Opensuse-11.0 Beta3

I installed openSUSE-11.0 beta3, and have been playing with it a bit to see if my favourite applications run ok on it.

The only game that I play with Linux is chess, so I tested a number of chess programs on openSUSE-11.0 beta3 (running kde-3.5.9):

phalanx and gnuchess come with openSUSE-11.0 beta3.
Phalanx: http://phalanx.sourceforge.net/
gnuchess: http://www.gnu.org/software/chess/
They all work fine with 11.0 beta3.

Scid. Also, the chess database scid ("Shane's Chess Information Database") also comes (and works ok) with openSUSE-11.0 beta: http://scid.sourceforge.net/

Crafty. The program that used to come with openSUSE, but is no longer included, is Crafty. Crafty is fairly strong, although again I believe "spike" to be stronger.
http://www.craftychess.com/
and a link to the crafty ftp site:
ftp://ftp.cis.uab.edu/pub/hyatt/
To compile crafty on a 32-bit linux PC, one needs to type: "make linux". I've read for a 64-bit openSUSE, one needs to use "make linux-amd64". Compilation on my 32-bit PC running openSUSE-11.0 beta3 went ok.

Spike is available for Linux (and it plays well under xboard):
http://spike.lazypics.de/index_en.html
I believe Spike currently to be the strongest native language Linux chess program. It also works very good under openSUSE-11.0 beta3.

Fruit is available as freeware in Linux and Windows versions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_(chess_engine)
http://www.fruitchess.com/purchase.htm
I ran the Windows version under wine on openSUSE-11.0 beta3 using the "arena" GUI (I have not figured out yet the commands for the Linux version to run under xboard).
http://www.playwitharena.com/
According to chess rating lists, "fruit" is supposed to be stronger than "crafty" and "spike", but when I played the programs against each other, I found "spike" to be stronger than this MS-Windows version of "fruit" (running under wine).

Toga II is a derivative of fruit (purportedly it has more chess knowledge and perhaps a better search algorithm. It is based on Fruit 2.1 and is free):
http://www.superchessengine.com/toga_ii.htm
I played the Windows version of this under wine (using the "arena" GUI) on openSUSE-11.0 beta3. Again, I found "spike" to play a stronger game.

GambitFruit also incorporates improvements from Toga II. I played the MS-Windows version of this under wine (using the "area" GUI) on openSUSE-11.0 beta3. Again, I found "spike" played a stronger game. I also compiled/built a Linux version, but I could not get the native Linux version to work with the Xboard Chess GUI.
http://www.superchessengine.com/gambit_fruit.htm

sjeng is another chess program for linux:
http://sjeng.org/
(although my assessment is "spike" is a stronger program).
To custom compile sjeng on openSUSE-11.0 beta3 I needed to install gdbm and gdbm-devel. I also built a custom rpm with "checkinstall", instead of using "make install".
There was also a commercial version of this program, called "deep sengh", which I have not tried.
http://www.lokasoft.nl/uk/deepsjengintro.htm
According to the web site the product has reached its "End of life" and is no longer available.

Faile is another program, purportedly master level (approx 2200 to 2250 ELO):
http://faile.sourceforge.net/index.html
It compiles OK under openSUSE-11.0 beta3 (follow the readme.txt instructions) with the command "makefile.gcc" It is not as strong as some of the other programs (IMHO weaker than spike and weaker than fruit and its derivatives).

Rybka Chess. A strong commercial program that plays under linux is Rybka Chess.
http://www.rybkachess.com
The free "Rybka 2.1 demo" (which is limited to 1 second/move) plays under wine with the "arena" GUI under openSUSE-11.0 beta3. However the 1 sec/move limits its capabilities, making it much weaker than "spike" in a "5 minute" game.

The free "Rybka 1.0 Beta", which could be set for more time than the "Rybka 2.1 demo" played better than the demo (with there more time available for move) under openSUSE-11.0 beta3, but it still played worse than "spike" in 5-minute chess. I did not try a longer "per-move/game" time control.

The commercial "Rybka v.2.3" also runs under wine on openSUSE-11.0 beta3. While its supposed to be one of (if not the) strongest commercial programs, I found on 5 and 15 minute/game levels, that spike was stronger. Its possible Rybka only shows its strength on longer time controls.

An old Linux Journal article on Linux chess programs:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/2510

An excellent linux.com article of Linux chess programs
http://www.linux.com/feature/60859

Thus far I've been impressed with 11.0 beta3 (running KDE-3.5.9). I haven't tried KDE-4.0.2.

To ensure this information was not lost nor obscurred (for us chess nuts) , I updated the openSUSE wiki on chess:
http://en.opensuse.org/Chess