• January 10, 2007 - ChessRally 2.5 Build 875 Released
  
  This new build is critical for people running computers with more than 2GB of RAM.  In previous versions of this chess program, the memory check was provided by older Microsoft API calls which handled only 32-bit addressing, which in our dev environment translates to 2GB.  Anything higher shows as negative numbers.  We've updated it with the newer API calls for newer versions of Windows so it will see the correct amount of memory.  ChessRally 2 was previously denying people with > 2GB of RAM the ability to run the software, stating that you didn't have enough memory.  This fix is essential for people with computers with that much memory, and temporarily optional for everyone else.  On a fun note, since it now recognizes full 64-bit memory employment, it means that it will recognize up to about 18 EB.  An EB is an "Exabyte".  18 EB ~ 18 billion Gigabytes.  Unfortunately, that kind of memory capacity won't be seen by PC users for about 68 years or so, according to Moore's Law.
  
  On a different note, 2.6 is coming along nicely.  Hope to announce a final ETA soon.
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• February 5, 2006 - ChessRally 2.5 Build 873 Released
  
  This new build has been available unofficially for about a month.  It was undergoing a short beta cycle with a limited number of users.  This is not yet version 2.6, which is still in the works, pending the conclusion of other responsibilities here at Ingenuware.  In any case, the issue addressed in this update is primarily for users of Windows 95, 98, and ME.  A relatively recent update of our Internet communications library for ChessRally had some threading issues under these "non-NT" environments, making Internet communications not work properly for some computers that utilized those particular Windows operating systems.  In any case, this update fixes that issue.  Users running Windows 2000 or Windows XP do not need to get this update unless they also did not get the build 865 update, posted previously.
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• April 6, 2005 - ChessRally 2.6 Announced
  
  Just so you all know... there will be a new update (2.6) that contains a number of minor changes, both to the chess game software, and to the Online Rally Rooms server.  The goal of the upcoming update is to make the Rally Rooms experience a bit better by reducing the number of false positives on the anti-cheating measures employed in 2.5 while locking down all other potential cheating with extremely sophisticated server-side validation.  This combination will give ChessRally the most sophisticated anti-cheating measures for online chess on the planet.  In any case, there are other updates planned as well.
  
  We were originally planning on releasing this as a 2.51 patch, but a few more changes have been slated, and enough time has passed.  As such, the newest coming version will be 2.6.  Naturally, this will be a free update for all Gold Edition customers, and for trial users, this will not effect how much time they have on their trial period, which will remain exactly the same.  This next update will be coming relatively soon, time as of yet to be determined.
  
  If you haven't got the latest 2.5 update (build 865) you can download that here.
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• April 6, 2005 - ChessRally 2.5 Build 865 Release Now Available!
  
  This version is a minor update to the previous release, ChessRally 2.5 (build 850).  It contains a few minor fixes, particularly related to the Email Game method of game play.  In version 2.5 build 850, email gamers were running into odd series of castling moves when they received their opponent's email.  This occurred because of fundamental changes to the startup sequence within ChessRally between versions 2.49 and 2.5.  This issue has been resolved in this update and has been very well tested by a number of end-users, just like you.  (Thank you to all that helped test this fix.)  If you've already started a game prior to this update, you'll have to start your game over for the update to take true effect, as previous saved games (such as email moves are) may have been corrupted by the previous version.  Also, for this update to take complete effect, both players in an email game must be using this latest version.  If you don't update both players' computers, then the player running build 850 can still corrupt the game.
  
  One of the other major updates is that for Rally Rooms games, ChessRally is now much better at managing what occurs when a person has two copies of ChessRally loaded, which was causing some innocent users to lose rated games for alleged cheating.  What would happen is that a user would accidentally double-click on the ChessRally icon twice, and by doing so launch two copies of the chess game at the same time.  The secondary copy now notifies the user, offering to let them close it via notification box.  If the box gets ignored, after about 10 seconds, the secondary copy now automatically unloads, thereby reducing "accidental doubles" to avoid being accused by the game of cheating.
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  Download ChessRally 2.5 Now!
  
• July 27, 2004 - ChessRally 2.5 Final Release Now Available!
  
  THAT'S RIGHT... The LONG AWAITED ChessRally 2.5 is FINALLY HERE!!!  I realize that many of you were getting antsy after waiting so very long for the next big update for ChessRally 2, and so I thank ALL of you for your tremendous patience.  Over the past year (well, over a year, actually!), I have been working insanely hard at getting this update completed.  Many, many new features were added... too many to list here... however you can see a small part of the list on the Version History page.  (I say a "small part" because security was a major focus of this version, and well over half of the changes cannot, for security reasons, be listed.  But you'll still get a decent taste of how truly MASSIVE this update really is, even if mostly just "under the hood".)
  
