1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
3 @setfilename xboard.info
11 INFO-DIR-SECTION Games
13 * xboard: (xboard). An X Window System graphical chessboard.
22 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
23 @include copyright.texi
27 .TH xboard 6 "$Date: " "GNU"
30 xboard @- X graphical user interface for chess
35 .B xboard -ics -icshost hostname [options]
37 .B xboard -ncp [options]
52 XBoard is a graphical chessboard that can serve as a
53 user interface to chess engines (such as GNU Chess), the
54 Internet Chess Servers,
55 electronic mail correspondence chess, or your own collection of saved games.
57 This manual documents version @value{VERSION} of XBoard.
60 * Major modes:: The main things XBoard can do.
61 * Menus:: Menus, buttons, and keys.
62 * Options:: Command options supported by XBoard.
63 * Chess Servers:: Using XBoard with an Internet Chess Server (ICS).
64 * Firewalls:: Connecting to a chess server through a firewall.
65 * Environment:: Environment variables.
66 * Limitations:: Known limitations and/or bugs.
67 * Problems:: How and where to report any problems you run into.
68 * Contributors:: People who have helped developing XBoard.
69 * CMail:: Using XBoard for electronic correspondence chess.
70 * Other programs:: Other programs you can use with XBoard.
72 * Copyright:: Copyright notice for this manual.
74 * Copying:: The GNU General Public License.
76 * Index:: Index of concepts and symbol names.
83 XBoard always runs in one of four major modes. You select the
84 major mode from the command line when you start up XBoard.
87 @item xboard [options]
88 As an interface to GNU Chess or another chess engine running on your
89 machine, XBoard lets you play a game against the machine,
90 set up arbitrary positions, force variations, watch a game between two
91 chess engines, interactively analyze your stored games or set up and
92 analyze arbitrary positions. (Note: Not all chess engines support
94 @item xboard -ics -icshost hostname [options]
95 As Internet Chess Server (ICS) interface, XBoard
96 lets you play against other ICS users, observe games
97 they are playing, or review games that have recently finished. Most
98 of the ICS "wild" chess variants are supported, including bughouse.
99 @item xboard -ncp [options]
100 XBoard can also be used simply
101 as an electronic chessboard to play through games. It will read and
102 write game files and allow you to play through variations
103 manually. You can use it to browse games off the net or review games
104 you have saved. These features are also available in the other modes.
106 If you want to pipe games into XBoard, use the supplied shell
107 script @file{pxboard}. For example, from the news reader @file{xrn},
108 find a message with one or more games in it, click the Save button,
109 and type @samp{|pxboard} as the file name.
110 @item cmail [options]
111 As an interface to electronic mail correspondence chess, XBoard
112 works with the cmail program. See @ref{CMail} below for
117 @chapter Menus, buttons, and keys
120 To move a piece, you can drag it with the left mouse button, or you
121 can click the left mouse button once on the piece, then once more on
122 the destination square. To drop a new piece on a square (when
123 applicable), press the middle or the right mouse button over the
124 square and select from the pop-up menu. In cases where you can drop
125 either a white or black piece, use the middle button (or shift+right)
126 for white and the right button (or shift+middle) for black. When you
127 are playing a bughouse game on an Internet Chess Server, a list of the
128 off-board pieces that each player has available is shown in the window
129 title after the player's name; in addition, the piece menus show the
130 number of pieces available of each type. From version 4.3.14 on, it is
131 also possible in crazyhouse, bughouse or shogi to dag and drop pieces
132 to the board from the holdings squares displayed next to the board.
134 All other XBoard commands are available from the menu bar. The most
135 frequently used commands also have shortcut keys or on-screen buttons.
137 When XBoard is iconized, its graphical icon is a white knight if
138 it is White's turn to move, a black knight if it is Black's turn. See
139 Iconize in @ref{Keys} below if you have problems getting this
143 * File Menu:: Accessing external games and positions.
144 * Mode Menu:: Selecting XBoard's mode.
145 * Action Menu:: Talking to the chess engine or ICS opponents.
146 * Step Menu:: Controlling the game.
147 * Options Menu:: User preferences.
148 * Help Menu:: Getting help.
149 * Keys:: Other shortcut keys.
158 @cindex New Game, Menu Item
159 Resets XBoard and the chess engine to the beginning of a new chess
160 game. The @kbd{r} key is a keyboard equivalent. In Internet Chess
161 Server mode, clears the current state of XBoard, then
162 resynchronizes with the ICS by sending a refresh command. If you want to
163 stop playing, observing, or examining an ICS game, use an
164 appropriate command from the Action menu, not @samp{New Game}.
166 @item New Shuffle Game
167 @cindex New Shuffle Game, Menu Item
168 Similar to @samp{New Game}, but allows you to specify a particular initial position
169 (according to a standardized numbering system)
170 in chess variants which use randomized opening positions (e.g. Chess960).
171 The selected opening position will persistently be chosen on any following
172 New Game command until you use this menu to select another. Selecting
173 position number -1 will produce a newly randomized position on any new game.
174 Using this menu item in variants that normally do not shuffle their opening position
175 does cause these variants to become shuffle variants until you use the
176 @samp{New Shuffle Game} menu to explicitly switch the randomization off,
177 or select a new variant.
179 @cindex New variant, Menu Item
180 Allows you to select a new chess variant in non-ICS mode.
181 (In ICS play, the ICS is responsible for deciding which variant will be played,
182 and XBoard adapts automatically.) If you play with an engine, the engine must
183 be able to play the selected variant, or the command will be ignored.
184 XBoard supports all major variants, such as xiangqi, shogi, chess, chess960,
185 Capablanca Chess, shatranj, crazyhouse, bughouse.
187 @cindex Load Game, Menu Item
188 Plays a game from a record file. The @kbd{g} key is a keyboard equivalent.
189 A pop-up dialog prompts you for the file name. If the file contains more
190 than one game, a second pop-up dialog
191 displays a list of games (with information drawn from their PGN tags, if
192 any), and you can select the one you want. Alternatively, you can load the
193 Nth game in the file directly, by typing the number @kbd{N} after the
194 file name, separated by a space.
196 The game file parser will accept PGN (portable game notation),
197 or in fact almost any file that contains moves in algebraic
199 Notation of the form @samp{P@@f7}
200 is accepted for piece-drops in bughouse games;
201 this is a nonstandard extension to PGN.
202 If the file includes a PGN position (FEN tag), or an old-style
203 XBoard position diagram bracketed by @samp{[--} and @samp{--]}
204 before the first move, the game starts from that position. Text
205 enclosed in parentheses, square brackets, or curly braces is assumed to
206 be commentary and is displayed in a pop-up window. Any other
207 text in the file is ignored. PGN variations (enclosed in
208 parentheses) are treated as comments; XBoard is not able to walk
210 The nonstandard PGN tag [Variant "varname"] functions similarly to
211 the -variant command-line option (see below), allowing games in certain chess
212 variants to be loaded. There is also a heuristic to
213 recognize chess variants from the Event tag, by looking for the strings
214 that the Internet Chess Servers put there when saving variant ("wild") games.
216 @cindex Load Next Game, Menu Item
217 Loads the next game from the last game record file you loaded.
218 The shifted @kbd{N} key is a keyboard equivalent.
219 @item Load Previous Game
220 @cindex Load Previous Game, Menu Item
221 Loads the previous game from the last game record file you
222 loaded. The shifted @kbd{P} key is a keyboard equivalent.
223 Not available if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
224 @item Reload Same Game
225 @cindex Reload Same Game, Menu Item
226 Reloads the last game you loaded.
227 Not available if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
229 @cindex Save Game, Menu Item
230 Appends a record of the current game to a file.
232 prompts you for the file name. If the game did not begin with
233 the standard starting position, the game file includes the
234 starting position used. Games are saved in the PGN (portable
235 game notation) format, unless the oldSaveStyle option is true,
236 in which case they are saved in an older format that is specific
237 to XBoard. Both formats are human-readable, and both can be
238 read back by the @samp{Load Game} command.
239 Notation of the form @samp{P@@f7}
240 is accepted for piece-drops in bughouse games;
241 this is a nonstandard extension to PGN.
243 @cindex Copy Game, Menu Item
244 Copies a record of the current game to an internal clipboard in PGN
245 format and sets the X selection to the game text. The game can be
246 pasted to another application (such as a text editor or another copy
247 of XBoard) using that application's paste command. In many X
248 applications, such as xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
249 used for pasting; in XBoard, you must use the Paste Game command.
251 @cindex Paste Game, Menu Item
252 Interprets the current X selection as a game record and loads it, as
255 @cindex Load Position, Menu Item
256 Sets up a position from a position file. A pop-up dialog prompts
257 you for the file name. If the file contains more than one saved
258 position, and you want to load the Nth one, type the number N
259 after the file name, separated by a space. Position files must
260 be in FEN (Forsythe-Edwards notation), or in the format that the
261 Save Position command writes when oldSaveStyle is turned on.
262 @item Load Next Position
263 @cindex Load Next Position, Menu Item
264 Loads the next position from the last position file you loaded.
265 @item Load Previous Position
266 @cindex Load Previous Position, Menu Item
267 Loads the previous position from the last position file you
268 loaded. Not available if the last position was loaded from a pipe.
269 @item Reload Same Position
270 @cindex Reload Same Position, Menu Item
271 Reloads the last position you loaded.
272 Not available if the last position was loaded from a pipe.
274 @cindex Save Game, Menu Item
275 Appends a diagram of the current position to a file.
277 prompts you for the file name. Positions are saved in
278 FEN (Forsythe-Edwards notation) format unless the @code{oldSaveStyle}
279 option is true, in which case they are saved in an older,
280 human-readable format that is specific to XBoard. Both formats
281 can be read back by the @samp{Load Position} command.
283 @cindex Copy Position, Menu Item
284 Copies the current position to an internal clipboard in FEN format and
285 sets the X selection to the position text. The position can be pasted
286 to another application (such as a text editor or another copy of
287 XBoard) using that application's paste command. In many X
288 applications, such as xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
289 used for pasting; in XBoard, you must use the Paste Position command.
291 @cindex Paste Position, Menu Item
292 Interprets the current X selection as a FEN position and loads it, as
295 @itemx Reload CMail Message
296 @cindex Mail Move, Menu Item
297 @cindex Reload CMail Message, Menu Item
300 @cindex Exit, Menu Item
301 Exits from XBoard. The shifted @kbd{Q} key is a keyboard equivalent.
310 @cindex Machine White, Menu Item
311 Tells the chess engine to play White.
313 @cindex Machine Black, Menu Item
314 Tells the chess engine to play Black.
316 @cindex Two Machines, Menu Item
317 Plays a game between two chess engines.
319 @cindex Analysis Mode, Menu Item
320 XBoard tells the chess engine to start analyzing the current game/position
321 and shows you the analysis as you move pieces around.
322 Note: Some chess engines do not support Analysis mode.
324 To set up a position to analyze, you do the following:
326 1. Select Edit Position from the Mode Menu
328 2. Set up the position. Use the middle and right buttons to
329 bring up the white and black piece menus.
331 3. When you are finished, click on either the Black or White
332 clock to tell XBoard which side moves first.
334 4. Select Analysis Mode from the Mode Menu to start the analysis.
336 The analysis function can also be used when observing games on an ICS
337 with an engine loaded (zippy mode); the engine then will analyse
338 the positions as they occur in the observed game.
340 @cindex Analyze File, Menu Item
341 This option lets you load a game from a file (PGN, XBoard format, etc.)
342 and analyze it. When you select this menu item, a pop-up window appears
343 and asks for a file name to load.
344 If the file contains multiple games, another pop up appears that lets
345 you select which game you wish to analyze.
346 After a game is loaded, use the XBoard arrow buttons to step
347 forwards/backwards through the game and watch the analysis.
348 Note: Some chess engines do not support Analysis mode.
350 @cindex ICS Client, Menu Item
351 This is the normal mode when XBoard
352 is connected to a chess server. If you have moved into
353 Edit Game or Edit Position mode, you can select this option to get out.
355 To use xboard in ICS mode, run it in the foreground with the -ics
356 option, and use the terminal you started it from to type commands and
357 receive text responses from the chess server. See
358 @ref{Chess Servers} below for more information.
360 XBoard activates some special position/game editing features when you
361 use the @kbd{examine} or @kbd{bsetup} commands on ICS and you have
362 @samp{ICS Client} selected on the Mode menu. First, you can issue the
363 ICS position-editing commands with the mouse. Move pieces by dragging
364 with mouse button 1. To drop a new piece on a square, press mouse
365 button 2 or 3 over the square. This brings up a menu of white pieces
366 (button 2) or black pieces (button 3). Additional menu choices let
367 you empty the square or clear the board. Click on the White or Black
368 clock to set the side to play. You cannot set the side to play or
369 drag pieces to arbitrary squares while examining on ICC, but you can
370 do so in @kbd{bsetup} mode on FICS. In addition, the menu commands
371 @samp{Forward}, @samp{Backward}, @samp{Pause}, and @samp{Stop Examining}
372 have special functions in this mode; see below.
374 @cindex Edit Game, Menu Item
375 Allows you to make moves for both Black and White, and to change
376 moves after backing up with the @samp{Backward} command. The clocks do
379 In chess engine mode, the chess engine continues to check moves for legality
380 but does not participate in the game. You can bring the chess engine
381 into the game by selecting @samp{Machine White}, @samp{Machine Black},
382 or @samp{Two Machines}.
384 In ICS mode, the moves are not sent to the ICS: @samp{Edit Game} takes
385 XBoard out of ICS Client mode and lets you edit games locally.
386 If you want to edit games on ICS in a way that other ICS users
387 can see, use the ICS @kbd{examine} command or start an ICS match
390 @cindex Edit Position, Menu Item
391 Lets you set up an arbitrary board position.
392 Use mouse button 1 to drag pieces to new squares, or to delete a piece
393 by dragging it off the board or dragging an empty square on top of it.
394 To drop a new piece on a square, press mouse button 2 or 3 over the
395 square. This brings up a menu of white pieces (button 2) or
396 black pieces (button 3). Additional menu choices let you empty the
397 square or clear the board. You can set the side to play next by
398 clicking on the word White or Black at the top of the screen.
399 Selecting @samp{Edit Position} causes XBoard to discard
400 all remembered moves in the current game.
402 In ICS mode, changes made to the position by @samp{Edit Position} are
403 not sent to the ICS: @samp{Edit Position} takes XBoard out of
404 @samp{ICS Client} mode and lets you edit positions locally. If you want to
405 edit positions on ICS in a way that other ICS users can see, use
406 the ICS @kbd{examine} command, or start an ICS match against yourself.
407 (See also the ICS Client topic above.)
409 @cindex Training, Menu Item
410 Training mode lets you interactively guess the moves of a game for one
411 of the players. You guess the next move of the game by playing the
412 move on the board. If the move played matches the next move of the
413 game, the move is accepted and the opponent's response is auto-played.
414 If the move played is incorrect, an error message is displayed. You
415 can select this mode only while loading a game (that is, after
416 selecting @samp{Load Game} from the File menu). While XBoard is in
417 @samp{Training} mode, the navigation buttons are disabled.
419 @cindex Show Game List, Menu Item
420 Shows or hides the list of games generated by the last @samp{Load Game}
422 @item Show Move History
423 @cindex Show Move History, Menu Item
424 Shows or hides a list of moves of the current game.
425 This list allows you to move the display to any earlier position in the game
426 by clicking on the corresponding move.
