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<p><b>Roberto</b>: Thanks for the feedback! First, let me make a distinction between Ultima and Opulent (and others.)</p> <p>Ultima is radically different from the other games ChessV implements, and it is very possible that changes which are 'improvements' for most games, could very well reduce the skill at Ultima slightly. Still, such things can be corrected if I can identify the problem; I've run a few Ultima tests today, but nothing conclusive. What I can do is run tests where various settings are changed so that White 'thinks' differently from Black, and then reverse it, and thus see which settings prove to be superior. I've run a few tests today, with the 5-seconds-per-move you have used, and I seem to get a White win no matter how I configure the sides. Increase it to 10 seconds and I start to see a little differentiation. (My hardware is about the same as yours.) I'll play with it some more, but ultimately, to really do Ultima correctly, more code needs to be written to enhance Ultima, but such code doesn't do anything to improve the play of any other games, so I'm reluctant to put too much time into it.</p><p>Opulent Chess is another story; this is a pretty typical game that should be (generally) as strong or weak as other similar games. However, Opulent Chess has 24 pieces/side and that is more than any game supported by the previous version (the new TenCubed Chess also has 24 pieces/side.) And the more pieces, and the larger the board, the more time required to think to the same depth. I wonder if 5 seconds just isn't enough for it to think deeply enough to compete with you at this game. I suspect compairing it to 5 seconds per move at Grand Chess, for example, will show quite a difference in computer playing skill just because the board is significantly more crowded (and, thus, more captures must be considered in the quiescent search.) I would be curious to see what I-Depth is being reached in the mid-game of your Opulent Chess games. When the computer finishes thinking, and has moved, the I-Depth listed at the top-left of the screen is the depth to which the search has completed. If it's stopping at 3 or 4, for example, in complex positions, that might just not be enough to compete. Opulent and TenCubed are the most processor-intensive games (excluding Ultima) that ChessV supports. </p><p>Also, if you have a save-game file for the Opulent Chess game or the Ultima games you describe, please email or post it and let me know the moves in question, so I can study them. It is also very possible that I have introduced new bugs. This version is very, very, VERY different from the previous one. Thanks again!</p>