  In any case, I once again thank all of you for your wonderful patience.  Many of you are loyal fans of ChessRally and your loyalty is very much appreciated!  And for those of you that have been stealing our software this entire time, well, SHAME ON YOU... My kids need food and clothing too!  I know it's "taboo" to publicly admit that people steal your software, but hey, it's the truth, for better or worse.  Anyhow... it's been a very rough year with the massive amounts of software piracy being committed against us.  I can't tell you HOW many times I saw someone enter into Rally Rooms chat... "Oh, but my using this crack isn't hurting anyone"... well... when 99% of your user base is stealing from you... believe me, it hurts a WHOLE lot! It's like voting... one individual person may not feel like their contribution (or lack thereof) makes a difference, but in aggregate, all those individuals together, make a BIG WHOPPING DIFFERENCE!  It had gotten so bad at one point, that the vast majority of the people in the Rally Rooms at any given point in the day were "marked" (using a new Room Operator Cooperative Watch feature that existed in the betas, and now in 2.5) for using a crack... such people were easy to detect (temp key based cracks show up like a sore thumb for Operators on the server), and those few that weren't marked were a handful of regular players that are in there all the time anyhow... bottom line, there were just sooo many people stealing the software that if we banned them all, we'd have almost no one in there... unless of course, people purchased the game like they used to before the cracks came out.  Besides, believe it or not, I really DO understand the temptation all of you go through when confronted with the idea of using something for free when you're not supposed to... it's dishonest, yeah, but I understand it... and rather than alienate the lot of you, I figured I'd show a little grace and patience, and just let this new version solve the problem... or so I dearly hope!  (Before the cracks arrived, we were doing... respectably... enough to provide for my family, and plan some future projects, I truly hope that 2.5 gets us back on track.)  Well, taboo or not, that all just needed to be said.  People need to be aware of how their actions affect others.  Anyhow... let me kick this soap box from under my feet and get back to business...
  
  Not only was there a lot of licensing security related changes (that took me FOREVER to design and build), but there were many game security enhancements, like anti-cheating, anti-running, etc.  You'll see all of it in the Version History.
  
  NOW - Folks... since this software is for YOUR enjoyment... let me know what you want in the next version!!  I'm not going to make any promises on it like last time (2.5 really should have been 3.0 with the wide number of changes, but I couldn't go back on my promises, so we kept it within the same major version... <sigh>.)  ...so no promises, other than that great suggestions will absolutely be implemented at some point... be it 2.6 or 3.0.
  
  OK, I'm quite thoroughly exhausted now... I will have to catch up on some sleep now that this is all done with. :-)
  
  Anyhow THANK YOU ALL AGAIN for waiting so long... after over a year, I'd say it's been a very long "two weeks" indeed!!!  And THANK ALL OF YOU BETA TESTERS out there that kept trying every new 2.5 beta, from 2.46 through 2.5 RC.  THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!
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• July 20, 2004 - ChessRally 2.5 *Release Candidate* Now Available!
  
  EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND URGENT UPDATE For ALL Beta Users!! (All Previous Versions 2.46 through 2.49g)  This incorporates all known fixes for issues created by any of the 2.5 beta versions (2.46 through 2.49g), several of them are severe enough to require this update.  So, again, if you have not already downloaded this 2.5 Release Candidate, but are running any of the other 2.5 Beta versions, you REALLY DO need this update!!  If you don't get it, the Rally Rooms may not function properly for you!
  
  ALSO VERY IMPORTANT!!  SOME USERS MAY RUN INTO ERRORS RUNNING THE INSTALLATION.  You may receive an error that says "Error Number: 0x80070725... Description: Incompatible version of the RPC Stub".  This error occurs when you have system files already installed on your computer that are not correct, mostly likely the result of a "misbehaving" installation program that you've run across at some point.  If you run into this error, you really should reformat your computer, or you may find that other programs are not working reliably (if at all).  We are planning to create a fix for such systems, time permitting, that knows what system files your system needs and installs them, fixing the system as a result.  This is not a promise, but rather a hope that we have the time to do this. CORRECTION: You will not need to reformat.  Please see http://www.ingenuware.com/support/articles/Q2004081000.htm for information on a much better solution to this problem!!
  
  In any case, here's the Release Candidate you've all been waiting for!  Enjoy!  (Oh, and DO NOT forget to tell us if you run into any problems!!)
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• Wednesday, April 16, 2004 - ChessRally 2.49g (2.5 Beta 4g) Released!
  
  EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND URGENT UPDATE For ALL Beta Users!! (All Previous Versions 2.46 through 2.49f)  This incorporates all known fixes for issues created by any of the 2.5 beta versions (2.46 through 2.49f), several of them are severe enough to require this update.  So, again, if you have not already downloaded 2.49g, but are running any of the other 2.5 Beta versions, you REALLY DO need this update!!  If you don't get it, the Rally Rooms may not function properly for you!
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• Wednesday, October 15, 2003 - ChessRally 2.49e (2.5 Beta 4e) Released!
  
  EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND URGENT UPDATE For ALL Beta Users!! (All Previous Versions 2.46 through 2.49d)  This incorporates all known fixes for issues created by any of the 2.5 beta versions (2.46 through 2.49d), several of them are severe enough to require this update.  So, again, if you have not already downloaded 2.49e, but are running any of the other 2.5 Beta versions, you REALLY DO need this update!!  If you don't get it, the Rally Rooms may not function properly for you!
  
  ALSO VERY IMPORTANT!!  If you are running Windows NT 4, DO NOT install any of the betas... if you already have, then uninstall it, and reinstall version 2.45, the latest official release.  Windows NT 4 is not 100% compatible with the new security protocols in the betas, and if we can't find a way to make the security protocols work for NT 4, it will no longer be supported in ChessRally.  If you decide to keep the beta version installed on a Windows NT 4 computer, then do NOT play rated games.  If you do, it will falsely detect that you are running "World Chess Network" and ask that you shut it down.  (This problem was also experienced by Windows 95, 98, and ME users prior to version 2.49c.)
  
  I imagine this process has been frustrating for a number of you beta testers, but unfortunately, that is the nature of beta versions... they are strictly NOT "release quality" in nature, and rather than leaving you guys in the lurch, yes we tend to have many updates during the beta.  As such, we gratefully thank all of you that are testing the new version of ChessRally, and very much appreciate your patience as we work all the kinks out of the upcoming release.
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• Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - ChessRally 2.49d (2.5 Beta 4d) Released!
  
  VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE For all Beta 4, 4b & 4c users!!  Other than that, this version contains a new communications optimization that we had wanted to put into 2.49c, but because the other issues 2.49c addressed were so urgent, they got put in and shipped out right away... hence, two updates in the same day!  However, if you already downloaded 2.49c, you do not need this update unless you run into any problems with it.  If you have not already downloaded 2.49c, but are running any of the other 2.5 Beta versions, you DO need this update regardless!!
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• Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - ChessRally 2.49c (2.5 Beta 4c) Released!
  
  VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE For all Beta 4 & 4b users!!  This update fixes a rather major issue in 2.49 and 2.49b (below), particularly on Windows 95, 98, and ME systems, where graphics were not being rendered properly and the new anti-cheating algorithms were detecting "phantom" programs!!  So, if you have downloaded ChessRally 2.49 or 2.49b, then this update is certainly for you!!  Otherwise, download it if you want to try the latest 2.5 beta!  Oh, and many thanks to all the people that helped us diagnose and resolve the problem in just a few hours.
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• Monday, October 13, 2003 - ChessRally 2.49b (2.5 Beta 4b) Released!
  
  JUST A QUICK UPDATE!  This update fixes a minor issue in 2.49 (below) where if you were vacated from a table (both players left), you would not get proper update information for the players that were at that table until they took some other updatable action.  This was fixed very quickly thanks to you, our beta testers!
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• Sunday, October 12, 2003 - ChessRally 2.49 (2.5 Beta 4) Released!
  
  It's been a long wait for this one!!  This update brings some of the new 2.5 anti-cheating technologies to light, and allows us to detect users that use other computer programs to play for them in the Online Rally Rooms.  This is one of the pivotal changes that makes version 2.5 not only important, but by far the biggest update since the initial release of ChessRally.  I realize of course, that many of you have been waiting a long time for this update in the series of version 2.5 betas, and I am glad that we were finally able to give it to you.  For those of you not aware, the reason we have had so many 2.4x releases since 2.45 is because they each incrementally include more and more of the 2.5 code... since there are so MANY changes in 2.5, it was necessary to test as we made improvements, and to get users to try these beta updates, so we could avoid massive problems at the onset of the actual 2.5 release.
  
  Many of you have commented that you are getting a little beyond anxious for 2.5, especially in light of many missed "deadlines".  Believe me, I know how you feel... I am anxious as well.  The reason there have been delays is because we take software development quite seriously.  We do not want there to be any possibility that there are major glitches in the software, and that requires dedication to solid design and development, dedication to making ChessRally the best product possible, and most importantly, dedication to you, the users.  We do not believe in releasing a version, even if a deadline was given, if it is not truly ready.  In any case, I do apologize for the delays, but trust me on this one, once 2.5 is released, it will be working well, and all of this will have been well worth the wait.
  
  So, where are we now?  This is (in theory) the last beta for 2.5.  The next release will be the final release of ChessRally 2.5.  When will that happen?  I am not making any solid commitments as to when exactly it will be done, only that we will be working on this vigilantly until it's done, and that we (at this time) expect that it will likely be done by the end of October or the beginning of November... just in time for Christmas!
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• Saturday, August 17, 2003 - ChessRally 2.48 (2.5 Beta 3) Released!
  
