Help Topics

	Introduction
	The Interface (GUI)
	Menu Options (Options, Rooms, Help)
	How To Use
	Optimizing Performance
	HELP!
	Registering your software

Introduction

Does the game of chess intimidate you? Are your chess skills below par? Is your Yahoo Chess rating lower than the sea level?

Chess Buddy is the perfect tool for you. This Play Buddy, sits quietly in one corner of your screen, monitors your yahoo chess game and teaches you how to improve your chess skills by suggesting great offensive and defensive moves. 

Chess Buddy uses an intuitive interface that gives you helpful hints that can swing a game in your favor. It's highly configurable, undetectable and guaranteed to help you improve both your game and your rating.

Menu Options

	Options > Program Options opens a dialog that contains a wide array of parameters that you can tweak to optimise Chess Buddy's performance. It also offers an opportunity to refer a buddy (tell a friend) about Chess Buddy and/or request a new feature.
	The Rooms menu contains backdoor access to Yahoo's Chess rooms (even full ones).
	The Help menu provides instructions on how to use Chess Buddy and how to buy and register your copy. But perhaps the most valuable feature here is the auto check at startup which automatically checks for any updates.

Position Info

En Passant move is when a pawn has the ability to take another pawn by moving sideways rather than straight. A pawn becomes vulnerable to this move when it takes two steps forward from it's initial position, instead of the pawn's customary single step forward.

The Target En Passant option specifies which pawn is susceptible to this move.

You can also specify Castling rights by ticking the appropriate checkboxes.

Set Timer

This dialog offers a host of Timer options that allow you to set the Initial Time of the game and Increments. The Max Time option override these two parameters and takes on the current game's set time.

Use Delay up to n secs before piece to set the amount of time that Chess Buddy must wait before giving a hint or making a move.

How To Use

• Log on to Yahoo games with your username and password.
• Launch Chess Buddy and use the ROOMS option to quickly enter a game room OR manually enter a game room.
• When your game opens, Chess Buddy automatically recognizes it and is ready to work. The interface mimics the live chess game and illustrates via blue squares where the opponent just moved from.
• You can play manually and use Chess Buddy as a helper or tool via the PLAY HINT and SHOW HINT  features. Or select the AUTOPLAY option and let Chess Buddy handle it all.

Optimizing Performance

• 1-minute games: 5-minute games are ideal for optimal performance but for those who want to play shorter games, make sure "think only on opponents time" is checkmarked. This will help Chess Buddy play faster. However this same setting on a longer game can result in lost games because the Buddy does not have as much time to think of possible moves.
• Multiple games: Do not have more than one game open as Chess Buddy monitors the current game board and swapping between multiple tables could cause it to crash.
• Engine swap: There are hundreds of different engines (free and for sale) accessible via an online search. Any .uci engine of your choice may be used with Chess Buddy

HELP!

It won't recognize the game window

Double-check that you have the newest version available. Do this by using the check for update feature under the Help menu on the Buddy. Also, the "News" section at the top of this page has a link to "Updated Buddies." Here you can see if the Buddy has been recently updated and why. 

Now make sure that all the system requirements for the Buddy are met. These include Windows XP or Vista, Internet Explorer, Sun Java, and appropriate display settings.

It won't work

First, go to the Help menu on the Buddy and visit the Troubleshoot page to see if your solution is there. No luck? Select the Bug Report feature under the HELP tab on the Buddy. Fill in the required fields, capture the screen, and then send it. Play Buddy Support will receive it and respond to you via e-mail.

Miscellaneous / Other

Don't see an answer to your question, or do you think something else needs to be added to this help file? If so, e-mail support@playbuddy.com with your suggestion. 

Registering your software

Chess Buddy is trialware and it cannot be used once the seven day trial period has expired. To avoid losing a great buddy, buy your copy by using the BUY NOW option in the HELP menu.