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 * Basic operation:: Mouse and keyboard functions.
62 * Menus:: Menus, buttons, and keys.
63 * Options:: Command options supported by XBoard.
64 * Chess Servers:: Using XBoard with an Internet Chess Server (ICS).
65 * Firewalls:: Connecting to a chess server through a firewall.
66 * Environment:: Environment variables.
67 * Limitations:: Known limitations and/or bugs.
68 * Problems:: How and where to report any problems you run into.
69 * Contributors:: People who have helped developing XBoard.
70 * CMail:: Using XBoard for electronic correspondence chess.
71 * Other programs:: Other programs you can use with XBoard.
73 * Copyright:: Copyright notice for this manual.
75 * Copying:: The GNU General Public License.
77 * Index:: Index of concepts and symbol names.
84 XBoard always runs in one of four major modes. You select the
85 major mode from the command line when you start up XBoard.
88 @item xboard [options]
89 As an interface to GNU Chess or another chess engine running on your
90 machine, XBoard lets you play a game against the machine,
91 set up arbitrary positions, force variations, watch a game between two
92 chess engines, interactively analyze your stored games or set up and
93 analyze arbitrary positions. (Note: Not all chess engines support
95 @item xboard -ics -icshost hostname [options]
96 As Internet Chess Server (ICS) interface, XBoard
97 lets you play against other ICS users, observe games
98 they are playing, or review games that have recently finished. Most
99 of the ICS "wild" chess variants are supported, including bughouse.
100 @item xboard -ncp [options]
101 XBoard can also be used simply
102 as an electronic chessboard to play through games. It will read and
103 write game files and allow you to play through variations
104 manually. You can use it to browse games off the net or review games
105 you have saved. These features are also available in the other modes.
107 If you want to pipe games into XBoard, use the supplied shell
108 script @file{pxboard}. For example, from the news reader @file{xrn},
109 find a message with one or more games in it, click the Save button,
110 and type @samp{|pxboard} as the file name.
111 @item cmail [options]
112 As an interface to electronic mail correspondence chess, XBoard
113 works with the cmail program. See @ref{CMail} below for
117 @node Basic operation
118 @chapter Basic operation
119 @cindex Basic operation
121 To move a piece, you can drag it with the left mouse button, or you
122 can click the left mouse button once on the piece, then once more on
123 the destination square. In crazyhouse, bughouse or shogi you can
124 drag and drop pieces to the board from the holdings squares
125 displayed next to the board.
127 Old behavior, where right-clicking a square brings up a menu
128 where you can select what piece to drop on it can still be
129 selected through the @samp{Drop Menu} option.
130 But only in Edit Position mode right clicking a square is still used to
131 put a piece on it, and the piece to drop is selected by sweeping
132 the mouse vertically with the button held down.
134 The default function of the right mouse button in other modes is
135 to display the position the chess program thinks it will end up in.
136 While moving the mouse vertically with this button pressed
137 XBoard will step through the principal variation to show how
138 this position will be reached.
139 Lines of play displayed in the engine-output window,
140 or PGN variations in the comment window can similarly
141 be played out on the board, by right-clicking on them.
142 Only in Analysis mode, when you walk along a PV,
143 releasing the mouse button will forward the game upto that point,
144 like you entered all previous PV moves.
145 As the display of the PV in that case starts after the first move
146 a simple right-click will play the move the engine indicates.
148 When connected to an ICS, it is possible to call up a graphical
149 representation of players seeking a game in stead of the chess board,
150 when the latter is not in use
151 (i.e. when you are not playing or observing).
152 Left-clicking the display area will switch between this 'seek graph'
154 Hovering the mouse pointer over a dot will show the details of the
155 seek ad in the message field above the board.
156 Left-clicking the dot will challenge that player.
157 Right-clicking a dot will 'push it to the back',
158 to reveal any dots that were hidden behind it.
159 Right-clicking off dots will refresh the graph.
161 Most other XBoard commands are available from the menu bar. The most
162 frequently used commands also have shortcut keys or on-screen buttons.
163 These shortcut keystrokes are mostly non-printable characters.
164 Typing a letter or digit while the board window has focus
165 will bring up a type-in box with the typed letter already in it.
166 You can use that to type a move in siuations where it is your
167 turn to enter a move,
168 type a move number to call up the position after that move
170 or, in Edit Position mode, type a FEN.
171 Some rarely used parameters can only be set through options on the
172 command line used to invoke XBoard.
174 XBoard uses a settings file, in which it can remember any changes to
175 the settings that are made through menus or command-line options,
176 so they will still apply when you restart XBoard for another session.
177 The settings can be saved into this file automatically when XBoard exits,
178 or on explicit request of the user.
179 The default name for the settings file is /etc/xboard/xboard.conf,
180 but in a standard install this file is only used as a master settings
181 file that determines the system-wide default settings,
182 and defers reading and writing of user settings to a user-specific
183 file like ~/.xboardrc in the user's home directory.
185 When XBoard is iconized, its graphical icon is a white knight if
186 it is White's turn to move, a black knight if it is Black's turn.
189 @chapter Menus, buttons, and keys
193 * File Menu:: Accessing external games and positions.
194 * Edit Menu:: Altering games, positions, PGN tags or comments.
195 * View Menu:: Controlling XBoard's shape and looks.
196 * Mode Menu:: Selecting XBoard's mode.
197 * Action Menu:: Talking to the chess engine or ICS opponents.
198 * Engine Menu:: Controlling settings and actions of the engine(s).
199 * Options Menu:: User preferences.
200 * Help Menu:: Getting help.
201 * Keys:: Other shortcut keys.
210 @cindex New Game, Menu Item
211 Resets XBoard and the chess engine to the beginning of a new chess
212 game. The @kbd{Ctrl-N} key is a keyboard equivalent. In Internet Chess
213 Server mode, clears the current state of XBoard, then
214 resynchronizes with the ICS by sending a refresh command. If you want to
215 stop playing, observing, or examining an ICS game, use an
216 appropriate command from the Action menu, not @samp{New Game}.
218 @item New Shuffle Game
219 @cindex New Shuffle Game, Menu Item
220 Similar to @samp{New Game}, but allows you to specify a particular initial position
221 (according to a standardized numbering system)
222 in chess variants which use randomized opening positions (e.g. Chess960).
223 The selected opening position will persistently be chosen on any following
224 New Game command until you use this menu to select another. Selecting
225 position number -1 will produce a newly randomized position on any new game.
226 Using this menu item in variants that normally do not shuffle their opening position
227 does cause these variants to become shuffle variants until you use the
228 @samp{New Shuffle Game} menu to explicitly switch the randomization off,
229 or select a new variant.
231 @cindex New variant, Menu Item
232 Allows you to select a new chess variant in non-ICS mode.
233 (In ICS play, the ICS is responsible for deciding which variant will be played,
234 and XBoard adapts automatically.) The shifted @kbd{Alt+V} key is a
235 keyboard equivalent. If you play with an engine, the engine must
236 be able to play the selected variant, or the command will be ignored.
237 XBoard supports all major variants, such as xiangqi, shogi, chess, chess960,
238 Capablanca Chess, shatranj, crazyhouse, bughouse.
239 But not every board size has built-in bitmaps for un-orthodox pieces!
240 Only sizes bulky (72) and middling (49) have all pieces,
241 while size petite (33) has most.
242 These sizes would have to be set at startup through the @code{size}
243 command-line option when you start up XBoard for such variants to be playable.
245 You can overrule the default board format of the selected variant,
246 (e.g. to play suicide chess on a 6 x 6 board),
247 in this dialog, but normally you would not do that,
248 and leave them at '-1', which means 'default'.
250 @cindex Load Game, Menu Item
251 Plays a game from a record file. The @kbd{Ctrl-O} key is a keyboard equivalent.
252 A pop-up dialog prompts you for the file name. If the file contains more
253 than one game, a second pop-up dialog
254 displays a list of games (with information drawn from their PGN tags, if
255 any), and you can select the one you want. Alternatively, you can load the
256 Nth game in the file directly, by typing the number @kbd{N} after the
257 file name, separated by a space.
259 The game file parser will accept PGN (portable game notation),
260 or in fact almost any file that contains moves in algebraic
262 Notation of the form @samp{P@@f7}
263 is accepted for piece-drops in bughouse games;
264 this is a nonstandard extension to PGN.
265 If the file includes a PGN position (FEN tag), or an old-style
266 XBoard position diagram bracketed by @samp{[--} and @samp{--]}
267 before the first move, the game starts from that position. Text
268 enclosed in parentheses, square brackets, or curly braces is assumed to
269 be commentary and is displayed in a pop-up window. Any other
270 text in the file is ignored. PGN variations (enclosed in
271 parentheses) also are treated as comments;
272 however, if you rights-click them in the comment window,
273 XBoard will shelve the current line, and load the the selected variation,
274 so you can step through it.
275 You can later revert to the previous line with the @samp{Revert} command.
276 This way you can walk quite complex varation trees with XBoard.
277 The nonstandard PGN tag [Variant "varname"] functions similarly to
278 the -variant command-line option (see below), allowing games in certain chess
279 variants to be loaded.
280 Note that it must appear before any FEN tag for XBoard to recognize
281 variant FENs appropriately.
282 There is also a heuristic to
283 recognize chess variants from the Event tag, by looking for the strings
284 that the Internet Chess Servers put there when saving variant ("wild") games.
286 @cindex Load Position, Menu Item
287 Sets up a position from a position file. A pop-up dialog prompts
288 you for the file name. The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-O} key is a keyboard
289 equivalent. If the file contains more than one saved
290 position, and you want to load the Nth one, type the number N
291 after the file name, separated by a space. Position files must
292 be in FEN (Forsythe-Edwards notation), or in the format that the
293 Save Position command writes when oldSaveStyle is turned on.
294 @item Load Next Position
295 @cindex Load Next Position, Menu Item
296 Loads the next position from the last position file you loaded.
297 The shifted @kbd{PgDn} key is a keyboard equivalent.
298 @item Load Previous Position
299 @cindex Load Previous Position, Menu Item
300 Loads the previous position from the last position file you
301 loaded. The shifted @kbd{PgUp} key is a keyboard equivalent.
302 Not available if the last position was loaded from a pipe.
304 @cindex Save Game, Menu Item
305 Appends a record of the current game to a file.
306 The @kbd{Ctrl-S} key is a keyboard equivalent.
308 prompts you for the file name. If the game did not begin with
309 the standard starting position, the game file includes the
310 starting position used. Games are saved in the PGN (portable
311 game notation) format, unless the oldSaveStyle option is true,
312 in which case they are saved in an older format that is specific
313 to XBoard. Both formats are human-readable, and both can be
314 read back by the @samp{Load Game} command.
315 Notation of the form @samp{P@@f7}
316 is accepted for piece-drops in bughouse games;
317 this is a nonstandard extension to PGN.
319 @cindex Save Position, Menu Item
320 Appends a diagram of the current position to a file.
321 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl+S} key is a keyboard equivalent.
322 A pop-up dialog prompts you for the file name. Positions are saved in
323 FEN (Forsythe-Edwards notation) format unless the @code{oldSaveStyle}
324 option is true, in which case they are saved in an older,
325 human-readable format that is specific to XBoard. Both formats
326 can be read back by the @samp{Load Position} command.
328 @itemx Reload CMail Message
329 @cindex Mail Move, Menu Item
330 @cindex Reload CMail Message, Menu Item
333 @cindex Exit, Menu Item
334 Exits from XBoard. The @kbd{Ctrl-Q} key is a keyboard equivalent.
343 @cindex Copy Game, Menu Item
344 Copies a record of the current game to an internal clipboard in PGN
345 format and sets the X selection to the game text. The @kbd{Ctrl-C}
346 key is a keyboard equivalent. The game can be
347 pasted to another application (such as a text editor or another copy
348 of XBoard) using that application's paste command. In many X
349 applications, such as xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
350 used for pasting; in XBoard, you must use the Paste Game command.
352 @cindex Copy Position, Menu Item
353 Copies the current position to an internal clipboard in FEN format and
354 sets the X selection to the position text. The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-C} key
355 is a keyboard equivalent. The position can be pasted
356 to another application (such as a text editor or another copy of
357 XBoard) using that application's paste command. In many X
358 applications, such as xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
359 used for pasting; in XBoard, you must use the Paste Position command.
361 @cindex Copy Game List, Menu Item
362 Copies the current game list to the clipboard,
363 and sets the X selection to this text.
364 A format of comma-separated double-quoted strings is used,
366 so it can be easily imported into spread-sheet programs.
368 @cindex Paste Game, Menu Item
369 Interprets the current X selection as a game record and loads it, as
370 with Load Game. The @kbd{Ctrl-V} key is a keyboard equivalent.
372 @cindex Paste Position, Menu Item
373 Interprets the current X selection as a FEN position and loads it, as
374 with Load Position. The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-V} key is a keyboard equivalent.
376 @cindex Edit Game, Menu Item
377 Allows you to make moves for both Black and White, and to change
378 moves after backing up with the @samp{Backward} command. The clocks do
379 not run. The @kbd{Ctrl-E} key is a keyboard equivalent.
381 In chess engine mode, the chess engine continues to check moves for legality
382 but does not participate in the game. You can bring the chess engine
383 into the game by selecting @samp{Machine White}, @samp{Machine Black},
384 or @samp{Two Machines}.
386 In ICS mode, the moves are not sent to the ICS: @samp{Edit Game} takes
387 XBoard out of ICS Client mode and lets you edit games locally.
388 If you want to edit games on ICS in a way that other ICS users
389 can see, use the ICS @kbd{examine} command or start an ICS match
392 @cindex Edit Position, Menu Item
393 Lets you set up an arbitrary board position.
394 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-E} key is a keyboard equivalent.
395 Use mouse button 1 to drag pieces to new squares, or to delete a piece
396 by dragging it off the board or dragging an empty square on top of it.
397 To drop a new piece on a square, press mouse button 2 or 3 over the
399 This puts a white or black pawn in the square, respectively,
400 but you can change that to any other piece type by dragging the
401 mouse down before you release the button.
402 You will then see the piece on the originally clicked square
403 cycle through the available pieces
404 (including those of opposite color),
405 and can release the button when you see the piece you want.
406 To alter the side to move, you can click the clock
407 (the words White and Black above the board)
408 of the side you want to give the move to.
409 To clear the board you can click the clock of the side that
410 alread has the move (which is highlighted in black).
411 The old behavior with a piece menu can still be configured
412 with the aid of the @code{pieceMenu} option.
413 Selecting @samp{Edit Position} causes XBoard to discard
414 all remembered moves in the current game.
416 In ICS mode, changes made to the position by @samp{Edit Position} are
417 not sent to the ICS: @samp{Edit Position} takes XBoard out of
418 @samp{ICS Client} mode and lets you edit positions locally. If you want to
419 edit positions on ICS in a way that other ICS users can see, use
420 the ICS @kbd{examine} command, or start an ICS match against yourself.
421 (See also the ICS Client topic above.)
