HIARCS is a commercial computer chess

Computer chess

Computer chess is computer architecture encompassing hardware and software capable of playing chess autonomously without human guidance. Computer chess acts as solo entertainment , as aids to chess analysis, for computer chess competitions, and as research to provide insights into human...

 program

Computer program

A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...

 developed by Mark Uniacke. Its name is an acronym stands for higher intelligence auto response chess system.

Overview

The first version of the program was released in 1980. Version 11, the first version to support multiprocessing

Multiprocessing

Multiprocessing is the use of two or more central processing units within a single computer system. The term also refers to the ability of a system to support more than one processor and/or the ability to allocate tasks between them...

, was released in December 2006. The current version, version 13, was released in May 2010.

The strength of the program comes more from its positional algorithms than from its search speed.

Availability

HIARCS is available for Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

, Mac OS X

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

, Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...

, Freescale DragonBall

Freescale DragonBall

Motorola/Freescale Semiconductor's DragonBall, or MC68328, is a microcontroller design based on the famous 68000 core, but implemented as an all-in-one low-power solution for handheld computer use...

 and ARM

ARM architecture

ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...

-based Palm OS

Palm OS

Palm OS is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management...

 operating system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

s (since 2004), and on the iPhone

IPhone

The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

 and iPod Touch

IPod Touch

The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...

 (since August, 2009). It is one of the few top-level chess programs available for Mac OS X

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

.

Performance and benchmarks

HIARCS won the 1993 World Microcomputer Chess Championship.

In January 2003 HIARCS played a four game match of chess against grandmaster

International Grandmaster

The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....

 Evgeny Bareev

Evgeny Bareev

Evgeny Bareev is a Russian chess Grandmaster and chess coach. In October 2003, he was in fourth place in the world rankings, with an Elo rating of 2739....

, the world's number 8 at the time. All the four games were draws

Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...

, resulting in a tied match.

Since 2005, it has been tested to be the strongest chess program available on a handheld device. It is the top handheld on the SSDF

Swedish Chess Computer Association

The Swedish Chess Computer Association is an organization that tests computer chess software by playing chess programs against one another and producing a rating list. On September 26, 2008, the list was released with Deep Rybka 3 leading with an estimated Elo rating of 3238. Rybka's listing in...

 rating list, and was considered the strongest engine in a comprehensive review of 63 handheld chess programs. It is also the engine used in Pocket Fritz

Pocket Fritz

Pocket Fritz, which is currently at version 4, is a chess playing program for Pocket PC personal digital assistants . Pocket Fritz 4 uses HIARCS as the chess engine. Pocket Fritz 2 used a port of the Shredder chess engine....

 3.

HIARCS 10 with the "Hypermodern

Hypermodernism (chess)

Hypermodernism is a school of chess that emerged after World War I. It featured challenges on the chess ideologies presented by central European masters, such as on Wilhelm Steinitz’ approach to the centre. It also challenged in particular the dogmatic rules set down by Siegbert Tarrasch...

" setting enabled placed second on the SSDF rating list for June 8, 2006, with a rating of 2856.

Hiarcs has maintained a top 5 rating in the SSDF rating list for longer than any other chess engine.

HIARCS won the 17th International Paderborn Computer Chess Championship, in December 2007.

HIARCS won the silver medal behind Rybka

Rybka

Rybka is a computer chess engine designed by International Master Vasik Rajlich. , Rybka is one of the top-rated engines on chess engine rating lists and has won many computer chess tournaments...

 at the 2008 World Computer Chess Championship

World Computer Chess Championship

World Computer Chess Championship is an annual event where computer chess engines compete against each other. The event is organized by the International Computer Games Association...

.

Hiarcs 13, 2009

Hiarcs 13 is the chess engine used in Pocket Fritz

Pocket Fritz

Pocket Fritz, which is currently at version 4, is a chess playing program for Pocket PC personal digital assistants . Pocket Fritz 4 uses HIARCS as the chess engine. Pocket Fritz 2 used a port of the Shredder chess engine....

 4. Pocket Fritz 4 won the Copa Mercosur tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina with nine wins and one draw

Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...

 on August 4–14, 2009. The 2009 Copa Mercosur tournament was a category 6 tournament. Pocket Fritz 4 achieved a performance rating 2898 while running on the mobile phone HTC Touch HD

HTC Touch HD

The HTC Touch HD, also known as the HTC T828X or its codename the HTC Blackstone, is a Windows Mobile 6.1 -powered luxury Pocket PC designed and manufactured by HTC...

. Pocket Fritz 4 searches less than 20,000 positions per second.

HIARCS 13.1 was released for desktop Macs and PCs in May 2010.