Chess Program Review Archive

Rebel 10 is the latest chess playing/database program from Schroeder BV of the Netherlands. Those that are new to computer chess may not recognize it, since it is not one of the mass market programs. However, experienced users and watchers of the internet newsgroups, realize that Rebel is one of the most popular "insider" programs among computer chess mavens. Because windows software dominates most of the market, there must be some important reason why a DOS program remains so popular.

I believe there are three reasons for this. The most important of these is the chess engine. Rebel has a very human-like playing style, and tends to find positionally oriented moves better than many other programs. The second reason is that Rebel is extremely feature packed. It offers much of what any chess player needs for play and analysis. The third reason is that Rebel has always offered a lot for the money. The current Rebel 10 package includes a host of free utilities on the CDROM, along with something called an "internet subscription". This subscription gives access to a "member’s only" area on the Rebel home page, where you can find program and database updates, commented games, and other utilities. Most recently, version 10c of the program (which included an improved engine) was posted there. There is also a Rebel message board, where people can exchange program tips, or ask for help on various topics.

My introduction to Rebel came when Schroeder BV organized a match between Vishi Anand and their program. The event was broadcast live on the ICC, and it was the first opportunity that I really had to examine Rebel’s style. To make a long story short, I came away with a deep appreciation for both Anand and Rebel.

The Rebel 10 program operates in three modes:

1. Playing – In playing mode, you can modify Rebel’s strength and playing style via various settings. Some of the things you can modify include: playing style, ply depth, strength (just enter an ELO, and Rebel plays at that level), hash tables, etc. Of course you can also modify the time controls, and who is to play black and white. There are also a wide range of time handicapping levels if you wish to use them. You can also easily edit and create opening books manually, or from PGN game collections. Advanced users or masochists may want to note that the program can also play simultaneous games against the user.
2. Database – In database mode you can search for the current board position, material, etc. You can also search on header information (things like player, ECO code, etc.), or perform a free-form search on free-text annotations that you can attach to games. You can also obtain overviews of a game, in which Rebel will quickly analyze portions of it, and point out possible improvements.
3. Analysis – Here you can analyze entire games, databases of games, entered positions, or EPD positions. Rebel utilizes the settings of the playing level when doing analysis, so you can pretty much change whatever you want in playing mode, and use the same settings for analysis. When doing interactive analysis you can also use a feature called "power analysis". When using this feature, you can select candidate moves for the program to analyze or ignore. This is quite a handy feature when you want to do very deep analysis of a position.

Purchasers of this program should make sure they check out the Rebel web site for the latest updates and utilities.

Strengths:

• A killer chess engine that plays in a very human-like fashion
• Very accurate ELO handicapping (as long as you tweak the opening book somewhat). This means that it is easy to set Rebel 10 to your playing level.
• Compatibility with Chess Assistant. Rebel can be used as an external analysis engine in Chess Assistant
• A very customizable interface. Even though it is not a windows program, you can still resize the various elements of Rebel 10’s interface to suit your personal preferences. There are also a number of user-definable button bars that you can use.
• There is a one million game database included with the program
• It is quite easy to create a user book, although you do not quite have the control over the book moves that Fritz gives you.
• The database functions are quite complete, and there is a full complement of searching functions (position/header, etc.). Rebel 9 users should note that there is a new sophisticated search mask in the database screen that allows you to perform boolean combined searches containing positions, moves, player names, etc.
• A number of older Rebel engines are included for handicapping purposes.
• There are a ton of freebies included on the Rebel 10 CDROM, not the least of which is EPD2Diag, a program that allows you to run the Rebel 10 engine under windows for analysis purposes. The Rebel 10 engine for windows also works in ECTool, a program used for e-mail chess.
• A large chess tree is included for opening research. Over 300,000 games were used for this tree, and it is viewable on the main Rebel screen (in conjunction with a board position, for instance).
• There is significant EPD support in this program, in fact, the EPD support is superior to any other commercial program. Test sets can be processed (with evaluations added automatically). This is an important feature because it allows Rebel 10 to be used as analysis engine for programs like BOOKUP and Chess Assistant.
• There are a wide number of database formats supported by the program: PGN, EPD, Rebel DAT, and Chessbase CBF.
• You can now use extra long move times for Rebel (hours!) if you so desire.
• Rebel 10 now automatically places symbols like ?! next to moves it thinks are questionable when doing game analysis.
• When analyzing a game, Rebel scores both the move played in the game, and the computer’s move. It also presents the principal variation for both moves. This is an essential analysis function that all programs should include.
• You can import opening books from other chess programs (like ChessMaster, Fritz and Genius) for use in Rebel.
• Rebel 10 now contains a new Anti-GM feature. I cannot say whether this works (because I am not a super-strong player), but you can see the results in the Rebel vs. Anand match. As I understand it, this feature is supposed to wrest the initiative at every opportunity. This makes for some very exciting play.
• You can play engine vs. engine matches, and view the results

Weaknesses:

• Rebel 10 is still a DOS program. On my computer, I had to disable power management at the BIOS and windows levels (APM) in order to get Rebel to run properly under windows. Once I did this, I did not have any problems what so ever. Rebel will not run as a background task in windows, so you cannot have it analyze in the background while you do something else. It should be noted that Schroeder BV is hard at work on a windows version of Rebel, and a beta will be available free to registered users of Rebel 10 for DOS.
• There is no support for variations in the game score. You can insert variations in the form of text comments, but this is not the same.
• When handicapping, Rebel will play to full book depth, which can make the program play much stronger in the opening than it should. The way to address this is to create your own user book. I used a collection of my ICS games for this purpose, and it works pretty well.
• There is no printing from the program. This is mitigated by the fact that there are many freeware programs (i.e. CBLIGHT, for instance) that can print PGN game scores very well. Since Rebel can export PGN, this is not a big deal.
• Rebel does not allow takebacks in games using the ELO handicapping.

Copy Protection:

Must have original CD to install, otherwise it is not needed (no refueling). Overall, a very friendly scheme.

CHESS SETS FROM AMERICA'S LARGEST CHESS STORE
Chess USA is America's leading retailer of chess sets, chess pieces, chess boards, and more. In fact, for 30 years Your Move Chess & Games has been the leading retailer of all things chess! Not everyone can view the hundreds of chess sets we have on display in our New York Chess Store, which is why we strive to have the most detailed chess website anywhere on the internet. After All, with over 2,000 chess sets, chess boards, chess pieces, chess computers and more, we need to be detailed! No matter what you are looking for, from chess set or chess program, our knowledgable staff is ready to help.

Have a Chess Set already, and just need to freshen up on the rules? We've got them - just click here

Your Move Chess & Games, America's Largest Chess Set Store. It's Your Move!