Which openings are good, which openings are bad?
Any opening can be good, if you find a good moves in it (and good plan for a computer). Some people play strange openings on Playchess with good results or even very good results :). 1.d4 h5 - Wiesiek 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 - Erdo 1.b3 - different players 1.e4 e5 2.b3 - different players 1.Na3 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5

How many moves maximum can book play?
The limit is 35 moves. You can have more moves in your book, but move nr 36 will not be played, when you are connected to the Playchess server. After move nr 35 your engine will start to play the game.

Which engines learn, which engines don’t learn?
Engines learn, if they have learning file. Currently only Shredder and Hiarcs have the learning capabilities. Fritz and Junior don’t learn.

Some info about Shredder learning.
Learning for Shredder is stored in "shredder.plr" file. You cannot see what is inside this file. You should not use Shredder7 and Shredder8 on the same computer as they will use the same PLR file, and the file can get corrupted. If you have problems with Shredder try deleting the PLR file (or move it to another directory). The clean PLR file will be recreated next time you start Shredder.

Why do I use Shredder8 in many of my documents?
Shredder8 is a universal program. It will work well on any single or multi processor computer and its $50 only. Other programs for multi processors cost $100 (Deep Junior, Deep Fritz), other engines will not support multi processors (Hiarcs). What I can do with Shredder8, you can do with any other Chessbase program.

What is GUI?
When you buy Shredder8 - you buy 2 parts of software. The part which actually play is an Engine, and is quite small (around 1MB). The file has extension *.eng. Everything else is a Program. Because "program" has many meanings, people use the word "GUI" to talk about the "Program". When you buy Shredder8 you buy Shredder8 engine and GUI version 8 (GUI8). But you could load as well Shredder8 under GUI7 (like Fritz7) and it will work. You could load Fritz7 engine on GUI8 and it will work too. GUI means Graphical User.

Can I play computer chess on Playchess using Unix computer or Apple computer?
There is no Chessbase software available for Unix or Apple computers, so the simple answer is no. It probably can be done using some software (like emulators).

The steps to do, if you don’t want to play against Marshall with white.
I use my regular Shredder8 program to modify my book. Marshall is after the moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 You can disable any white move from nr 1 to nr8 to avoid Marshall. Select from menu: File, Open, choose Opening Book, select a path to the opening book you want to modify. Now your book is open. Click Opening Book tab on the screen next to "Notation" and "Score sheet" (it should be somewhere, probably on the right, on top). Turn off the engine: Select from menu: Engine, Switch off Engine Disable the move: Right click the move you want to disable, select "Dont play in tournament". The move will turn red and will not be played.

How to open the games from this site, or any PGN file in Shredder8 program.
Right-click the link, select "save target as..." or "save link as...", go to folder you want to save, type a file name and it is saved. Start Shredder8 program, select from menu: File, Open, Database. The default database will open. You should see 2 windows now, the regular program window, and the database window. Change to database window, select from menu: File, Open Database, select path to the database you want to open, select correct format for the database (choose PGN if you want to open PGN database). The database will open. You should see a list of games.

How to convert PGN database to Chessbase database.
PGN database is universal format to save chess games, basically it is a text file with some simple formatting. Its simple and does not support some Chessbase functions. For example you cannot delete a game inside the PGN file, and probably many more. If you want to have those options, you have to convert from PGN format to Chessbase database. Open PGN file. Select from menu: Edit, Select All. All games should be selected. Select from menu: Edit, Copy. Select from menu: File, New Database, select path, type a database name, click OK. Select from menu: Edit, Paste. Confirm and you have a Chessbase database with all you games from the PGN file.

Should I buy a serial number for Playchess?
If you are sure that you know what you are doing, buy the serial number, but better ... Buy a chess software instead! The serial number costs $30 and it lets you play on playchess.com for 1year and create 3 accounts. The chess software costs $50 (and often less!) and it has the serial number features "built-in". So basically you buy a new chess program for $20, which is great!

Why is good to be a knight?
When you are knight, you may play in tournaments, which is a really good test for your strength. If you win a strong tournament, it means you are good (or you are very lucky..., but that’s another story :) Some people will have in their formula, that they will play only with knights and above. The reason for that is many players are not at the computer, and a new player will more likely freeze a computer by pressing wrong buttons (offers draw, offers a new game, try to abort).

Why is good to be a bishop?
You can make your own tournaments. It shows, that you are not anymore a novice player, as you have to play 3000 games to get a bishop status. I look at bishops as experienced playchess members.

Can I play on auto only against one engine - for example: only against Shredder8?
No, it is not supported now.

Can I NOT play on auto against one engine - for example: play all engines except Shredder8?
No, it is not supported now.

Can I play on auto with only one player a long match?
Yes, it is supported. From the menu: Edit, Playing Mode, Advanced, type the name of the player in the "Play only against user", select the number of games you want to play below in "Max. games against an user". If the other player does the same thing, you will be playing an automatic match :). If the other player will not do it, he will play with others too. During that time your computer will be waiting.

You challenge someone to a game 3 0, and you get "I want to play 3 0 game" message.
You are not on ignore, probably the other person selected "play only against one player" option in his/her settings.

Why do I play 1 0 or 2 0 games, but I don’t see them in my games list?
The games shorter than 3 0 are not rated, and they will not affect your rating, and will not be visible in your games list. You may seem them, and your rating may change but it is only temporary. Log off from the server, log on and they will be gone.

My rating disappeared! What is wrong?
When you select "Pause", or your engine is not loaded, you will not be able to see your rating. Some players will not see it either, but some players will see it.

Why some people use 0 0 formula and how does it work?
The playchess server will force to start a game, if the rating selected in your formula is too close to your own. Player with 0 0 time in their formula will not accept any challenges, but they will able to challenge other people, and that way start their games and at the same time use any formula they want. Using 0 0 in your formula is not a good idea as some players may put you on their "ignore list", and you may have problems with sysop.

What is recommended size for Tablebase Cache?
Default is 1MB, so it should be changed --- 32MB is good in general.
If you have a lot of memory, use more up to 128MB, I use 128MB myself.
UPDATE: someone said 8MB is recommended maximum, so
if you find that you have problems --- use 8MB
(And the problem can be like this: with a very limited material when engine is not longer playing
you have easy win, but computer makes a draw, or should draw but loose.)

Why my Dual is playing so badly?
It is more difficult to configure Dual than Single.