  Daily updates?  As long as you need them, absolutely!  Yesterday's update was intended to fix a few problems, among which were getting silenced left and right in an undeserved way.  Oddly, it actually WAS fixed in yesterday's released, but we accidentally left an important file out of the setup program for the patch, and so it appeared that it wasn't fixed at all.  In any case, it is TRULY fixed now, and even tested by selected users to be absolutely certain.  In today's release, you'll also find it's a bit more stable in other areas.  Let us know if you run into any trouble with it!
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• Saturday, August 16, 2003 - ChessRally 2.47 (2.5 Beta 2) Released!
  
  For those of you using the Rally Rooms with yesterday's unofficial release of version 2.46, and found yourself getting silenced left and right, you're going to be very happy about this update!  As can be expected in any Beta release, we did run into a few snags, but fortunately we were able to get them ironed out without much difficulty.  This build (664) replaces the original unofficial beta release, and contains a couple of fixes that you, our faithful users ran into!  We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their patience as we get ready for the release of 2.5.  You all are what make this process worthwhile, and we're proud to be a part of something that you, our users, have made truly great.
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• Friday, August 15, 2003 - ChessRally 2.46 (2.5 Beta) Released!
  
  Well, as many of you know, we've been hard at work at ChessRally 2.5, and are closer than ever to getting that out the door.  Since many of you have been looking forward to a number of the features slated for 2.5, and others yet need a hotfix for certain problems you'd experienced, we decided to UNOFFICIALLY release an interim build of ChessRally, version 2.46, as a Beta test for many of the new 2.5 features.  While the list of changes if by far too numerous to mention (they will be outlined in detail in the version history for 2.5 when that gets released), we can at least give you a few of the highlights!
  . 
  • Fixes:  Problems with email games resolved.  Problems connecting to the Online Rally Rooms on faster computers is resolved. (Yay!)  Problems getting unfairly auto-silenced in the Online Rally Rooms for insanely large periods of time is resolved.
  • NEW Rally Rooms Features:  Buddy icons!  A new /give chat command (just for fun)!  Right-clicking on a player name in the Player List gives you a context menu of commonly used commands.  Player List can now be sorted by Name, Rating, or Status!  Player status in the Player List now shows "Ready" for a player sitting at a table without an opponent.
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• Friday, July 18, 2003 - ChessRally 2.5 in Development
  
  Did I actually say version 2.5 would be released in March?  Boy is my face red!  Sorry for the delay folks, and I really should have updated the website in the mean time.  However, 2.5 will not be released until we hope the end of August.  Possibly later, hopefully sooner.  The reason for the delay is that we wanted adequate time to pass in order to discover all the issues that needed to be addressed, as well as finding out from all of you what you wanted in new features.  The process of creating a really great list of changes/additions, etc., has been very long and drawn out, but trust me on this, you will NOT be disappointed by the results!  Here's a little of what's tentatively planned for 2.5: Anti-runner technology, Anti-cheating technology, new security protocols, resume-able games (for unexpected disconnects), a new ratings system (similar algorithm, but "split" so the Rally Rooms have their own ratings system separate from the rest of the game.), and much, much more!  In fact, this is the BIGGEST LIST of changes in ChessRally's history, with the exception of the actual transition from I-Chess 1.x to ChessRally 2.0.  Unfortunately, half the list will never become common knowledge for security reasons, but even half the list is about 50 items or so!  In any case, the list has been completed, and we've already got some of it done... things may change (they always do), but as far as we're concerned at this moment, the list is fixed, and 2.5 fully defined, and on it's way to being finished.
  
  Wish us well over the next month or so!
  
• Saturday, February 19, 2003 - ChessRally 2.45 (Build 619) RELEASED!
  
  AT LONG LAST!!  This is Phase 1 of the update you all have been waiting for!  (Phase 2 with the other requested enhancements will be available in 2.5, due out in about a month, hopefully less.)  For those of you who play Single Player Games against the computer, this update fixes a glitch introduced in version 2.4 (build 600) where the computer player occasionally decides to stop playing for no apparent reason, and also fixes another glitch introduced in that same version where the computer player would try to make En Passant moves even if your "House Rules" say that En Passant is not allowed!  (That resulted in pieces appearing out of nowhere!)  I apologize for those glitches - we were trying to make the computer "smarter", and changed the way it interfaced with the main game engine, which caused these to happen.  In any case, it's fixed now!
  
  Also, for Rally Room Players, this is the update that prevents players from exploiting the "Flashing" animation to stall the clock and create unfair "thinking time" in timed games.  The clock now begins counting down as soon as the move is received, so having a long flash count will no longer be an exploit, but a hindrance!  (The purpose of the Flashing animation was to allow players who might be chatting the opportunity to see the move being made, and it's truly sad that some would exploit this to gain an unfair advantage in timed games.  In any case, not any longer!)  Also new to the Rally Rooms is an auto-silence mode that temporarily strips chat privileges from players which flood the chat rooms with lines of text.
  
  What you're not seeing in this update, which is still planned for 2.5, is the "anti-runner" technology we're working on.  We don't have all the kinks out, but rest assured, 2.5 with anti-runner technology and anti-computer-aided-player technology will be coming soon!  This update (2.45) will be a mandatory update in the Rally Rooms in just a couple days... so get it now! - Robb Ryniak
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• Saturday, July 11, 2002 - ChessRally 2.4 (Build 602) Update!
  
