KingsRow English 10-piece WLD and MTC Database Installation

Description
System Requirements

WLD db Installation

MTC db Installation

Configuring KingsRow to use the databases

Support

Description

This page has instructions for installing the KingsRow English win/loss/draw (WLD) and moves-to-conversion (MTC) endgame database files. These databases have data for positions with 2 pieces through 10 pieces with up to 5 pieces on one side. The MTC db has data for positions with moves-to-conversion values that are at least 10 plies.

The setup program allows the selection of either a full or small database installation. The full installation installs all the data. The small installation does not install the data for 10-piece positions with 3 or more kings on a side. This allows the most useful parts of the database to be used on a PC with less RAM and disk space than is required for the full install.

System Requirements

WLD db Installation

  1. Some USB hard drives have a separate power module, while others get their power through the USB port. If your drive has an external power module, connect this to your drive and plug it into an AC power outlet.
  2. The external hard drive is shipped with a USB cable. Connect one end of the USB cable to the hard drive, and connect the other end to a USB port on your computer. Be sure to connect directly to a USB port on your computer and not indirectly through a USB hub.
  3. It will take a few seconds for your computer to detect that a new hardware device has been connected and to assign a drive letter to the USB hard drive. When this happens you will probably see a popup message from your system tray that says "Found new hardware."
  4. Using Windows Explorer, browse to the program file Kingsrow_English_WLD_Setup.exe on the USB hard drive and run it by double-clicking on the filename. You can run Windows Explorer by right-clicking on the Windows Start button, and then left-click on Explore.
  5. Follow the prompts as directed by the setup program. When you get to the screen Select Destination Location, the default location is c:\kr_english_wld. You may be installing onto a drive different than C:. If so, change the "C" to the letter of the drive where you want the database installed. You can either edit the text directly, or click the Browse button to select another drive. 
  6. When you get to the Select Components screen of the setup program, you can leave the settings as they are if you are doing a full install. To select the small install, click on the arrow at the right side of the dropdown selection box (where it says "Full installation"), and select "Small 10-piece installation".
  7. Once the setup program begins installing the database files, a full install will take at least 4 hours on a fast computer, or 2 to 3 times longer if your computer is a few years old.

MTC db Installation

  1. If you have not already done it, connect the USB hard drive to your computer by following steps 1 through 3 above in WLD db Installation.
  2. Using Windows Explorer, browse to the program file Kingsrow_English_MTC_Setup.exe on the USB hard drive and run it by double-clicking on the filename. You can run Windows Explorer by right-clicking on the Windows Start button, and then left-click on Explore.
  3. Follow the prompts as directed by the setup program. When you get to the screen Select Destination Location, the default location is c:\kr_english_mtc. You may be installing onto a drive different than C:. If so, change the "C" to the letter of the drive where you want the database installed. You can either edit the text directly, or click the Browse button to select another drive. 
  4. When you get to the Select Components screen of the setup program, you can leave the settings as they are if you are doing a full install. To select the small install, click on the arrow at the right side of the dropdown selection box (where it says "Full MTC installation"), and select "Small 10-piece MTC installation".
  5. Once the setup program begins installing the MTC files it will take at least an hour for the full installation to finish.

Configuring KingsRow to use the databases

  • Set your windows Virtual Memory to at least 2048MB.

  • Run CheckerBoard.
  • Go to the menu Engine, Select, select kingsrow.dll as the primary engine.
  • Go to the menu Engine, Options, and click the More Options button.
  • If you installed the MTC database you need to enable it and set the path to these files.
  • Go to the menu Engine, Options, and click the More Options button.
  • In the MTC Database group, put a check in the Enable box.
  • Use the Browse button to navigate to the directory where you installed the MTC databases. This will be c:\kr_english_mtc unless you installed them on a different drive.
  • Click the Check button. You should get the message "KingsRow MTC database found for 10 pieces".
  • Start a search by clicking the play (!) icon. Wait one or two minutes while KingsRow initializes the databases. Watch the messages on the status line at the bottom of the CheckerBoard window. It will display something like "Wait for db init; KingsRow db, 10 pieces, ...". 
  • You can test the MTC database by copying the following pdn position into the Windows clipboard, and pasting it into CheckerBoard using the menu Edit, PDN from clipboard:
    [FEN "W:WK7,K17,K21,K30:BK8,K5,K12,13,K20."]  
    Then click the play (!) icon. KingsRow should immediately play 17-22 and show the MTC value for this move as 194 plies. Continue clicking the play icon and view some more moves. These high MTC positions are some of the most unusual and difficult positions to play in all of checkers. You can download a file containing the highest MTC position in each database slice here.
  • Support

    Send me an email if you have any problems.