427 @item Show Engine Output
428 @cindex Show Engine Output, Menu Item
429 Shows or hides a window in which the thinking output of any loaded engines
432 @cindex Edit Tags, Menu Item
433 Lets you edit the PGN (portable game notation)
434 tags for the current game. After editing, the tags must still conform to
438 <tag-section> ::= <tag-pair> <tag-section>
440 <tag-pair> ::= [ <tag-name> <tag-value> ]
441 <tag-name> ::= <identifier>
442 <tag-value> ::= <string>
445 See the PGN Standard for full details. Here is an example:
448 [Event "Portoroz Interzonal"]
449 [Site "Portoroz, Yugoslavia"]
452 [White "Robert J. Fischer"]
453 [Black "Bent Larsen"]
457 Any characters that do not match this syntax are silently ignored. Note that
458 the PGN standard requires all games to have at least the seven tags shown
459 above. Any that you omit will be filled in by XBoard
460 with @samp{?} (unknown value), or @samp{-} (inapplicable value).
462 @cindex Edit Comment, Menu Item
463 Adds or modifies a comment on the current position. Comments are
464 saved by @samp{Save Game} and are displayed by @samp{Load Game},
465 @samp{Forward}, and @samp{Backward}.
467 @cindex ICS Input Box, Menu Item
468 If this option is set in ICS mode,
470 creates an extra window that you can use for typing in ICS commands.
471 The input box is especially useful if you want to type in something long or do
472 some editing on your input, because output from ICS doesn't get mixed
473 in with your typing as it would in the main terminal window.
475 @cindex Pause, Menu Item
476 Pauses updates to the board, and if you are playing against a chess engine,
477 also pauses your clock. To continue, select @samp{Pause} again, and the
478 display will automatically update to the latest position.
479 The @samp{P} button and keyboard @kbd{p} key are equivalents.
481 If you select Pause when you are playing against a chess engine and
482 it is not your move, the chess engine's clock
483 will continue to run and it will eventually make a move, at which point
484 both clocks will stop. Since board updates are paused, however,
485 you will not see the move until you exit from Pause mode (or select Forward).
486 This behavior is meant to simulate adjournment with a sealed move.
488 If you select Pause while you are observing or examining a game on a
489 chess server, you can step backward and forward in the current history
490 of the examined game without affecting the other observers and
491 examiners, and without having your display jump forward to the latest
492 position each time a move is made. Select Pause again to reconnect
493 yourself to the current state of the game on ICS.
495 If you select @samp{Pause} while you are loading a game, the game stops
496 loading. You can load more moves manually by selecting @samp{Forward}, or
497 resume automatic loading by selecting @samp{Pause} again.
506 @cindex Accept, Menu Item
507 Accepts a pending match offer. If there is more than one offer
508 pending, you will have to type in a more specific command
509 instead of using this menu choice.
511 @cindex Decline, Menu Item
512 Declines a pending offer (match, draw, adjourn, etc.). If there
513 is more than one offer pending, you will have to type in a more
514 specific command instead of using this menu choice.
516 @cindex Call Flag, Menu Item
517 Calls your opponent's flag, claiming a win on time, or claiming
518 a draw if you are both out of time. You can also call your
519 opponent's flag by clicking on his clock or by pressing the
520 keyboard @kbd{t} key.
522 @cindex Draw, Menu Item
523 Offers a draw to your opponent, accepts a pending draw offer
524 from your opponent, or claims a draw by repetition or the 50-move
525 rule, as appropriate. The @kbd{d} key is a keyboard equivalent.
527 @cindex Adjourn, Menu Item
528 Asks your opponent to agree to adjourning the current game, or
529 agrees to a pending adjournment offer from your opponent.
531 @cindex Abort, Menu Item
532 Asks your opponent to agree to aborting the current game, or
533 agrees to a pending abort offer from your opponent. An aborted
534 game ends immediately without affecting either player's rating.
536 @cindex Resign, Menu Item
537 Resigns the game to your opponent. The shifted @kbd{R} key is a
540 @cindex Stop Observing, Menu Item
541 Ends your participation in observing a game, by issuing the ICS
542 observe command with no arguments. ICS mode only.
544 @cindex Stop Examining, Menu Item
545 Ends your participation in examining a game, by issuing the ICS
546 unexamine command. ICS mode only.
547 @item Adjudicate to White
548 @itemx Adjudicate to Black
549 @itemx Adjudicate Draw
550 @cindex Adjudicate to White, Menu Item
551 @cindex Adjudicate to Black, Menu Item
552 @cindex Adjudicate Draw, Menu Item
553 Terminate an ongoing game in Two-Machines mode (including match mode),
554 with as result a win for white, for black, or a draw, respectively.
555 The PGN file of the game will accompany the result string
556 by the comment "user adjudication".
565 @cindex Backward, Menu Item
567 Steps backward through a series of remembered moves.
568 The @samp{[<]} button and the @kbd{b} key are equivalents,
569 as is turning the mouse wheel towards you.
570 In addition, pressing the Control key steps back one move, and releasing
571 it steps forward again.
573 In most modes, @samp{Backward} only lets you look back at old positions;
574 it does not retract moves. This is the case if you are playing against
575 a chess engine, playing or observing a game on an ICS, or loading a game.
576 If you select @samp{Backward} in any of these situations, you will not
577 be allowed to make a different move. Use @samp{Retract Move} or
578 @samp{Edit Game} if you want to change past moves.
580 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Backward}
581 depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
582 off, @samp{Backward} issues the ICS backward command, which backs up
583 everyone's view of the game and allows you to make a different
584 move. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Backward} only backs up your local
587 @cindex Forward, Menu Item
589 Steps forward through a series of remembered moves (undoing the
590 effect of @samp{Backward}) or forward through a game file. The
591 @samp{[>]} button and the @kbd{f} key are equivalents,
592 as is turning the mouse wheel away from you.
594 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of Forward
595 depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
596 off, @samp{Forward} issues the ICS forward command, which moves
597 everyone's view of the game forward along the current line. If
598 Pause mode is on, @samp{Forward} only moves your local view forward,
599 and it will not go past the position that the game was in when
602 @cindex Back to Start, Menu Item
604 Jumps backward to the first remembered position in the game.
605 The @samp{[<<]} button and the shifted @kbd{B} key are equivalents.
607 In most modes, Back to Start only lets you look back at old
608 positions; it does not retract moves. This is the case if you
609 are playing against a local chess engine, playing or observing a game on
610 a chess server, or loading a game. If you select @samp{Back to Start} in any
611 of these situations, you will not be allowed to make different
612 moves. Use @samp{Retract Move} or @samp{Edit Game} if you want to change past
613 moves; or use Reset to start a new game.
615 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Back to
616 Start} depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode
617 is off, @samp{Back to Start} issues the ICS @samp{backward 999999}
618 command, which backs up everyone's view of the game to the start and
619 allows you to make different moves. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Back
620 to Start} only backs up your local view.
622 @cindex Forward to End, Menu Item
624 Jumps forward to the last remembered position in the game. The
625 @samp{[>>]} button and the shifted @kbd{F} key are equivalents.
627 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Forward to
628 End} depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode
629 is off, @samp{Forward to End} issues the ICS @samp{forward 999999}
630 command, which moves everyone's view of the game forward to the end of
631 the current line. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Forward to End} only moves
632 your local view forward, and it will not go past the position
633 that the game was in when you paused.
635 @cindex Revert, Menu Item
636 If you are examining an ICS game and Pause mode is off, issues
637 the ICS command @samp{revert}.
639 @cindex Truncate Game, Menu Item
640 Discards all remembered moves of the game beyond the current
641 position. Puts XBoard into @samp{Edit Game} mode if it was not there
644 @cindex Move Now, Menu Item
645 Forces the chess engine to move immediately. Chess engine mode only.
647 @cindex Retract Move, Menu Item
648 Retracts your last move. In chess engine mode, you can do this only
649 after the chess engine has replied to your move; if the chess engine is still
650 thinking, use @samp{Move Now} first. In ICS mode, @samp{Retract Move}
651 issues the command @samp{takeback 1} or @samp{takeback 2}
652 depending on whether it is your opponent's move or yours.
656 @section Options Menu
657 @cindex Menu, Options
661 @cindex Flip View, Menu Item
662 Inverts your view of the chess board for the duration of the
663 current game. Starting a new game returns the board to normal.
664 The @kbd{v} key is a keyboard equivalent.
666 @cindex Adjudications, Menu Item
667 Pops up a sub-menu where you can enable or disable various adjudications
668 that XBoard can perform in engine-engine games.
669 You can instruct XBoard to detect and terminate the game on checkmate
670 or stalemate, even if the engines would not do so, to verify engine
671 result claims (forfeiting engines that make false claims), rather than
672 naively following the engine, to declare draw on positions
673 which can never be won for lack of mating material, (e.g. KBK),
674 or which are impossible to win unless the opponent seeks its own demise
676 For these adjudications to work, @samp{Test Legality} should be switched on.
677 It is also possible to instruct XBoard to enforce a 50-move or 3-fold-repeat
678 rule and automatically declare draw (after a user-adjustable number of moves
679 or repeats) even if the engines are prepared to go on.
680 It is also possible to have XBoard declare draw on games that seem to drag on
681 forever, or adjudicate a loss if both engines agree (for 3 consecutive moves) that one
682 of them is behind more than a user-adjustable score threshold.
683 For the latter adjudication to work, XBoard should be able to properly understand
684 the engine's scores. To facilitate the latter, you can inform xboard here if
685 the engines report scores from the viewpoint of white, or from that of their own color.
686 @item Engine Settings
687 Pops up a sub-menu where you can set some engine parameters common to most engines,
688 such as hash-table size, tablebase cache size, maximum number of processors
689 that SMP engines can use, and where to find the Polyglot adapter needed
690 to run UCI engines under XBoard. The feature that allows setting of these parameters on
691 engines is new since XBoard 4.3.15, so not many WinBoard engines respond
692 to it yet, but UCI engines should.
693 It is also possible to specify a GUI opening book here, i.e. an opening
694 book that XBoard consults for any position a playing engine gets in.
695 It then forces the engine to play the book move, rather than to think up its own,
696 if that position is found in the book.
697 The book can switched on and off independently for either engine.
699 @cindex Time Control, Menu Item
700 Pops up a sub-menu where you can set the time-control parameters interactively.
701 Allows you to select classical or incremental time controls,
702 set the moves per session, session duration, and time increment.
703 Also allows specification of time-odds factors for one or both engines.
704 If an engine is given a time-odds factor N, all time quota it gets,
705 be it at the beginning of a session or through the time increment or
706 fixed time per move, will be divided by N.
708 @cindex Always Queen, Menu Item
709 If this option is off, XBoard brings up a dialog
710 box whenever you move a pawn to the last rank, asking what piece
711 you want to promote it to. If the option is true, your pawns are
712 always promoted to queens. Your opponent can still under-promote.
713 @item Animate Dragging
714 @cindex Animate Dragging, Menu Item
715 If Animate Dragging is on, while you are dragging a piece with the
716 mouse, an image of the piece follows the mouse cursor.
717 If Animate Dragging is off, there is no visual feedback while you are
718 dragging a piece, but if Animate Moving is on, the move will be
719 animated when it is complete.
721 @cindex Animate Moving, Menu Item
722 If Animate Moving is on, all piece moves are animated. An image of the
723 piece is shown moving from the old square to the new square when the
724 move is completed (unless the move was already animated by Animate Dragging).
725 If Animate Moving is off, a moved piece instantly disappears from its
726 old square and reappears on its new square when the move is complete.
728 @cindex Auto Comment, Menu Item
729 If this option is on, any remarks made on ICS while you are observing or
730 playing a game are recorded as a comment on the current move. This includes
731 remarks made with the ICS commands @kbd{say}, @kbd{tell}, @kbd{whisper},
733 Limitation: remarks that you type yourself are not recognized;
734 XBoard scans only the output from ICS, not the input you type to it.
736 @cindex Auto Flag, Menu Item
737 If this option is on and one player runs out of time
740 will automatically call his flag, claiming a win on time.
741 In ICS mode, Auto Flag will only call your opponent's flag, not yours,
742 and the ICS may award you a draw instead of a win if you have
743 insufficient mating material. In local chess engine mode,
745 may call either player's flag and will not take material into account.
747 @cindex Auto Flip View, Menu Item
748 If the Auto Flip View option is on when you start a game, the board
749 will be automatically oriented so that your pawns move from the bottom
750 of the window towards the top.
752 @cindex Auto Observe, Menu Item
753 If this option is on and you add a player to your @code{gnotify}
754 list on ICS, XBoard will automatically observe all of that
755 player's games, unless you are doing something else (such as
756 observing or playing a game of your own) when one starts.
757 The games are displayed
758 from the point of view of the player on your gnotify list; that is, his
759 pawns move from the bottom of the window towards the top.
760 Exceptions: If both players in a game are on your gnotify list, if
763 variable is set to 0, or if the ICS you are using does not
764 properly support observing from Black's point of view,
765 you will see the game from White's point of view.
766 @item Auto Raise Board
767 @cindex Auto Raise Board, Menu Item
768 If this option is on, whenever a new game begins, the chessboard window
769 is deiconized (if necessary) and raised to the top of the stack of windows.
771 @cindex Auto Save, Menu Item
772 If this option is true, at the end of every game XBoard prompts
773 you for a file name and appends a record of the game to the file
775 Disabled if the @code{saveGameFile} command-line
776 option is set, as in that case all games are saved to the specified file.
777 @xref{Load and Save options}.
779 @cindex Blindfold, Menu Item
780 If this option is on, XBoard displays the board as usual but does
781 not display pieces or move highlights. You can still move in the
782 usual way (with the mouse or by typing moves in ICS mode), even though
783 the pieces are invisible.
785 @cindex Flash Moves, Menu Item
786 If this option is on, whenever a move is completed, the moved piece flashes.
787 The number of times to flash is set by the flashCount command-line
788 option; it defaults to 3 if Flash Moves is first turned on from the menu.
790 If you are playing a game on an ICS, the board is always
791 oriented at the start of the game so that your pawns move from
792 the bottom of the window towards the top. Otherwise, the starting
793 orientation is determined by the @code{flipView} command line option;
794 if it is false (the default), White's pawns move from bottom to top
795 at the start of each game; if it is true, Black's pawns move from
796 bottom to top. @xref{User interface options}.
798 @cindex Get Move List, Menu Item
799 If this option is on, whenever XBoard
800 receives the first board of a new ICS game (or a different game from
801 the one it is currently displaying), it
802 retrieves the list of past moves from the ICS.
803 You can then review the moves with the @samp{Forward} and @samp{Backward}
805 or save them with @samp{Save Game}. You might want to
806 turn off this option if you are observing several blitz games at once,
807 to keep from wasting time and network bandwidth fetching the move lists over
809 When you turn this option on from the menu, XBoard
810 immediately fetches the move list of the current game (if any).
811 @item Highlight Last Move
812 @cindex Highlight Last Move, Menu Item
813 If Highlight Last Move is on, after a move is made, the starting and
814 ending squares remain highlighted. In addition, after you use Backward
815 or Back to Start, the starting and ending squares of the last move to
816 be unmade are highlighted.
818 @cindex Move Sound, Menu Item
819 If this option is on, XBoard alerts you by playing a sound
820 after each of your opponent's moves (or after every
821 move if you are observing a game on the Internet Chess Server).
822 The sound is not played after moves you make or moves read from a
823 saved game file. By default, the
824 sound is the terminal bell, but on some systems you can change it
825 to a sound file using the soundMove option; see below.