423 @cindex Edit Tags, Menu Item
424 Lets you edit the PGN (portable game notation)
425 tags for the current game. After editing, the tags must still conform to
429 <tag-section> ::= <tag-pair> <tag-section>
431 <tag-pair> ::= [ <tag-name> <tag-value> ]
432 <tag-name> ::= <identifier>
433 <tag-value> ::= <string>
436 See the PGN Standard for full details. Here is an example:
439 [Event "Portoroz Interzonal"]
440 [Site "Portoroz, Yugoslavia"]
443 [White "Robert J. Fischer"]
444 [Black "Bent Larsen"]
448 Any characters that do not match this syntax are silently ignored. Note that
449 the PGN standard requires all games to have at least the seven tags shown
450 above. Any that you omit will be filled in by XBoard
451 with @samp{?} (unknown value), or @samp{-} (inapplicable value).
453 @cindex Edit Comment, Menu Item
454 Adds or modifies a comment on the current position. Comments are
455 saved by @samp{Save Game} and are displayed by @samp{Load Game},
456 @samp{Forward}, and @samp{Backward}.
458 @cindex Edit Book, Menu Item
459 Pops up a window listing the moves available in the GUI book
460 (specified in the @samp{Common Engine Settings} dialog)
461 from the currently displayed position,
462 together with their weights and (optionally in braces) learn info.
463 You can then edit this list, and the new list will be stored
464 back into the book when you press OK.
465 Note that the listed percentages are neither used, nor updated when
466 you change the weights; they are just there as an optical aid.
469 @cindex Revert, Menu Item
470 @cindex Annotate, Menu Item
471 If you are examining an ICS game and Pause mode is off,
472 Revert issues the ICS command @samp{revert}.
473 In local mode, when you were editing or analyzing a game,
474 and the @code{-variations} command-line option is switched on,
475 you can start a new variation by holding the Shift key down while
476 entering a move not at the end of the game.
477 Variations can also become the currently displayed line by
478 clicking a PGN variation displayed in the Comment window.
479 This can be applied recursively,
480 so that you can analyze variations on variations;
481 each time you create a new variation by entering an alternative move
482 with Shift pressed, or select a new one from the Comment window,
483 the current variation will be shelved.
484 @samp{Revert} allows you to return to the most recently shelved variation.
485 The difference between @samp{Revert} and @samp{Annotate}
486 is that with the latter,
487 the variation you are now abandoning will be added as a comment
488 (in PGN variation syntax, i.e. between parentheses)
489 to the original move where you deviated, for later recalling.
490 The @kbd{Home} key is a keyboard equivalent to @samp{Revert}.
492 @cindex Truncate Game, Menu Item
493 Discards all remembered moves of the game beyond the current
494 position. Puts XBoard into @samp{Edit Game} mode if it was not there
496 The @kbd{End} key is a keyboard equivalent.
498 @cindex Backward, Menu Item
500 Steps backward through a series of remembered moves.
501 The @samp{[<]} button and the @kbd{Alt+LeftArrow} key are equivalents,
502 as is turning the mouse wheel towards you.
503 In addition, pressing the Control key steps back one move, and releasing
504 it steps forward again.
506 In most modes, @samp{Backward} only lets you look back at old positions;
507 it does not retract moves. This is the case if you are playing against
508 a chess engine, playing or observing a game on an ICS, or loading a game.
509 If you select @samp{Backward} in any of these situations, you will not
510 be allowed to make a different move. Use @samp{Retract Move} or
511 @samp{Edit Game} if you want to change past moves.
513 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Backward}
514 depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
515 off, @samp{Backward} issues the ICS backward command, which backs up
516 everyone's view of the game and allows you to make a different
517 move. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Backward} only backs up your local
520 @cindex Forward, Menu Item
522 Steps forward through a series of remembered moves (undoing the
523 effect of @samp{Backward}) or forward through a game file. The
524 @samp{[>]} button and the @kbd{Alt+RightArrow} key are equivalents,
525 as is turning the mouse wheel away from you.
527 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of Forward
528 depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
529 off, @samp{Forward} issues the ICS forward command, which moves
530 everyone's view of the game forward along the current line. If
531 Pause mode is on, @samp{Forward} only moves your local view forward,
532 and it will not go past the position that the game was in when
535 @cindex Back to Start, Menu Item
537 Jumps backward to the first remembered position in the game.
538 The @samp{[<<]} button and the @kbd{Alt+Home} key are equivalents.
540 In most modes, Back to Start only lets you look back at old
541 positions; it does not retract moves. This is the case if you
542 are playing against a local chess engine, playing or observing a game on
543 a chess server, or loading a game. If you select @samp{Back to Start} in any
544 of these situations, you will not be allowed to make different
545 moves. Use @samp{Retract Move} or @samp{Edit Game} if you want to change past
546 moves; or use Reset to start a new game.
548 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Back to
549 Start} depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode
550 is off, @samp{Back to Start} issues the ICS @samp{backward 999999}
551 command, which backs up everyone's view of the game to the start and
552 allows you to make different moves. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Back
553 to Start} only backs up your local view.
555 @cindex Forward to End, Menu Item
557 Jumps forward to the last remembered position in the game. The
558 @samp{[>>]} button and the @kbd{Alt+End} key are equivalents.
560 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Forward to
561 End} depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode
562 is off, @samp{Forward to End} issues the ICS @samp{forward 999999}
563 command, which moves everyone's view of the game forward to the end of
564 the current line. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Forward to End} only moves
565 your local view forward, and it will not go past the position
566 that the game was in when you paused.
575 @cindex Flip View, Menu Item
576 Inverts your view of the chess board for the duration of the
577 current game. Starting a new game returns the board to normal.
578 The @kbd{F2} key is a keyboard equivalent.
579 @item Show Engine Output
580 @cindex Show Engine Output, Menu Item
581 Shows or hides a window in which the thinking output of any loaded engines
582 is displayed. The shifted @kbd{Alt+O} key is a keyboard equivalent.
583 XBoard will display lines of thinking output of the same depth ordered by score,
584 (highest score on top), rather than in the order the engine produced them.
585 Usually this amounts to the same, as a normal engine search will only find new PV
586 (and emit it as thinking output)
587 when it searches a move with a higher score than the previous variation.
588 But when the engine is in multi-variation mode this needs not always be true,
589 and it is more convenient for someone analyzing games to see the moves sorted by score.
590 The order in which the engine found them is only of interest to the engine author,
591 and can still be deduced from the time or node count printed with the line.
592 @item Show Move History
593 @cindex Show Move History, Menu Item
594 Shows or hides a list of moves of the current game.
595 The shifted @kbd{Alt+H} key is a keyboard equivalent.
596 This list allows you to move the display to any earlier position in the game
597 by clicking on the corresponding move.
598 @item Show Evaluation Graph
599 @cindex Show Evaluation Graph, Menu Item
600 Shows or hides a window which displays a graph of how the engine score(s)
601 evolved as a function of the move number.
602 The shifted @kbd{Alt+E} key is a keyboard equivalent.
603 Clicking on the graph will bring
604 the corresponding position in the board display.
606 @cindex Show Game List, Menu Item
607 Shows or hides the list of games generated by the last @samp{Load Game}
608 command. The shifted @kbd{Alt+G} key is a keyboard equivalent.
610 @cindex Tags, Menu Item
611 Pops up a window which shows the PGN (portable game notation)
612 tags for the current game.
613 For now this is a duplicate of the @samp{Edit Tags} item in the @samp{Edit} menu.
615 @cindex Comments, Menu Item
616 Pops up a window which shows any comments to or variations on the current move.
617 For now this is a duplicate of the @samp{Edit Comment} item in the @samp{Edit} menu.
619 @cindex ICS Input Box, Menu Item
620 If this option is set in ICS mode,
622 creates an extra window that you can use for typing in ICS commands.
623 The input box is especially useful if you want to type in something long or do
624 some editing on your input, because output from ICS doesn't get mixed
625 in with your typing as it would in the main terminal window.
627 @cindex Board, Menu Item
628 Summons a dialog where you can customaize the look of the chess board.
629 Here you can specify the directory from which piece images should be taken,
630 when you don't want to use the built-in piece images
631 (see @code{pixmapDirectory} and @code{bitmapDirectory} options),
632 an external pixmap to be used for the board squares
633 (@code{liteBackTextureFile} and @code{darkBackTextureFile} options),
634 and square and piece colors for the built-ins.
636 @cindex Game List Tags, Menu Item
637 a duplicate of the Game List dialog in the Options menu.
646 @cindex Machine White, Menu Item
647 Tells the chess engine to play White.
648 The @kbd{Ctrl-W} key is a keyboard equivalent.
650 @cindex Machine Black, Menu Item
651 Tells the chess engine to play Black.
652 The @kbd{Ctrl-B} key is a keyboard equivalent.
654 @cindex Two Machines, Menu Item
655 Plays a game between two chess engines.
656 The @kbd{Ctrl-T} key is a keyboard equivalent.
658 @cindex Analysis Mode, Menu Item
660 XBoard tells the chess engine to start analyzing the current game/position
661 and shows you the analysis as you move pieces around.
662 The @kbd{Ctrl-A} key is a keyboard equivalent.
663 Note: Some chess engines do not support Analysis mode.
665 To set up a position to analyze, you do the following:
667 1. Select Edit Position from the Mode Menu
669 2. Set up the position. Use the middle and right buttons to
670 bring up the white and black piece menus.
672 3. When you are finished, click on either the Black or White
673 clock to tell XBoard which side moves first.
675 4. Select Analysis Mode from the Mode Menu to start the analysis.
677 You can now play legal moves to create follow-up positions for the
678 engine to analyze, while the moves will be remembered as a stored game,
679 and then step backward through this game to take the moves back.
680 Note that you can also click on the clocks to set the opposite
681 side to move (adding a so-called @samp{null move} to the game).
683 The analysis function can also be used when observing games on an ICS
684 with an engine loaded (zippy mode); the engine then will analyse
685 the positions as they occur in the observed game.
687 @cindex Analyze Game, Menu Item
688 This option subjects the currently loaded game to aoutomatic
689 analysis by the loaded engine.
690 The @kbd{Ctrl-G} key is a keyboard equivalent.
691 XBoard will start auto-playing the game from the currently displayed position,
692 while the engine is analyzing the current position.
693 The game will be annotated with the results of these analyses.
694 In particlar, the score and depth will be added as a comment,
695 and the PV will be added as a variation.
696 The time the engine spends on analyzing each move can be controlled
697 through the command-line option @samp{-timeDelay}.
698 Note: Some chess engines do not support Analysis mode.
700 Duplicate of the item in the Edit menu.
701 Note that @samp{Edit Game} is the idle mode of XBoard, and can be used
702 to get you out of other modes. E.g. to stop analyzing, stop a game
703 between two engines or stop editing a position.
705 Duplicate of the item in the Edit menu.
707 @cindex Training, Menu Item
708 Training mode lets you interactively guess the moves of a game for one
709 of the players. You guess the next move of the game by playing the
710 move on the board. If the move played matches the next move of the
711 game, the move is accepted and the opponent's response is auto-played.
712 If the move played is incorrect, an error message is displayed. You
713 can select this mode only while loading a game (that is, after
714 selecting @samp{Load Game} from the File menu). While XBoard is in
715 @samp{Training} mode, the navigation buttons are disabled.
717 @cindex ICS Client, Menu Item
718 This is the normal mode when XBoard
719 is connected to a chess server. If you have moved into
720 Edit Game or Edit Position mode, you can select this option to get out.
722 To use xboard in ICS mode, run it in the foreground with the -ics
723 option, and use the terminal you started it from to type commands and
724 receive text responses from the chess server. See
725 @ref{Chess Servers} below for more information.
727 XBoard activates some special position/game editing features when you
728 use the @kbd{examine} or @kbd{bsetup} commands on ICS and you have
729 @samp{ICS Client} selected on the Mode menu. First, you can issue the
730 ICS position-editing commands with the mouse. Move pieces by dragging
731 with mouse button 1. To drop a new piece on a square, press mouse
732 button 2 or 3 over the square. This brings up a menu of white pieces
733 (button 2) or black pieces (button 3). Additional menu choices let
734 you empty the square or clear the board. Click on the White or Black
735 clock to set the side to play. You cannot set the side to play or
736 drag pieces to arbitrary squares while examining on ICC, but you can
737 do so in @kbd{bsetup} mode on FICS. In addition, the menu commands
738 @samp{Forward}, @samp{Backward}, @samp{Pause}, and @samp{Stop Examining}
739 have special functions in this mode; see below.
741 @cindex Machine match, Menu Item
742 Starts a match between two chess programs,
743 with a number of games and other parameters set through
744 the @samp{Match Options} menu dialog.
745 When a match is already running, selecting this item will make
746 XBoard drop out of match mode after the current game finishes.
748 @cindex Pause, Menu Item
749 Pauses updates to the board, and if you are playing against a chess engine,
750 also pauses your clock. To continue, select @samp{Pause} again, and the
751 display will automatically update to the latest position.
752 The @samp{P} button and keyboard @kbd{Pause} key are equivalents.
754 If you select Pause when you are playing against a chess engine and
755 it is not your move, the chess engine's clock
756 will continue to run and it will eventually make a move, at which point
757 both clocks will stop. Since board updates are paused, however,
758 you will not see the move until you exit from Pause mode (or select Forward).
759 This behavior is meant to simulate adjournment with a sealed move.
761 If you select Pause while you are observing or examining a game on a
762 chess server, you can step backward and forward in the current history
763 of the examined game without affecting the other observers and
764 examiners, and without having your display jump forward to the latest
765 position each time a move is made. Select Pause again to reconnect
766 yourself to the current state of the game on ICS.
768 If you select @samp{Pause} while you are loading a game, the game stops
769 loading. You can load more moves manually by selecting @samp{Forward}, or
770 resume automatic loading by selecting @samp{Pause} again.
779 @cindex Accept, Menu Item
780 Accepts a pending match offer.
781 The @kbd{F3} key is a keyboard equivalent.
782 If there is more than one offer
783 pending, you will have to type in a more specific command
784 instead of using this menu choice.
786 @cindex Decline, Menu Item
787 Declines a pending offer (match, draw, adjourn, etc.).
788 The @kbd{F4} key is a keyboard equivalent. If there
789 is more than one offer pending, you will have to type in a more
790 specific command instead of using this menu choice.
792 @cindex Call Flag, Menu Item
793 Calls your opponent's flag, claiming a win on time, or claiming
794 a draw if you are both out of time.
795 The @kbd{F5} key is a keyboard equivalent.
796 You can also call your
797 opponent's flag by clicking on his clock.
799 @cindex Draw, Menu Item
800 Offers a draw to your opponent, accepts a pending draw offer
801 from your opponent, or claims a draw by repetition or the 50-move
802 rule, as appropriate. The @kbd{F6} key is a keyboard equivalent.
804 @cindex Adjourn, Menu Item
805 Asks your opponent to agree to adjourning the current game, or
806 agrees to a pending adjournment offer from your opponent.
