Sargon II (video game)

Sargon II is a sequel to "Sargon". Both are computer chess programs for home computers.
Development.
The Spracklens made significant improvements on the original program and released "Sargon II". In 1978 it tied for third at the ninth North American Computer Chess Championship despite being seeded ninth of 12 entries. "Sargon" finished only behind Belle and Chess 4.7, and defeated AWIT—running on a $5 million Amdahl mainframe—amazing the audience. That year they published a series of articles in "BYTE" on computer chess programming, stating "we think it would be nice if not everyone had to reinvent the wheel".
"Sargon II" was ported to a variety of personal computers popular in the early 1980s. The game engine featured multiple levels of lookahead to make it more accessible to beginning chess players. "BYTE" in 1980 estimated that "Sargon II" had a 1500 rating at the highest tournament-time difficulty level, and speculated that it was the best chess program for sale, including dedicated devices.
Reception.
J. Mishcon reviewed The Software Exchange's "Sargon II" for the TRS-80 and Apple II in "The Space Gamer" No. 32. Mishcon commented that "This effort stands strongly in the small group of programs that set industry standards. It is a competent computer opponent in the incredibly complex world of chess. Highly recommended for everyone short of the chess master."
"BYTE" in 1980 stated "buy it. Sargon II is everything Sargon I should have been ... Nearly every deficiency of Sargon has been corrected." The magazine concluded that the game "is about all we computer chess players could wish for". It also favorably reviewed the ROM-cartridge Sargon 2.5, but advised Sargon II owners to "wait for Sargon 3". "Ahoy!" in 1984 stated that the Commodore VIC-20 version of "Sargon II"s "chess-playing capability is excellent" and a bargain compared to dedicated chess computers, and gave a similarly favorable review of the Commodore 64 version. "The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984" gave the game an overall A- rating, stating that only "Chess 7.0" was superior on a microcomputer and concluding that it "is a very worthy opponent for any chess enthusiast". Tim Harding in 1985 called "Sargon II" the first "halfway competent chess program" for home computers. He stated that "in early 1984 the VIC/Sargon II combination was still among the strongest home computer chess programs" despite its age, with "many features superior to today's weaker amateur programs".