REBEL (chess)
Encyclopedia
REBEL was a world champion chess program developed by Ed Schröder. Development of REBEL started in 1980 on a TRS-80
, and it was ported many times to dedicated hardware and the fastest microprocessor
s of the day:
TRS-80
TRS-80 was Tandy Corporation's desktop microcomputer model line, sold through Tandy's Radio Shack stores in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first units, ordered unseen, were delivered in November 1977, and rolled out to the stores the third week of December. The line won popularity with...
, and it was ported many times to dedicated hardware and the fastest microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
s of the day:
- 1980s - Running on a TRS-80, Apple IIApple IIThe Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, and inside of MephistoMephisto (chess computer)Mephisto was a line of chess computers sold by Hegener & Glaser '. In addition to integrated travel and sensory computers, they also sold a line of modular electronic autosensory boards which could accept different program, processor, and display modules.Its strongest software was written by...
brand dedicated chess computers, it won the Dutch open computer chess championshipDutch open computer chess championshipThe Dutch open computer chess championship is a chess tournament for computer chess programs. It is organised yearly by the CSVN around October or November...
four times. - 1991 - Ported to the ARMARM architectureARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
ChessMachineChessmachineThe ChessMachine was a chess computer sold between 1991 and 1995 by TASC . It was unique at the time for incorporating both an ARM2 coprocessor for the chess engine on an ISA card which plugged into a IBM PC and a software interface running on the PC to display a chess board and control the engine...
and named Gideon, it won the World Microcomputer Chess Championship. - 1992 - Gideon won the World Computer Chess ChampionshipWorld Computer Chess ChampionshipWorld Computer Chess Championship is an annual event where computer chess engines compete against each other. The event is organized by the International Computer Games Association...
, the first time a microprocessor came ahead of a field of mainframesMainframe computerMainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
, supercomputerSupercomputerA supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
s, and custom chess hardware. - 1990s - REBEL was ported to Microsoft DOS and then Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and sold commercially- 1997 - REBEL won a match with GM Arthur Yusupov 10.5 - 6.5, the first successful challenge of a chess grandmaster by a commercial program.
- 1998 - REBEL won a match with GM Viswanathan AnandViswanathan AnandV. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
5 - 3 (but lost 0.5-1.5 in the standard time control section of the match). He was rated number two in the world at the time.
- 2004 - Ed Schröder retired, releasing the last version of REBEL as the freewareFreewareFreeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
chess engine Pro Deo.