  It's my birthday!!  Really, it is... I turned the big Three-O today.  (Uh-oh!)  Well, this year, YOU get the birthday gift, not I.  As always, many thanks to our customers, who have been keen to let us know when something's awry.  This update contains a fix for a graphics glitch on the Parental Control and Rally Room intro screens.  The glitch only affected users with "Large Fonts" enabled in Windows.  (This is fairly uncommon)  The screens mentioned were not properly "scaled" when in Large Fonts mode, so the buttons, text, etc. all flew off one end of the screen.  In any case, that's fixed in this update, so get it now! - Robb Ryniak
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• Saturday, July 6, 2002 - ChessRally 2.4 (Build 601) Critical Update!
  
  Uh-oh!  If you downloaded ChessRally 2.4.600 in the past 2 days, and you live in a country where your fractional separator is a comma ( , ) and not a period ( . ), (for example 2.234,67 instead of 2,345.67), then you need to get this latest update!!  This latest version fixes a problem which some of our European customers discovered... (thank you guys!) ...Rating information is not being stored correctly on non-English Windows, and when it gets read back into the game, it's not loading right.  This is because we often use commas to delimit fields of data, so a string of data might look like: "2,JoeSchmoe,1783.23,25,10".  In some regional settings, the decimal point ( . ) is not used as the fractional separator, so the string looks like this: "2,JoeSchmoe,1783,23,25,10".  If you noticed, it looks like we have an extra field - and so it gets "read" back into the game with the wrong numbers.  In any case, that's fixed now.
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• Thursday, July 4, 2002 - ChessRally 2.4 (Build 600) Released!
  
  ChessRally 2.4 was finally released today.  I thank all of you for being so patient while waiting for this build...  This latest version by far contains the biggest list of changes in any ChessRally 2.x release.  While most of the changes are "under the hood", you can expect superior performance, no more "unexpected disconnects" when in the Online Rally Rooms (unless your Internet Service Provider disconnects you), some new chat features, automatic setup for Email games, and many, many more changes, fixes, and additions.  For a complete list of changes, check out the Complete ChessRally Version History.  Our very sincere and warmest gratitude to all our wonderful users which contributed to this version by reporting issues.  Thanks!
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• Friday, May 3, 2002 - There Are No Time Cheats!!
  
  There have been concerns voiced over suspected cheating of the clocks in ChessRally 2.  This is not really what's happening.  There currently is no way to cheat on time.  However, to the untrained eye, the clock might look like something's going on, and so I have posted this complete description of the problem in "Cheating On Time?"  So, if someone accuses you of cheating on your clock, please point them to that document so they can understand what they're seeing.
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• Saturday, March 23, 2002 - ChessRally 2.3 Build 581 Patch Fix
  
  The patch for the ChessRally 2.3 Build 581 update was re-released today.    The previous version of the patch did not include a critical system file, MSVCRT.DLL.  On some systems, if that file was a little older than what the full install of ChessRally 2 would install (and this new patch also installs), then the updated copy of ChessRally might occasionally crash on those systems.  While there were only a few users affected by this, it was important for us to include that file in the patch install, so the patch was updated.  If you are experiencing crashing, you can download the new patch by clicking the link below.
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• Thursday, March 14, 2002 - ChessRally 2.3 Build 581 Update Released!
  
  The ChessRally 2.3 Build 581 update was released today.  I apologize for the required download so very soon after the last (1 day! Whew!)...  There was a problem with the game's timer in timed games that we didn't know about it until we already released build 580.  There were reports of the timer acting "funny", but nothing terribly specific, and we didn't see the problems initially here, so we thought it had to do with the network problems in 2.1 and lower.  In any case, we were able to pinpoint the problem, and it is now fixed, and is required for playing in the Rally Rooms and Direct Network Games so the timers between opponents are guaranteed to be in sync.
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• Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - ChessRally 2.3 Build 580 Released!
  
  ChessRally 2.3 Build 580 was released today!  Not only does this build fix several problems in previous versions, but there are some new features which we put in at YOUR REQUEST!  There are a bunch of fixes is this release, most notably the "lost data" that was occurring as the result of performance failure in some 3rd party Internet components the game & server used to use (we replaced them with our own modules), and also fixed the infamous mouse cheat, which allowed a player to "cheat" by right clicking on the board while holding the left mouse button down during a piece movement to "create" new pieces.  There were many other less critical issues resolved as well.  For a complete list of the fixes and additions, see the complete release notes on the ChessRally Version History Page.
  
  (Cue Drums) Without further ado, I proudly present to you, the NEW and IMPROVED ChessRally 2.3! :)
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• Saturday, March 02, 2002 - ChessRally 2.2 Build 540 EXPERIMENTAL Release!
  
