Engine Arena 0.2.0 Beta 2 — WebView2 setup fix

Fixes the WebView2 setup error reported during laptop installation of Beta 1.

What changed

• Microsoft's -2147219416 (0x80040828) means the runtime is already installed. Selecting the optional runtime setup no longer blocks Engine Arena when the WebView2 loader can detect that runtime.
• Setup now uses the WebView2 SDK's detection API, with registry state retained for diagnostics. Missing or unusable runtimes still produce an error; unknown installation failures and restart requirements are not ignored.
• The optional checkbox now reads Run Microsoft WebView2 setup again (usually unnecessary). Leave it unchecked for normal installation.
• Failures include more specific guidance and the setup log location.

Install

Download EngineArenaSetup-0.2.0-beta.2-win-x64.exe below. Windows 11 x64; Python, .NET, offline WebView2 setup and optional signed PawnIO setup are included. Add your own engines and books. Close Engine Arena before updating; tournament data and settings are preserved.

If Beta 1 is already installed and working, you can keep testing it. This update fixes setup; it does not change tournament calculations or game execution.

Validation

Ten compiled prerequisite-policy cases passed, including the exact reported error, already-installed races, broken runtime, launch failure, unexpected errors and restart-required. The real SDK loader was checked against an available runtime and a per-process empty-runtime override without changing the machine's shared runtime. The packaged installer and retained workspace were checked on the development machine. Laptop-specific behavior still needs retesting.

The Engine Arena installer remains unsigned. Testing guide · Validation scope · Feedback

Installer SHA-256: c388e6283f6ce94af733f68af4acedf2b3e837f7c4420f4cee21ce589e138f11

Engine Arena 0.2.0 Beta 1

Setup update: Beta 2 fixes error -2147219416 when optional WebView2 setup is selected. Working Beta 1 installations can continue to be used.

Engine Arena's first public beta is ready for Windows 11 x64 testing and feedback.

Download and install

Download EngineArenaSetup-0.2.0-beta.1-win-x64.exe below and run it on your Windows 11 Intel/AMD computer. This is the only file needed to install the application. Python, .NET and Microsoft's full offline WebView2 installer are included. Add your own UCI chess engines, networks, opening books and tablebases.

The optional, signed PawnIO CPU sensor driver installer is included; its setup checkbox is off by default. Games do not require it. Sensor availability depends on your hardware.

The Engine Arena installer is unsigned. Its Microsoft and PawnIO prerequisites retain their verified publisher signatures. Keep Windows security protections enabled.

In this beta

• Engine discovery, profiles, cloning and configurable UCI options.
• Matches and tournament formats, paired openings, book-capacity previews, independent concurrency and reusable time controls, including pure fixed nodes per move.
• Live standings, Elo estimates, selectable confidence intervals, LOS, opening/color results and pool ratings.
• Resizable focused boards, up to 128 live board cards, clocks, evaluation bars, engine search information, graphs and hardware displays.
• Transactional tournament storage, recovery, preserved attempts, diagnostic replays and official-result replacement.
• Automatic annotated PGN and export to a chosen file, reports and saved display preferences.

Installation and data checks

The installed beta completed four full real-engine node-only games (two opening pairs), with 428 exact go nodes 150000 searches. All four PGN formats parsed legally with unique attempt IDs. An in-place update and restart preserved results, PGN bytes and preferences. Setup and uninstall refuse to proceed while Engine Arena is open. Uninstall preserved the separate database and PGN. Every final installed payload file was checked against its SHA-256 manifest.

Earlier application validation includes 194 backend tests, 21 JavaScript checks, independent statistics audits and larger database testing. Read the validation scope for the evidence and its limits.

This is a beta, not a production acceptance claim. Clean-machine WebView2 installation, broader laptop/sensor compatibility, mixed-DPI coverage and long unattended testing still need confirmation. CPU sensor access requires user-approved elevation each session. NVIDIA GPU telemetry is supported; other GPU vendors do not yet have that telemetry provider.

Updates, source and feedback

Close all Engine Arena windows before updating. Tournament data normally lives in %LOCALAPPDATA%\EngineArena\Data, separate from the program. Updates and uninstall preserve it. Shared WebView2 and PawnIO components remain installed.

Laptop testing guide · Report a problem or suggestion

Application source is published under GPL-3.0-or-later and included with the installer. Third-party components retain their own terms.

Installer SHA-256

29504c7a324ae39ce9775f4f023f088abc77348fee0af1194b16b7bb5b98206c