827 If you turn on this option when using XBoard with the Internet
828 Chess Server, you will probably want to give the
830 command to the ICS, since otherwise the ICS will ring the terminal bell
831 after every move (not just yours). (The @file{.icsrc} file
832 is a good place for this; see @ref{ICS options}.)
834 @cindex ICS Alarm, Menu Item
835 When this option is on, an alarm sound is played when your clock
836 counts down to the icsAlarmTime (by default, 5 seconds) in an ICS
837 game. For games with time controls that include an increment, the
838 alarm will sound each time the clock counts down to the icsAlarmTime.
839 By default, the alarm sound is the terminal bell, but on some systems
840 you can change it to a sound file using the soundIcsAlarm option; see
843 @cindex Old Save Style, Menu Item
844 If this option is off, XBoard saves games in PGN
845 (portable game notation) and positions in FEN (Forsythe-Edwards
846 notation). If the option is on, a save style that is compatible
847 with older versions of XBoard is used instead.
848 The old position style is more human-readable
849 than FEN; the old game style has no particular advantages.
850 @item Periodic Updates
851 @cindex Periodic Updates, Menu Item
852 If this option is off (or if
853 you are using a chess engine that does not support periodic updates),
855 will only be updated when the analysis changes. If this option is
856 on, the Analysis Window will be updated every two seconds.
857 @item Ponder Next Move
858 @cindex Ponder Next Move, Menu Item
859 If this option is off, the chess engine will think only when it is on
860 move. If the option is on, the engine will also think while waiting
861 for you to make your move.
862 @item Popup Exit Message
863 @cindex Popup Exit Message, Menu Item
864 If this option is on, when XBoard wants to display a message just
865 before exiting, it brings up a modal dialog box and waits for you to
866 click OK before exiting. If the option is off, XBoard prints the
867 message to standard error (the terminal) and exits immediately.
868 @item Popup Move Errors
869 @cindex Popup Move Errors, Menu Item
870 If this option is off, when you make an error in moving (such as
871 attempting an illegal move or moving the wrong color piece), the
872 error message is displayed in the message area. If the option is
873 on, move errors are displayed in small pop-up windows like other errors.
874 You can dismiss an error pop-up either by clicking its OK button or by
875 clicking anywhere on the board, including down-clicking to start a move.
877 @cindex Premove, Menu Item
878 If this option is on while playing a game on an ICS, you can register
879 your next planned move before it is your turn. Move the piece with
880 the mouse in the ordinary way, and the starting and ending squares
881 will be highlighted with a special color (red by default). When it is
882 your turn, if your registered move is legal, XBoard will send it to
883 ICS immediately; if not, it will be ignored and you can make a
884 different move. If you change your mind about your premove, either
885 make a different move, or double-click on any piece to cancel the move
888 @cindex Quiet Play, Menu Item
889 If this option is on, XBoard will automatically issue an ICS
891 command whenever you start a game and a
893 command whenever you finish one. Thus, you will not be distracted
894 by shouts from other ICS users while playing.
896 @cindex Show Coords, Menu Item
897 If this option is on, XBoard displays algebraic coordinates
898 along the board's left and bottom edges.
900 @cindex Hide Thinking, Menu Item
901 If this option is off, the chess engine's notion of the score and best
902 line of play from the current position is displayed as it is
903 thinking. The score indicates how many pawns ahead (or if negative,
904 behind) the chess engine thinks it is. In matches between two
905 machines, the score is prefixed by @samp{W} or @samp{B} to indicate
906 whether it is showing White's thinking or Black's, and only the thinking
907 of the engine that is on move is shown.
909 @cindex Test Legality, Menu Item
910 If this option is on, XBoard tests whether the moves you try to make
911 with the mouse are legal and refuses to let you make an illegal move.
912 Moves loaded from a file with @samp{Load Game} are also checked. If
913 the option is off, all moves are accepted, but if a local chess engine
914 or the ICS is active, they will still reject illegal moves. Turning
915 off this option is useful if you are playing a chess variant with
916 rules that XBoard does not understand. (Bughouse, suicide, and wild
917 variants where the king may castle after starting on the d file are
918 generally supported with Test Legality on.)
927 @cindex Info XBoard, Menu Item
928 Displays the XBoard documentation in info format. For this feature to
929 work, you must have the GNU info program installed on your system, and
930 the file @file{xboard.info} must either be present in the current
931 working directory, or have been installed by the @samp{make install}
932 command when you built XBoard.
934 @cindex Man XBoard, Menu Item
935 Displays the XBoard documentation in man page format. For this
936 feature to work, the file @file{xboard.6} must have been installed by
937 the @samp{make install} command when you built XBoard, and the
938 directory it was placed in must be on the search path for your
939 system's @samp{man} command.
941 @cindex Hint, Menu Item
942 Displays a move hint from the chess engine.
944 @cindex Book, Menu Item
945 Displays a list of possible moves from the chess engine's opening
946 book. The exact format depends on what chess engine you are using.
947 With GNU Chess 4, the first column gives moves, the second column
948 gives one possible response for each move, and the third column shows
949 the number of lines in the book that include the move from the first
950 column. If you select this option and nothing happens, the chess
951 engine is out of its book or does not support this feature.
953 @cindex About XBoard, Menu Item
954 Shows the current XBoard version number.
958 @section Other Shortcut Keys
960 @cindex Shortcut keys
963 Pressing the @kbd{i} or @kbd{c} key iconizes XBoard. The graphical
964 icon displays a white knight if it is White's move, or a black knight
965 if it is Black's move. If your X window manager displays only text
966 icons, not graphical ones, check its documentation; there is probably
967 a way to enable graphical icons. If you get black and white reversed,
968 we would like to hear about it; see @ref{Problems} below for
969 instructions on how to report this problem.
972 You can add or remove shortcut keys using the X resources
973 @code{form.translations}. Here is an example of what would go in your
974 @file{.Xresources} file:
977 XBoard*form.translations: \
978 Shift<Key>?: AboutGameProc() \n\
979 <Key>y: AcceptProc() \n\
980 <Key>n: DeclineProc() \n\
981 <Key>i: NothingProc()
984 Binding a key to @code{NothingProc} makes it do nothing, thus removing
985 it as a shortcut key. The XBoard commands that can be bound to keys
989 AbortProc, AboutGameProc, AboutProc, AcceptProc, AdjournProc,
990 AlwaysQueenProc, AnalysisModeProc, AnalyzeFileProc,
991 AnimateDraggingProc, AnimateMovingProc, AutobsProc, AutoflagProc,
992 AutoflipProc, AutoraiseProc, AutosaveProc, BackwardProc,
993 BlindfoldProc, BookProc, CallFlagProc, CopyGameProc, CopyPositionProc,
994 DebugProc, DeclineProc, DrawProc, EditCommentProc, EditGameProc,
995 EditPositionProc, EditTagsProc, EnterKeyProc, FlashMovesProc,
996 FlipViewProc, ForwardProc, GetMoveListProc, HighlightLastMoveProc,
997 HintProc, Iconify, IcsAlarmProc, IcsClientProc, IcsInputBoxProc,
998 InfoProc, LoadGameProc, LoadNextGameProc, LoadNextPositionProc,
999 LoadPositionProc, LoadPrevGameProc, LoadPrevPositionProc,
1000 LoadSelectedProc, MachineBlackProc, MachineWhiteProc, MailMoveProc,
1001 ManProc, MoveNowProc, MoveSoundProc, NothingProc, OldSaveStyleProc,
1002 PasteGameProc, PastePositionProc, PauseProc, PeriodicUpdatesProc,
1003 PonderNextMoveProc, PopupExitMessageProc, PopupMoveErrorsProc,
1004 PremoveProc, QuietPlayProc, QuitProc, ReloadCmailMsgProc,
1005 ReloadGameProc, ReloadPositionProc, RematchProc, ResetProc,
1006 ResignProc, RetractMoveProc, RevertProc, SaveGameProc,
1007 SavePositionProc, ShowCoordsProc, ShowGameListProc, ShowThinkingProc,
1008 StopExaminingProc, StopObservingProc, TestLegalityProc, ToEndProc,
1009 ToStartProc, TrainingProc, TruncateGameProc, and TwoMachinesProc.
1017 This section documents the command-line options to XBoard. You can
1018 set these options in two ways: by typing them on the shell command
1019 line you use to start XBoard, or by setting them as X resources
1020 (typically in your @file{.Xresources} file). Many of the options
1021 cannot be changed while XBoard is running; others set the initial
1022 state of items that can be changed with the @ref{Options} menu.
1024 Most of the options have both a long name and a short name. To turn a
1025 boolean option on or off from the command line, either give its long
1026 name followed by the value true or false
1027 (@samp{-longOptionName true}), or give just the short name to turn the
1028 option on (@samp{-opt}), or the short name preceded by @samp{x} to
1029 turn the option off (@samp{-xopt}). For options that take strings or
1030 numbers as values, you can use the long or short option names
1033 Each option corresponds to an X resource with the same name, so
1034 if you like, you can set options in your @file{.Xresources} file
1035 or in a file named @file{XBoard} in your home directory.
1036 For options that have two names, the longer one is the name of
1037 the corresponding X resource; the short name is not recognized.
1038 To turn a boolean option on or off as an
1039 X resource, give its long name followed by the value
1040 true or false (@samp{XBoard*longOptionName: true}).
1043 * Chess engine options:: Controlling the chess engine.
1044 * UCI + WB Engine Settings:: Setting some very common engine parameters
1045 * ICS options:: Connecting to and using ICS.
1046 * Load and Save options:: Input/output options.
1047 * User interface options:: Look and feel options.
1048 * Adjudication Options:: Control adjudication of engine-engine games.
1049 * Other options:: Miscellaneous.
1052 @node Chess engine options
1053 @section Chess Engine Options
1054 @cindex options, Chess engine
1055 @cindex Chess engine options
1057 @item -tc or -timeControl minutes[:seconds]
1059 @cindex timeControl, option
1060 Each player begins with his clock set to the @code{timeControl} period.
1062 The additional options @code{movesPerSession} and @code{timeIncrement}
1063 are mutually exclusive.
1064 @item -mps or -movesPerSession moves
1066 @cindex movesPerSession, option
1067 When both players have made @code{movesPerSession} moves, a
1068 new @code{timeControl} period is added to both clocks. Default: 40 moves.
1069 @item -inc or -timeIncrement seconds
1071 @cindex timeIncrement, option
1072 If this option is specified, @code{movesPerSession} is ignored.
1073 Instead, after each player's move, @code{timeIncrement} seconds are
1075 Use @samp{-inc 0} if you want to require the entire
1076 game to be played in one @code{timeControl} period, with no increment.
1077 Default: -1, which specifies @code{movesPerSession} mode.
1078 @item -clock/-xclock or -clockMode true/false
1079 @cindex clock, option
1080 @cindex clockMode, option
1081 Determines whether or not to display the chess clocks. If clockMode is
1082 false, the clocks are not shown, but the side that is to play next
1083 is still highlighted. Also, unless @code{searchTime}
1084 is set, the chess engine still keeps track of the clock time and uses it to
1085 determine how fast to make its moves.
1086 @item -st or -searchTime minutes[:seconds]
1088 @cindex searchTime, option
1089 Tells the chess engine to spend at most the given amount of time
1090 searching for each of its moves. Without this option, the chess engine
1091 chooses its search time based on the number of moves and amount
1092 of time remaining until the next time control.
1093 Setting this option also sets clockMode to false.
1094 @item -depth or -searchDepth number
1096 @cindex searchDepth, option
1097 Tells the chess engine to look ahead at most the given number of moves
1098 when searching for a move to make. Without this option, the chess
1099 engine chooses its search depth based on the number of moves and
1100 amount of time remaining until the next time control. With the option,
1101 the engine will cut off its search early if it reaches the specified depth.
1102 @item -firstNPS number
1103 @itemx -secondNPS number
1104 @cindex firstNPS, option
1105 @cindex secondNPS, option
1106 Tells the chess engine to use an internal time standard based on its node count,
1107 rather then wall-clock time, to make its timing decisions.
1108 The time in virtual seconds should be obtained by dividing the node count
1109 through the given number, like the number was a rate in nodes per second.
1110 Xboard will manage the clocks in accordance with this, relying on the number
1111 of nodes reported by the engine in its thinking output. If the given number equals zero,
1112 it can obviously not be used to convert nodes to seconds, and the time reported
1113 by the engine is used to decrement the XBoard clock in stead. The engine is supposed to
1114 report in CPU time it uses, rather than wall-clock time, in this mode. This option
1115 can provide fairer conditions for engine-engine matches on heavily loaded machines,
1116 or with very fast games (where the wall clock is too inaccurate).
1117 @code{showThinking} must be on for this option to work. Default: -1 (off).
1118 Not many engines might support this yet!
1119 @item -firstTimeOdds factor
1120 @itemx -secondTimeOdds factor
1121 @cindex firstTimeOdds, option
1122 @cindex secondTimeOdds, option
1123 Reduces the time given to the mentioned engine by the given factor.
1124 If pondering is off, the effect is indistinguishable from what would happen
1125 if the engine was running on an n-times slower machine. Default: 1.
1126 @item -timeOddsMode mode
1127 @cindex timeOddsMode, option
1128 This option determines how the case is handled where both engines have a time-odds handicap.
1129 If mode=1, the engine that gets the most time will always get the nominal time,
1130 as specified by the time-control options, and its opponent's time is renormalized accordingly.
1131 If mode=0, both play with reduced time. Default: 0.
1132 @item -hideThinkingFromHuman true/false
1133 Controls the Hide Thinking option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1134 (Replaces the Show-Thinking option of older xboard versions.)
1135 @item -thinking/-xthinking or -showThinking true/false
1136 @cindex thinking, option
1137 @cindex showThinking, option
1138 Forces the engine to send thinking output to xboard.
1139 Used to be the only way to control if thinking output was displayed
1140 in older xboard versions,
1141 but as the thinking output in xboard 4.3 is also used for several other
1142 purposes (adjudication, storing in PGN file) the display of it is now controlled
1143 by the new option Hide Thinking. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1144 (But if xboard needs the thinking output for some purpose,
1145 it makes the engine send it despite the setting of this option.)
1146 @item -ponder/-xponder or -ponderNextMove true/false
1147 @cindex ponder, option
1148 @cindex ponderNextMove, option
1149 Sets the Ponder Next Move menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1150 @item -smpCores number
1151 Specifies the maximum number of CPUs an SMP engine is allowed to use.
1152 Only works for engines that support the WinBoard-protocol cores feature.
1153 @item -mg or -matchGames n
1155 @cindex matchGames, option
1156 Automatically runs an n-game match between two chess engines,
1157 with alternating colors.
1158 If the @code{loadGameFile} or @code{loadPositionFile} option is set,
1160 starts each game with the given opening moves or the given position;
1161 otherwise, the games start with the standard initial chess position.
1162 If the @code{saveGameFile} option is set, a move record for the
1163 match is appended to the specified file. If the @code{savePositionFile}
1164 option is set, the final position reached in each game of the match is appended
1165 to the specified file. When the match is over, XBoard
1166 displays the match score and exits. Default: 0 (do not run a match).
1167 @item -mm/-xmm or -matchMode true/false
1169 @cindex matchMode, option
1170 Setting @code{matchMode} to true is equivalent to setting
1171 @code{matchGames} to 1.
1172 @item -sameColorGames n
1173 @cindex sameColorGames, option
1174 Automatically runs an n-game match between two chess engines,
1175 without alternating colors.
1176 Otherwise the same applies as for the @samp{-matchGames} option,
1177 over which it takes precedence if both are specified. (See there.)
