SA Chess online help,support and FAQ
Posted by SA Chess at March 1st, 2013
Other questions, please feel free to contact us.
How to play xiangqi(chinese chess) against SA Chess
button 1: SA Chess play red
button 2 : SA Chess play black
button 3 : ponder, still thinking when the opponent is thinking,recommend on
button 4 : Move now,make a move immediately,used when limited time left
button 5 : Undo, cancel the last move made by you
button 6 : analyze mode, thinking infinite, used for research a complex position
Use openbook
First make sure ”Use openbook“ button is on
SA Chess will seek best move in openbook, if find nothing, the engine continue to work out.
You can see every move's rank and rate in openbook from move list window
Update openbook
set move valid or invalid
click on the "valid" column of the move you wish to change in the "Move list" window, after it change to valid , it's score will be changed to 999999.
update score of move
click on the score column of the move you wish to change in the "Move list" window, then update it in the pop window then press "OK"
SA Chess options
Call out "Setup" dialog from main menu-Advance-setup
1 UI setup
Setup options: UI style , window size, board size, piece images,view images, and time window display,move list display, main window always top.
2 Engine setup
Setup options: switch UCCI engine, engine threads, hashtable size(default value is 256M, to 32bit engine, max value is 2G, to 64bit engine, max vlaue is windows system limit , depends on different edition, such as 192G on win7 ultimate. suggestion size is half of available memory. so we strongly recommend to use 64bit windows system and engine. )
(To gain stronger strength, please close any unrelated program to save CPU and memory before you start SA Chess)
3 Time limit setup
Setup engine time limit here, now you can choose depth-sec or plus-sec
depth-sec: engine will move when defined depth or defined seconds reached, whichever occur first.
plus-sec: setup a whole game minutes , if the plus sec value more than zero, the whole time will add the defined seconds value after each move.
4 Openbook setup
You can choose use openbook and the openbook file path.
5 Others
Some other options here, such as auto draw after no-capture within 60 rounds, save communicate log between UI and AI, and kinds of sounds.
under default setup, the sounds is off, so you need to turn them on if you want.
SA Chess shortcut key
Ctrl + N New game
Ctrl + O Open game
Ctrl + S Quick save(auto-name game file in SA Chess setup directory)
F2 Play as red side
F3 Play as black side
F4 Toggle ponder
F5 or Return Move now
F6 Undo
F7 Analyze mode
F1 Online help
Ctrl + C Copy position fen
Ctrl + V Paste fen to position
SA Chess FAQ
Minimum hardware and software requirement
Intel P4 or above CPU
512M RAM
40G free hd disk
Compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP, Server 2003,Server 2008,Server 2012. (please note: not support win2000, win98, winme)
How to make SA Chess stronger?
Firstly, please turn on engine ponder option, then, basically, SA Chess strength become stronger if thinking time longer or the based hardware faster or both, so we can find some ways to improve SA Chess strength.
- Upgrade your computer, for example, buy latest cpu, cpu overclock etc.
- Shut any unrelated program such as anti-virus, web browser when play xiangqi (chinese chess)
- Setup hashtable to half of your computer's RAM (please note: before that , make sure other unrelated softwares have been closed and enough physical RAM available, otherwise SA Chess running speed will drop down radically)
- Use good openbook
- Let SA Chess thinking as long as you can
- Switch on ponder, if possible, press move now manually under neccessary situation to save time for complex postion
- Keep eyes on www.sachess.com to get latest upgrade as soon as you can.
Can I use SA Chess with slow computer?
Yes, SA Chess can run a low configuration computer very well, you need to spend more time to gain same strength to faster computer.
How to customize my favor board , pieces, background style and image?
All of SA Chess UI elements could be changed and customized, such as board image, pieces , background image.
The two steps you need to do:
first, you need to find a bmp file you like,
two, please put the bmp file into /img/board directory if you 'd change board, or /img/piece if you 'd change piece, or /img/view if you 'd change background image.
(/ is the installation directory).
finally, please go to the main menu "advance” – “setup” – “UI setup” , to choose your bmp file name on proper image or background option. see below image:
If buying Dual-Core Advanced sa chess software now, can it be upgraded later to 4 ? 8? … cpu ? And if so, is there any time limited for the upgrading?
Any time, you can upgrade higher editon, 4, 8 …. cpu cores. Just pay the gap, that is it . don’t need pay full price, no time limited.
How many types of sa chess software you have ? and for 32&64 cpus software, what types of computers can be used for this software?
We have from 2 to 64 cpu cores edition. If you need 32/64 cpu cores edition which not listed on our website, please feel free to contact us for quote.
For 16 or 64 cores, the intel xeon cpu such as 5520 E5 E7 series and other xeon cpus can be fit with these kind of editions.
what is this number .. 5 .. not check the openbook?
It affects engine very little , so don’t change it , leave default value is ok.
Can I7 computer with 8 cpus be used with the Quad-Core Ultimate Edition ?
Yes, but the i7 cpu only 4 cores can be used, so we recommend the Octg-Core edition for i7 with 8 cores.
Could you tell me what does "b2e2" at the thinking detail column mean?
This is uci notation, the board x coordinate from left to right is from a to i, and y coordinate from bottom to top is from 0 to 9, so b2e2 means move the piece red cannon at B file to middle bishop position.(At start position) .
so other notations like "b2e2" is same , if the board was flipped vertically , to get right notation, please restore original direction.
Could you tell me how to understand engine score in the thinking detail column?