807 The @kbd{F7} key is a keyboard equivalent.
809 @cindex Abort, Menu Item
810 Asks your opponent to agree to aborting the current game, or
811 agrees to a pending abort offer from your opponent.
812 The @kbd{F8} key is a keyboard equivalent. An aborted
813 game ends immediately without affecting either player's rating.
815 @cindex Resign, Menu Item
816 Resigns the game to your opponent. The @kbd{F9} key is a
819 @cindex Stop Observing, Menu Item
820 Ends your participation in observing a game, by issuing the ICS
821 observe command with no arguments. ICS mode only.
822 The @kbd{F10} key is a keyboard equivalent.
824 @cindex Stop Examining, Menu Item
825 Ends your participation in examining a game, by issuing the ICS
826 unexamine command. ICS mode only.
827 The @kbd{F11} key is a keyboard equivalent.
828 @item Upload to Examine
829 @cindex Upload to Examine, Menu Item
830 Create an examined game of the proper variant on the ICS,
831 and send the game there that is currenty loaded in XBoard
832 (e.g. through pasting or loading from file).
833 You must be connected to an ICS for this to work.
834 @item Adjudicate to White
835 @itemx Adjudicate to Black
836 @itemx Adjudicate Draw
837 @cindex Adjudicate to White, Menu Item
838 @cindex Adjudicate to Black, Menu Item
839 @cindex Adjudicate Draw, Menu Item
840 Terminate an ongoing game in Two-Machines mode (including match mode),
841 with as result a win for white, for black, or a draw, respectively.
842 The PGN file of the game will accompany the result string
843 by the comment "user adjudication".
852 @cindex Load Engine, Menu Item
853 Pops up a dialog where you can select or specify an engine to be loaded.
854 You will always have to indicate whether you want to load the engine
855 as first or second engine, through the ‘Load menitioned engine as’
856 drop-down list at the bottom of the dialog.
857 You can even replace engines during a game, without disturbing that game.
858 (Beware that after loading an engine, XBoard will always be in Edit Game mode,
859 so you will have to tell the new engine what to do before it does anything!)
860 When you select an already installed engine from the ‘Select Engine from List’
862 all other fields of the dialog will be ignored.
863 In other cases, you have to specify the engine executable,
864 possible arguments on the engine command line
865 (if the engine docs say the engine needs any),
866 and the directory where the engine should look for its files
867 (if this cannot be deduced automatically from the specification of the engine executable).
868 You will also have to specify (with the aid of checkboxes) if the engine is UCI.
869 If ‘Add this engine to the list’ is ticked (which it is by default),
870 the engine will be added to the list of installed engines in your settings file,
871 (provided you save the settings!),
872 so that next time you can select it from the drop-down list.
873 You can also specify a ‘nickname’,
874 under which the engine will then appear in that drop-down list,
875 and even choose to use that nickname for it in PGN files for engine-engine games.
876 The info you supply with the checkboxes whether the engine should use GUI book,
877 or (for variant engines) automatically switch to the current variant when loaded,
878 will also be included in the list.
879 For obsolete XBoard engines, which would normally take a long delay to load
880 because XBoard is waiting for a response they will not give,
881 you can tick ‘WB protocol v1’ to speed up the loading process.
882 @item Engine #N Settings
883 @cindex Engine Settings, Menu Item
884 @cindex Engine #1 Settings, Menu Item
885 @cindex Engine #2 Settings, Menu Item
886 Pop up a menu dialog to alter the settings specific to the applicable engine.
887 (The second engine is only accessible once it has been used in Two-Machines mode.)
888 For each parameter the engine allows to be set,
889 a control element will appear in this dialog that can be used to alter the value.
890 Depending on the type of parameter (text string, number, multiple choice,
891 on/off switch, instantaneous signal) the appropriate control will appear,
892 with a description next to it.
893 XBoard has no idea what these values mean; it just passes them on to the engine.
894 How this dialog looks is completely determined by the engine,
895 and XBoard just passes it on to the user.
896 Many engines do not have any parameters that can be set by the user,
897 and in that case the dialog will be empty (except for the OK and cancel buttons).
898 UCI engines usually have many parameters. (But these are only visible with
899 a sufficiently modern version of the Polyglot adapter needed to run UCI engines,
900 e.g. Polyglot 1.4.55b.) For native XBoard engines this is less common.
902 @cindex Hint, Menu Item
903 Displays a move hint from the chess engine.
905 @cindex Book, Menu Item
906 Displays a list of possible moves from the chess engine's opening
907 book. The exact format depends on what chess engine you are using.
908 With GNU Chess 4, the first column gives moves, the second column
909 gives one possible response for each move, and the third column shows
910 the number of lines in the book that include the move from the first
911 column. If you select this option and nothing happens, the chess
912 engine is out of its book or does not support this feature.
914 @cindex Move Now, Menu Item
915 Forces the chess engine to move immediately. Chess engine mode only.
916 The @kbd{Ctrl-M} key is a keyboard equivalent.
918 @cindex Retract Move, Menu Item
919 Retracts your last move. In chess engine mode, you can do this only
920 after the chess engine has replied to your move; if the chess engine is still
921 thinking, use @samp{Move Now} first. In ICS mode, @samp{Retract Move}
922 issues the command @samp{takeback 1} or @samp{takeback 2}
923 depending on whether it is your opponent's move or yours.
924 The @kbd{Ctrl-X} key is a keyboard equivalent.
928 @section Options Menu
929 @cindex Menu, Options
932 @item General Options
933 @cindex General Options, Menu Item
934 The following items to set option values appear in the dialog
935 summoned by the general Options menu item.
936 @itemx Absolute Analysis Scores
937 @cindex Absolute Analysis Scores, Menu Item
938 Controls if scores on the Engine Output window during analysis
939 will be printed from the white or the side-to-move point-of-view.
940 @itemx Almost Always Queen
941 @cindex Almost Always Queen, Menu Item
942 If this option is on, 7th-rank pawns automatically change into
943 Queens when you pick them up,
944 and when you drag them to the promotion square and release them there,
945 they will promote to that.
946 But when you drag such a pawn backwards first,
947 its identity will start to cycle through the other available pieces.
948 This will continue until you start to move it forward;
949 at which point the identity of the piece will be fixed,
950 so that you can safely put it down on the promotion square.
951 If this option is off, what happens depends on the
952 option @code{alwaysPromoteToQueen},
953 which would force promotion to Queen when true.
954 Otherwise XBoard would bring up a dialog
955 box whenever you move a pawn to the last rank, asking what piece
956 you want to promote to.
957 @itemx Animate Dragging
958 @cindex Animate Dragging, Menu Item
959 If Animate Dragging is on, while you are dragging a piece with the
960 mouse, an image of the piece follows the mouse cursor.
961 If Animate Dragging is off, there is no visual feedback while you are
962 dragging a piece, but if Animate Moving is on, the move will be
963 animated when it is complete.
964 @itemx Animate Moving
965 @cindex Animate Moving, Menu Item
966 If Animate Moving is on, all piece moves are animated. An image of the
967 piece is shown moving from the old square to the new square when the
968 move is completed (unless the move was already animated by Animate Dragging).
969 If Animate Moving is off, a moved piece instantly disappears from its
970 old square and reappears on its new square when the move is complete.
971 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-A} key is a keyboard equivalent.
973 @cindex Auto Flag, Menu Item
974 If this option is on and one player runs out of time
977 will automatically call his flag, claiming a win on time.
978 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-F} key is a keyboard equivalent.
979 In ICS mode, Auto Flag will only call your opponent's flag, not yours,
980 and the ICS may award you a draw instead of a win if you have
981 insufficient mating material. In local chess engine mode,
983 may call either player's flag and will not take material into account (?).
984 @itemx Auto Flip View
985 @cindex Auto Flip View, Menu Item
986 If the Auto Flip View option is on when you start a game, the board
987 will be automatically oriented so that your pawns move from the bottom
988 of the window towards the top.
990 If you are playing a game on an ICS, the board is always
991 oriented at the start of the game so that your pawns move from
992 the bottom of the window towards the top. Otherwise, the starting
993 orientation is determined by the @code{flipView} command line option;
994 if it is false (the default), White's pawns move from bottom to top
995 at the start of each game; if it is true, Black's pawns move from
996 bottom to top. @xref{User interface options}.
998 @cindex Blindfold, Menu Item
999 If this option is on, XBoard displays the board as usual but does
1000 not display pieces or move highlights. You can still move in the
1001 usual way (with the mouse or by typing moves in ICS mode), even though
1002 the pieces are invisible.
1004 @cindex Drop Menu, Menu Item
1005 Controls if right-clicking the board in crazyhouse / bughouse
1006 will pop up a menu to drop a piece on the clicked square
1007 (old, deprecated behavior)
1008 or allow you to step through an engine PV
1009 (new, recommended behavior).
1010 @itemx Hide Thinking
1011 @cindex Hide Thinking, Menu Item
1012 If this option is off, the chess engine's notion of the score and best
1013 line of play from the current position is displayed as it is
1014 thinking. The score indicates how many pawns ahead (or if negative,
1015 behind) the chess engine thinks it is. In matches between two
1016 machines, the score is prefixed by @samp{W} or @samp{B} to indicate
1017 whether it is showing White's thinking or Black's, and only the thinking
1018 of the engine that is on move is shown.
1019 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-H} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1020 @itemx Highlight Dragging
1021 @cindex Highlight Dragging, Menu Item
1022 If Highlight Dragging is on, and the option -showTargetSquares is also on
1023 in the settings file, all squares a piece that is 'picked up' with the mouse
1024 can legally move to are highighted with a fat colored dot in the
1025 highlightColor (non-captures) or premoveHighlightColor (captures).
1026 Legality testing must be on for XBoard to know how the piece moves.
1027 @itemx Highlight Last Move
1028 @cindex Highlight Last Move, Menu Item
1029 If Highlight Last Move is on, after a move is made, the starting and
1030 ending squares remain highlighted. In addition, after you use Backward
1031 or Back to Start, the starting and ending squares of the last move to
1032 be unmade are highlighted.
1033 @itemx Highlight with Arrow
1034 @cindex Highlight with Arrow, Menu Item
1035 Causes the highlighting described in Highlight Last Move to be done
1036 by drawing an arrow between the highlighted squares,
1037 so that it is visible even when the width of the grid lines is set to zero.
1039 @cindex Move Sound, Menu Item
1040 Enables the sounding of an audible signal when the computer performs a move.
1041 For the selection of the sound, see @samp{Sound Options}.
1042 If you turn on this option when using XBoard with the Internet
1043 Chess Server, you will probably want to give the
1045 command to the ICS, since otherwise the ICS will ring the terminal bell
1046 after every move (not just yours). (The @file{.icsrc} file
1047 is a good place for this; see @ref{ICS options}.)
1048 @itemx One-Click Moving
1049 @cindex One-Click Moving, Menu Item
1050 If this option is on, XBoard does not wait for you to click both the
1051 from- and the to-square, or drag the piece, but performs a move as soon
1052 as it is uniqely specified.
1053 This applies to clicking an own piece that only has a single legal move,
1054 clicking an empty square or opponent piece where only one of your pieces
1055 can move (or capture) to.
1056 Furthermore, a double-click on a piece that can only make a single capture
1057 will cause that capture to be made.
1058 Promoting a Pawn by clicking its to-square will suppress the promotion
1059 popup or other methods for selecting an under-promotion,
1060 and make it promote to Queen.
1061 @itemx Periodic Updates
1062 @cindex Periodic Updates, Menu Item
1063 If this option is off (or if
1064 you are using a chess engine that does not support periodic updates),
1066 will only be updated when the analysis changes. If this option is
1067 on, the Analysis Window will be updated every two seconds.
1068 @itemx Ponder Next Move
1069 @cindex Ponder Next Move, Menu Item
1070 If this option is off, the chess engine will think only when it is on
1071 move. If the option is on, the engine will also think while waiting
1072 for you to make your move.
1073 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-P} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1074 @itemx Popup Exit Message
1075 @cindex Popup Exit Message, Menu Item
1076 If this option is on, when XBoard wants to display a message just
1077 before exiting, it brings up a modal dialog box and waits for you to
1078 click OK before exiting. If the option is off, XBoard prints the
1079 message to standard error (the terminal) and exits immediately.
1080 @itemx Popup Move Errors
1081 @cindex Popup Move Errors, Menu Item
1082 If this option is off, when you make an error in moving (such as
1083 attempting an illegal move or moving the wrong color piece), the
1084 error message is displayed in the message area. If the option is
1085 on, move errors are displayed in small pop-up windows like other errors.
1086 You can dismiss an error pop-up either by clicking its OK button or by
1087 clicking anywhere on the board, including down-clicking to start a move.
1088 @itemx Scores in Move List
1089 @cindex Scores in Move List, Menu Item
1090 If this option is on, XBoard will display the depth and score
1091 of engine moves in the Move List, in the format of a PGN comment.
1093 @cindex Show Coords, Menu Item
1094 If this option is on, XBoard displays algebraic coordinates
1095 along the board's left and bottom edges.
1096 @itemx Show Target Squares
1097 @cindex Show Target Squares, Menu Item
1098 This option must be on for the @samp{Highlight Dragging} described
1100 @itemx Test Legality
1101 @cindex Test Legality, Menu Item
1102 If this option is on, XBoard tests whether the moves you try to make
1103 with the mouse are legal and refuses to let you make an illegal move.
1104 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-L} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1105 Moves loaded from a file with @samp{Load Game} are also checked. If
1106 the option is off, all moves are accepted, but if a local chess engine
1107 or the ICS is active, they will still reject illegal moves. Turning
1108 off this option is useful if you are playing a chess variant with
1109 rules that XBoard does not understand. (Bughouse, suicide, and wild
1110 variants where the king may castle after starting on the d file are
1111 generally supported with Test Legality on.)
1114 @cindex Flash Moves, Menu Item
1115 @cindex Flash Rate, Menu Item
1116 If this option is non-zero, whenever a move is completed,
1117 the moved piece flashes the specified number of times.
1118 The flash-rate setting determines how rapidly this flashing occurs.
1119 @itemx Animation Speed
1120 @cindex Animation Speed, Menu Item
1121 Determines the duration (in msec) of an animation step,
1122 when @samp{Animate Moving} is swiched on.
1123 @itemx Zoom factor in Evaluation Graph
1124 @cindex Zoom factor in Evaluation Graph, Menu Item
1125 Sets the valueof the @code{evalZoom} option,
1126 indicating the factor by which the score interval (-1,1) should be
1127 blown up on the vertical axis of the Evaluation Graph.
1129 @cindex Time Control, Menu Item
1130 Pops up a sub-menu where you can set the time-control parameters interactively.
1131 Allows you to select classical or incremental time controls,
1132 set the moves per session, session duration, and time increment.
1133 Also allows specification of time-odds factors for one or both engines.
1134 If an engine is given a time-odds factor N, all time quota it gets,
1135 be it at the beginning of a session or through the time increment or
1136 fixed time per move, will be divided by N.
