Currently a prototype. Project goals are:
1) Realization of a medium strength program.
2) Thereafter, the experimentation of autotuning techniques of the evaluation function, through automatic learning techniques (in particular, TD and genetical algorithms).

Currently implements alfa-beta pruning and a simple opening book, remarkablly improved in the last versions.

A new project finalized to a positional style of play, with a complex evaluation function. In continuous modernization, the search is at the moment a simple alpha-beta with hash tables.

Very good playing strength, hash tables support, pondering, Nalimov tablebases and automatic book generation based on a PGN file.

For a long time has been the strongest Italian engine, and even if it hasn't been developed since a long time, it's still one of the strongest of the group; based on the bitboards, supports hash tables and pondering. Additional informations are included in the documentation.

Still in developing stage: based on the bitboards, supports hash tables and has a little opening book. Null move, aspiration window and other "features" have been already implemented, but they are disabled to privilege program stability.

Currently released the version 0.1, the new experimental versions used in the recent tournaments shows big improvements in the playing strength.

A chess engine that makes use of classical algorithms in a less classical language. You can download the source code on the LarsenVB home page.

The new versions based on the bitboards, with the hash tables supports, pondering and a more complete evaluation function, allowed this engine to reach the top of the group.

Good playing strength and full Winboard functionalities support. Now the new more selective engine Duke is also avaiable.

Still in early developing stage, it anyway shows a very solid play.

Using LarsenVB as a starting point, Andrea Gatti developed the engine Pentagon, characterized by the simultaneous presence of 5 sub-brains, and by the playing style that want to be as similar as possible to the human one. Since December 2001 it's not freeware anymore.

Raffaela distinguishes itself for its computation speed and for being the first Italian engine avaiable on internet. As the previous incarnation, Drago for Dos, it has its own integrated graphical interface; on the site you can find both Raffaela executables and Drago source codes.

Based on the bitboards, supports book, hash table and almost all Winboard commands. Directly contact the author if you want to try the most recent version ( g-marco@libero.it ). 

The private 0.2 version, represents the end of the project. It requires Winboard protocol 2 but supports only a limited set of commands; versione 0.1 is hosted in the Esc home page.

It joined the 2nd IEC with the name Mjoelner. The last version, playing on FICS, is based on bitboards. 

• Generation of the endgame tables with 3, 4 and 5 men (kppkp excluded);
• Verify of the di correctness of the tables;
• Analysis of any position of pieces with or without en passant capture;
• Position selection based on the wanted result;
• Selection of positions based on combined results for white on move or black on move;
• Computation of the memory space requested for the generation of a table (until 7 pieces);
• Manual esecution of an endgame.