1178 Default: 0 (do not run a match).
1179 @item -fcp or -firstChessProgram program
1181 @cindex firstChessProgram, option
1182 Name of first chess engine.
1183 Default: @file{Fairy-Max}.
1184 @item -scp or -secondChessProgram program
1186 @cindex secondChessProgram, option
1187 Name of second chess engine, if needed.
1188 A second chess engine is started only in Two Machines (match) mode.
1189 Default: @file{Fairy-Max}.
1190 @item -fb/-xfb or -firstPlaysBlack true/false
1192 @cindex firstPlaysBlack, option
1193 In games between two chess engines, firstChessProgram normally plays
1194 white. If this option is true, firstChessProgram plays black. In a
1195 multi-game match, this option affects the colors only for the first
1196 game; they still alternate in subsequent games.
1197 @item -fh or -firstHost host
1198 @itemx -sh or -secondHost host
1200 @cindex firstHost, option
1202 @cindex secondHost, option
1203 Hosts on which the chess engines are to run. The default for
1204 each is @file{localhost}. If you specify another host, XBoard
1205 uses @file{rsh} to run the chess engine there. (You can substitute a
1206 different remote shell program for rsh using the @code{remoteShell}
1207 option described below.)
1208 @item -fd or -firstDirectory dir
1209 @itemx -sd or -secondDirectory dir
1211 @cindex firstDirectory, option
1213 @cindex secondDirectory, option
1214 Working directories in which the chess engines are to be run.
1215 The default is "", which means to run the chess engine
1216 in the same working directory as XBoard
1217 itself. (See the CHESSDIR environment variable.)
1218 This option is effective only when the chess engine is being run
1219 on the local host; it does not work if the engine is run remotely
1220 using the -fh or -sh option.
1221 @item -initString string
1222 @itemx -secondInitString string
1223 @cindex initString, option
1224 @cindex secondInitString, option
1225 The string that is sent to initialize each chess engine for a new game.
1233 Setting this option from the command line is tricky, because you must
1234 type in real newline characters, including one at the very end.
1235 In most shells you can do this by
1236 entering a @samp{\} character followed by a newline. It is easier to set
1237 the option from your @file{.Xresources} file; in that case you can
1238 include the character sequence @samp{\n} in the string, and it will
1239 be converted to a newline.
1241 If you change this option, don't remove the @samp{new}
1242 command; it is required by all chess engines to
1245 You can remove the @samp{random} command if you like; including it
1246 causes GNU Chess 4 to randomize its move selection slightly so that it
1247 doesn't play the same moves in every game. Even without
1248 @samp{random}, GNU Chess 4 randomizes its choice of moves from its
1249 opening book. Many other chess engines ignore this command entirely
1250 and always (or never) randomize.
1252 You can also try adding other commands to the initString; see the
1253 documentation of the chess engine you are using for details.
1254 @item -firstComputerString string
1255 @itemx -secondComputerString string
1256 @cindex firstComputerString, option
1257 @cindex secondComputerString, option
1258 The string that is sent to the chess engine if its opponent is another
1259 computer chess engine. The default is @samp{computer\n}. Probably the
1260 only useful alternative is the empty string (@samp{}), which keeps the
1261 engine from knowing that it is playing another computer.
1262 @item -reuse/-xreuse or -reuseFirst true/false
1263 @itemx -reuse2/-xreuse2 or -reuseSecond true/false
1264 @cindex reuse, option
1265 @cindex reuseFirst, option
1266 @cindex reuse2, option
1267 @cindex reuseSecond, option
1268 If the option is false,
1269 XBoard kills off the chess engine after every game and starts
1270 it again for the next game.
1271 If the option is true (the default),
1272 XBoard starts the chess engine only once
1273 and uses it repeatedly to play multiple games.
1274 Some old chess engines may not work properly when
1275 reuse is turned on, but otherwise games will start faster if it is left on.
1276 @item -firstProtocolVersion version-number
1277 @itemx -secondProtocolVersion version-number
1278 @cindex firstProtocolVersion, option
1279 @cindex secondProtocolVersion, option
1280 This option specifies which version of the chess engine communication
1281 protocol to use. By default, version-number is 2. In version 1, the
1282 "protover" command is not sent to the engine; since version 1 is a
1283 subset of version 2, nothing else changes. Other values for
1284 version-number are not supported.
1285 @item -firstScoreAbs true/false
1286 @itemx -secondScoreAbs true/false
1287 @cindex firstScoreAbs, option
1288 @cindex secondScoreAbs, option
1289 If this option is set, the score reported by the engine is taken to be
1290 that in favor of white, even when the engine plays black.
1291 Important when XBoard uses the score for adjudications, or in PGN reporting.
1292 @item -niceEngines priority
1293 @cindex niceEngines, option
1294 This option allows you to lower the priority of the engine processes,
1295 so that the generally insatiable hunger for CPU time of chess engines does not interfere so much
1296 with smooth operation of WinBoard (or the rest of your system).
1297 Negative values could increase the engine priority, which is not recommended.
1298 @item -firstOptions string
1299 @itemx -secondOptions string
1300 @cindex firstOptions, option
1301 @cindex secondOptions, option
1302 The given string is a comma-separated list of (option name=option value) pairs,
1303 like the following example: "style=Karpov,blunder rate=0".
1304 If the options announced by the engine at startup through the feature commands of WinBoard protocol
1305 matches one of the option names (i.e. "style" or "blunder rate"),
1306 it would be set to the given value (i.e. "Karpov" or 0)
1307 through a corresponding option command to the engine.
1308 This provided that the type of the value (text or numeric) matches as well.
1309 @item -firstNeedsNoncompliantFEN string
1310 @itemx -secondNeedsNoncompliantFEN string
1311 @cindex firstNeedsNoncompliantFEN, option
1312 @cindex secondNeedsNoncompliantFEN, option
1313 The castling rights and e.p. fields of the FEN sent to the mentioned engine
1314 with the setboard command will be replaced by the given string. This can for
1315 instance be used to run engines that do not understand Chess960 FENs in
1316 variant fischerandom, to make them at least understand the opening position,
1317 through setting the string to "KQkq -". (Note you also have to give the e.p. field!)
1318 Other possible applications are to provide work-arounds for engines that want to see
1319 castling and e.p. fields in variants that do not have castling or e.p.
1320 (shatranj, courier, xiangqi, shogi) so that WinBoard would normally omit them
1321 (string = "- -"), or to add variant-specific fields that are not yet supported by WinBoard
1322 (e.g. to indicate the number of checks in 3check).
1325 @node UCI + WB Engine Settings
1326 @section UCI + WB Engine Settings
1327 @cindex Engine Settings
1328 @cindex Settings, Engine
1330 @item -fUCI or -firstIsUCI true/false
1331 @itemx -sUCI or -secondIsUCI true/false
1332 @cindex fUCI, option
1333 @cindex sUCI, option
1334 @cindex firstIsUCI, option
1335 @cindex secondIsUCI, option
1336 Indicates if the mentioned engine executable file is an UCI engine,
1337 and should be run with the aid of the Polyglot adapter rather than directly.
1338 Xboard will then pass the other UCI options and engine name to Polyglot
1339 through a .ini temporary file created for the purpose.
1340 @item -PolyglotDir filename
1341 @cindex PolyglotDir, option
1342 Gives the name of the directory in which the Polyglot adapter for UCI engines expects its files.
1343 Default: "/usr/local/share/polyglot".
1344 @item -usePolyglotBook true/false
1345 @cindex usePolyglotBook, option
1346 Specifies if the Polyglot book should be used.
1347 @item -PolyglotBook filename
1348 @cindex PolyglotBook, option
1349 Gives the filename of the opening book that Polyglot should use.
1350 From XBoard 4.3.15 on, native WinBoard engines will also use the opening book specified here,
1351 provided the @code{usePolyglotBook} option is set to true,
1352 and the option @code{firstHasOwnBookUCI} or @code{secondHasOwnBookUCI} applying to the engine
1354 The engine will be kept in force mode as long as the current position is in book,
1355 and XBoard will select the book moves for it. Default "".
1356 @item -fNoOwnBookUCI or -firstXBook or -firstHasOwnBookUCI true/false
1357 @itemx -sNoOwnBookUCI or -secondXBook or -secondHasOwnBookUCI true/false
1358 @cindex fNoOwnBookUCI, option
1359 @cindex sNoOwnBookUCI, option
1360 @cindex firstHasOwnBookUCI, option
1361 @cindex secondHasOwnBookUCI, option
1362 @cindex firstXBook, option
1363 @cindex secondXBook, option
1364 Indicates if the mentioned engine has its own opening book it should play from,
1365 rather than using the external book through XBoard. Default: false.
1366 @item -defaultHashSize n
1367 @cindex defaultHashSize, option
1368 Sets the size of the hash table to n MegaBytes. Together with the EGTB cache size
1369 this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of WinBoard engines,
1370 for those that support the memory feature of WinBoard protocol. Default: 64.
1371 @item -defaultCacheSizeEGTB n
1372 @cindex defaultCacheSizeEGTB, option
1373 Sets the size of the EGTB cache to n MegaBytes. Together with the hash-table size
1374 this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of WinBoard engines,
1375 for those that support the memory feature of WinBoard protocol. Default: 4.
1376 @item -defaultPathEGTB filename
1377 @cindex defaultPathEGTB, option
1378 Gives the name of the directory where the end-game tablebases are installed, for UCI engines.
1379 Default: "/usr/local/share/egtb".
1380 @item -egtFormats string
1381 @cindex egtFormats, option
1382 Specifies which end-game tables are installed on the computer, and where.
1383 The argument is a comma-separated list of format specifications,
1384 each specification consisting of a format name, a colon, and a directory path name,
1385 e.g. "nalimov:/usr/local/share/egtb".
1386 If the name part matches that of a format that the engine requests through a feature command,
1387 xboard will relay the path name for this format to the engine through an egtpath command.
1388 One egtpath command for each matching format will be sent.
1389 Popular formats are "nalimov" DTM tablebases and "scorpio" bitbases.
1394 @section ICS options
1396 @cindex Options, ICS
1398 @item -ics/-xics or -internetChessServerMode true/false
1400 @cindex internetChessServerMode, option
1401 Connect with an Internet Chess Server to play chess against its
1402 other users, observe games they are playing, or review games
1403 that have recently finished. Default: false.
1404 @item -icshost or -internetChessServerHost host
1405 @cindex icshost, option
1406 @cindex internetChessServerHost, option
1407 The Internet host name or address of the chess server to connect
1408 to when in ICS mode. Default: @code{chessclub.com}.
1409 Another popular chess server to try is @code{freechess.org}.
1410 If your site doesn't have a working Internet name server, try
1411 specifying the host address in numeric form.
1413 to specify the numeric address when using the icshelper option
1414 with timestamp or timeseal (see below).
1415 @item -icsport or -internetChessServerPort port-number
1416 @cindex icsport, option
1417 @cindex internetChessServerPort, option
1418 The port number to use when connecting to a chess server in ICS
1419 mode. Default: 5000.
1420 @item -icshelper or -internetChessServerHelper prog-name
1421 @cindex icshelper, option
1422 @cindex internetChessServerHelper, option
1423 An external helper program used to communicate with the chess server.
1424 You would set it to "timestamp" for ICC (chessclub.com) or
1425 "timeseal" for FICS (freechess.org), after
1426 obtaining the correct version of timestamp or timeseal for your
1427 computer. See "help timestamp" on ICC and "help timeseal" on FICS.
1428 This option is shorthand for @code{-useTelnet -telnetProgram program}.
1429 @item -telnet/-xtelnet or -useTelnet true/false
1430 @cindex telnet, option
1431 @cindex useTelnet, option
1432 This option is poorly named; it should be called useHelper.
1433 If set to true, it instructs XBoard to run an external
1434 program to communicate with the Internet Chess Server.
1435 The program to use is given by the telnetProgram option.
1437 false (the default), XBoard opens a TCP socket and uses its own
1438 internal implementation of the telnet protocol to communicate with the
1439 ICS. @xref{Firewalls}.
1440 @item -telnetProgram prog-name
1441 @cindex telnetProgram, option
1442 This option is poorly named; it should be called helperProgram.
1443 It gives the name of the telnet program to be used with
1444 the @code{gateway} and @code{useTelnet} options. The default is
1445 @file{telnet}. The telnet program is invoked with the value of
1446 @code{internetChessServerHost} as its first argument and the value
1447 of @code{internetChessServerPort} as its second argument.
1449 @item -gateway host-name
1450 @cindex gateway, option
1451 If this option is set to a host name, XBoard communicates with the
1452 Internet Chess Server by using @file{rsh} to run
1453 the @code{telnetProgram} on the given host,
1454 instead of using its own internal implementation
1455 of the telnet protocol. You can substitute a different remote shell
1456 program for @file{rsh} using the @code{remoteShell} option described below.
1458 @item -internetChessServerCommPort or -icscomm dev-name
1459 @cindex internetChessServerCommPort, option
1460 @cindex icscomm, option
1461 If this option is set, XBoard communicates with the ICS through
1462 the given character I/O device instead of opening a TCP connection.
1463 Use this option if your system does not have any kind of
1464 Internet connection itself (not even a SLIP or PPP connection),
1465 but you do have dial-up access (or a hardwired terminal line) to
1466 an Internet service provider from which you can telnet to the ICS.
1468 The support for this option in XBoard is minimal. You need to
1469 set all communication parameters and tty modes before you enter
1472 Use a script something like this:
1475 stty raw -echo 9600 > /dev/tty00
1476 xboard -ics -icscomm /dev/tty00
1479 Here replace @samp{/dev/tty00} with the name of the device that your
1480 modem is connected to. You might have to add several more
1481 options to these stty commands. See the man pages for @file{stty}
1482 and @code{tty} if you run into problems. Also, on many systems stty
1483 works on its standard input instead of standard output, so you
1484 have to use @samp{<} instead of @samp{>}.
1486 If you are using linux, try starting with the script below.
1487 Change it as necessary for your installation.
1491 # configure modem and fire up XBoard
1495 stty 2400 ; stty raw ; stty hupcl ; stty -clocal
1496 stty ignbrk ; stty ignpar ; stty ixon ; stty ixoff
1497 stty -iexten ; stty -echo
1499 xboard -ics -icscomm /dev/modem
1502 After you start XBoard in this way, type whatever commands are
1503 necessary to dial out to your Internet provider and log in.
1504 Then telnet to ICS, using a command like
1505 @kbd{telnet chessclub.com 5000}.
1506 Important: See the paragraph below about extra echoes,
1507 in @ref{Limitations}.
1508 @item -icslogon or -internetChessServerLogonScript file-name
1509 @cindex icslogon, option
1510 @cindex internetChessServerLogonScript, option
1512 Whenever XBoard connects to the Internet Chess Server,
1513 if it finds a file with the name given in this option, it feeds the
1514 file's contents to the ICS as commands. The default file name
1516 Usually the first two lines of the file should be
1517 your ICS user name and password.
1518 The file can be either in $CHESSDIR, in XBoard's working
1519 directory if CHESSDIR is not set, or in your home directory.
