Peter R. Jennings (born 1950) is a Canadian physicist, scientist, inventor, software developer, computer chess programmer, and entrepreneur. He is best known for creating

MicroChess ''Microchess'', by Peter R Jennings, Peter R. Jennings, was the first commercially successful chess program for microcomputers. Originally designed for the MOS Technology KIM-1 it was released on December 18, 1976. ''Microchess'', as small as ...

, the first microcomputer game to be sold commercially in 1976.

Biography

Early life

Jennings was born in Bedford, England, in 1950. In the 1960s his family moved to Ontario, Canada. He received an MA in physics from SUNY Stony Brook University in 1972, and an MBA in finance and marketing from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

in 1974.

''Microchess''

Jennings developed ''

Microchess ''Microchess'', by Peter R Jennings, Peter R. Jennings, was the first commercially successful chess program for microcomputers. Originally designed for the MOS Technology KIM-1 it was released on December 18, 1976. ''Microchess'', as small as ...

'' shortly after leaving graduate school in New York; the code was sold on paper, so buyers had to manually enter the program using a keyboard. ''Microchess'' was the first software to sell over 10,000 copies. Later versions, on the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

and the

TRS-80 The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of '' ...

, sold millions of copies. It was also available on the

Commodore PET The Commodore PET is a line of personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. A single all-in-one case combines a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read-only memory, keyboard, monochrome monitor, an ...

and Atari 400/800 platforms.

ChessMate

Jennings also developed the first model of the ChessMate, working for

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

in 1977.

Later years

In 1976, along with

Dan Fylstra Dan Fylstra is a pioneer of the software products industry. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 1975 he was a founding associate editor of ''Byte'' magazine. In 1978 he co-founded Personal Software, and that year reviewed ...

, he co-founded the corporation

Personal Software VisiCorp was an early personal computer software publisher. Its most famous products were Microchess, Visi On and VisiCalc. It was founded in 1976 by Dan Fylstra and Peter R. Jennings as Personal Software, and first published Jennings' Microch ...

, which became

VisiCorp VisiCorp was an early personal computer software publisher. Its most famous products were Microchess, Visi On and VisiCalc. It was founded in 1976 by Dan Fylstra and Peter R. Jennings as Personal Software, and first published Jennings' Microches ...

, and was involved in the creation of

VisiCalc VisiCalc (for "visible calculator") is the first spreadsheet computer program for personal computers, originally released for Apple II by VisiCorp on 17 October 1979. It is often considered the application that turned the microcomputer from a hob ...

, the first spreadsheet program. MicroChess sales helped to finance the development of VisiCalc.

Publications

* January 1978: "The Second World Computer Chess Championships". ''BYTE''. p. 108. * March 1978: "Microchess 1.5 vs. Dark Horse". ''BYTE''. p. 166. * 1979: "Revolution in Personal Computing". Wharton Magazine. * No date: "A Good, Long Read (for 18 Years)". ''Foundation RISC User Online''. RISCOS Ltd.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Peter R Canadian businesspeople Canadian inventors Canadian physicists Computer chess people Living people 1950 births