in the center you can see a list of all your apps. Below this list, there is a section called "File sharing". You may have to scroll down to see it.

iTunes File sharing section

5. In the apps list under "File sharing", you will find Chess Pro. Click on it.

iTunes app's Document

6. Now on the right side you can see the app's files, as shown above. These files are inside your iOS device. The encircled file "My games.pgn" is the default games collection, but you may have more.

7. To save your games collections from your device to your computer, drag ALL the files ending in ".pgn" from iTunes to your computer's desktop (or to any folder). This creates a copy of the files on your computer: the content of the app is unchanged. You don't need to, and actually shouldn't, copy the other files. Copy only the files ending in ".pgn".

8. You can then disconnect your device from your computer.

## How do I interpret the analysis "details"?

The "Details" section gives you the analysis of the computer. The essential information it gives you are the best variations it has found (a variation is a possible continuation of the game), the score of each variation, and the "depth" of the analysis it has been able to do for each variation.

The computer displays up to 4 of the best variations it has found for the side to move, one per line.

You can swipe the analysis to the left or right to see more than fits on the screen.

Let's say it's white to play, and we look at the details.

Here is what we could see on an iPad:

#1:  d4  (+0.70 Depth 9)

       d4 d5 Bb5+

#2:  d3  (+0.38 Depth 9)

       d3 Bg7 d4

#3:  O-O  (+0.36 Depth 9)

       O-O e5 Ng5

#4:  Ng5  (+0.28 Depth 9)

       Ng5 d5 Bb5+

...and on an iPhone or iPod touch:

D9  +0.70  d4 d5 Bb5+

D9  +0.38  d3 Bg7 d4

D9  +0.36  O-O e5 Ng5

D9  +0.28  Ng5 d5 Bb5+

The first variation is always the best in the computer's opinion, but you should really keep in mind that all the variations shown are excellent. Inferior variations are simply not displayed at all, and so sometimes you will see less than 4 variations: if there are only 2 excellent moves for example, only these two will be shown. Please don't obsess over the order of the moves, because playing any of them will probably lead you to the victory anyway.

Every variation starts with what the computer considers as an excellent move for the side to move. You take the first move of every line (variation) and these are the moves the computer suggests to play in this position. For the example above, it means that the best moves are:

d4  (it means pawn to the d4 square)

d3  (pawn to the d3 square)

O-O  (short castle, a special move)

Ng5  (Knight to the g5 square)

After the variation's first move, you find the most probable continuation. For example in the first variation the computer thinks that after white has played pawn to d4, black will play d5 (pawn to d5) and white will then play Bb5+ (Bishop to b5, the plus sign reminding you that this move gives check).

For each variation, the score that is displayed represents how well the white side is doing if it plays this line. By default, all scores are from white's point of view, which is now standard in chess. You can change this in the Settings page.

A score near 0.00 means that white has no advantage over black.

A score around +1.00 means that white is approximately one pawn better than black. White may have a real advantage of exactly one pawn, or this advantage can come from a superior position with exactly the same material on both sides.

If the score is around -1.00, then white is behind by approximately one pawn or has positional weaknesses equivalent to being one pawn behind.

For higher or lower scores, the following standard scoring system is used:

Pawn = 1.00

Knight = 3.00

Bishop = 3.00

Rook = 5.00

Queen = 9.00

So a score of +2.00 could either mean that white has an advantage of 2 pawns, or 1 pawn and a much better position, or has traded a knight against a rook. Or any other combination...

Generally in grandmaster games an advantage of 2.00 or more is considered decisive. For amateur games, it must be more than that to say that the game is practically over.

A special case happens when the app has seen that one side could checkmate. In this case, the score will be represented as "+Mn" or "-Mn". For example, "+M2" means that white will mate in 2 moves, and "-M1" means that white will be checkmated on the next move.

The "Dx" or "Depth x" part represents the depth of the computation the app has done to find the best moves and the associated scores. It is the number of moves by every side (sometimes called the number of "half moves"). A depth of 2 means that the app has been able to compute every move by the side to move followed by every move of its opponent (that is, one move for each opponent).

A small depth like 4 or 5 is generally not enough to play well. Depths starting at 6 and above give good assessments of the position and of the best moves. A depth of 6 means that the computer has been able to compute all possible continuations on 3 full moves (3 moves by each side).

As you can guess, the higher the depth, the better the analysis.

## How can I try variations in a game?

By default variations are not enabled because less advanced users find them confusing. So the first thing to do is to check that you have enabled the variations in the Settings page.

When it is turned on, manually playing a move that is different from the move already entered will create a new variation on top of the current game. Several variations can be stacked up.

The app informs you when you create a new variation, unless you have asked not to be reminded again. So now you should, in the Settings, reactivate all information boxes to make sure you see the messages (at least until you get used to managing the variations).

You go back to the main game (or you undo your most recent variation) by using a special button that appears at the top of the Moves menu.

The variations do not appear in the move list, which is maybe confusing. But there is not enough room on the screen anyway. So in practice a variation is more like a new game created on top of your current one, which allows you to try another line of play. In the move list you only see this most recent line and you do not see the original game anymore. When you have explored this line, you remove the variation by using the button in the Moves menu and you are back to the original game.