There are a few of rules about engine score:
1 score > 0 means advantage for red side, vice versa.
2 mate means engine found a path to checkmate red or black side.
3 score 200 means about one knight advantage for SA Chess engine.
Why can't see xiangqi books when I open "game library"?
The reason might be your windows system using non-chinese simplified characters. To display Chinese words properly, you need change your language settings to Chinese(PRC) in control panel.
About to how to change please see here : https://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/int_pr_select_language_version.mspx?mfr=true
or refer to below image.
SA Chess hang there when lanuching on win8 64bit?
On windows8 64bit system for SA Chess 1.2, Installing VS2010 sp1 redistrubtion package is neccessary. Please go to microsoft website to download, here is direct link :
http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/8/0/A80747C3-41BD-45DF-B505-E9710D2744E0/vcredist_x64.exe
Where can I find the "machine id" to receive software key to active?
Now after purchase we need your machine id to produce a key to active your SA Chess software, after launching SA Chess software, you can find your machine id on first software register dialog.
Why I need input key every time?
This is the reason that win7/8 UAC mode blocked the write operation of SACHESS, so you can right click on SAChess and choose “ run as administrator”
if there's no option: run as administrator.
(Assume your OS is windows 7. )
I would suggest you to follow these steps:
a. Right click on the program.
b. Under Compatibility tab, check if you have the option “Run this program as an administrator”.
How to copy and paste the key code?
Follow the below mentioned steps to Copy and Paste the key code.
Step 1:
Select the key code provided to you.
Step 2:
Press the Ctrl and C keys on your keyboard at a time, this will copy the key code. You can also do this procedure by right clicking on the selected field and selecting the copy option.
Step 3:
Now click on the field where you want to paste the key code, once the cursor appears at this field just press Ctrl and V keys at a time to paste the key code. You can also Paste by right clicking on the selected field and selecting the paste option.
Xiangqi(chinese chess) rules
board and original pieces position like this :
Traditional Pieces
Westernized Pieces
The english piece name details:
Please ref this link: the rules of xiangqi game
Other questions, please feel free to contact us.
Please keep this intacted:This article link is SA Chess online help,support and FAQ

Category: SA Chess
i want to buy the best sw chinesse for play on internet , is what this sw is the best in the market
and , if i buy , you send to me to my email key , for avtivate ?
mai_vannha@yahoo.fr
SA Chess now is best xiangqi software on internet.
Yes , we send download link and key to active.
Mua chưa đại k, e dùng toàn bị văng game
Hi, do you have traditional Chinese ones, or can you change from simplified Chinese to Traditional Chinese?
Thanks.
yes, we have Traditional Chinese version if you want, same price.
ok, thanks.
Sorry, one more question.
Can you change the background board to real wood board back ground? Looks nice always. It's the real wooden board everybody uses that I'm talking about.
Thanks.
it is easy to change background image , at next release, we will use different background image.
Ok, just 2 more questions/requests:
1. Maybe you can use real image files of real checkers and wooden board. Will look very nice.
2. Can you change sound files manually?
Thanks.
Also by the way, how do you know it's the best elephant chess logic in the world? I've seen other very good ones, too. Have you done any real comparisons and competitions before?
Thanks.
at next release, we will add some board and view image files including wood board images, the default board image like this :
meanwhile, you can custom images of yourself, just copy the images into related subfolder under img folder and choose it at "setup".
in the same way, you can make your own wav files and replace same name file under snd subfolder.
Thanks.
For computer Intel i5 CPU 750 2.67GHz 2.66 GHz, should I buy Quad Core software version?
yes, Intel i5 CPU 750 support max 4 threads, so Quad cores edition is best for you
Hi.
How about computers with more than 16 cores/threads? lets say 48 HTs?
hi, sachess support up to 64 cores/threads , 32 and 64 threads edition price will send to your email inbox
Hi, I've tried your trial software. Here it says support XP.
But when I install this on my XP then launch it says: SAUI.exe is not a valid win32 application. Whats up?
From V1.3 SAChess not support XP , support WIN7 and above
Hi, I want to know about the depth speed.
I’m thinking about buying a strong PC to enhance my opening book.
I would like to know the how deep can the newest version of SaChess search in about 20 seconds.
Specific: The 64-core edition. During the opening phrase (no book).
Computer: Intel Xeon 2.20GHz (3.4GHz TB) 96 Core, 192 Threads. 256GB Memory SDRAM. Storage SSD.
Hope to hear from you.
hi,
sachess has fast depth speed, at the start position, normal i7 4770k using 6 cores , in about 20 secs, will reach depth 23. so you can image speed for 128 cores on your 192 threads CPU
First of all, I do not speak English very well, so please excuse me.
Currently, the version of the sachess is 1.6, but there is a problem. I'm using Windows 10 bit 64-bit, which is forced to shut down in certain situations, and after shutting down, I'm experiencing a memory leak.
Remember that the 1.5 version did not have a problem. I'd like to change to 1.5 version, but I can't get a 1.5 version install file. Can I get an older version of the installation file?
sorry for delay, you need latest sachess 1.8 that’s not free if 1.6 not stable on your PC, 1.5 is weak so we don’t provide on our website any more.
Is this company still active?
yes, absolutely
Hi SA Chess,
How often your developer has upgrade version ?
It over 1 year since SA Chess 2.2 version release, do you have estimate for next upgrade ?
Thanks
Harold
Please contact our support email for upgrade details.
How do i make black move first ?
Hi,
Find “Setup game”