  ChessRally 2.2 Build 540 was released today as a continuation of the experimental build 523 release.  This build is an attempt to fix the security algorithm for validating License Keys.  THIS RELEASE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.  USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.  This fix "attempt" is only for a small number of users whose systems were affected by the problem.  Most users out there did not run into the issue at all.
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• Friday, February 24, 2002 - ChessRally 2.2 Build 523 EXPERIMENTAL Release!
  
  ChessRally 2.2 Build 523 was released today as an experimental release to test our own TCP/IP communications module, which replaces an existing 3rd party component.  THIS RELEASE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.  USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.  This new version of ChessRally contains a completely new (and only "alpha" tested) TCP/IP communications module.  The 3rd party TCP/IP communications components used in ChessRally 2.1 and earlier were losing small bits of data under any amount of network stress, and so it was in dire need of replacing.  This release is intended to fix Email Games only.  When it proves to be stable, we will release ChessRally 2.3 with all the trimmings.  For full details about the release, click here.
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• Friday, February 15, 2002 - ChessRally 2.1 Build 510 Released!
  
  ChessRally 2.1 Build 510 was released today!  Users who have already installed ChessRally 2.0 can download the patch here.  New users can download the Full Install here...  This new version of ChessRally contains enhancements to Online Rally Rooms performance, and also contains fixes for all known problems (mostly with the Rally Rooms), including Ratings System bugs, General gameplay bugs, etc.  For full details about the release, click here.
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• Monday, February 11, 2002 - ChessRally DLL Crafty Port Source Code is Now Available for download.
  
  For those of you looking for the source code to our port of the Crafty engine by Dr. Robert Hyatt, I apologize for the delay in getting it on the site... We've been very busy since the launch of ChessRally 2, which was just a couple of weeks ago, making fixes to some Online Rally Rooms issues, and just haven't had time to put together a download file with a VB client sample.  In any case, here it is!
  
  Download the ChessRally DLL Crafty Port Source Code!  (0.8 MB)
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• Tuesday, February 5, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Build 503 PATCH Released!
  
  ChessRally 2 Build 503 was released today (see below for release comments), and is now offered in a much smaller patch install that preserves your preferences and Ratings/score...  We weren't sure if we would be able to offer a "patch", but it worked out very nicely, so here it is... (Please note that this patch will only install if ChessRally 2 has been previously installed.)
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• A Note of Apology - February 5, 2002:
  
  Sorry for all the frequent updates over the past few days.  There have been a lot of reports coming in since the initial release of ChessRally 2 about problems in the Rally Rooms, one of the game's key features that's completely new to version 2.0.  As it stands right now, the most recent version is quite stable in every aspect, and we hope it will remain the only update for a while.  We believe that is the case since the updates since the initial release on Jan 22 have had fixes for nearly every aspect of the Online Rally Room experience, leaving nothing remaining to cause significant problems.  We fully apologize for the inconvenience of having to download all of these updates so close together, especially those of you on slower Internet connections, and thank you all for your generous patience.  You are a wonderful group of users, and it's been fun getting to know you!
  There have been a lot of reports coming in since the initial release of ChessRally 2 about problems in the Rally Rooms, one of the game's key features that's completely new to version 2.0.  As it stands right now, the most recent version is quite stable in every aspect, and we hope it will remain the only update for a while.  We believe that is the case since the updates since the initial release on Jan 22 have had fixes for nearly every aspect of the Online Rally Room experience, leaving nothing remaining to cause significant problems.  We fully apologize for the inconvenience of having to download all of these updates so close together, especially those of you on slower Internet connections, and thank you all for your generous patience.  You are a wonderful group of users, and it's been fun getting to know you!
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• Tuesday, February 5, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Build 503 Released!
  
  ChessRally 2 Build 503 was released today, and will hopefully be the last update for a while...  This new version is a critical update for all ChessRally users.  As with the other 500 series of builds, this new version is not a major update, and so it is a free upgrade for current Gold Edition customers, and will not affect the trial period of Free Edition / Gold Edition Trial users.  Basically, all licensing arrangements are the same as the previous versions.  The only thing different is the new and improved code.
  
  This new build includes a fix for a Rally Rooms issue where in a timed game, if a person ran out of time, it would end the game on their end, but no one else would see it... their opponent's clock (and spectator clocks) would just stop at 00:00:00.  It now works as expected.
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• Monday, February 4, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Build 502 Released!
  
  ChessRally 2 Build 502 was released today.  This new version is a critical update for all ChessRally users.  Previous versions are no longer supported.  To get support for ChessRally 2, all customers and users must upgrade to this new version.  However, even though it is a critical update, this new version is not a major update, and so it is a free upgrade for current Gold Edition customers, and will not affect the trial period of Free Edition / Gold Edition Trial users.  Basically, all licensing arrangements are the same as the previous versions.  The only thing different is the new and improved code.
  