1137 The shifted @kbd{Alt+T} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1139 @cindex Common Engine, Menu Item
1140 Pops up a sub-menu where you can set some engine parameters common to most engines,
1141 such as hash-table size, tablebase cache size, maximum number of processors
1142 that SMP engines can use, and where to find the Polyglot adapter needed
1143 to run UCI engines under XBoard. The feature that allows setting of these parameters on
1144 engines is new since XBoard 4.3.15, so not many XBoard/WinBoard engines respond
1145 to it yet, but UCI engines should.
1147 It is also possible to specify a GUI opening book here, i.e. an opening
1148 book that XBoard consults for any position a playing engine gets in.
1149 It then forces the engine to play the book move, rather than to think up its own,
1150 if that position is found in the book.
1151 The book can switched on and off independently for either engine.
1152 The way book moves are chosen can be influenced through the settings of
1153 book depth and variety.
1154 After both sides have played more moves than the specified depth,
1155 the book will no longer be consulted.
1156 When the variety is set to 50, moves will be played with the probability
1157 specified in the book.
1158 When set to 0, only the move(s) with the highest probability will be played.
1159 When set to 100, all listed moves will be played with equal pobability.
1160 Other settings interpolate between that.
1161 The shifted @kbd{Alt+U} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1163 @cindex Adjudications, Menu Item
1164 Pops up a sub-menu where you can enable or disable various adjudications
1165 that XBoard can perform in engine-engine games.
1166 The shifted @kbd{Alt+J} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1167 You can instruct XBoard to detect and terminate the game on checkmate
1168 or stalemate, even if the engines would not do so, to verify engine
1169 result claims (forfeiting engines that make false claims), rather than
1170 naively following the engine, to declare draw on positions
1171 which can never be won for lack of mating material, (e.g. KBK),
1172 or which are impossible to win unless the opponent seeks its own demise
1174 For these adjudications to work, @samp{Test Legality} should be switched on.
1175 It is also possible to instruct XBoard to enforce a 50-move or 3-fold-repeat
1176 rule and automatically declare draw (after a user-adjustable number of moves
1177 or repeats) even if the engines are prepared to go on.
1178 It is also possible to have XBoard declare draw on games that seem to drag on
1179 forever, or adjudicate a loss if both engines agree (for 3 consecutive moves) that one
1180 of them is behind more than a user-adjustable score threshold.
1181 For the latter adjudication to work, XBoard should be able to properly understand
1182 the engine's scores. To facilitate the latter, you can inform xboard here if
1183 the engines report scores from the viewpoint of white, or from that of their own color.
1186 @cindex ICS Options, Menu Item
1187 The following options occur in a dialog summoned by the
1188 ICS Options menu item.
1190 @cindex Auto Kibitz, Menu Item
1191 Setting this option when playingwith or aginst a chess program on an ICS
1192 will cause the last line of thinking output of the engine before its move
1193 to be sent to the ICS in a kibitz command.
1194 In addition, any kibitz message received through the ICS from
1195 an opponent chess program will be diverted to the engine-output window,
1196 (and suppressed in the console),
1197 where you can play through its PV by right-clicking it.
1199 @cindex Auto Comment, Menu Item
1200 If this option is on, any remarks made on ICS while you are observing or
1201 playing a game are recorded as a comment on the current move. This includes
1202 remarks made with the ICS commands @kbd{say}, @kbd{tell}, @kbd{whisper},
1204 Limitation: remarks that you type yourself are not recognized;
1205 XBoard scans only the output from ICS, not the input you type to it.
1207 @cindex Auto Observe, Menu Item
1208 If this option is on and you add a player to your @code{gnotify}
1209 list on ICS, XBoard will automatically observe all of that
1210 player's games, unless you are doing something else (such as
1211 observing or playing a game of your own) when one starts.
1212 The games are displayed
1213 from the point of view of the player on your gnotify list; that is, his
1214 pawns move from the bottom of the window towards the top.
1215 Exceptions: If both players in a game are on your gnotify list, if
1218 variable is set to 0, or if the ICS you are using does not
1219 properly support observing from Black's point of view,
1220 you will see the game from White's point of view.
1221 @itemx Auto Raise Board
1222 @cindex Auto Raise Board, Menu Item
1223 If this option is on, whenever a new game begins, the chessboard window
1224 is deiconized (if necessary) and raised to the top of the stack of windows.
1226 @cindex Auto Save, Menu Item
1227 If this option is true, at the end of every game XBoard prompts
1228 you for a file name and appends a record of the game to the file
1230 Disabled if the @code{saveGameFile} command-line
1231 option is set, as in that case all games are saved to the specified file.
1232 @xref{Load and Save options}.
1233 @itemx Background Observe
1234 @cindex Background Observe, Menu Item
1235 Setting this option will make XBoard suppress display of any boards
1236 from observed games while you are playing.
1237 In stead the last such board will be remembered,
1238 and shown to you when you right-click the board.
1239 This allows you to peek at your bughouse partner's game when you want,
1240 without disturbing your own game too much.
1242 @cindex Dual Board, Menu Item
1243 Setting this option in combination with @samp{Background Observe}
1244 will display boards of observed games while you are playing
1245 on a second board next to that of your own game.
1246 @itemx Get Move List
1247 @cindex Get Move List, Menu Item
1248 If this option is on, whenever XBoard
1249 receives the first board of a new ICS game (or a different game from
1250 the one it is currently displaying), it
1251 retrieves the list of past moves from the ICS.
1252 You can then review the moves with the @samp{Forward} and @samp{Backward}
1254 or save them with @samp{Save Game}. You might want to
1255 turn off this option if you are observing several blitz games at once,
1256 to keep from wasting time and network bandwidth fetching the move lists over
1258 When you turn this option on from the menu, XBoard
1259 immediately fetches the move list of the current game (if any).
1261 @cindex Quiet Play, Menu Item
1262 If this option is on, XBoard will automatically issue an ICS
1264 command whenever you start a game and a
1266 command whenever you finish one. Thus, you will not be distracted
1267 by shouts from other ICS users while playing.
1269 @cindex Seek Graph, Menu Item
1270 Setting this option will cause XBoard to display an graph of
1271 currently active seek ads when you left-click the board
1272 while idle and logged on to an ICS.
1273 @itemx Auto-Refresh Seek Graph
1274 @cindex Auto-Refresh Seek Graph, Menu Item
1275 In combination with the @samp{Seek Graph} option this
1276 will cause automatic update of the seek graph while it is up.
1277 This only works on FICS and ICS,
1278 and requires a lot of bandwidth on a busy server.
1280 @itemx Premove White
1281 @itemx Premove Black
1282 @itemx First White Move
1283 @itemx First Black Move
1284 @cindex Premove, Menu Item
1285 @cindex Premove White, Menu Item
1286 @cindex Premove Black, Menu Item
1287 @cindex First White Move, Menu Item
1288 @cindex First Black Move, Menu Item
1289 If this option is on while playing a game on an ICS, you can register
1290 your next planned move before it is your turn. Move the piece with
1291 the mouse in the ordinary way, and the starting and ending squares
1292 will be highlighted with a special color (red by default). When it is
1293 your turn, if your registered move is legal, XBoard will send it to
1294 ICS immediately; if not, it will be ignored and you can make a
1295 different move. If you change your mind about your premove, either
1296 make a different move, or double-click on any piece to cancel the move
1299 You can also enter premoves for the first white and black moves
1302 @itemx ICS Alarm Time
1303 @cindex ICS Alarm, Menu Item
1304 @cindex ICS Alarm Time, Menu Item
1305 When this option is on, an alarm sound is played when your clock
1306 counts down to the icsAlarmTime in an ICS game.
1307 (By default, the time is 5 seconds, but you can pecify other values
1308 with the Alarm Time spin control.)
1309 For games with time controls that include an increment, the
1310 alarm will sound each time the clock counts down to the icsAlarmTime.
1311 By default, the alarm sound is the terminal bell, but on some systems
1312 you can change it to a sound file using the soundIcsAlarm option; see
1314 @itemx Colorize Messages
1315 @cindex Colorize Messages, Menu Item
1316 Ticking this options causes various types of ICS messages do be
1317 displayed with different foreground or background colors in the console.
1318 The colors can be individually selected for each type,
1319 through the accompanying text edits.
1322 @cindex Match Options, Menu Item
1323 Summons a dialog where you can set options important for playing automatic
1324 matches between two chess programs
1325 (e.g. by using the @samp{Machine Match} menu item in the @samp{Mode} menu).
1326 @itemx Tournament file
1327 @cindex Tournament file, Menu item
1328 To run a tournament, XBoard needs a file to record its progress,
1329 so it can resume the tourney when it is interrupted.
1330 When you want to conduct anything more complex than a simple
1331 two-player match with the currently loaded engines,
1332 (i.e. when you select a list of participants),
1333 you must not leave this field blank.
1334 When you enter the name of an existing tournament file,
1335 XBoard will ignore all other input specified in the dialog,
1336 and will take them from that tournament file.
1337 This resumes an interrupted tournament, or adds another XBoard
1338 agent playing games for it to those that are already doing so.
1339 Specifying a not-yet-existing file will cause XBoard to create it,
1340 according to the tournament parameters specified in the rest of the dialog,
1341 before it starts the tournament on ‘OK’.
1342 Provided that you specify participants;
1343 without participants no tournament file will be made, but other entered values
1344 (e.g. for the file with opening positions) will take effect.
1345 Default: configured by the @code{defaultTourneyName} option.
1346 @itemx Sync after round
1347 @itemx Sync after cycle
1348 @cindex Sync after round, Menu Item
1349 @cindex Sync after cycle, Menu Item
1350 The sync options, when on, will cause WinBoard to refrain from starting games
1351 of the next round or cycle before all games of the previous round or cycle are finished.
1352 This guarantees correct ordering in the games file,
1353 even when multiple XBoard instances are concurrently playing games for the same tourney.
1354 Default: sync after cycle, but not after round.
1355 @itemx Select Engine
1356 @itemx Tourney participants
1357 @cindex Select Engine, Menu Item
1358 @cindex Tourney participants, Menu Item
1359 With the Select Engine drop-down list you can pick an engine from your list
1360 of installed engines in the settings file, to be added to the tournament.
1361 The engines selected so far will be listed in the ‘Tourney participants’ memo.
1362 The latter is a normal text edit, so you can use normal text-editing functions
1363 to delete engines you selected by accident, or change their order.
1364 Do not type names yourself there, because names that do not exactly match
1365 one of the names from the drop-down list will lead to undefined behavior.
1367 @cindex Tourney type, Menu Item
1368 Here you can specify the type of tournament you want.
1369 XBoard’s intrinsic tournament manager support round-robins (type = 0),
1370 where each participant plays every other participant, and (multi-)gauntlets,
1371 where one (or a few) so-called ‘gauntlet engines’ play an independent set of opponents.
1372 In the latter case, you specify the number of gauntlet engines.
1373 E.g. if you specified 10 engine, and tourney type = 2,
1374 the first 2 engines each play the remaining 8.
1375 A value of -1 instructs XBoard to play Swiss; for this to work an external
1376 pairing engine must be specified through the @code{pairingEngine} option.
1377 Each Swiss round will be considered a tourney cycle in that case.
1379 @itemx Number of tourney cycles
1380 @itemx Default number of Games
1381 @cindex Number of tourney cycles, Menu Item
1382 @cindex Default number of Games, Menu Item
1383 You can specify tourneys where every two opponents play each other multiple times.
1384 Such multiple games can be played in a row,
1385 as specified by the ‘number of games per pairing’,
1386 or by repeating the entire tournament schedule a number of times
1387 (specified by the ‘number of tourney cycles’).
1388 The total number of times two engine meet will be the product of these two.
1390 the number of games per pairing is the same as the default number of match games,
1391 stored in your settings file through the @code{defaultMatchGames} option.
1392 @itemx Save Tourney Games
1393 @cindex Save Tourney Games, Menu Item
1394 File where the tournament games are saved
1395 (duplicate of the item in the @samp{Save Game Options}).
1396 @itemx Game File with Opening Lines
1397 @itemx File with Start Positions
1399 @itemx Position Number
1400 @itemx Rewind Index after
1401 @cindex Game File with Opening Lines, Menu Item
1402 @cindex File with Start Positions, Menu Item
1403 @itemx Game Number, Menu Item
1404 @itemx Position Number, Menu Item
1405 @itemx Rewind Index after, Menu Item
1406 These items optionally specify the file with move sequences or board positions the tourney
1407 games should start from.
1408 The corresponding numbers specify the number of the game or position in the file.
1409 Here a value -1 means automatic stepping through all games on the file,
1410 -2 automatic stepping every two games.
1411 The Rewind-Index parameter causes a stepping index to reset to one after reaching
1413 A setting of -2 for the game number will also be effective in a tournament without
1414 specifying a game file, but playing from the GUI book instead.
1415 In this case the first (odd) games will randomly select from the book,
1416 but the second (even) games will select the same moves from the book as the previous game.
1417 (Note this leads to the same opening only if both engines use the GUI book!)
1418 Default: No game or position file will be used. The default index if such a file is used is 1.
1419 @itemx Replace Engine
1420 @itemx Upgrade Engine
1421 @cindex Replace Engine, Menu Item
1422 @cindex Upgrade Engine, Menu Item
1423 With these two buttons you can alter the participants of an already running tournament.
1424 After opening the Match Options dialog on an XBoard that iw playing fo the tourney,
1425 you will see all the tourney parameters in the dialog fields.
1426 You can then replace the name of one engine by that of another
1427 by editing the @samp{participants} field.
1428 (But preserve the order of the others!)
1429 Pressing the button after that will cause the substitution.
1430 With the @samp{Upgrade Engine} button the substitution will only affect future games.
1431 With @samp{Replace Engine} all games the substituted engine has already played will
1432 be invalidated, and they will be replayed with the substitute engine.
1433 In this latter case the engine must not be playing when you do this,
1434 but otherwise there is no need to pause the tournament play
1435 for making a substitution.
1437 @item Load Game Options
1438 @cindex Load Game Options, Menu Item
1439 Summons a dialog where you can set the @code{autoDisplayComment} and
1440 @code{autoDisplayTags} options, (which control popups when viewing loaded games),
1441 and specify the rate at which loaded games are auto-played,
1442 in seconds per move (which can be a fractional number, like 1.6).
1443 You can also set search criteria for determining which games
1444 will be displayed in the Game List for a multi-game file,
1445 and thus be eligible for loading:
1446 @itemx Elo of strongest player
1447 @itemx Elo of weakest player
1449 @cindex Elo of strongest player, Menu Item
1450 @cindex Elo of weakest player, Menu Item
1451 @cindex year, Menu Item
1452 These numeric fields set thresholds (lower limits) on the Elo rating of the mentioned player,
1453 or the date the game was played.
1456 @cindex Search mode, Menu Item
1457 @cindex find position, Menu Item
1458 This setting determines which positions in a game will be considered a match
1459 to the position currently displayed in the board window
1460 when you press the @samp{find position} button in the Game List.
