Kibitzing With OoChess

A very useful feature that is available with a registered diagram is the ability to move the pieces about on the diagram freely. This can be used to explore other lines of play. Let's begin with an example that starts from the initial position:

The first thing that we need to do is register the diagram. So we place the cursor inside the diagram itself, then click on Diagram Registration. Naturally, we set White to move first. Now that the diagram is registered, we are going to set Writer's page zoom to 140, just to make the diagram nice and large for Kibitzing. This will make it easier to click on the pieces. This is done in the lower right of Writer's window:

Enabling Kibitz Mode

To enable Kibitz mode, simply place the cursor into the center of the top left corner square of the diagram. (This is the square a8 in our diagram.) Try to center the cursor in the very center of the square as close as you can. Now, hold down the CTRL key and then single click the mouse while the cursor is centered in the top left corner square. This may strike the user as inelegant, but it is the only way to do it in Writer, and having the ability to Kibitz moves on a diagram is too good a feature to pass up on just because the enabling mechanism appears a bit odd.

The first thing that you'll notice is that the screen is now frozen – you can no longer scroll up or down. This is done to insure that the diagram's position on the screen cannot be altered. (This is vital for insuring that we get the correct coordinates of the square as they are clicked.)

Making Kibitz Moves

You can now click on the various squares on the board. To make any move, simply click on a piece you want to move, then click on the square you want to move it to. The Kibitz moves that you make are also recorded, so you can play them back and forth with the various replay navigation icons, like Forward, Back, Start, etc. For this example, I made a number of moves from the Ruy Lopez.

Ending Kibitz Mode

When you are finished Kibitzing on the diagram, all you have to do to end the Kibitz session is to hold down the CTRL key and then click with your mouse anywhere inside the diagram. The position of the diagram is restored to whatever it was when you enabled the Kibitz mode, even if you were in the middle of playing back some moves that had been prepared for the diagram. You can also end the Kibitz session by clicking on the Diagram Registration icon or by double clicking on any prepared move that is associated with the diagram.

Saving the Moves from the Kibitz Recorder

When you end a Kibitz session, by CTRL clicking on the diagram, you'll be asked whether you want to save your Kibitz moves (if there are any.) If you answer yes, then you'll be presented with the option to provide starting move number for the sequence of Kibitz moves. The code will try to determine this number and present that to you, but you are free to change it.

After you click on OK, the moves will be copied to the clipboard. From there, you can paste them back into your document wherever you wish. Here is the list of the Kibitz moves I made on the above diagram:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Re1 O-O 8. c3

This should prove to be a very useful feature in a number of ways.