Two of the most common requests on our Discord were takebacks and a way to play one game over several sittings. Both are now part of playing against Maia.
Practice mode
The setup dialog for a game against Maia has a Practice mode option. A practice game is unrated, and it adds two buttons beside the board:
- Takeback undoes your last move, along with Maia's reply if it has already answered.
- +15s adds fifteen seconds to your clock.
Both ask you to confirm, in place, before they act. Wins and draws in practice games still count in your statistics; only your rating is left alone.
Come back to a game later
Unlimited games and practice games against Maia are now kept in your browser after every move. If you refresh the page or close the tab, the game picks up where you left it, with the clocks paused while you were away. The setup dialog also offers to continue an unfinished game, for up to two weeks. These games are unrated.
Rated games with a clock are still played in one sitting.
Your settings are remembered
The setup dialog starts from the choices you made last time: opponent, time control, Maia's thinking time and practice mode, and for Hand and Brain your partner and your role. "Play again" in Hand and Brain reopens the dialog with the last game's settings.
Maia knows the clock
With human-like thinking time, Maia decides how long to think from the clocks of the game. It is now told the game's real clocks, increment included. Before, it played every game as if there were no increment, and it moved instantly in unlimited games.
Smaller things
- Time controls go up to 180 minutes, with an increment of up to 60 seconds.
- A checkmate delivered as your clock reaches zero now stands.
- A failed request to Maia no longer breaks the game.
For everything else that changed, see What's New on Maia Chess.