1461 You can search for an exact match,
1462 a position that has all shown material in the same place,
1463 but might contain additional material,
1464 a position that has all Pawns in the same place,
1465 but can have the shown material anywhere,
1466 a position that can have all shown material anywhere,
1467 or a position that has material between certain limits anywhere.
1468 For the latter you have to place the material that must be present
1469 in the four lowest ranks of the board,
1470 and optional additional material in the four highest ranks of the board.
1471 You can request the optional material to be balanced.
1472 @itemx number of consecutive positions
1473 @cindex number of consecutive positions, Menu Item
1474 When you are searching by material, rather than for an exact match,
1475 this parameter indicates forhowmany consecutive game positions
1476 the same amount of material must be on the board before it is
1478 @itemx Also match reversed colors
1479 @itemx Also match left-right flipped position
1480 @cindex Also match reversed colors, Menu Item
1481 @cindex Also match left-right flipped position, Menu Item
1482 When looking for matching positions rather than by material,
1483 these settings determine whether mirror images
1484 (in case of a vertical flip in combination with color reversal)
1485 will be also considered a match.
1486 The left-right flipping is only useful after all castling rights
1487 have expired (or in Xiangqi).
1489 @item Save Game Options
1490 @cindex Save Game Options, Menu Item
1491 Summons a dialog where you can specify the files on which XBoard should
1492 automtically save any played or entered games,
1493 (the @code{saveGameFile} option),
1494 or the final position of such games (the @code{savePositionfile} option).
1495 You can also select 'auto-save' without a file name,
1496 in which case XBoard will prompt the user for a file name after each game.
1497 You can also set the default value for the PGN Event tag that will
1498 be used for each new game you start.
1499 Various options for the format of the game can be specified as well,
1500 such as whether scores and depths of engine games should be saved as comments,
1501 and if a tag with info about the score with which the engine came out of book
1503 For Chess, always set the format to PGN, rather than "old save stye"!
1506 @cindex Game List Tags, Menu Item
1507 Pops up a dialog where you can select the PGN tags that should appear
1508 on the lines in the game list, and their order.
1511 @cindex Sound Options, Menu Item
1512 Summons a dialog where you can specify the sounds that should accompany
1513 various events that can occur XBoard.
1514 Most events are only relevant to ICS play,
1515 but the move sound is an important exception.
1516 For each event listed in the dialog,
1517 you can select a standard sound from a menu.
1518 You can also select a user-supplied sound file,
1519 by typing its name into the designated text-edit field first,
1520 and then selecting "Above WAV File" from the menu for the event.
1521 A dummy event has been provided for trying out the sounds with the
1522 "play" button next to it.
1523 The directory with standard sounds, and the external program for playing
1524 the sounds can be specified too, but normally you would not touch these
1525 once XBoard is properly installed.
1526 When a move sound other than 'None' is selected,
1527 XBoard alerts you by playing that sound
1528 after each of your opponent's moves (or after every
1529 move if you are observing a game on the Internet Chess Server).
1530 The sound is not played after moves you make or moves read from a
1533 @item Save Settings Now
1534 @cindex Save Settings Now, Menu Item
1535 Selecting this menu item causes the current XBoard settings to be
1536 written to the settings file, so they will also apply in future sessions.
1537 Note that some settings are 'volatile', and are not saved,
1538 because XBoard considers it too unlikely that you want those to apply
1540 In particular this applies to the Chess program names, and all options
1541 giving information on those Chess programs (such as their directory,
1542 if they have their own opening book, if they are UCI or native XBoard),
1543 or the variant you are playing.
1544 Such options would still be understood when they appear in the settings
1545 file in case they were put there with the aid of a text editor, but they
1546 would disappear from the file as soon as you save the settings.
1547 @item Save Settings on Exit
1548 @cindex Save Settings on Exit, Menu Item
1549 Setting this option has no immediate effect, but causes the settings
1550 to be saved when you quit XBoard. What happens then is otherwise
1551 identical to what happens when you use select "Save Settings Now",
1561 @cindex Info XBoard, Menu Item
1562 Displays the XBoard documentation in info format. For this feature to
1563 work, you must have the GNU info program installed on your system, and
1564 the file @file{xboard.info} must either be present in the current
1565 working directory, or have been installed by the @samp{make install}
1566 command when you built XBoard.
1568 @cindex Man XBoard, Menu Item
1569 Displays the XBoard documentation in man page format.
1570 The @kbd{F1} key is a keyboard equivalent. For this
1571 feature to work, the file @file{xboard.6} must have been installed by
1572 the @samp{make install} command when you built XBoard, and the
1573 directory it was placed in must be on the search path for your
1574 system's @samp{man} command.
1576 @cindex About XBoard, Menu Item
1577 Shows the current XBoard version number.
1581 @section Other Shortcut Keys
1583 @cindex Shortcut keys
1585 @item Show last move
1586 By hitting @kbd{Enter} the last move will be re-animated.
1587 @item Send a command directly to the chess engine
1588 Using @kbd{Ctrl+1} a popup window will prompt you for a command that
1589 will be send directly to the first chess engines. @kbd{Ctrl+2} does the
1590 same for a second chess engine, if present.
1591 @item Load Next Game
1592 @cindex Load Next Game, Menu Item
1593 Loads the next game from the last game record file you loaded.
1594 The @kbd{Alt+PgDn} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1595 @item Load Previous Game
1596 @cindex Load Previous Game, Menu Item
1597 Loads the previous game from the last game record file you
1598 loaded. The @kbd{Alt+PgUp} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1599 Not available if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
1600 @item Reload Same Game
1601 @cindex Reload Same Game, Menu Item
1602 Reloads the last game you loaded.
1603 Not available if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
1604 @item Reload Same Position
1605 @cindex Reload Same Position, Menu Item
1606 Reloads the last position you loaded.
1607 Not available if the last position was loaded from a pipe.
1610 You can add or remove shortcut keys using the X resources
1611 @code{form.translations}. Here is an example of what would go in your
1612 @file{.Xresources} file:
1615 XBoard*form.translations: \
1616 Shift<Key>?: AboutGameProc() \n\
1617 <Key>y: AcceptProc() \n\
1618 <Key>n: DeclineProc() \n\
1619 <Key>i: NothingProc()
1622 Binding a key to @code{NothingProc} makes it do nothing, thus removing
1623 it as a shortcut key. The XBoard commands that can be bound to keys
1627 AbortProc, AboutGameProc, AboutProc, AcceptProc, AdjournProc,
1628 AlwaysQueenProc, AnalysisModeProc, AnalyzeFileProc,
1629 AnimateDraggingProc, AnimateMovingProc, AutobsProc, AutoflagProc,
1630 AutoflipProc, AutoraiseProc, AutosaveProc, BackwardProc,
1631 BlindfoldProc, BookProc, CallFlagProc, CopyGameProc, CopyPositionProc,
1632 DebugProc, DeclineProc, DrawProc, EditCommentProc, EditGameProc,
1633 EditPositionProc, EditTagsProc, EnterKeyProc, FlashMovesProc,
1634 FlipViewProc, ForwardProc, GetMoveListProc, HighlightLastMoveProc,
1635 HintProc, IcsAlarmProc, IcsClientProc, IcsInputBoxProc,
1636 InfoProc, LoadGameProc, LoadNextGameProc, LoadNextPositionProc,
1637 LoadPositionProc, LoadPrevGameProc, LoadPrevPositionProc,
1638 LoadSelectedProc, MachineBlackProc, MachineWhiteProc, MailMoveProc,
1639 ManProc, MoveNowProc, MoveSoundProc, NothingProc, OldSaveStyleProc,
1640 PasteGameProc, PastePositionProc, PauseProc, PeriodicUpdatesProc,
1641 PonderNextMoveProc, PopupExitMessageProc, PopupMoveErrorsProc,
1642 PremoveProc, QuietPlayProc, QuitProc, ReloadCmailMsgProc,
1643 ReloadGameProc, ReloadPositionProc, RematchProc, ResetProc,
1644 ResignProc, RetractMoveProc, RevertProc, SaveGameProc,
1645 SavePositionProc, ShowCoordsProc, ShowGameListProc, ShowThinkingProc,
1646 StopExaminingProc, StopObservingProc, TestLegalityProc, ToEndProc,
1647 ToStartProc, TrainingProc, TruncateGameProc, and TwoMachinesProc.
1655 This section documents the command-line options to XBoard. You can
1656 set these options in two ways: by typing them on the shell command
1657 line you use to start XBoard, or by editing the settings file
1658 (usually ~/.xboardrc) to alter the value of the setting that was
1659 saved there. Some of the options
1660 cannot be changed while XBoard is running; others set the initial
1661 state of items that can be changed with the @ref{Options} menu.
1663 Most of the options have both a long name and a short name. To turn a
1664 boolean option on or off from the command line, either give its long
1665 name followed by the value true or false
1666 (@samp{-longOptionName true}), or give just the short name to turn the
1667 option on (@samp{-opt}), or the short name preceded by @samp{x} to
1668 turn the option off (@samp{-xopt}). For options that take strings or
1669 numbers as values, you can use the long or short option names
1673 * Chess engine options:: Controlling the chess engine.
1674 * UCI + WB Engine Settings:: Setting some very common engine parameters
1675 * Tournament options:: Running tournaments and matches between engines.
1676 * ICS options:: Connecting to and using ICS.
1677 * Load and Save options:: Input/output options.
1678 * User interface options:: Look and feel options.
1679 * Adjudication Options:: Control adjudication of engine-engine games.
1680 * Other options:: Miscellaneous.
1683 @node Chess engine options
1684 @section Chess Engine Options
1685 @cindex options, Chess engine
1686 @cindex Chess engine options
1688 @item -tc or -timeControl minutes[:seconds]
1690 @cindex timeControl, option
1691 Each player begins with his clock set to the @code{timeControl} period.
1693 The additional options @code{movesPerSession} and @code{timeIncrement}
1694 are mutually exclusive.
1695 @item -mps or -movesPerSession moves
1697 @cindex movesPerSession, option
1698 When both players have made @code{movesPerSession} moves, a
1699 new @code{timeControl} period is added to both clocks. Default: 40 moves.
1700 @item -inc or -timeIncrement seconds
1702 @cindex timeIncrement, option
1703 If this option is specified, @code{movesPerSession} is ignored.
1704 Instead, after each player's move, @code{timeIncrement} seconds are
1706 Use @samp{-inc 0} if you want to require the entire
1707 game to be played in one @code{timeControl} period, with no increment.
1708 Default: -1, which specifies @code{movesPerSession} mode.
1709 @item -clock/-xclock or -clockMode true/false
1710 @cindex clock, option
1711 @cindex clockMode, option
1712 Determines whether or not to display the chess clocks. If clockMode is
1713 false, the clocks are not shown, but the side that is to play next
1714 is still highlighted. Also, unless @code{searchTime}
1715 is set, the chess engine still keeps track of the clock time and uses it to
1716 determine how fast to make its moves.
1717 @item -st or -searchTime minutes[:seconds]
1719 @cindex searchTime, option
1720 Tells the chess engine to spend at most the given amount of time
1721 searching for each of its moves. Without this option, the chess engine
1722 chooses its search time based on the number of moves and amount
1723 of time remaining until the next time control.
1724 Setting this option also sets clockMode to false.
1725 @item -depth or -searchDepth number
1727 @cindex searchDepth, option
1728 Tells the chess engine to look ahead at most the given number of moves
1729 when searching for a move to make. Without this option, the chess
1730 engine chooses its search depth based on the number of moves and
1731 amount of time remaining until the next time control. With the option,
1732 the engine will cut off its search early if it reaches the specified depth.
1733 @item -firstNPS number
1734 @itemx -secondNPS number
1735 @cindex firstNPS, option
1736 @cindex secondNPS, option
1737 Tells the chess engine to use an internal time standard based on its node count,
1738 rather then wall-clock time, to make its timing decisions.
1739 The time in virtual seconds should be obtained by dividing the node count
1740 through the given number, like the number was a rate in nodes per second.
1741 Xboard will manage the clocks in accordance with this, relying on the number
1742 of nodes reported by the engine in its thinking output. If the given number equals zero,
1743 it can obviously not be used to convert nodes to seconds, and the time reported
1744 by the engine is used to decrement the XBoard clock in stead. The engine is supposed to
1745 report in CPU time it uses, rather than wall-clock time, in this mode. This option
1746 can provide fairer conditions for engine-engine matches on heavily loaded machines,
1747 or with very fast games (where the wall clock is too inaccurate).
1748 @code{showThinking} must be on for this option to work. Default: -1 (off).
1749 Not many engines might support this yet!
1750 @item -firstTimeOdds factor
1751 @itemx -secondTimeOdds factor
1752 @cindex firstTimeOdds, option
1753 @cindex secondTimeOdds, option
1754 Reduces the time given to the mentioned engine by the given factor.
1755 If pondering is off, the effect is indistinguishable from what would happen
1756 if the engine was running on an n-times slower machine. Default: 1.
1757 @item -timeOddsMode mode
1758 @cindex timeOddsMode, option
1759 This option determines how the case is handled where both engines have a time-odds handicap.
1760 If mode=1, the engine that gets the most time will always get the nominal time,
1761 as specified by the time-control options, and its opponent's time is renormalized accordingly.
1762 If mode=0, both play with reduced time. Default: 0.
1763 @item -hideThinkingFromHuman true/false
1764 Controls the Hide Thinking option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1765 (Replaces the Show-Thinking option of older xboard versions.)
1766 @item -thinking/-xthinking or -showThinking true/false
1767 @cindex thinking, option
1768 @cindex showThinking, option
1769 Forces the engine to send thinking output to xboard.
1770 Used to be the only way to control if thinking output was displayed
1771 in older xboard versions,
1772 but as the thinking output in xboard 4.3 is also used for several other
1773 purposes (adjudication, storing in PGN file) the display of it is now controlled
1774 by the new option Hide Thinking. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1775 (But if xboard needs the thinking output for some purpose,
1776 it makes the engine send it despite the setting of this option.)
1777 @item -ponder/-xponder or -ponderNextMove true/false
1778 @cindex ponder, option
1779 @cindex ponderNextMove, option
1780 Sets the Ponder Next Move menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1781 @item -smpCores number
1782 Specifies the maximum number of CPUs an SMP engine is allowed to use.
1783 Only works for engines that support the XBoard/WinBoard-protocol cores feature.
1784 @item -mg or -matchGames n
1786 @cindex matchGames, option
1787 Automatically runs an n-game match between two chess engines,
1788 with alternating colors.
1789 If the @code{loadGameFile} or @code{loadPositionFile} option is set,
1791 starts each game with the given opening moves or the given position;
1792 otherwise, the games start with the standard initial chess position.
1793 If the @code{saveGameFile} option is set, a move record for the
1794 match is appended to the specified file. If the @code{savePositionFile}
1795 option is set, the final position reached in each game of the match is appended
1796 to the specified file. When the match is over, XBoard
1797 displays the match score and exits. Default: 0 (do not run a match).
1798 @item -mm/-xmm or -matchMode true/false
1800 @cindex matchMode, option
1801 Setting @code{matchMode} to true is equivalent to setting
1802 @code{matchGames} to 1.