  This latest release fixes several game play issues, including a stalemate recognition error, and also includes much better online playability with faster and more efficient communications code (Internet related programming).  There is also a fix for a Ratings problem (Thanks to "TM" for the report) that existing in build 500 and earlier, and a fix for a Resign problem (Thanks to the many reports I received about that one.)  Build 500 and 501 was released yesterday, and thanks you, our users, other issues were reported, prompting a quick update to 502.)   For a complete list of the latest changes, click here.
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• Wednesday, January 23, 2002 - ChessRally 2 In The "Download Spotlight" at CNET's Download.com!
  
  Hurrah Again!!  CNET/Download.com has put ChessRally 2 the top spot for the "Download Spotlight" on their Games Door.  It will be in the Download Spotlight for this week.  For those of you not familiar with the Download Spotlight, it is the area where the put titles which are basically the "Pick of the Week" for their main categories.  That means that our chess software is the #1 Pick of all games this week on download.com!  We are all very excited about this... this is very good news for us and the chess playing community!  Many thanks go to the wonderful content team at Download.com for choosing ChessRally 2 for the Download Spotlight!
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• Tuesday, January 22, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Officially Launched Today! - CNET calls it a "Pick"!
  
  Hurrah!  The release of ChessRally 2 was officially launched today.  And we are proud to say that CNET/Download.com has given it "Pick" status, which is an honor and a privilege... and just plain old cool.  The latest build (490) of the "final release" has indeed become the official release, so if you've downloaded that version, you will not need to download it again.
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• Saturday, January 19, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Rally Room Server Released
  
  Want to run your own Private Rally Room Server?  We've just released the ChessRally 2 Rally Room Server software for public use.  If you want to host a chat and chess game server for your private LAN, or over the Internet exclusively for you and your chess playing friends, then this download is for you!
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• Friday, January 18, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Final Release (...Again, I know, I know :)
  
  User Authentication has been integrated into ChessRally 2 for sending Email Chess Moves through SMTP Email Servers that require authentication.  Thanks to one of our users reporting the issue with their ISP requiring email user authentication, we were able to integrate the functionality in time for release.
  
  Also... the release has been put off by a day to Tuesday, January 22nd, instead of Monday.  CNET will not be able to post the update to download.com until Tuesday when they post changes to the main areas, so we're putting off the whole launch by one day.  Sorry if this causes anyone any inconvenience!
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• Friday, January 18, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Final Release... Again!
  
  The ChessRally 2 Final Release has been Re-Released!  Thanks to a couple of ChessRally 2 beta testers, a glitch in the setup program was discovered that would not allow the installation to be completed on some systems.  This issue was a bug in the setup utility we use to create setup programs, and was fixed by the manufacturer of that software for us this morning.  This issue is now fixed.
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• Wednesday, January 16, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Final Release!
  
  The ChessRally 2 Final Release is now available!
  
  ChessRally 2 is now officially ready for release!  Although the official launch isn't scheduled until the 21st, this new download is the final release of ChessRally 2.  A complete list of all fixes and additions/changes since the Release Candidate are posted here.
  
  A note of serious thanks to all of the beta testers... you've all tested long and hard, and have given us a ton of great feedback from bug reports to requests and suggestions.  We thank you immensely for your participation in the ChessRally 2 Beta Program.  You've all made ChessRally 2 worth making!!  There will soon be an official Beta Tester's Thank You page with credits for those of you who gave us permission to print your names.  (And to the remaining 40 or so of you... an anonymous, yet just as grateful thanks!)
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• Monday, January 7, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Release Candidate Released!
  
  ChessRally 2 is now ready for release!  Though the beta program is still going on until the 21st, this version will be the final released version unless any new issues are discovered.  So keep testing with this Release Candidate!  If all goes well, this will be the actual download made publicly available on the 14th.
  
  Also, CNet/Download.com will be reviewing ChessRally 2 this week... wish us luck!
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• URGENT!! - Thursday, January 3, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Beta 5 RE-Released!
  
  Oops!! It seems I uploaded the wrong file! :(
  
  My most sincerest apologies for the inconvenience of having to download Beta 5 again.  I forgot to re-run the setup program builder, so I accidentally uploaded Beta 4 thinking is was Beta 5.
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• Thursday, January 3, 2002 - ChessRally 2 Beta 5 Released!
  
  Thanks to the commitment of our wonderful Beta Testers (Thanks guys!) who are working hard and rapidly reporting issues, many issues have been found and resolved, and ChessRally 2 is closer than ever to final release!
  
  And so, the fifth incarnation of the ChessRally 2 Beta (Beta 5, Build 448) has been released today!  The new build contains all fixes and changes from Betas 1 through 4, plus a number of new fixes and changes:
  
  The three biggest issues from Beta 4 (and prior) that are fixed in Beta 5 are: (1) ChessRally wouldn't run anymore on non-US English regional installs of Windows because it mis-recognized dates (different regions use different formatting, i.e. - "MM/DD/YY" for US/Eng, and "DD/MM/YY" for many European regional settings) and thought the beta period had expired; (2) ChessRally wasn't recognizing Intel Pentium 4 processors correctly, and therefore wouldn't let you run it on a Pentium 4 system; and (3) ChessRally was slowly gobbling memory until none was left!  There are more fixes and changes in this new beta, and they are all listed in the Version History.
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• Monday, December 31, 2001 - ChessRally 2 Beta 4 Released!
  