1520 @item -msLoginDelay delay
1521 @cindex msLoginDelay, option
1522 If you experience trouble logging on to an ICS when using the
1523 @code{-icslogon} option, inserting some delay between characters
1524 of the logon script may help. This option adds @code{delay}
1525 milliseconds of delay between characters. Good values to try
1527 @item -icsinput/-xicsinput or -internetChessServerInputBox true/false
1528 @cindex icsinput, option
1529 @cindex internetChessServerInputBox, option
1530 Sets the ICS Input Box menu option. @xref{Mode Menu}. Default: false.
1531 @item -autocomm/-xautocomm or -autoComment true/false
1532 @cindex autocomm, option
1533 @cindex autoComment, option
1534 Sets the Auto Comment menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1535 @item -autoflag/-xautoflag or -autoCallFlag true/false
1536 @cindex autoflag, option
1537 @cindex autoCallFlag, option
1538 Sets the Auto Flag menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1539 @item -autobs/-xautobs or -autoObserve true/false
1540 @cindex autobs, option
1541 @cindex autoObserve, option
1542 Sets the Auto Observe menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1544 @cindex autoKibitz, option
1545 Enables kibitzing of the engines last thinking output (depth, score, time, speed, PV)
1547 to the ICS, in zippy mode. The option @code{showThinking} must be switched on for
1548 this option to work.
1549 Also diverts similar kibitz information of an opponent engine that is playing you
1550 through the ICS to the engine-output window, as if the engine was playing locally.
1551 @item -moves/-xmoves or -getMoveList true/false
1552 @cindex moves, option
1553 @cindex getMoveList, option
1554 Sets the Get Move List menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1555 @item -alarm/-xalarm or -icsAlarm true/false
1556 @cindex alarm, option
1557 @cindex icsAlarm, option
1558 Sets the ICS Alarm menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1559 @item -icsAlarmTime ms
1560 @cindex icsAlarmTime, option
1561 Sets the time in milliseconds for the ICS Alarm menu option.
1562 @xref{Options Menu}. Default: 5000.
1563 @item lowTimeWarning true/false
1564 @cindex lowTimeWarning, option
1565 Controls a color change of the board as a warning your time is running out.
1566 @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1567 @item -pre/-xpre \fRor\fB -premove true/false
1569 @cindex premove, option
1570 Sets the Premove menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1571 @item -quiet/-xquiet or -quietPlay true/false
1572 @cindex quiet, option
1573 @cindex quietPlay, option
1574 Sets the Quiet Play menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1575 @item -colorizeMessages or -colorize
1577 @cindex colorize, option
1578 Setting colorizeMessages
1579 to true tells XBoard to colorize the messages received from
1580 the ICS. Colorization works only if your xterm
1581 supports ISO 6429 escape sequences for changing text colors.
1582 @item -colorShout foreground,background,bold
1583 @itemx -colorSShout foreground,background,bold
1584 @itemx -colorChannel1 foreground,background,bold
1585 @itemx -colorChannel foreground,background,bold
1586 @itemx -colorKibitz foreground,background,bold
1587 @itemx -colorTell foreground,background,bold
1588 @itemx -colorChallege foreground,background,bold
1589 @itemx -colorRequest foreground,background,bold
1590 @itemx -colorSeek foreground,background,bold
1591 @itemx -colorNormal foreground,background,bold
1593 @cindex colorShout, option
1594 @cindex colorSShout, option
1595 @cindex colorChannel1, option
1596 @cindex colorChannel, option
1597 @cindex colorKibitz, option
1598 @cindex colorTell, option
1599 @cindex colorChallenge, option
1600 @cindex colorRequest, option
1601 @cindex colorSeek, option
1602 @cindex colorNormal, option
1603 These options set the colors used when colorizing ICS messages.
1604 All ICS messages are grouped into one of these categories:
1605 shout, sshout, channel 1, other channel, kibitz, tell, challenge,
1606 request (including abort, adjourn, draw, pause, and takeback), or
1607 normal (all other messages).
1609 Each foreground or background argument can be one of the following:
1610 black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white, or default.
1611 Here ``default'' means the default foreground or background color of
1612 your xterm. Bold can be 1 or 0. If background is omitted, ``default''
1613 is assumed; if bold is omitted, 0 is assumed.
1615 Here is an example of how to set the colors in your @file{.Xresources} file.
1616 The colors shown here are the default values; you will get
1617 them if you turn @code{-colorize} on without specifying your own colors.
1620 xboard*colorizeMessages: true
1621 xboard*colorShout: green
1622 xboard*colorSShout: green, black, 1
1623 xboard*colorChannel1: cyan
1624 xboard*colorChannel: cyan, black, 1
1625 xboard*colorKibitz: magenta, black, 1
1626 xboard*colorTell: yellow, black, 1
1627 xboard*colorChallenge: red, black, 1
1628 xboard*colorRequest: red
1629 xboard*colorSeek: blue
1630 xboard*colorNormal: default
1632 @item -soundProgram progname
1633 @cindex soundProgram, option
1635 If this option is set to a sound-playing program that is installed and
1636 working on your system, XBoard can play sound files when certain
1637 events occur, listed below. The default program name is "play". If
1638 any of the sound options is set to "$", the event rings the terminal
1639 bell by sending a ^G character to standard output, instead of playing
1640 a sound file. If an option is set to the empty string "", no sound is
1641 played for that event.
1642 @item -soundShout filename
1643 @itemx -soundSShout filename
1644 @itemx -soundChannel filename
1645 @itemx -soundKibitz filename
1646 @itemx -soundTell filename
1647 @itemx -soundChallenge filename
1648 @itemx -soundRequest filename
1649 @itemx -soundSeek filename
1650 @cindex soundShout, option
1651 @cindex soundSShout, option
1652 @cindex soundChannel, option
1653 @cindex soundKibitz, option
1654 @cindex soundTell, option
1655 @cindex soundChallenge, option
1656 @cindex soundRequest, option
1657 @cindex soundSeek, option
1658 These sounds are triggered in the same way as the colorization events
1659 described above. They all default to "", no sound. They are played
1660 only if the colorizeMessages is on.
1661 @item -soundMove filename
1662 @cindex soundMove, option
1663 This sound is used by the Move Sound menu option. Default: "$".
1664 @item -soundIcsAlarm filename
1665 @cindex soundIcsAlarm, option
1666 This sound is used by the ICS Alarm menu option. Default: "$".
1667 @item -soundIcsWin filename
1668 @cindex soundIcsWin, option
1669 This sound is played when you win an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).
1670 @item -soundIcsLoss filename
1671 @cindex soundIcsLoss, option
1672 This sound is played when you lose an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).
1673 @item -soundIcsDraw filename
1674 @cindex soundIcsDraw, option
1675 This sound is played when you draw an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).
1676 @item -soundIcsUnfinished filename
1677 @cindex soundIcsUnfinished, option
1678 This sound is played when an ICS game that you are participating in is
1679 aborted, adjourned, or otherwise ends inconclusively. Default: "" (no
1682 Here is an example of how to set the sounds in your @file{.Xresources} file:
1685 xboard*soundShout: shout.wav
1686 xboard*soundSShout: sshout.wav
1687 xboard*soundChannel1: channel1.wav
1688 xboard*soundChannel: channel.wav
1689 xboard*soundKibitz: kibitz.wav
1690 xboard*soundTell: tell.wav
1691 xboard*soundChallenge: challenge.wav
1692 xboard*soundRequest: request.wav
1693 xboard*soundSeek: seek.wav
1694 xboard*soundMove: move.wav
1695 xboard*soundIcsWin: win.wav
1696 xboard*soundIcsLoss: lose.wav
1697 xboard*soundIcsDraw: draw.wav
1698 xboard*soundIcsUnfinished: unfinished.wav
1699 xboard*soundIcsAlarm: alarm.wav
1703 @node Load and Save options
1704 @section Load and Save options
1705 @cindex Options, Load and Save
1706 @cindex Load and Save options
1708 @item -lgf or -loadGameFile file
1709 @itemx -lgi or -loadGameIndex index
1711 @cindex loadGameFile, option
1713 @cindex loadGameIndex, option
1714 If the @code{loadGameFile} option is set, XBoard loads the specified
1715 game file at startup. The file name @file{-} specifies the standard
1716 input. If there is more than one game in the file, XBoard
1717 pops up a menu of the available games, with entries based on their PGN
1718 (Portable Game Notation) tags.
1719 If the @code{loadGameIndex} option is set to @samp{N}, the menu is suppressed
1720 and the N th game found in the file is loaded immediately.
1721 The menu is also suppressed if @code{matchMode} is enabled or if the game file
1722 is a pipe; in these cases the first game in the file is loaded immediately.
1723 Use the @file{pxboard} shell script provided with XBoard if you
1724 want to pipe in files containing multiple games and still see the menu.
1725 If the loadGameIndex specifies an index -1, this triggers auto-increment
1726 of the index in @code{matchMode}, which means that after every game the
1727 index is incremented by one, causing each game of the match to be played
1728 from the next game in the file. Similarly, specifying an index value of -2
1729 causes the index to be incremented every two games, so that each game
1730 in the file is used twice (with reversed colors).
1731 The @code{rewindIndex} option causes the index to be reset to the
1732 first game of the file when it has reached a specified value.
1733 @item -rewindIndex n
1734 Causes a position file or game file to be rewound to its beginning after n
1735 positions or games in auto-increment @code{matchMode}.
1736 See @code{loadPositionIndex} and @code{loadGameIndex}.
1737 default: 0 (no rewind).
1738 @item -td or -timeDelay seconds
1740 @cindex timeDelay, option
1741 Time delay between moves during @samp{Load Game}. Fractional seconds
1742 are allowed; try @samp{-td 0.4}. A time delay value of -1 tells
1743 XBoard not to step through game files automatically. Default: 1
1745 @item -sgf or -saveGameFile file
1747 @cindex saveGameFile, option
1748 If this option is set, XBoard appends a record of every game
1749 played to the specified file. The file name @file{-} specifies the
1751 @item -autosave/-xautosave or -autoSaveGames true/false
1752 @cindex autosave, option
1753 @cindex autoSaveGames, option
1754 Sets the Auto Save menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1755 Ignored if @code{saveGameFile} is set.
1756 @item -lpf or -loadPositionFile file
1757 @itemx -lpi or -loadPositionIndex index
1759 @cindex loadPositionFile, option
1761 @cindex loadPositionIndex, option
1762 If the @code{loadPositionFile} option is set, XBoard loads the
1763 specified position file at startup. The file name @file{-} specifies the
1764 standard input. If the @code{loadPositionIndex} option is set to N,
1765 the Nth position found in the file is loaded; otherwise the
1766 first position is loaded.
1767 If the loadPositionIndex specifies an index -1, this triggers auto-increment
1768 of the index in @code{matchMode}, which means that after every game the
1769 index is incremented by one, causing each game of the match to be played
1770 from the next position in the file. Similarly, specifying an index value of -2
1771 causes the index to be incremented every two games, so that each position
1772 in the file is used twice (with the engines playing opposite colors).
1773 The @code{rewindIndex} option causes the index to be reset to the
1774 first position of the file when it has reached a specified value.
1775 @item -spf or -savePositionFile file
1777 @cindex savePositionFile, option
1778 If this option is set, XBoard appends the final position reached
1779 in every game played to the specified file. The file name @file{-}
1780 specifies the standard output.
1781 @item -pgnExtendedInfo true/false
1782 @cindex pgnExtendedInfo, option`
1783 If this option is set, WinBoard saves depth, score and time used for each
1784 move that the engine found as a comment in the PGN file.
1786 @item -pgnEventHeader string
1787 @cindex pgnEventHeader, option`
1788 Sets the name used in the PGN event tag to string.
1789 Default: "Computer Chess Game".
1790 @item -saveOutOfBookInfo true/false
1791 @cindex saveOutOfBookInfo, option`
1792 Include the information on how the engine(s) game out of its opening book in a special 'annotator' tag with the PGN file.
1793 @item -oldsave/-xoldsave or -oldSaveStyle true/false
1794 @cindex oldsave, option
1795 @cindex oldSaveStyle, option
1796 Sets the Old Save Style menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1797 @item -gameListTags string
1798 @cindex gameListTags, option
1799 The character string lists the PGN tags that should be printed in the
1800 Game List, and their order. The meaning of the codes is e=event,
1801 s=site, d=date, o=round, p=players, r=result, w=white Elo, b=black Elo,
1802 t=time control, v=variant, a=out-of-book info.
1806 @node User interface options
1807 @section User interface options
1808 @cindex User interface options
1809 @cindex Options, User interface
1814 @cindex display, option
1815 @cindex geometry, option
1816 @cindex iconic, option
1817 These and most other standard Xt options are accepted.
1819 @cindex noGUI, option
1820 Suppresses all GUI functions of XBoard
1821 (to speed up automated ultra-fast engine-engine games, which you donÂ’t want to watch).
1822 There will be no board or clock updates, no printing of moves,
1823 and no update of the icon on the task bar in this mode.
1824 @item -movesound/-xmovesound or -ringBellAfterMoves true/false
1825 @cindex movesound, option
1826 @cindex bell, option
1827 @cindex ringBellAfterMoves, option
1828 Sets the Move Sound menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1829 For compatibility with old XBoard versions, -bell/-xbell are also
1830 accepted as abbreviations for this option.
1831 @item -exit/-xexit or -popupExitMessage true/false
1832 @cindex exit, option
1833 @cindex popupExitMessage, option
1834 Sets the Popup Exit Message menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1835 @item -popup/-xpopup or -popupMoveErrors true/false
1836 @cindex popup, option
1837 @cindex popupMoveErrors, option
1838 Sets the Popup Move Errors menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1839 @item -queen/-xqueen or -alwaysPromoteToQueen true/false
1840 @cindex queen, option
1841 @cindex alwaysPromoteToQueen, option
1842 Sets the Always Queen menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1843 @item -legal/-xlegal or -testLegality true/false
1844 @cindex legal, option
1845 @cindex testLegality, option
1846 Sets the Test Legality menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1847 @item -size or -boardSize (sizeName | n1,n2,n3,n4,n5,n6,n7)
1848 @cindex size, option
1849 @cindex boardSize, option
1851 Determines how large the board will be, by selecting the pixel size
1852 of the pieces and setting a few related parameters.
1853 The sizeName can be one of: Titanic, giving 129x129 pixel pieces,
1854 Colossal 116x116, Giant 108x108, Huge 95x95, Big 87x87, Large 80x80, Bulky 72x72,
1855 Medium 64x64, Moderate 58x58, Average 54x54, Middling 49x49, Mediocre
1856 45x45, Small 40x40, Slim 37x37, Petite 33x33, Dinky 29x29, Teeny 25x25,
1858 Pieces of all these sizes are built into XBoard.
1860 be used if you have them; see the pixmapDirectory and bitmapDirectory
1862 The default depends on the size of your screen; it is approximately the
1863 largest size that will fit without clipping.
1865 You can select other sizes or vary other layout parameters by providing
1866 a list of comma-separated values (with no spaces) as the argument.
1867 You do not need to provide all the values; for any you omit from the
1868 end of the list, defaults are taken from the nearest built-in size.
1869 The value @code{n1} gives the piece size, @code{n2} the width of the
1871 between squares, @code{n3} the desired size for the
1872 clockFont, @code{n4} the desired size for the coordFont,
1873 @code{n5} the desired size for the default font,
1874 @code{n6} the smallLayout flag (0 or 1),
1875 and @code{n7} the tinyLayout flag (0 or 1).
1876 All dimensions are in pixels.
1877 If the border between squares is eliminated (0 width), the various
1878 highlight options will not work, as there is nowhere to draw the highlight.
1879 If smallLayout is 1 and @code{titleInWindow} is true,
1880 the window layout is rearranged to make more room for the title.
1881 If tinyLayout is 1, the labels on the menu bar are abbreviated
1882 to one character each and the buttons in the button bar are made narrower.