1803 @item -sameColorGames n
1804 @cindex sameColorGames, option
1805 Automatically runs an n-game match between two chess engines,
1806 without alternating colors.
1807 Otherwise the same applies as for the @samp{-matchGames} option,
1808 over which it takes precedence if both are specified. (See there.)
1809 Default: 0 (do not run a match).
1810 @item -fcp or -firstChessProgram program
1812 @cindex firstChessProgram, option
1813 Name of first chess engine.
1814 Default: @file{Fairy-Max}.
1815 @item -scp or -secondChessProgram program
1817 @cindex secondChessProgram, option
1818 Name of second chess engine, if needed.
1819 A second chess engine is started only in Two Machines (match) mode.
1820 Default: @file{Fairy-Max}.
1821 @item -fb/-xfb or -firstPlaysBlack true/false
1823 @cindex firstPlaysBlack, option
1824 In games between two chess engines, firstChessProgram normally plays
1825 white. If this option is true, firstChessProgram plays black. In a
1826 multi-game match, this option affects the colors only for the first
1827 game; they still alternate in subsequent games.
1828 @item -fh or -firstHost host
1829 @itemx -sh or -secondHost host
1831 @cindex firstHost, option
1833 @cindex secondHost, option
1834 Hosts on which the chess engines are to run. The default for
1835 each is @file{localhost}. If you specify another host, XBoard
1836 uses @file{rsh} to run the chess engine there. (You can substitute a
1837 different remote shell program for rsh using the @code{remoteShell}
1838 option described below.)
1839 @item -fd or -firstDirectory dir
1840 @itemx -sd or -secondDirectory dir
1842 @cindex firstDirectory, option
1844 @cindex secondDirectory, option
1845 Working directories in which the chess engines are to be run.
1846 The default is "", which means to run the chess engine
1847 in the same working directory as XBoard
1848 itself. (See the CHESSDIR environment variable.)
1849 This option is effective only when the chess engine is being run
1850 on the local host; it does not work if the engine is run remotely
1851 using the -fh or -sh option.
1852 @item -initString string
1853 @itemx -secondInitString string
1854 @cindex initString, option
1855 @cindex secondInitString, option
1856 The string that is sent to initialize each chess engine for a new game.
1864 Setting this option from the command line is tricky, because you must
1865 type in real newline characters, including one at the very end.
1866 In most shells you can do this by
1867 entering a @samp{\} character followed by a newline. It is easier to set
1868 the option from your @file{.Xresources} file; in that case you can
1869 include the character sequence @samp{\n} in the string, and it will
1870 be converted to a newline.
1872 If you change this option, don't remove the @samp{new}
1873 command; it is required by all chess engines to
1876 You can remove the @samp{random} command if you like; including it
1877 causes GNU Chess 4 to randomize its move selection slightly so that it
1878 doesn't play the same moves in every game. Even without
1879 @samp{random}, GNU Chess 4 randomizes its choice of moves from its
1880 opening book. Many other chess engines ignore this command entirely
1881 and always (or never) randomize.
1883 You can also try adding other commands to the initString; see the
1884 documentation of the chess engine you are using for details.
1885 @item -firstComputerString string
1886 @itemx -secondComputerString string
1887 @cindex firstComputerString, option
1888 @cindex secondComputerString, option
1889 The string that is sent to the chess engine if its opponent is another
1890 computer chess engine. The default is @samp{computer\n}. Probably the
1891 only useful alternative is the empty string (@samp{}), which keeps the
1892 engine from knowing that it is playing another computer.
1893 @item -reuse/-xreuse or -reuseFirst true/false
1894 @itemx -reuse2/-xreuse2 or -reuseSecond true/false
1895 @cindex reuse, option
1896 @cindex reuseFirst, option
1897 @cindex reuse2, option
1898 @cindex reuseSecond, option
1899 If the option is false,
1900 XBoard kills off the chess engine after every game and starts
1901 it again for the next game.
1902 If the option is true (the default),
1903 XBoard starts the chess engine only once
1904 and uses it repeatedly to play multiple games.
1905 Some old chess engines may not work properly when
1906 reuse is turned on, but otherwise games will start faster if it is left on.
1907 @item -firstProtocolVersion version-number
1908 @itemx -secondProtocolVersion version-number
1909 @cindex firstProtocolVersion, option
1910 @cindex secondProtocolVersion, option
1911 This option specifies which version of the chess engine communication
1912 protocol to use. By default, version-number is 2. In version 1, the
1913 "protover" command is not sent to the engine; since version 1 is a
1914 subset of version 2, nothing else changes. Other values for
1915 version-number are not supported.
1916 @item -firstScoreAbs true/false
1917 @itemx -secondScoreAbs true/false
1918 @cindex firstScoreAbs, option
1919 @cindex secondScoreAbs, option
1920 If this option is set, the score reported by the engine is taken to be
1921 that in favor of white, even when the engine plays black.
1922 Important when XBoard uses the score for adjudications, or in PGN reporting.
1923 @item -niceEngines priority
1924 @cindex niceEngines, option
1925 This option allows you to lower the priority of the engine processes,
1926 so that the generally insatiable hunger for CPU time of chess engines does not interfere so much
1927 with smooth operation of XBoard (or the rest of your system).
1928 Negative values could increase the engine priority, which is not recommended.
1929 @item -firstOptions string
1930 @itemx -secondOptions string
1931 @cindex firstOptions, option
1932 @cindex secondOptions, option
1933 The given string is a comma-separated list of (option name=option value) pairs,
1934 like the following example: "style=Karpov,blunder rate=0".
1935 If an option announced by the engine at startup through the feature commands of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol
1936 matches one of the option names (i.e. "style" or "blunder rate"),
1937 it would be set to the given value (i.e. "Karpov" or 0)
1938 through a corresponding option command to the engine.
1939 This provided that the type of the value (text or numeric) matches as well.
1940 @item -firstNeedsNoncompliantFEN string
1941 @itemx -secondNeedsNoncompliantFEN string
1942 @cindex firstNeedsNoncompliantFEN, option
1943 @cindex secondNeedsNoncompliantFEN, option
1944 The castling rights and e.p. fields of the FEN sent to the mentioned engine
1945 with the setboard command will be replaced by the given string. This can for
1946 instance be used to run engines that do not understand Chess960 FENs in
1947 variant fischerandom, to make them at least understand the opening position,
1948 through setting the string to "KQkq -". (Note you also have to give the e.p. field!)
1949 Other possible applications are to provide work-arounds for engines that want to see
1950 castling and e.p. fields in variants that do not have castling or e.p.
1951 (shatranj, courier, xiangqi, shogi) so that XBoard would normally omit them
1952 (string = "- -"), or to add variant-specific fields that are not yet supported by XBoard
1953 (e.g. to indicate the number of checks in 3check).
1954 @item -shuffleOpenings
1955 @cindex shuffleOpenings, option
1956 Forces shuffling of the opening setup in variants that normally have a fixed initial position.
1957 Shufflings are symmetric for black and white, and exempt King and Rooks in variants
1958 with normal castling.
1959 Remains in force until a new variant is selected.
1962 @node UCI + WB Engine Settings
1963 @section UCI + WB Engine Settings
1964 @cindex Engine Settings
1965 @cindex Settings, Engine
1967 @item -fUCI or -firstIsUCI true/false
1968 @itemx -sUCI or -secondIsUCI true/false
1969 @cindex fUCI, option
1970 @cindex sUCI, option
1971 @cindex firstIsUCI, option
1972 @cindex secondIsUCI, option
1973 Indicates if the mentioned engine executable file is an UCI engine,
1974 and should be run with the aid of the Polyglot adapter rather than directly.
1975 Xboard will then pass the other UCI options and engine name to Polyglot
1976 on its command line, according to the option @code{adapterCommand}.
1981 @cindex fUCCI, option
1982 @cindex sUCCI, option
1983 @cindex fUSI, option
1984 @cindex sUSI, option
1985 Options similar to @code{fUCI} and @code{sUCI}, except that they
1986 use the indicated engine with the protocol adapter specified in
1987 the @samp{uxiAdapter} option.
1988 This can then be configured for running an UCCI or USI adapter,
1990 @item -adapterCommand string
1991 @cindex adapterCommand, option
1992 The string conatins the command that should be issued by XBoard
1993 to start an engine that is accompanied by the @code{fUCI} option.
1994 Any identifier following a percent sign in the command (e.g. %fcp)
1995 will be considered the name of an XBoard option, and be replaced
1996 by the value of that option at the time the engine is started.
1997 For starting the second engine, any leading "f" or "first" in
1998 the option name will first be replaced by "s" or "second",
1999 before finding its value.
2000 Default: 'polyglot -noini -ec "%fcp" -ed "%fd"'
2001 @item -uxiAdapter string
2002 @cindex uxiAdapter, option
2003 Similar to @code{adapterCommand}, but used for engines accompanied
2004 by the @code{fUCCI} or @code{fUSI} option, so you can configure
2005 XBoard to be ready to handle more than one flavor of non-native protocols.
2007 @item -polyglotDir filename
2008 @cindex polyglotDir, option
2009 Gives the name of the directory in which the Polyglot adapter for UCI engines resides.
2011 @item -usePolyglotBook true/false
2012 @cindex usePolyglotBook, option
2013 Specifies if the Polyglot book should be used as GUI book.
2014 @item -polyglotBook filename
2015 @cindex polyglotBook, option
2016 Gives the filename of the opening book.
2017 The book is only used when the @code{usePolyglotBook} option is set to true,
2018 and the option @code{firstHasOwnBookUCI} or @code{secondHasOwnBookUCI}
2019 applying to the engine is set to false.
2020 The engine will be kept in force mode as long as the current position is in book,
2021 and XBoard will select the book moves for it. Default: "".
2022 @item -fNoOwnBookUCI or -firstXBook or -firstHasOwnBookUCI true/false
2023 @itemx -sNoOwnBookUCI or -secondXBook or -secondHasOwnBookUCI true/false
2024 @cindex fNoOwnBookUCI, option
2025 @cindex sNoOwnBookUCI, option
2026 @cindex firstHasOwnBookUCI, option
2027 @cindex secondHasOwnBookUCI, option
2028 @cindex firstXBook, option
2029 @cindex secondXBook, option
2030 Indicates if the mentioned engine has its own opening book it should play from,
2031 rather than using the external book through XBoard. Default: false.
2032 @item -fn string or -firstPgnName string
2033 @itemx -sn string or -secondPgnName string
2034 @cindex firstPgnName, option
2035 @cindex secondPgnName, option
2038 Indicates the name that should be used for the engine in PGN tags of
2039 engine-engine games.
2040 Intended to allow you to install verions of the same engine with different settings,
2041 and still distinguish them.
2043 @item -defaultHashSize n
2044 @cindex defaultHashSize, option
2045 Sets the size of the hash table to n MegaBytes. Together with the EGTB cache size
2046 this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of XBoard/WinBoard engines,
2047 for those that support the memory feature of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol. Default: 64.
2048 @item -defaultCacheSizeEGTB n
2049 @cindex defaultCacheSizeEGTB, option
2050 Sets the size of the EGTB cache to n MegaBytes. Together with the hash-table size
2051 this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of XBoard/WinBoard engines,
2052 for those that support the memory feature of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol. Default: 4.
2053 @item -defaultPathEGTB filename
2054 @cindex defaultPathEGTB, option
2055 Gives the name of the directory where the end-game tablebases are installed, for UCI engines.
2056 Default: "/usr/local/share/egtb".
2057 @item -egtFormats string
2058 @cindex egtFormats, option
2059 Specifies which end-game tables are installed on the computer, and where.
2060 The argument is a comma-separated list of format specifications,
2061 each specification consisting of a format name, a colon, and a directory path name,
2062 e.g. "nalimov:/usr/local/share/egtb".
2063 If the name part matches that of a format that the engine requests through a feature command,
2064 xboard will relay the path name for this format to the engine through an egtpath command.
2065 One egtpath command for each matching format will be sent.
2066 Popular formats are "nalimov" DTM tablebases and "scorpio" bitbases.
2068 @item -firstChessProgramNames=@{names@}
2069 This option lets you customize the drop-down list of chess engine names
2070 that appears in the @samp{Load Engine} and @samp{Match Options} dialog.
2071 It consists of a list of strings, one per line.
2072 When an engine is loaded, the corresponding line is prefixed with "-fcp ",
2073 and processed like it appeared on the command line.
2074 That means that apart from the engine command,
2075 it can contain any list of XBoard options you want to use with this engine.
2076 (Commonly used options here are -fd, -firstXBook, -fUCI, -variant.)
2078 The value of this option is gradually built as you load new engines
2079 through the @samp{Load Engine} menu dialog, with @samp{Add to list} ticked.
2080 To change it, edit your settings file with a plain text editor.
2083 @node Tournament options
2084 @section Tournament options
2085 @cindex Tournament Options
2086 @cindex Options, Tournament
2088 @item -tf filename or -tourneyFile filename
2090 @cindex tourneyFile, option
2091 Specifies the name of the tournament file used in match mode
2092 to conduct a multi-player tournament.
2093 This file is a special settings file,
2094 which stores the description of the tournament (including progress info),
2095 through normal options (e.g. for time control, load and save files),
2096 and through some special-purpose options listed below.
2097 @item -tt number or -tourneyType number
2099 @cindex tourneyType, option
2100 Specifies the type of tourney: 0 = round-robin,
2101 N>0 = (multi-)gauntlet with N gauntlet engines,
2102 -1 = Swiss through external pairing engine.
2103 Volatile option, but stored in tourney file.
2104 @item -cy number or -tourneyCycles number
2106 @cindex tourneyCycles, option
2107 Specifies the number of cycles in a tourney.
2108 Volatile option, but stored in tourney file.
2109 @item -participants list
2110 @cindex participants, option
2111 The list is a multi-line text string that specifies engines
2112 occurring in the @code{firstChesProgramNames} list
2113 in the settings file by their (implied or explicitly given) nicknames,
2114 one engine per line.
2115 The mentioned engines will play in the tourney.
2116 Volatile option, but stored in tourney file.
2117 @item -results string
2118 @cindex results, option
2119 The string of +=- characters lists the result of all played games in a toruney.
2120 Games currently playing are listed as *,
2121 while a space indicates a game that is not yet played or playing .
2122 Volatile option, but stored in tourney file.
2123 @item -defaultTourneyName string
2124 @cindex defaultTourneyName, option
2125 Specifies the name of the tournament file XBoard should propose
2126 when the @samp{Match Options} dialog is opened.
2127 Any %y, %M, %d, %h, %m, %s in the string are replaced by the current
2128 year, month, day of the month, hours, minutes, seconds of the current time,
2129 respectively, as two-digit number.
2130 A %Y would be replaced by the year as 4-digit number. Default: empty string.
2131 @item -pairingEngine filename
2132 @cindex pairingEngine, option
2133 Specifies the external program to be used to pair the participants in Swiss tourneys.
2134 XBoard communicates with this engine in the same way as it communicates with Chess engines.
2135 The only commands sent to the pairing engine are “results N string”,
2136 (where N is the number of participants,
2137 and string the results so far in the format of the results option),
2138 and “pairing N”, (where N is the number of the tourney game).