  We did it again...  the fourth incarnation of the ChessRally 2 Beta (Beta 4, Build 443) has been released today!  This time, the new build contains all Beta 2 and 3 fixes, and will let you use it past January 1, 2002 (tomorrow).
  
  Originally, the beta test period for ChessRally 2 was supposed to start no later than December 1.  We put an expiration date on it to not allow usage past January 1, 2002, which would have been fine if we made the December 1 date.  Since the beta period actually started on December 23, almost a month later than anticipated, an expiration of January 1 is no longer appropriate.  CR2 Beta 4 has a new expiration date of February 1, 2002.  I'm just glad we caught this in time!
  
  We wish all of you the Happiest New Year!!
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• Sunday, December 30, 2001 - ChessRally 2 Beta 3 Released!
  
  The third incarnation of the ChessRally Beta (Beta 3, Build 442) has been released today!  What?  A new version already?  What happened to Beta 2 that you just released earlier today?  Well, the new build contains all Beta 2 fixes, plus a fix for a potentially serious problem on Non-English Windows installations, discovered by a beta tester in the Netherlands (Thank you!).
  
  The problem was, that on non-English Windows installs, where numeric formats are something other than the English usage (e.g. - English:"1,234.56", Dutch:"1.234,56"), various problems would occur that affected Theme Selection & Loading, the Ratings System, Printing, the game clocks as it pertained to display in the Move History Window and in Saved Games, and a few other minor areas.  ChessRally 2 Beta 3 works around this by enforcing English standards.  (Since it's all happening under the hood, there's no reason to allow for International differences.)  Thanks again to my Dutch friend in the Netherlands for discovering this problem!
  
  See you in the Beta Tester's Hangout Rally Room!!
  
  Note: Also updated is the Theme Creation Kit... the only difference with the update is it makes a note about International numbers.
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• Sunday, December 30, 2001 - ChessRally 2 Beta 2 Released!
  
  The second incarnation of the ChessRally Beta (Beta 2, Build 440) has been released first thing today!  It contains fixes for several tester-identified problems (thanks to everyone for the reports!)
  
  I'm still looking to meet most of you in the Online Rally Rooms... see you there!! 
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• Saturday, December 29, 2001 - Theme Creator's Kit Released!
  
  The ChessRally 2 TCK ("Theme Creator's Kit") is complete and ready to download!!  So, if you feel the urge to be creative, it will be much easier to create ChessRally 2 Themes with this new download.  The TCK includes a complete Theme Specification as well as some sample and template images.
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• Saturday, December 29, 2001 - Themes Update
  
  All of the themes have been updated using the new "ChessRally 2 Wave Fixer", an audio preparation utility that works around issues with problematic sound card drivers.  (The Wave Fixer is a part of the new "Theme Creator's Kit".)  If you're experiencing weird audio problems (snap, crackle, pop, etc.), download the Theme(s) again, as the problems should be resolved with these updated wave files.
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• Thursday, December 27, 2001 - Beta Update
  
  Several of the beta testers have already made some contributions by pointing out a couple of glitches and a functional issues.  Thank you very much for those reports.  The updated beta version should be available by Sunday, December 30, as well as updates to all of the Themes.  (The Themes needed to be updated to work around a DirectX audio issue with some sound card drivers.)
  ..
• Sunday, December 23, 2001 - ChessRally 2 Beta Released!
  
  At loooong last!!  We've been working on this for so long, it's hard to believe we're releasing the beta.  We trust it will be well worth it, both for you, the users, and for us.
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• Sunday, December 23, 2001 - Website Nearly Completed!
  
  I'm on a roll here!  After completing the documentation Friday, I felt the muses whispering in my ear.  Just a day and half later, this website went from absolutely nothing to what you see before you!  The beta will be released today.
  .
• Saturday, December 22, 2001 - Documentation Completed!
  
  Finished the documentation today.  It always takes me longer to create a "User's Guide" than I think... ah well, it's done now.
  .
• Wednesday, December 19, 2001 - ChessRally 2 Beta Complete!
  
  Finished Alpha testing and made the first official beta build today.  Everything seems to be working exceptionally well, except on a couple of test machines some of the wave files don't sound right using DirectX with audio hardware acceleration.  Hopefully, we'll have a workaround for that by the official release.  (Note: If you are experiencing odd audio behaviors, and you're using DirectX 7.0 or higher, go to the ChessRally Options screen, and disable the option "Use DirectX for Audio".  This will cause ChessRally to use Windows' Multimedia Subsystem instead, and every sound is perfect, but unfortunately, no mixing is possible.

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