1883 @item -coords/-xcoords or -showCoords true/false
1884 @cindex coords, option
1885 @cindex showCoords, option
1886 Sets the Show Coords menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1887 The @code{coordFont} option specifies what font to use.
1888 @item -autoraise/-xautoraise or -autoRaiseBoard true/false
1889 @cindex autoraise, option
1890 @cindex autoRaiseBoard, option
1891 Sets the Auto Raise Board menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1892 @item -autoflip/-xautoflip or -autoFlipView true/false
1893 @cindex autoflip, option
1894 @cindex autoFlipView, option
1895 Sets the Auto Flip View menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1896 @item -flip/-xflip or -flipView true/false
1897 @cindex flip, option
1898 @cindex flipView, option
1899 If Auto Flip View is not set, or if you are observing but not participating
1900 in a game, then the positioning of the board at the start of each game
1901 depends on the flipView option. If flipView is false (the default),
1902 the board is positioned so that the white pawns move from the bottom to the
1903 top; if true, the black pawns move from the bottom to the top.
1904 In any case, the Flip menu option (see @ref{Options Menu})
1905 can be used to flip the board after
1907 @item -title/-xtitle or -titleInWindow true/false
1908 @cindex title, option
1909 @cindex titleInWindow, option
1910 If this option is true, XBoard displays player names (for ICS
1911 games) and game file names (for @samp{Load Game}) inside its main
1912 window. If the option is false (the default), this information is
1913 displayed only in the window banner. You probably won't want to
1914 set this option unless the information is not showing up in the
1915 banner, as happens with a few X window managers.
1916 @item -buttons/-xbuttons or -showButtonBar True/False
1917 @cindex buttons, option
1918 @cindex showButtonBar, option
1919 If this option is False, xboard omits the [<<] [<] [P] [>] [>>] button
1920 bar from the window, allowing the message line to be wider. You can
1921 still get the functions of these buttons using the menus or their keyboard
1922 shortcuts. Default: true.
1923 @item -mono/-xmono or -monoMode true/false
1924 @cindex mono, option
1925 @cindex monoMode, option
1926 Determines whether XBoard displays its pieces and squares with
1927 two colors (true) or four (false). You shouldn't have to
1928 specify @code{monoMode}; XBoard will determine if it is necessary.
1929 @item -flashCount count
1930 @itemx -flashRate rate
1931 @itemx -flash/-xflash
1932 @cindex flashCount, option
1933 @cindex flashRate, option
1934 @cindex flash, option
1935 @cindex xflash, option
1936 These options enable flashing of pieces when they
1937 land on their destination square.
1939 tells XBoard how many times to flash a piece after it
1940 lands on its destination square.
1942 controls the rate of flashing (flashes/sec).
1945 sets flashCount to 3.
1947 sets flashCount to 0.
1948 Defaults: flashCount=0 (no flashing), flashRate=5.
1949 @item -highlight/-xhighlight or -highlightLastMove true/false
1950 @cindex highlight, option
1951 @cindex highlightLastMove, option
1952 Sets the Highlight Last Move menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1953 @item -blind/-xblind or -blindfold true/false
1954 @cindex blind, option
1955 @cindex blindfold, option
1956 Sets the Blindfold menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1957 @item -clockFont font
1958 @cindex clockFont, option
1960 The font used for the clocks. If the option value is a pattern
1961 that does not specify the font size, XBoard tries to choose an
1962 appropriate font for the board size being used.
1963 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
1964 @item -coordFont font
1965 @cindex coordFont, option
1966 @cindex Font, coordinates
1967 The font used for rank and file coordinate labels if @code{showCoords}
1968 is true. If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
1969 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
1970 the board size being used.
1971 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
1973 @cindex font, option
1975 The font used for popup dialogs, menus, comments, etc.
1976 If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
1977 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
1978 the board size being used.
1979 Default: -*-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
1980 @item -fontSizeTolerance tol
1981 @cindex fontSizeTolerance, option
1982 In the font selection algorithm, a nonscalable font will be preferred
1983 over a scalable font if the nonscalable font's size differs
1984 by @code{tol} pixels
1985 or less from the desired size. A value of -1 will force
1986 a scalable font to always be used if available; a value of 0 will
1987 use a nonscalable font only if it is exactly the right size;
1988 a large value (say 1000) will force a nonscalable font to always be
1989 used if available. Default: 4.
1990 @item -bm or -bitmapDirectory dir
1991 @itemx -pixmap or -pixmapDirectory dir
1993 @cindex bitmapDirectory, option
1994 @cindex pixmap, option
1995 @cindex pixmapDirectory, option
1996 These options control what piece images xboard uses. The XBoard
1997 distribution includes one set of pixmap pieces in xpm format, in the
1998 directory @file{pixmaps}, and one set of bitmap pieces in xbm format,
1999 in the directory @file{bitmaps}. Pixmap
2000 pieces give a better appearance on the screen: the white pieces have
2001 dark borders, and the black pieces have opaque internal details. With
2002 bitmaps, neither piece color has a border, and the internal details
2003 are transparent; you see the square color or other background color
2006 If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that includes libXpm,
2007 the X pixmap library, the xpm pixmap pieces are compiled in as the
2008 default. A different xpm piece set can be selected at runtime with
2009 the @code{pixmapDirectory} option, or a bitmap piece set can be selected
2010 with the @code{bitmapDirectory} option.
2012 If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that does not include
2013 libXpm (or the @code{--disable-xpm} option is given to the configure
2014 program), the bitmap pieces are compiled in as the default. It is not
2015 possible to use xpm pieces in this case, but pixmap pieces in another
2016 format called "xim" can be used by giving the @code{pixmapDirectory} option.
2017 Or again, a different bitmap piece set can be selected with the
2018 @code{bitmapDirectory} option.
2020 Files in the @code{bitmapDirectory} must be named as follows:
2021 The first character of a piece bitmap name gives the piece it
2022 represents (@samp{p}, @samp{n}, @samp{b}, @samp{r}, @samp{q}, or @samp{k}),
2023 the next characters give the size in pixels, the
2024 following character indicates whether the piece is
2025 solid or outline (@samp{s} or @samp{o}),
2026 and the extension is @samp{.bm}.
2027 For example, a solid 80x80 knight would be named @file{n80s.bm}.
2028 The outline bitmaps are used only in monochrome mode.
2029 If bitmap pieces are compiled in and the bitmapDirectory is missing
2030 some files, the compiled in pieces are used instead.
2032 If the bitmapDirectory option is given,
2033 it is also possible to replace xboard's icons and menu checkmark,
2034 by supplying files named @file{icon_white.bm}, @file{icon_black.bm}, and
2035 @file{checkmark.bm}.
2037 For more information about pixmap pieces and how to get additional
2038 sets, see @ref{zic2xpm} below.
2039 @item -whitePieceColor color
2040 @itemx -blackPieceColor color
2041 @itemx -lightSquareColor color
2042 @itemx -darkSquareColor color
2043 @itemx -highlightSquareColor color
2044 @itemx -lowTimeWarningColor color
2046 @cindex whitePieceColor, option
2047 @cindex blackPieceColor, option
2048 @cindex lightSquareColor, option
2049 @cindex darkSquareColor, option
2050 @cindex highlightSquareColor, option
2051 @cindex lowTimeWarningColor, option
2052 Colors to use for the pieces, squares, and square highlights.
2056 -whitePieceColor #FFFFCC
2057 -blackPieceColor #202020
2058 -lightSquareColor #C8C365
2059 -darkSquareColor #77A26D
2060 -highlightSquareColor #FFFF00
2061 -premoveHighlightColor #FF0000
2062 -lowTimeWarningColor #FF0000
2065 On a grayscale monitor you might prefer:
2068 -whitePieceColor gray100
2069 -blackPieceColor gray0
2070 -lightSquareColor gray80
2071 -darkSquareColor gray60
2072 -highlightSquareColor gray100
2073 -premoveHighlightColor gray70
2074 -lowTimeWarningColor gray70
2076 @item -drag/-xdrag or -animateDragging true/false
2077 @cindex drag, option
2078 @cindex animateDragging, option
2079 Sets the Animate Dragging menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2080 @item -animate/-xanimate or -animateMoving true/false
2081 @cindex animate, option
2082 @cindex animateMoving, option
2083 Sets the Animate Moving menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2084 @item -animateSpeed n
2085 @cindex -animateSpeed, option
2086 Number of milliseconds delay between each animation frame when Animate
2090 @node Adjudication Options
2091 @section Adjudication Options
2092 @cindex Options, adjudication
2094 @item -adjudicateLossThreshold n
2095 @cindex adjudicateLossThreshold, option
2096 If the given value is non-zero, XBoard adjudicates the game as a loss
2097 if both engines agree for a duration of 6 consecutive ply that the score
2098 is below the given score threshold for that engine. Make sure the score
2099 is interpreted properly by XBoard,
2100 using @code{-firstScoreAbs} and @code{-secondScoreAbs} if needed.
2101 Default: 0 (no adjudication)
2102 @item -adjudicateDrawMoves n
2103 @cindex adjudicateDrawMoves, option
2104 If the given value is non-zero, XBoard adjudicates the game as a draw
2105 if after the given number of moves it was not yet decided. Default: 0 (no adjudication)
2106 @item -checkMates true/false
2107 @cindex checkMates, option
2108 If this option is set, XBoard detects all checkmates and stalemates,
2109 and ends the game as soon as they occur.
2110 Legality-testing must be switched on for this option to work.
2112 @item -testClaims true/false
2113 @cindex testClaims, option
2114 If this option is set, XBoard verifies all result claims made by engines,
2115 and those who send false claims will forfeit the game because of it.
2116 Legality-testing must be switched on for this option to work. Default: true
2117 @item -materialDraws true/false
2118 @cindex materialDraws, option
2119 If this option is set, XBoard adjudicates games as draws when there is
2120 no sufficient material left to inflict a checkmate.
2121 This applies to KBKB with like bishops (any number, actually), and to KBK, KNK and KK.
2122 Legality-testing must be switched on for this option to work. Default: true
2123 @item -trivialDraws true/false
2124 @cindex trivialDraws, option
2125 If this option is set, XBoard adjudicates games as draws that cannot be
2126 usually won without opponent cooperation. This applies to KBKB with unlike bishops,
2127 and to KBKN, KNKN, KNNK, KRKR and KQKQ. The draw is called after 6 ply into these end-games,
2128 to allow quick mates that can occur in some exceptional positions to be found by the engines.
2129 KQKQ does not really belong in this category, and might be taken out in the future.
2130 (When bitbase-based adjudications are implemented.)
2131 Legality-testing must be on for this option to work. Default: false
2133 @cindex ruleMoves, option
2134 If the given value is non-zero, XBoard adjudicates the game as a draw after the given
2135 number of consecutive reversible moves. Engine draw claims are always accepted after 50 moves,
2136 irrespective of the given value of n.
2137 @item -repeatsToDraw n
2138 If the given value is non-zero, xboard adjudicates the game as a draw if a position
2139 is repeated the given number of times. Engines draw claims are always accepted after 3 repeats,
2140 (on the 3rd occurrence, actually), irrespective of the value of n.
2141 Beware that positions that have different castling or en-passant rights do not count
2142 as repeats, XBoard is fully e.p. and castling aware!
2146 @section Other options
2147 @cindex Options, miscellaneous
2149 @item -ncp/-xncp or -noChessProgram true/false
2151 @cindex noChessProgram, option
2152 If this option is true, XBoard acts as a passive chessboard; it
2153 does not start a chess engine at all. Turning on this option
2154 also turns off clockMode. Default: false.
2155 @item -mode or -initialMode modename
2156 @cindex mode, option
2157 @cindex initalMode, option
2158 If this option is given, XBoard selects the given modename
2159 from the Mode menu after starting and (if applicable) processing the
2160 loadGameFile or loadPositionFile option. Default: "" (no selection).
2161 Other supported values are
2162 MachineWhite, MachineBlack, TwoMachines, Analysis,
2163 AnalyzeFile, EditGame, EditPosition, and Training.
2164 @item -variant varname
2165 @cindex variant, option
2166 Activates preliminary, partial support for playing chess variants
2167 against a local engine or editing variant games. This flag is not
2168 needed in ICS mode. Recognized variant names are:
2172 wildcastle Shuffle chess, king can castle from d file
2173 nocastle Shuffle chess, no castling allowed
2174 fischerandom Fischer Random shuffle chess
2175 bughouse Bughouse, ICC/FICS rules
2176 crazyhouse Crazyhouse, ICC/FICS rules
2177 losers Lose all pieces or get mated (ICC wild 17)
2178 suicide Lose all pieces including king (FICS)
2179 giveaway Try to have no legal moves (ICC wild 26)
2180 twokings Weird ICC wild 9
2181 kriegspiel Opponent's pieces are invisible
2182 atomic Capturing piece explodes (ICC wild 27)
2183 3check Win by giving check 3 times (ICC wild 25)
2184 shatranj An ancient precursor of chess (ICC wild 28)
2185 xiangqi Chinese Chess (on a 9x10 board)
2186 shogi Japanese Chess (on a 9x9 board & piece drops)
2187 capablanca Capablanca Chess (10x8 board, with Archbishop
2188 and Chancellor pieces)
2189 gothic similar, with a better initial position
2190 caparandom An FRC-like version of Capablanca Chess (10x8)
2191 janus A game with two Archbishops (10x8 board)
2192 courier Medieval intermediate between shatranj and
2193 modern Chess (on 12x8 board)
2194 falcon Patented 10x8 variant with two Falcon pieces
2195 berolina Pawns capture straight ahead, and move diagonal
2196 cylinder Pieces wrap around the board edge
2197 knightmate King moves as Knight, and vice versa
2198 super Superchess (shuffle variant with 4 exo-pieces)
2199 fairy A catchall variant in which all piece types
2200 known to XBoard can participate (8x8)
2201 unknown Catchall for other unknown variants
2204 In the shuffle variants, XBoard now does shuffle the pieces, although
2205 you can still do it by hand using Edit Position. Some variants are
2206 supported only in ICS mode, including bughouse, and
2207 kriegspiel. The winning/drawing conditions in crazyhouse (off-board
2208 interposition on mate), losers, suicide, giveaway, atomic, and 3check
2209 are not fully understood.
2210 Berolina and cylinder chess can only be played with legality testing off.
2211 In crazyhouse, XBoard now does keep
2212 track of off-board pieces. In shatranj it does implement the baring
2213 rule when mate detection is switched on.
2214 @item -boardHeight N
2215 @cindex boardHeight, option
2216 Allows you to set a non-standard number of board ranks in any variant.
2217 If the height is given as -1, the default height for the variant is used.
2220 @cindex boardWidth, option
2221 Allows you to set a non-standard number of board files in any variant.
2222 If the width is given as -1, the default width for the variant is used.
2223 With a non-standard width, the initial position will always be an empty board,
2224 as the usual opening array will not fit.
2226 @item -holdingsSize N
2227 @cindex holdingsSize, option
2228 Allows you to set a non-standard size for the holdings in any variant.
2229 If the size is given as -1, the default holdings size for the variant is used.
2230 The first N piece types will go into the holdings on capture, and you will be
2231 able to drop them on the board in stead of making a normal move. If size equals 0,
2232 there will be no holdings.
2234 @item -defaultFrcPosition N
2235 @cindex defaultFrcPosition, option
2236 Specifies the number of the opening position in shuffle games like Chess960.
2237 A value of -1 means the position is randomly generated by XBoard
2238 at the beginning of every game.
2240 @item -pieceToSquareTable string
2241 @cindex pieceToSquareTable, option
2242 The characters that are used to represent the piece types XBoard knows in FEN
2243 diagrams and SAN moves. The string argument has to have an even length
2244 (or it will be ignored), as white and black pieces have to be given separately
2245 (in that order). The last letter for each color will be the King.
2246 The letters before that will be PNBRQ and then a whole host of fairy pieces
2247 in an order that has not fully crystallized yet (currently FEACWMOHIJGDVSLU,
2248 F=Ferz, Elephant, A=Archbishop, C=Chancellor, W=Wazir, M=Commoner, O=Cannon,
2249 H=Nightrider). You should list at least all pieces that occur in the variant
2250 you are playing. If you have less than 44 characters in the string, the pieces
2251 not mentioned will get assigned a period, and you will not be able to distinguish
2252 them in FENs. You can also explicitly assign pieces a period, in which case they
2253 will not be counted in deciding which captured pieces can go into the holdings.
2254 A tilde '~' as a piece name does mean this piece is used to represent a promoted
2255 Pawn in crazyhouse-like games, i.e. on capture it turns back onto a Pawn.
2256 A '+' similarly indicates the piece is a shogi-style promoted piece, that should
2257 revert to its non-promoted version on capture (rather than to a Pawn).
2258 Note that promoted pieces are represented by pieces 11 further in the list.
2259 You should not have to use this option often: each variant has its own default
2260 setting for the piece representation in FEN, which should be sufficient in normal use.
2262 @item -debug/-xdebug or -debugMode true/false
2263 @cindex debug, option
2264 @cindex debugMode, option
2265 Turns on debugging printout.
2266 @item -debugFile filename or -nameOfDebugFile filename
2267 @cindex debugFile, option
2268 @cindex nameOfDebugFile, option
2269 Sets the name of the file to which WinBoard saves debug information
2270 (including all communication to and from the engines).
2271 @item -engineDebugOutput number
2272 @cindex engineDebugOutput, option
2273 Specifies how WinBoard should handle unsolicited output from the engine,
2274 with respect to saving it in the debug file.
2275 The output is further (hopefully) ignored.
2276 If number=0, WinBoard refrains from writing such spurious output to the debug file.
2277 If number=1, all engine output is written faithfully to the debug file.
2278 If number=2, any protocol-violating line is prefixed with a '#' character,
2279 as the engine itself should have done if it wanted to submit info for inclusion in the debug file.
2280 This option is provided for the benefit of applications that use the debug file
2281 as a source of information, such as the broadcaster of live games TLCV / TLCS.
2282 Such applications can be protected from spurious engine output that might otherwise confuse them.
2283 @item -rsh or -remoteShell shell-name
2285 @cindex remoteShell, option
2286 Name of the command used to run programs remotely. The default
2287 is @file{rsh} or @file{remsh}, determined when XBoard is
2288 configured and compiled.
2289 @item -ruser or -remoteUser user-name
2290 @cindex ruser, option
2291 @cindex remoteUser, option
2292 User name on the remote system when running programs with the
2293 @code{remoteShell}. The default is your local user name.
2294 @item -userName username
2295 @cindex userName, option
2296 Name under which the Human player will be listed in the PGN file.
2297 Default is the login name on your local computer.
2298 @item -delayBeforeQuit number
2299 @itemx -delayAfterQuit number
2300 @cindex delayBeforeQuit, option
2301 @cindex delayAfterQuit, option
2302 These options specify how long WinBoard has to wait before sending a termination signal to rogue engine processes, that do not want to react to the 'quit' command. The second one determines the pause after killing the engine, to make sure it dies.
2307 @chapter Chess Servers
2309 @cindex ICS, addresses
2310 @cindex Internet Chess Server
2311 An @dfn{Internet Chess Server}, or @dfn{ICS}, is a place on the
2312 Internet where people can get together to play chess, watch other
2313 people's games, or just chat. You can use either @code{telnet} or a
2314 client program like XBoard to connect to the server. There are
2315 thousands of registered users on the different ICS hosts, and it is
2316 not unusual to meet 200 on both chessclub.com and freechess.org.
2318 Most people can just type @kbd{xboard -ics} to start XBoard as an ICS
2319 client. Invoking XBoard in this way connects you to the Internet
2320 Chess Club (ICC), a commercial ICS. You can log in there as a guest
2321 even if you do not have a paid account. To connect to the largest
2322 Free ICS (FICS), use the command @kbd{xboard -ics -icshost freechess.org}
2323 instead, or substitute a different host name to connect to your
2325 For a full description of command-line options that control
2326 the connection to ICS and change the default values of ICS options, see
2329 While you are running XBoard as an ICS client,
2330 you use the terminal window that you started XBoard from
2331 as a place to type in commands and read information that is
2332 not available on the chessboard.
2334 The first time you need to use the terminal is to enter your login name
2335 and password, if you are a registered player. (You don't need to do
2336 this manually; the @code{icsLogon} option can do it for you.
2337 @pxref{ICS options}.) If you are not registered,
2338 enter @kbd{g} as your name, and the server will pick a
2339 unique guest name for you.
2341 Some useful ICS commands
2345 @cindex help, ICS command
2346 to get help on the given <topic>. To get a list of possible topics type
2347 @dfn{help} without topic. Try the help command before you ask other
2348 people on the server for help.
2350 For example @kbd{help register} tells you how to become a registered
2353 @cindex who, ICS command
2354 to see a list of people who are logged on. Administrators
2355 (people you should talk to if you have a problem) are marked
2356 with the character @samp{*}, an asterisk. The <flags> allow you to
2357 display only selected players: For example, @kbd{who of} shows a
2358 list of players who are interested in playing but do not have
2361 @cindex games, ICS command
2362 to see what games are being played
2363 @item match <player> [<mins>] [<inc>]
2364 to challenge another player to a game. Both opponents get <mins> minutes
2365 for the game, and <inc> seconds will be added after each move.
2366 If another player challenges you, the server asks if you want to
2367 accept the challenge; use the @kbd{accept} or @kbd{decline} commands
2371 @cindex accept, ICS command
2372 @cindex decline, ICS command
2373 to accept or decline another player's offer.
2374 The offer may be to start a new game, or to agree to a
2375 @kbd{draw}, @kbd{adjourn} or @kbd{abort} the current game. @xref{Action Menu}.
2377 If you have more than one pending offer (for example, if more than one player
2378 is challenging you, or if your opponent offers both a draw and to adjourn the
2379 game), you have to supply additional information, by typing something
2380 like @kbd{accept <player>}, @kbd{accept draw}, or @kbd{draw}.
2384 @cindex draw, ICS command
2385 @cindex adjourn, ICS command
2386 @cindex abort, ICS command
2387 asks your opponent to terminate a game by mutual agreement. Adjourned
2388 games can be continued later.
2389 Your opponent can either @kbd{decline} your offer or accept it (by typing the
2390 same command or typing @kbd{accept}). In some cases these commands work
2391 immediately, without asking your opponent to agree. For example, you can
2392 abort the game unilaterally if your opponent is out of time, and you can claim
2393 a draw by repetition or the 50-move rule if available simply by typing
2395 @item finger <player>
2396 @cindex finger, ICS command
2397 to get information about the given <player>. (Default: yourself.)
2399 @cindex vars, ICS command
2400 to get a list of personal settings
2401 @item set <var> <value>
2402 @cindex set, ICS command
2403 to modify these settings
2404 @item observe <player>
2405 @cindex observe, ICS command
2406 to observe an ongoing game of the given <player>.
2409 @cindex examine, ICS command
2410 @cindex oldmoves, ICS command
2411 to review a recently completed game
2414 Some special XBoard features are activated when you are
2415 in examine mode on ICS. See the descriptions of the menu commands
2416 @samp{Forward}, @samp{Backward}, @samp{Pause}, @samp{ICS Client},
2417 and @samp{Stop Examining} on the @ref{Step Menu}, @ref{Mode Menu}, and
2422 By default, XBoard communicates with an Internet Chess Server
2423 by opening a TCP socket directly from the machine it is running on
2424 to the ICS. If there is a firewall between your machine and the ICS,
2425 this won't work. Here are some recipes for getting around common
2426 kinds of firewalls using special options to XBoard.
2427 Important: See the paragraph in the below about extra echoes, in
2430 Suppose that you can't telnet directly to ICS, but you can telnet
2431 to a firewall host, log in, and then telnet from there to ICS.
2432 Let's say the firewall is called @samp{firewall.example.com}. Set
2433 command-line options as follows:
2436 xboard -ics -icshost firewall.example.com -icsport 23
2439 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
2442 XBoard*internetChessServerHost: firewall.example.com
2443 XBoard*internetChessServerPort: 23
2446 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, you will be prompted
2447 to log in to the firewall host. This works because port 23 is the
2448 standard telnet login service. Do so, then telnet to ICS, using a
2449 command like @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000}, or whatever command
2450 the firewall provides for telnetting to port 5000.
2452 If your firewall lets you telnet (or rlogin) to remote hosts but
2453 doesn't let you telnet to port 5000, you may be able to connect to the
2454 chess server on port 23 instead, which is the port the telnet program
2455 uses by default. Some chess servers support this (including
2456 chessclub.com and freechess.org), while some do not.
2458 If your chess server does not allow connections on port 23 and your
2459 firewall does not allow you to connect to other ports, you may be able
2460 to connect by hopping through another host outside the firewall that
2461 you have an account on. For instance, suppose you have a shell
2462 account at @samp{foo.edu}. Follow the recipe above, but instead of
2463 typing @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000} to the firewall, type
2464 @samp{telnet foo.edu} (or @samp{rlogin foo.edu}), log in there, and
2465 then type @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000}.
2467 Suppose that you can't telnet directly to ICS, but you can use rsh
2468 to run programs on a firewall host, and that host can telnet to ICS.
2469 Let's say the firewall is called @samp{rsh.example.com}. Set
2470 command-line options as follows:
2473 xboard -ics -gateway rsh.example.com -icshost chessclub.com
2477 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
2480 XBoard*gateway: rsh.example.com
2481 XBoard*internetChessServerHost: chessclub.com
2484 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, it will connect to
2485 the ICS by using @file{rsh} to run the command
2486 @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000} on host @samp{rsh.example.com}.
2488 Suppose that you can telnet anywhere you want, but you have to
2489 run a special program called @file{ptelnet} to do so.
2491 First, we'll consider the easy case, in which
2492 @samp{ptelnet chessclub.com 5000} gets you to the chess server.
2493 In this case set command line options as follows:
2496 xboard -ics -telnet -telnetProgram ptelnet
2500 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
2503 XBoard*useTelnet: true
2504 XBoard*telnetProgram: ptelnet
2508 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, it will issue the
2509 command @samp{ptelnet chessclub.com 5000} to connect to the ICS.
2511 Next, suppose that @samp{ptelnet chessclub.com 5000} doesn't work;
2512 that is, your @file{ptelnet} program doesn't let you connect to
2513 alternative ports. As noted above, your chess server may allow you to
2514 connect on port 23 instead. In that case, just add the option
2515 @samp{-icsport ""} to the above command, or add
2516 @samp{XBoard*internetChessServerPort:} to your @file{.Xresources} file.
2517 But if your chess server doesn't let you connect on port 23, you will have
2518 to find some other host outside the firewall and hop through it. For
2519 instance, suppose you have a shell account at @samp{foo.edu}. Set
2520 command line options as follows:
2523 xboard -ics -telnet -telnetProgram ptelnet -icshost foo.edu -icsport ""
2527 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
2530 XBoard*useTelnet: true
2531 XBoard*telnetProgram: ptelnet
2532 XBoard*internetChessServerHost: foo.edu
2533 XBoard*internetChessServerPort:
2537 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, it will issue the
2538 command @samp{ptelnet foo.edu} to connect to your account at
2539 @samp{foo.edu}. Log in there, then type @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000}.
2541 ICC timestamp and FICS timeseal do not work through some
2542 firewalls. You can use them only if your firewall gives a clean TCP
2543 connection with a full 8-bit wide path. If your firewall allows you
2544 to get out only by running a special telnet program, you can't use
2545 timestamp or timeseal across it. But if you have access to a
2546 computer just outside your firewall, and you have much lower netlag
2547 when talking to that computer than to the ICS, it might be worthwhile
2548 running timestamp there. Follow the instructions above for hopping
2549 through a host outside the firewall (foo.edu in the example),
2550 but run timestamp or timeseal on that host instead of telnet.
2552 Suppose that you have a SOCKS firewall that will give you a clean
2553 8-bit wide TCP connection to the chess server, but only after you
2554 authenticate yourself via the SOCKS protocol. In that case, you could
2555 make a socksified version of XBoard and run that. If you are using
2556 timestamp or timeseal, you will to socksify it, not XBoard; this may
2557 be difficult seeing that ICC and FICS do not provide source code for
2558 these programs. Socksification is beyond the scope of this document,
2559 but see the SOCKS Web site at http://www.socks.permeo.com/.
2560 If you are missing SOCKS, try http://www.funbureau.com/.
2563 @chapter Environment variables
2564 @cindex Environment variables
2566 Game and position files are found in a directory named by the
2567 @code{CHESSDIR} environment variable. If this variable is not set, the
2568 current working directory is used. If @code{CHESSDIR} is set,
2569 XBoard actually changes its working directory to
2570 @code{$CHESSDIR}, so any files written by the chess engine
2571 will be placed there too.
2574 @chapter Limitations and known bugs
2577 There is no way for two people running copies of XBoard to play
2578 each other without going through an Internet Chess Server.
2580 Under some circumstances, your ICS password may be echoed when you log on.
2582 If you are connecting to the ICS by running telnet on an Internet
2583 provider or firewall host, you may find that each line you type is
2584 echoed back an extra time after you hit @key{Enter}. If your Internet
2585 provider is a Unix system, you can probably turn its echo off by
2586 typing @kbd{stty -echo} after you log in, and/or typing
2587 @key{^E}@key{Enter} (Ctrl+E followed by the Enter key) to the telnet
2588 program after you have logged into ICS. It is a good idea to do this
2589 if you can, because the extra echo can occasionally confuse XBoard's
2592 The game parser recognizes only algebraic notation.
2594 Many of the following points used to be limitations in XBoard 4.2.7 and earlier,
2596 The internal move legality tester in XBoard 4.3.xx does look at the game history,
2597 and is fully aware of castling or en-passant-capture rights. It permits castling with
2598 the king on the d file because this is possible in some "wild 1" games on ICS.
2599 The piece-drop menu does not check piece drops in bughouse to see if you actually hold
2600 the piece you are trying to drop. But this way of dropping pieces should be considered
2601 an obsolete feature, now that pieces can be dropped by dragging them from the holdings
2602 to the board. Anyway, if you would attempt an illegal move when using a chess engine or the ICS,
2603 WinBoard will accept the error message that comes back, undo the move, and let you try another.
2604 FEN positions saved by XBoard do include correct information about whether castling or
2605 en passant are legal, and also handle the 50-move counter.
2606 The mate detector does not understand that non-contact mate is not really mate in bughouse.
2607 The only problem this causes while playing is minor: a "#" (mate indicator) character will
2608 show up after a non-contact mating move in the move list. XBoard will not assume the game
2609 is over at that point, not even when the option Detect Mates is on.
2610 Edit Game mode always uses the rules of the selected variant,
2611 which can be a variant that uses piece drops.
2612 You can load and edit games that contain piece drops.
2613 The (obsolete) piece menus are not active,
2614 but you can perform piece drops by dragging pieces from the holdings.
2615 Edit Position mode does not allow you to edit the crazyhouse holdings properly.
2616 You cannot drag pieces to the holding, and using the popup menu to put pieces
2617 there does not adapt the holding counts and leads to an inconsistent state.