2139 To the latter the pairing engine should answer with “A-B”,
2140 where A and B are participant numbers (in the range 1-N).
2141 (There should be no reply to the results command.) Default: empty string.
2142 @item -afterGame string
2143 @cindex afterGame, option
2144 When non-empty, the given string will be executed as a system command
2145 after each tournament game.
2146 This can be used, for example, to autmatically run a cross-table generator
2147 on the PGN file where games are saved, to update the tourney standings.
2149 @item -seedBase number
2150 @cindex seedBase, option
2151 Used to store the seed of the pseudo-random-number generator in the
2152 tourneyFile, so that separate instances of XBoard working on the same
2153 tourney can take coherent 'random' decisions, such as picking an
2154 opening for a given game number.
2158 @section ICS options
2160 @cindex Options, ICS
2162 @item -ics/-xics or -internetChessServerMode true/false
2164 @cindex internetChessServerMode, option
2165 Connect with an Internet Chess Server to play chess against its
2166 other users, observe games they are playing, or review games
2167 that have recently finished. Default: false.
2168 @item -icshost or -internetChessServerHost host
2169 @cindex icshost, option
2170 @cindex internetChessServerHost, option
2171 The Internet host name or address of the chess server to connect
2172 to when in ICS mode. Default: @code{chessclub.com}.
2173 Another popular chess server to try is @code{freechess.org}.
2174 If your site doesn't have a working Internet name server, try
2175 specifying the host address in numeric form.
2177 to specify the numeric address when using the icshelper option
2178 with timestamp or timeseal (see below).
2179 @item -icsport or -internetChessServerPort port-number
2180 @cindex icsport, option
2181 @cindex internetChessServerPort, option
2182 The port number to use when connecting to a chess server in ICS
2183 mode. Default: 5000.
2184 @item -icshelper or -internetChessServerHelper prog-name
2185 @cindex icshelper, option
2186 @cindex internetChessServerHelper, option
2187 An external helper program used to communicate with the chess server.
2188 You would set it to "timestamp" for ICC (chessclub.com) or
2189 "timeseal" for FICS (freechess.org), after
2190 obtaining the correct version of timestamp or timeseal for your
2191 computer. See "help timestamp" on ICC and "help timeseal" on FICS.
2192 This option is shorthand for @code{-useTelnet -telnetProgram program}.
2193 @item -telnet/-xtelnet or -useTelnet true/false
2194 @cindex telnet, option
2195 @cindex useTelnet, option
2196 This option is poorly named; it should be called useHelper.
2197 If set to true, it instructs XBoard to run an external
2198 program to communicate with the Internet Chess Server.
2199 The program to use is given by the telnetProgram option.
2201 false (the default), XBoard opens a TCP socket and uses its own
2202 internal implementation of the telnet protocol to communicate with the
2203 ICS. @xref{Firewalls}.
2204 @item -telnetProgram prog-name
2205 @cindex telnetProgram, option
2206 This option is poorly named; it should be called helperProgram.
2207 It gives the name of the telnet program to be used with
2208 the @code{gateway} and @code{useTelnet} options. The default is
2209 @file{telnet}. The telnet program is invoked with the value of
2210 @code{internetChessServerHost} as its first argument and the value
2211 of @code{internetChessServerPort} as its second argument.
2213 @item -gateway host-name
2214 @cindex gateway, option
2215 If this option is set to a host name, XBoard communicates with the
2216 Internet Chess Server by using @file{rsh} to run
2217 the @code{telnetProgram} on the given host,
2218 instead of using its own internal implementation
2219 of the telnet protocol. You can substitute a different remote shell
2220 program for @file{rsh} using the @code{remoteShell} option described below.
2222 @item -internetChessServerCommPort or -icscomm dev-name
2223 @cindex internetChessServerCommPort, option
2224 @cindex icscomm, option
2225 If this option is set, XBoard communicates with the ICS through
2226 the given character I/O device instead of opening a TCP connection.
2227 Use this option if your system does not have any kind of
2228 Internet connection itself (not even a SLIP or PPP connection),
2229 but you do have dial-up access (or a hardwired terminal line) to
2230 an Internet service provider from which you can telnet to the ICS.
2232 The support for this option in XBoard is minimal. You need to
2233 set all communication parameters and tty modes before you enter
2236 Use a script something like this:
2239 stty raw -echo 9600 > /dev/tty00
2240 xboard -ics -icscomm /dev/tty00
2243 Here replace @samp{/dev/tty00} with the name of the device that your
2244 modem is connected to. You might have to add several more
2245 options to these stty commands. See the man pages for @file{stty}
2246 and @code{tty} if you run into problems. Also, on many systems stty
2247 works on its standard input instead of standard output, so you
2248 have to use @samp{<} instead of @samp{>}.
2250 If you are using linux, try starting with the script below.
2251 Change it as necessary for your installation.
2255 # configure modem and fire up XBoard
2259 stty 2400 ; stty raw ; stty hupcl ; stty -clocal
2260 stty ignbrk ; stty ignpar ; stty ixon ; stty ixoff
2261 stty -iexten ; stty -echo
2263 xboard -ics -icscomm /dev/modem
2266 After you start XBoard in this way, type whatever commands are
2267 necessary to dial out to your Internet provider and log in.
2268 Then telnet to ICS, using a command like
2269 @kbd{telnet chessclub.com 5000}.
2270 Important: See the paragraph below about extra echoes,
2271 in @ref{Limitations}.
2272 @item -icslogon or -internetChessServerLogonScript file-name
2273 @cindex icslogon, option
2274 @cindex internetChessServerLogonScript, option
2276 Whenever XBoard connects to the Internet Chess Server,
2277 if it finds a file with the name given in this option, it feeds the
2278 file's contents to the ICS as commands. The default file name
2280 Usually the first two lines of the file should be
2281 your ICS user name and password.
2282 The file can be either in $CHESSDIR, in XBoard's working
2283 directory if CHESSDIR is not set, or in your home directory.
2284 @item -msLoginDelay delay
2285 @cindex msLoginDelay, option
2286 If you experience trouble logging on to an ICS when using the
2287 @code{-icslogon} option, inserting some delay between characters
2288 of the logon script may help. This option adds @code{delay}
2289 milliseconds of delay between characters. Good values to try
2291 @item -icsinput/-xicsinput or -internetChessServerInputBox true/false
2292 @cindex icsinput, option
2293 @cindex internetChessServerInputBox, option
2294 Sets the ICS Input Box menu option. @xref{Mode Menu}. Default: false.
2295 @item -autocomm/-xautocomm or -autoComment true/false
2296 @cindex autocomm, option
2297 @cindex autoComment, option
2298 Sets the Auto Comment menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2299 @item -autoflag/-xautoflag or -autoCallFlag true/false
2300 @cindex autoflag, option
2301 @cindex autoCallFlag, option
2302 Sets the Auto Flag menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2303 @item -autobs/-xautobs or -autoObserve true/false
2304 @cindex autobs, option
2305 @cindex autoObserve, option
2306 Sets the Auto Observe menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2308 @cindex autoKibitz, option
2309 Enables kibitzing of the engines last thinking output (depth, score, time, speed, PV)
2311 to the ICS, in zippy mode. The option @code{showThinking} must be switched on for
2312 this option to work.
2313 Also diverts similar kibitz information of an opponent engine that is playing you
2314 through the ICS to the engine-output window, as if the engine was playing locally.
2315 @item -seekGraph true/false or -sg
2316 @cindex seekGraph, option
2318 Enables displaying of the seek graph by left-clicking the board when
2319 you are logged on to an ICS and currently idle.
2320 The seek graph show all players currently seeking games on the ICS,
2321 plotted according to their rating and the time control of the game they seek,
2322 in three different colors (for rated, unrated and wild games).
2323 Computer ads are displayed as squares, human ads are dots.
2325 @item -autoRefresh true/false
2326 @cindex autoRefresh, option
2327 Enables automatic updating of the seek graph,
2328 by having the ICS send a running update of all newly placed
2329 and removed seek ads.
2330 This consumes a substantial amount of communication bandwidth,
2331 and is only supported for FICS and ICC.
2333 @item -backgroundObserve true/false
2334 @cindex backgroundObserve, option
2335 When true, boards sent to you by the ICS from other games while you are playing
2336 (e.g. because you are observing them)
2337 will not be automatically displayed.
2338 Only a summary of time left and material of both players will appear
2339 in the message field above the board.
2340 XBoard will remember the last board it has received this way,
2341 and will display it in stead of the position in your own game
2342 when you press the right mouse button.
2343 No other information is stored on such games observed in the background;
2344 you cannot save such a game later, or step through its moves.
2345 This feature is provided solely for the benefit of bughouse players,
2346 to enable them to peek at their partner's game without the need
2349 @item -dualBoard true/false
2350 @cindex dualBoard, option
2351 In combination with -backgroundObserve true, this option will display
2352 the board of the background game side by side with that of your own game,
2353 so you can have it in view permanently.
2354 Any board or holdings info coming in will be displayed on the secondary
2356 This feature is still experimental and largely unfinished.
2357 There is no animation or highlighting of moves on the secondary board.
2359 @item -oneClickMove true/false
2360 @cindex oneClickMove, option
2361 When set, this option allows you to enter moves by only clicking the to-
2362 or from-square, when only a single legal move to or from that square
2364 Double-clicking a piece (or clicking an already selected piece)
2365 will instruct that piece to make the only capture it can legally do.
2367 @item -moves/-xmoves or -getMoveList true/false
2368 @cindex moves, option
2369 @cindex getMoveList, option
2370 Sets the Get Move List menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2371 @item -alarm/-xalarm or -icsAlarm true/false
2372 @cindex alarm, option
2373 @cindex icsAlarm, option
2374 Sets the ICS Alarm menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2375 @item -icsAlarmTime ms
2376 @cindex icsAlarmTime, option
2377 Sets the time in milliseconds for the ICS Alarm menu option.
2378 @xref{Options Menu}. Default: 5000.
2379 @item lowTimeWarning true/false
2380 @cindex lowTimeWarning, option
2381 Controls a color change of the board as a warning your time is running out.
2382 @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2383 @item -pre/-xpre \fRor\fB -premove true/false
2385 @cindex premove, option
2386 Sets the Premove menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2387 @item -quiet/-xquiet or -quietPlay true/false
2388 @cindex quiet, option
2389 @cindex quietPlay, option
2390 Sets the Quiet Play menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2391 @item -colorizeMessages or -colorize
2393 @cindex colorize, option
2394 Setting colorizeMessages
2395 to true tells XBoard to colorize the messages received from
2396 the ICS. Colorization works only if your xterm
2397 supports ISO 6429 escape sequences for changing text colors.
2398 @item -colorShout foreground,background,bold
2399 @itemx -colorSShout foreground,background,bold
2400 @itemx -colorChannel1 foreground,background,bold
2401 @itemx -colorChannel foreground,background,bold
2402 @itemx -colorKibitz foreground,background,bold
2403 @itemx -colorTell foreground,background,bold
2404 @itemx -colorChallege foreground,background,bold
2405 @itemx -colorRequest foreground,background,bold
2406 @itemx -colorSeek foreground,background,bold
2407 @itemx -colorNormal foreground,background,bold
2409 @cindex colorShout, option
2410 @cindex colorSShout, option
2411 @cindex colorChannel1, option
2412 @cindex colorChannel, option
2413 @cindex colorKibitz, option
2414 @cindex colorTell, option
2415 @cindex colorChallenge, option
2416 @cindex colorRequest, option
2417 @cindex colorSeek, option
2418 @cindex colorNormal, option
2419 These options set the colors used when colorizing ICS messages.
2420 All ICS messages are grouped into one of these categories:
2421 shout, sshout, channel 1, other channel, kibitz, tell, challenge,
2422 request (including abort, adjourn, draw, pause, and takeback), or
2423 normal (all other messages).
2425 Each foreground or background argument can be one of the following:
2426 black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white, or default.
2427 Here ``default'' means the default foreground or background color of
2428 your xterm. Bold can be 1 or 0. If background is omitted, ``default''
2429 is assumed; if bold is omitted, 0 is assumed.
2431 Here is an example of how to set the colors in your @file{.Xresources} file.
2432 The colors shown here are the default values; you will get
2433 them if you turn @code{-colorize} on without specifying your own colors.
2436 xboard*colorizeMessages: true
2437 xboard*colorShout: green
2438 xboard*colorSShout: green, black, 1
2439 xboard*colorChannel1: cyan
2440 xboard*colorChannel: cyan, black, 1
2441 xboard*colorKibitz: magenta, black, 1
2442 xboard*colorTell: yellow, black, 1
2443 xboard*colorChallenge: red, black, 1
2444 xboard*colorRequest: red
2445 xboard*colorSeek: blue
2446 xboard*colorNormal: default
2448 @item -soundProgram progname
2449 @cindex soundProgram, option
2451 If this option is set to a sound-playing program that is installed and
2452 working on your system, XBoard can play sound files when certain
2453 events occur, listed below. The default program name is "play". If
2454 any of the sound options is set to "$", the event rings the terminal
2455 bell by sending a ^G character to standard output, instead of playing
2456 a sound file. If an option is set to the empty string "", no sound is
2457 played for that event.
2458 @item -soundDirectory directoryname
2459 @cindex soundDirectory, option
2461 This option specifies where XBoard will look for sound files,
2462 when these are not given as an absolute path name.
2463 @item -soundShout filename
2464 @itemx -soundSShout filename
2465 @itemx -soundChannel filename
2466 @itemx -soundKibitz filename
2467 @itemx -soundTell filename
2468 @itemx -soundChallenge filename
2469 @itemx -soundRequest filename
2470 @itemx -soundSeek filename
2471 @cindex soundShout, option
2472 @cindex soundSShout, option
2473 @cindex soundChannel, option
2474 @cindex soundKibitz, option
2475 @cindex soundTell, option
2476 @cindex soundChallenge, option
2477 @cindex soundRequest, option
2478 @cindex soundSeek, option
2479 These sounds are triggered in the same way as the colorization events
2480 described above. They all default to "", no sound. They are played
2481 only if the colorizeMessages is on.
