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Playing the Computer

Scid offers two ways to play a Computer Opponent. They are against Phalanx, or any installed UCI Engine.

Other computer opponents can be found in the training features of Engine Analysis, Tablebases and Tree.

To play as Black, simply flip the board before starting a game. The clocks may be hidden by pressing the 'x' on the White clock.

Playing Phalanx

Phalanx is an old XBoard engine written by Dusan Dobes. With it one may play a game of Normal, Fischer (castling not supported), or Random Pawns Chess.

Recently, Dusan has updated Phalanx to be a stronger engine, with more sophisticated code for playing at different ELO. It's level can be adjusted roughly between 1400 (a novice club member), to 2400. There is also a computer coach (Toga II) watching, which will indicate when Phalanx has made a blunder.

Coach's analysis time is the allowable time for the coach to check the players moves for errors. If this time is not limited the coach is allowed to think in the background.

Playing an UCI Engine

Stronger opponents can be found against any installed UCI Engine. By default, this only includes Toga - but users may wish to install others. Stockfish is a good alternative, as it has an adjustable "Skill Level" feature.

Engine parameters may be configured - to tune performance or utilize engine features. Opening Books and Specific Openings to follow can also be selected.

It is now possible to play (or train with) any opening found in the ECO window, using the "Import ECO" button.

Other configuration items are straight forward except: