Chess88

Chess88 is an early computer chess game written by Don Berg and released for IBM PC-compatible computers in 1984. Designed for a human player competing against the computer, it belongs to the first generation of chess programs available for MS-DOS machines. Its presentation is extremely economical, consisting primarily of a monochrome two-dimensional chessboard and a small amount of textual information.

The player moves a cursor around the board with the arrow keys. Pressing Delete selects a piece, after which the cursor is moved to the intended destination and Insert confirms the move. This control system is less intuitive than the coordinate entry or later mouse-based interfaces used by other chess programs, but it requires very few keys and remains reasonably straightforward once learned. Legal moves, captures, castling and the other standard rules of chess are handled by the program.

Chess88 provides six difficulty levels, allowing players to adjust the amount of time and processing effort used by the computer. As with most chess software written for early IBM PCs, stronger settings require longer periods of calculation. Even at its highest level, the program cannot rival the playing strength or extensive features of later DOS titles such as Chessmaster 2000, but it offers a functional opponent for casual play on comparatively modest hardware.

The game contains none of the animated presentation, tutorials, historical matches or decorative chess sets that became common in later commercial chess packages. Its appeal instead lies in its simplicity: the program starts quickly, displays a clearly recognizable board and concentrates entirely on playing a conventional game of chess. The monochrome graphics and unusual keyboard controls make its age immediately apparent, yet they also reflect the severe technical limitations under which early PC chess programs operated.

Although Chess88 is now largely forgotten and its development is poorly documented, it survives as an interesting example of independently produced chess software from the formative years of IBM PC gaming. It is less sophisticated than prominent contemporary programs such as Sargon III or Psion Chess, but its small size, six selectable levels and uncomplicated design still provide a playable demonstration of computer chess as it existed in the mid-1980s.