2618 Set up crazyhouse positions by loading / pasting a bFEN, from there you can set the holdings.
2619 Fischer Random castling is fully understood.
2620 You can enter castlings by dragging the King on top of your Rook.
2621 You can probably also play Fischer Random successfully on ICS by typing
2622 castling moves into the ICS Interaction window.
2624 The menus may not work if your keyboard is in Caps Lock or Num Lock mode.
2625 This seems to be a problem with the Athena menu widget,
2628 Also see the ToDo file included with the distribution for many other
2629 possible bugs, limitations, and ideas for improvement that have been
2632 @chapter Reporting problems
2635 @cindex Reporting bugs
2637 @cindex Reporting problems
2639 Report bugs and problems with XBoard to @code{<bug-xboard@@gnu.org>}.
2641 Please use the @file{script} program to start a typescript, run
2642 XBoard with the @samp{-debug} option, and include the typescript
2643 output in your message.
2644 Also tell us what kind of machine and what operating system version
2645 you are using. The command @samp{uname -a} will often tell you this.
2646 Here is a sample of approximately what you should type:
2655 mail bug-xboard@@gnu.org
2656 Subject: Your short description of the problem
2657 Your detailed description of the problem
2662 The WinBoard / XBoard 4.3 line is being developed by H.G. Muller
2663 independently of the GNU Savannah xboard project.
2664 Bug reports on this version, and suggestions for improvements and additions,
2665 are best posted in the WinBoard forum,
2666 WinBoard-development section (http://www.open-aurec.com/wbforum).
2668 If you improve XBoard, please send a message about your changes,
2669 and we will get in touch with you about merging them in
2670 to the main line of development.
2671 Also see our Web site at http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/xboard/.
2674 @chapter Authors and contributors
2676 @cindex Contributors
2678 Tim Mann has been responsible for XBoard versions 1.3 and beyond, and
2679 for WinBoard, a port of XBoard to Microsoft Win32 (Windows NT and
2680 Windows 95). H.G.Muller is responsible for version 4.3.
2682 Mark Williams contributed the initial (WinBoard-only) implementation
2683 of many new features added to both XBoard and WinBoard in version
2684 4.1.0, including copy/paste, premove, icsAlarm, autoFlipView, training
2685 mode, auto raise, and blindfold. Ben Nye contributed X copy/paste
2688 Hugh Fisher added animated piece movement to XBoard, and Henrik Gram
2689 (henrikg@@funcom.com) added it to WinBoard. Frank McIngvale added
2690 click/click moving, the Analysis modes, piece flashing, ZIICS import,
2691 and ICS text colorization to XBoard. Jochen Wiedmann ported XBoard to
2692 the Amiga, creating AmyBoard, and converted the documentation to
2693 texinfo. Elmar Bartel contributed the new piece bitmaps introduced in
2694 version 3.2. John Chanak contributed the initial implementation of
2695 ICS mode. The color scheme and the old 80x80 piece bitmaps were taken
2696 from Wayne Christopher's @code{XChess} program.
2698 Chris Sears and Dan Sears wrote the original XBoard. They were
2699 responsible for versions 1.0 through 1.2.
2701 Evan Welsh wrote @code{CMail}. Patrick Surry helped in designing,
2702 testing, and documenting CMail.
2704 Alessandro Scotti added many elements to the user interface of WinBoard,
2705 including the board textures and font-based rendering, the evaluation-graph,
2706 move-history and engine-output window.
2707 He was also responsible for adding the UCI support.
2709 H.G. Muller made WinBoard castling- and e.p.-aware,
2710 added variant support with adjustable board sizes,
2711 the crazyhouse holdings, and the fairy pieces.
2712 In addition he added most of the adjudication options,
2713 made WinBoard more robust in dealing with buggy and crashing engines,
2714 and extended time control with a time-odds and node-count-based modes.
2715 Most of the options that initially were WinBoard only have now been back-ported to XBoard.
2717 Michel van den Bergh provided the code for reading Polyglot opening books.
2719 Arun Persaud worked with H.G. Muller to combine all the features of the never-released WinBoard 4.2.8
2720 of the Savannah project (mainly by Daniel Mehrmann),
2721 and the never-released 4.3.16 into a unified WinBoard 4.4,
2722 which is now available both from the Savannah web site and the WinBoard forum.
2726 The @file{cmail} program can help you play chess by email with opponents of
2727 your choice using XBoard as an interface.
2729 You will usually run @file{cmail} without giving any options.
2732 * CMail options:: Invoking CMail.
2733 * CMail game:: Starting a CMail game.
2734 * CMail answer:: Answering a move.
2735 * CMail multi:: Multiple games in one message.
2736 * CMail completion:: Completing a game.
2737 * CMail trouble:: Known CMail problems.
2741 @section CMail options
2744 Displays @file{cmail} usage information.
2746 Shows the conditions of the GNU General Public License.
2749 Shows the warranty notice of the GNU General Public License.
2753 Provides or inhibits verbose output from @file{cmail} and XBoard,
2754 useful for debugging. The
2756 form also inhibits the cmail introduction message.
2759 Invokes or inhibits the sending of a mail message containing the move.
2762 Invokes or inhibits the running of XBoard on the game file.
2765 Invokes or inhibits the reuse of an existing XBoard to display the
2768 Resends the last mail message for that game. This inhibits running
2771 The name of the game to be processed.
2772 @item -wgames <number>
2773 @itemx -bgames <number>
2774 @itemx -games <number>
2775 Number of games to start as White, as Black or in total. Default is 1 as
2776 white and none as black. If only one color is specified then none of the
2777 other color is assumed. If no color is specified then equal numbers of
2778 White and Black games are started, with the extra game being as White if an
2779 odd number of total games is specified.
2780 @item -me <short name>
2781 @itemx -opp <short name>
2782 A one-word alias for yourself or your opponent.
2783 @item -wname <full name>
2784 @itemx -bname <full name>
2785 @itemx -name <full name>
2786 @itemx -oppname <full name>
2787 The full name of White, Black, yourself or your opponent.
2788 @item -wna <net address>
2789 @itemx -bna <net address>
2790 @itemx -na <net address>
2791 @itemx -oppna <net address>
2792 The email address of White, Black, yourself or your opponent.
2793 @item -dir <directory>
2794 The directory in which @file{cmail} keeps its files. This defaults to the
2795 environment variable @code{$CMAIL_DIR} or failing that, @code{$CHESSDIR},
2796 @file{$HOME/Chess} or @file{~/Chess}. It will be created if it does not exist.
2797 @item -arcdir <directory>
2798 The directory in which @file{cmail} archives completed games. Defaults to
2799 the environment variable @code{$CMAIL_ARCDIR} or, in its absence, the same
2800 directory as cmail keeps its working files (above).
2801 @item -mailprog <mail program>
2802 The program used by cmail to send email messages. This defaults to the
2803 environment variable @code{$CMAIL_MAILPROG} or failing that
2804 @file{/usr/ucb/Mail}, @file{/usr/ucb/mail} or @file{Mail}. You will need
2805 to set this variable if none of the above paths fit your system.
2806 @item -gamesFile <file>
2808 A file containing a list of games with email addresses. This defaults to
2809 the environment variable @code{$CMAIL_GAMES} or failing that
2811 @item -aliasesFile <file>
2812 @cindex .cmailaliases
2813 A file containing one or more aliases for a set of email addresses. This
2814 defaults to the environment variable @code{$CMAIL_ALIASES} or failing
2815 that @file{.cmailaliases}.
2816 @item -logFile <file>
2817 A file in which to dump verbose debugging messages that are invoked with
2820 @item -event <event>
2821 The PGN Event tag (default @samp{Email correspondence game}).
2823 The PGN Site tag (default @samp{NET}).
2824 @item -round <round>
2825 The PGN Round tag (default @samp{-}, not applicable).
2827 The PGN Mode tag (default @samp{EM}, Electronic Mail).
2829 Any option flags not listed above are passed through to XBoard.
2830 Invoking XBoard through CMail changes the default values of two XBoard
2831 options: The default value for @samp{-noChessProgram} is changed to
2832 true; that is, by default no chess engine is started. The default
2833 value for @samp{-timeDelay} is changed to 0; that is, by default
2834 XBoard immediately goes to the end of the game as played so far,
2835 rather than stepping through the moves one by one. You can still set
2836 these options to whatever values you prefer by supplying them on
2837 CMail's command line. @xref{Options}.
2841 @section Starting a CMail Game
2842 Type @file{cmail} from a shell to start a game as white. After an opening
2843 message, you will be prompted for a game name, which is optional---if you
2844 simply press @key{Enter}, the game name will take the form
2845 @samp{you-VS-opponent}. You will next be prompted for the short name
2846 of your opponent. If you haven't played this person before, you will also
2847 be prompted for his/her email address. @file{cmail} will then invoke
2848 XBoard in the background. Make your first move and select
2849 @samp{Mail Move} from the @samp{File} menu. @xref{File Menu}. If all is well,
2850 @file{cmail} will mail a copy of the move to your opponent. If you select
2851 @samp{Exit} without having selected @samp{Mail Move} then no move will be
2855 @section Answering a Move
2856 When you receive a message from an opponent containing a move in one of
2857 your games, simply pipe the message through @file{cmail}. In some mailers
2858 this is as simple as typing @kbd{| cmail} when viewing the message, while in
2859 others you may have to save the message to a file and do @kbd{cmail < file}
2860 at the command line. In either case @file{cmail} will display the game using
2861 XBoard. If you didn't exit XBoard when you made your first move
2862 then @file{cmail} will do its best to use the existing XBoard instead
2863 of starting a new one. As before, simply make a move and select
2864 @samp{Mail Move} from the @samp{File} menu. @xref{File Menu}. @file{cmail}
2866 XBoard that was most recently used to display the current game. This
2867 means that many games can be in progress simultaneously, each with its own
2870 If you want to look at the history or explore a variation, go ahead, but
2871 you must return to the current position before XBoard will allow you
2872 to mail a move. If you edit the game's history you must select
2873 @samp{Reload Same Game} from the @samp{File} menu to get back to the original
2874 position, then make the move you want and select @samp{Mail Move}.
2875 As before, if you decide you aren't ready to make a move just yet you can
2876 either select @samp{Exit} without sending a move or just leave
2877 XBoard running until you are ready.
2880 @section Multi-Game Messages
2882 It is possible to have a @file{cmail} message carry more than one game.
2883 This feature was implemented to handle IECG (International Email Chess
2884 Group) matches, where a match consists of one game as white and one as black,
2885 with moves transmitted simultaneously. In case there are more general uses,
2886 @file{cmail} itself places no limit on the number of black/white games
2887 contained in a message; however, XBoard does.
2889 @node CMail completion
2890 @section Completing a Game
2891 Because XBoard can detect checkmate and stalemate, @file{cmail}
2892 handles game termination sensibly. As well as resignation, the
2893 @samp{Action} menu allows draws to be offered and accepted for
2896 For multi-game messages, only unfinished and just-finished games will be
2897 included in email messages. When all the games are finished, they are
2898 archived in the user's archive directory, and similarly in the opponent's
2899 when he or she pipes the final message through @file{cmail}. The archive
2900 file name includes the date the game was started.
2903 @section Known CMail Problems
2904 It's possible that a strange conjunction of conditions may occasionally
2905 mean that @file{cmail} has trouble reactivating an existing
2906 XBoard. If this should happen, simply trying it again should work.
2907 If not, remove the file that stores the XBoard's PID
2908 (@file{game.pid}) or use the @samp{-xreuse} option to force
2909 @file{cmail} to start a new XBoard.
2911 Versions of @file{cmail} after 2.16 no longer understand the old file format
2912 that XBoard used to use and so cannot be used to correspond with
2913 anyone using an older version.
2915 Versions of @file{cmail} older than 2.11 do not handle multi-game messages,
2916 so multi-game correspondence is not possible with opponents using an older
2919 @node Other programs
2920 @chapter Other programs you can use with XBoard
2921 @cindex Other programs
2923 Here are some other programs you can use with XBoard
2926 * GNU Chess:: The GNU Chess engine.
2927 * Fairy-Max:: The Fairy-Max chess engine.
2928 * HoiChess:: The HoiChess chess engine.
2929 * Crafty:: The Crafty chess engine.
2930 * zic2xpm:: The program used to import chess sets from ZIICS.
2936 The GNU Chess engine is available from:
2938 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnuchess/
2940 You can use XBoard to play a game against GNU Chess, or to
2941 interface GNU Chess to an ICS.
2946 Fairy-Max is a derivative from the once World's smallest Chess program micro-Max,
2947 which measures only about 100 lines of source code.
2948 The main difference with micro-Max is that Fairy-Max loads its move-generator
2949 tables from a file, so that the rules for piece movement can be easily configured
2950 to implement unorthodox pieces.
2951 Fairy-Max can therefore play a large number of variants, normal Chess being one of those.
2952 In addition it plays Knightmate, Capablanca and Gothic Chess, Shatranj, Courier Chess,
2953 Cylinder chess, Berolina Chess, while the user can easily define new variants.
2954 It can be obtained from:
2956 http://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/dwnldpage.html
2961 HoiChess is a not-so-very-strong Chess engine, which comes with a derivative HoiXiangqi,
2962 able to play Chinese Chess. It can be obtained from the standard Linux repositories
2965 sudo apt-get install hoichess
2970 Crafty is a chess engine written by Bob Hyatt.
2971 You can use XBoard to play a game against Crafty, hook Crafty up
2972 to an ICS, or use Crafty to interactively analyze games and positions
2975 Crafty is a strong, rapidly evolving chess program. This rapid
2976 pace of development is good, because it means Crafty is always
2977 getting better. This can sometimes cause problems with
2978 backwards compatibility, but usually the latest version of Crafty
2979 will work well with the latest version of XBoard.
2980 Crafty can be obtained from its author's FTP site:
2981 ftp://ftp.cis.uab.edu/hyatt/.
2983 To use Crafty with XBoard, give the -fcp and -fd options as follows, where
2984 <crafty's directory> is the directory in which you installed Crafty
2985 and placed its book and other support files.
2990 The ``zic2xpm'' program is used to import chess sets from the ZIICS(*)
2991 program into XBoard. ``zic2xpm'' is part of the XBoard distribution.
2992 ZIICS is available from:
2994 ftp://ftp.freechess.org/pub/chess/DOS/ziics131.exe
2996 To import ZIICS pieces, do this:
2998 @item 1. Unzip ziics131.exe into a directory:
3001 unzip -L ziics131.exe -d ~/ziics
3003 @item 2. Use zic2xpm to convert a set of pieces to XBoard format.
3005 For example, let's say you want to use the
3006 FRITZ4 set. These files are named ``fritz4.*'' in the ZIICS distribution.
3011 zic2xpm ~/ziics/fritz4.*
3013 @item 3. Give XBoard the ``-pixmap'' option when starting up, e.g.:
3016 xboard -pixmap ~/fritz4
3019 Alternatively, you can add this line to your @file{.Xresources} file:
3022 xboard*pixmapDirectory: ~/fritz4
3026 (*) ZIICS is a separate copyrighted work of Andy McFarland.
3027 The ``ZIICS pieces'' are copyrighted works of their respective
3028 creators. Files produced by ``zic2xpm'' are for PERSONAL USE ONLY
3029 and may NOT be redistributed without explicit permission from
3030 the original creator(s) of the pieces.
3034 @unnumbered Copyright
3035 @include copyright.texi
3039 @unnumbered GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
3040 @include gpl.texinfo