Peter R Jennings

The Commodore ChessMate, developed by Peter R Jennings in 1977.
The Commodore ChessMate, developed by Peter R Jennings in 1977.

Peter R Jennings is a Canadian physicist, scientist, inventor, software developer, computer chess programmer, and entrepreneur. He is best known for creating MicroChess, the first commercially successful chess program for microcomputers, in 1976.[1]

Jennings was born in Bedford, England, in 1950. In the 1960s his family moved to Ontario, Canada.[2] He developed MicroChess shortly after leaving graduate school in New York; the code was sold on paper, so buyers had to type in the code to activate the program.[3] MicroChess was the first software to sell over 10,000 copies.[4]

Later versions, on the Apple II and the TRS-80, sold millions of copies.[3] It was also available on the Commodore PET and Atari 400/800 platforms.[5][6][7]

In 1976, Peter R Jennings co-founded the corporation Personal Software with Dan Fylstra, which became VisiCorp, and was involved in the creation of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program.[8] MicroChess sales helped to finance the development of VisiCalc.[6][9]

Jennings also developed the first model of the ChessMate, working for Commodore in 1977.[10]

He received an MA in physics from SUNY Stony Brook University in 1972, and a MBA in finance and marketing from McMaster University in 1974.[2]

Publications

References

  1. ↑ "6502.org: Source: MicroChess". 6502.org. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  2. 1 2 VE3SUN. "Peter Jennings". www.benlo.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  3. 1 2 "Computer History Museum - Chess For Everyone - Early Microcomputer Chess". www.computerhistory.org. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  4. ↑ "We've mentioned Peter Jennings' ground-breaking Microchess before - the first…". plus.google.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  5. ↑ (www.maddogproductions.com/creative), Mad Dog Productions. "IT History Society". www.ithistory.org. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  6. 1 2 Chess (Tandy Radio Shack Color Computer) (1980), 1980-01-01, retrieved 2016-01-29
  7. ↑ "Scisys and Novag : The Early Years". www.chesscomputeruk.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  8. ↑ Bolton, Syd. "A brief history of computer chess". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  9. ↑ Szewczyk, Roman; Kaštelan, Ivan; Temerinac, Miodrag; Barak, Moshe; Sruk, Vlado (2016-01-19). Embedded Engineering Education. Springer. ISBN 9783319275406.
  10. ↑ "Secret Weapons of Commodore: The Commodore CHESSmate". www.floodgap.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
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