2482 @item -soundMove filename
2483 @cindex soundMove, option
2484 This sound is used by the Move Sound menu option. Default: "$".
2485 @item -soundIcsAlarm filename
2486 @cindex soundIcsAlarm, option
2487 This sound is used by the ICS Alarm menu option. Default: "$".
2488 @item -soundIcsWin filename
2489 @cindex soundIcsWin, option
2490 This sound is played when you win an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).
2491 @item -soundIcsLoss filename
2492 @cindex soundIcsLoss, option
2493 This sound is played when you lose an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).
2494 @item -soundIcsDraw filename
2495 @cindex soundIcsDraw, option
2496 This sound is played when you draw an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).
2497 @item -soundIcsUnfinished filename
2498 @cindex soundIcsUnfinished, option
2499 This sound is played when an ICS game that you are participating in is
2500 aborted, adjourned, or otherwise ends inconclusively. Default: "" (no
2503 Here is an example of how to set the sounds in your @file{.Xresources} file:
2506 xboard*soundShout: shout.wav
2507 xboard*soundSShout: sshout.wav
2508 xboard*soundChannel1: channel1.wav
2509 xboard*soundChannel: channel.wav
2510 xboard*soundKibitz: kibitz.wav
2511 xboard*soundTell: tell.wav
2512 xboard*soundChallenge: challenge.wav
2513 xboard*soundRequest: request.wav
2514 xboard*soundSeek: seek.wav
2515 xboard*soundMove: move.wav
2516 xboard*soundIcsWin: win.wav
2517 xboard*soundIcsLoss: lose.wav
2518 xboard*soundIcsDraw: draw.wav
2519 xboard*soundIcsUnfinished: unfinished.wav
2520 xboard*soundIcsAlarm: alarm.wav
2524 @node Load and Save options
2525 @section Load and Save options
2526 @cindex Options, Load and Save
2527 @cindex Load and Save options
2529 @item -lgf or -loadGameFile file
2530 @itemx -lgi or -loadGameIndex index
2532 @cindex loadGameFile, option
2534 @cindex loadGameIndex, option
2535 If the @code{loadGameFile} option is set, XBoard loads the specified
2536 game file at startup. The file name @file{-} specifies the standard
2537 input. If there is more than one game in the file, XBoard
2538 pops up a menu of the available games, with entries based on their PGN
2539 (Portable Game Notation) tags.
2540 If the @code{loadGameIndex} option is set to @samp{N}, the menu is suppressed
2541 and the N th game found in the file is loaded immediately.
2542 The menu is also suppressed if @code{matchMode} is enabled or if the game file
2543 is a pipe; in these cases the first game in the file is loaded immediately.
2544 Use the @file{pxboard} shell script provided with XBoard if you
2545 want to pipe in files containing multiple games and still see the menu.
2546 If the loadGameIndex specifies an index -1, this triggers auto-increment
2547 of the index in @code{matchMode}, which means that after every game the
2548 index is incremented by one, causing each game of the match to be played
2549 from the next game in the file. Similarly, specifying an index value of -2
2550 causes the index to be incremented every two games, so that each game
2551 in the file is used twice (with reversed colors).
2552 The @code{rewindIndex} option causes the index to be reset to the
2553 first game of the file when it has reached a specified value.
2554 @item -rewindIndex n
2555 Causes a position file or game file to be rewound to its beginning after n
2556 positions or games in auto-increment @code{matchMode}.
2557 See @code{loadPositionIndex} and @code{loadGameIndex}.
2558 default: 0 (no rewind).
2559 @item -td or -timeDelay seconds
2561 @cindex timeDelay, option
2562 Time delay between moves during @samp{Load Game} or @samp{Analyze File}.
2563 Fractional seconds are allowed; try @samp{-td 0.4}.
2564 A time delay value of -1 tells
2565 XBoard not to step through game files automatically. Default: 1 second.
2566 @item -sgf or -saveGameFile file
2568 @cindex saveGameFile, option
2569 If this option is set, XBoard appends a record of every game
2570 played to the specified file. The file name @file{-} specifies the
2572 @item -autosave/-xautosave or -autoSaveGames true/false
2573 @cindex autosave, option
2574 @cindex autoSaveGames, option
2575 Sets the Auto Save menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2576 Ignored if @code{saveGameFile} is set.
2577 @item -lpf or -loadPositionFile file
2578 @itemx -lpi or -loadPositionIndex index
2580 @cindex loadPositionFile, option
2582 @cindex loadPositionIndex, option
2583 If the @code{loadPositionFile} option is set, XBoard loads the
2584 specified position file at startup. The file name @file{-} specifies the
2585 standard input. If the @code{loadPositionIndex} option is set to N,
2586 the Nth position found in the file is loaded; otherwise the
2587 first position is loaded.
2588 If the loadPositionIndex specifies an index -1, this triggers auto-increment
2589 of the index in @code{matchMode}, which means that after every game the
2590 index is incremented by one, causing each game of the match to be played
2591 from the next position in the file. Similarly, specifying an index value of -2
2592 causes the index to be incremented every two games, so that each position
2593 in the file is used twice (with the engines playing opposite colors).
2594 The @code{rewindIndex} option causes the index to be reset to the
2595 first position of the file when it has reached a specified value.
2596 @item -spf or -savePositionFile file
2598 @cindex savePositionFile, option
2599 If this option is set, XBoard appends the final position reached
2600 in every game played to the specified file. The file name @file{-}
2601 specifies the standard output.
2602 @item -pgnExtendedInfo true/false
2603 @cindex pgnExtendedInfo, option`
2604 If this option is set, XBoard saves depth, score and time used for each
2605 move that the engine found as a comment in the PGN file.
2607 @item -pgnEventHeader string
2608 @cindex pgnEventHeader, option`
2609 Sets the name used in the PGN event tag to string.
2610 Default: "Computer Chess Game".
2611 @item -saveOutOfBookInfo true/false
2612 @cindex saveOutOfBookInfo, option`
2613 Include the information on how the engine(s) game out of its opening book
2614 in a special 'annotator' tag with the PGN file.
2615 @item -oldsave/-xoldsave or -oldSaveStyle true/false
2616 @cindex oldsave, option
2617 @cindex oldSaveStyle, option
2618 Sets the Old Save Style menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2619 @item -gameListTags string
2620 @cindex gameListTags, option
2621 The character string lists the PGN tags that should be printed in the
2622 Game List, and their order. The meaning of the codes is e=event,
2623 s=site, d=date, o=round, p=players, r=result, w=white Elo, b=black Elo,
2624 t=time control, v=variant, a=out-of-book info, c=result comment.
2626 @item -ini or -settingsFile filename
2627 @itemx -saveSettingsFile filename
2629 @cindex saveSettingsFile, option
2630 @cindex SettingsFile, option
2631 @cindex init, option
2632 @cindex at sign, option
2633 When XBoard encounters an option -settingsFile (or -ini for short),
2634 or @@filename, it tries to read the mentioned file,
2635 and substitutes the contents of it (presumaby more command-line options)
2636 in place of the option.
2637 In the case of -ini or -settingsFile, the name of a successfully read
2638 settings file is also remembered as the file to use for saving settings
2639 (automatically on exit, or on user command).
2640 An option of the form @@filename does not affect saving.
2641 The option -saveSettingsFile does specify a name of the file to use
2642 for saving, without reading any options from it, and is thus also effective
2643 when the file did not exist yet.
2644 So the settings will be saved to the file specified in the last
2645 -saveSettingsFile or succesfull -settingsFile / -ini command,
2646 if any, and in /etc/xboard/xboard.conf otherwise.
2647 Usualy the latter is only accessible for the system administrator, though,
2648 and will be used to contain system-wide default setings, amongst which
2649 a -saveSettingsFile and -settingsFile options to specify a settings file
2650 accessible to the individual user, such as ~/.xboardrc in the user's
2654 @node User interface options
2655 @section User interface options
2656 @cindex User interface options
2657 @cindex Options, User interface
2663 @cindex display, option
2664 @cindex geometry, option
2665 @cindex iconic, option
2666 @cindex resource name, option
2667 These and most other standard Xt options are accepted.
2669 @cindex noGUI, option
2670 Suppresses all GUI functions of XBoard
2671 (to speed up automated ultra-fast engine-engine games, which you don't want to watch).
2672 There will be no board or clock updates, no printing of moves,
2673 and no update of the icon on the task bar in this mode.
2674 @item -movesound/-xmovesound or -ringBellAfterMoves true/false
2675 @cindex movesound, option
2676 @cindex bell, option
2677 @cindex ringBellAfterMoves, option
2678 Sets the Move Sound menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2679 For compatibility with old XBoard versions, -bell/-xbell are also
2680 accepted as abbreviations for this option.
2681 @item -exit/-xexit or -popupExitMessage true/false
2682 @cindex exit, option
2683 @cindex popupExitMessage, option
2684 Sets the Popup Exit Message menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2685 @item -popup/-xpopup or -popupMoveErrors true/false
2686 @cindex popup, option
2687 @cindex popupMoveErrors, option
2688 Sets the Popup Move Errors menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2689 @item -queen/-xqueen or -alwaysPromoteToQueen true/false
2690 @cindex queen, option
2691 @cindex alwaysPromoteToQueen, option
2692 Sets the Always Queen menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2693 @item -sweepPromotions true/false
2694 @cindex sweepPromotion, option
2695 Sets the @samp{Almost Always Promote to Queen} menu option.
2696 @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2697 @item -legal/-xlegal or -testLegality true/false
2698 @cindex legal, option
2699 @cindex testLegality, option
2700 Sets the Test Legality menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2701 @item -size or -boardSize (sizeName | n1,n2,n3,n4,n5,n6,n7)
2702 @cindex size, option
2703 @cindex boardSize, option
2705 Determines how large the board will be, by selecting the pixel size
2706 of the pieces and setting a few related parameters.
2707 The sizeName can be one of: Titanic, giving 129x129 pixel pieces,
2708 Colossal 116x116, Giant 108x108, Huge 95x95, Big 87x87, Large 80x80, Bulky 72x72,
2709 Medium 64x64, Moderate 58x58, Average 54x54, Middling 49x49, Mediocre
2710 45x45, Small 40x40, Slim 37x37, Petite 33x33, Dinky 29x29, Teeny 25x25,
2712 Orthodox pieces of all these sizes are built into XBoard.
2714 be used if you have them; see the pixmapDirectory and bitmapDirectory
2716 Complete sets of un-orthodox pieces are only provided in sizes
2717 Bulky, Middling and (to a lesser extent) Petite;
2718 Archbishop, Marshall and Amazon are also available in all sizes between
2720 When no bitmap is available, the piece will be displayed as Amazon or King.
2721 The default depends on the size of your screen; it is approximately the
2722 largest size that will fit without clipping.
2724 You can select other sizes or vary other layout parameters by providing
2725 a list of comma-separated values (with no spaces) as the argument.
2726 You do not need to provide all the values; for any you omit from the
2727 end of the list, defaults are taken from the nearest built-in size.
2728 The value @code{n1} gives the piece size, @code{n2} the width of the
2730 between squares, @code{n3} the desired size for the
2731 clockFont, @code{n4} the desired size for the coordFont,
2732 @code{n5} the desired size for the messageFont,
2733 @code{n6} the smallLayout flag (0 or 1),
2734 and @code{n7} the tinyLayout flag (0 or 1).
2735 All dimensions are in pixels.
2736 If the border between squares is eliminated (0 width), the various
2737 highlight options will not work, as there is nowhere to draw the highlight.
2738 If smallLayout is 1 and @code{titleInWindow} is true,
2739 the window layout is rearranged to make more room for the title.
2740 If tinyLayout is 1, the labels on the menu bar are abbreviated
2741 to one character each and the buttons in the button bar are made narrower.
2742 @item -overrideLineGap n
2743 @cindex overrideLineGap, option
2744 When n >= 0, this forces the width of the black border between squares
2745 to n pixels for any board size. Mostly used to suppress the grid
2746 entirely by setting n = 0, e.g. in xiangqi or just getting a prettier
2747 picture. When n < 0 this the size-dependent width of the grid lines
2748 is used. Default: -1.
2749 @item -coords/-xcoords or -showCoords true/false
2750 @cindex coords, option
2751 @cindex showCoords, option
2752 Sets the Show Coords menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2753 The @code{coordFont} option specifies what font to use.
2754 @item -autoraise/-xautoraise or -autoRaiseBoard true/false
2755 @cindex autoraise, option
2756 @cindex autoRaiseBoard, option
2757 Sets the Auto Raise Board menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2758 @item -autoflip/-xautoflip or -autoFlipView true/false
2759 @cindex autoflip, option
2760 @cindex autoFlipView, option
2761 Sets the Auto Flip View menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2762 @item -flip/-xflip or -flipView true/false
2763 @cindex flip, option
2764 @cindex flipView, option
2765 If Auto Flip View is not set, or if you are observing but not participating
2766 in a game, then the positioning of the board at the start of each game
2767 depends on the flipView option. If flipView is false (the default),
2768 the board is positioned so that the white pawns move from the bottom to the
2769 top; if true, the black pawns move from the bottom to the top.
2770 In any case, the Flip menu option (see @ref{Options Menu})
2771 can be used to flip the board after
2773 @item -title/-xtitle or -titleInWindow true/false
2774 @cindex title, option
2775 @cindex titleInWindow, option
2776 If this option is true, XBoard displays player names (for ICS
2777 games) and game file names (for @samp{Load Game}) inside its main
2778 window. If the option is false (the default), this information is
2779 displayed only in the window banner. You probably won't want to
2780 set this option unless the information is not showing up in the
2781 banner, as happens with a few X window managers.
2782 @item -buttons/-xbuttons or -showButtonBar True/False
2783 @cindex buttons, option
2784 @cindex showButtonBar, option
2785 If this option is False, xboard omits the [<<] [<] [P] [>] [>>] button
2786 bar from the window, allowing the message line to be wider. You can
2787 still get the functions of these buttons using the menus or their keyboard
2788 shortcuts. Default: true.
2789 @item -evalZoom factor
2790 @cindex evalZoom, option
2791 The score interval (-1,1) is blown up on the vertical axis of
2792 the Evaluation Graph by the given factor.
2794 @item -evalThreshold n
2795 @cindex evalThreshold, option
2796 Score below n (centiPawn) are plotted as 0 in the Evaluation Graph.
2798 @item -mono/-xmono or -monoMode true/false
2799 @cindex mono, option
2800 @cindex monoMode, option
2801 Determines whether XBoard displays its pieces and squares with
2802 two colors (true) or four (false). You shouldn't have to
2803 specify @code{monoMode}; XBoard will determine if it is necessary.
2804 @item -showTargetSquares true/false
2805 @cindex showTargetSquares, option
2806 Determines whether XBoard can highlight the squares a piece has
2807 legal moves to, when you grab that piece with the mouse.
2808 If this option is set, this feature can be controlled through
2809 the Highlight Dragging menu item.
2810 @item -flashCount count
2811 @itemx -flashRate rate
2812 @itemx -flash/-xflash
2813 @cindex flashCount, option
2814 @cindex flashRate, option
2815 @cindex flash, option
2816 @cindex xflash, option
2817 These options enable flashing of pieces when they
2818 land on their destination square.
2820 tells XBoard how many times to flash a piece after it
2821 lands on its destination square.
2823 controls the rate of flashing (flashes/sec).
2826 sets flashCount to 3.
2828 sets flashCount to 0.
2829 Defaults: flashCount=0 (no flashing), flashRate=5.
2830 @item -highlight/-xhighlight or -highlightLastMove true/false
2831 @cindex highlight, option
2832 @cindex highlightLastMove, option
2833 Sets the Highlight Last Move menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2834 @item -highlightMoveWithArrow true/false
2835 @cindex highlight Arrow, option
2836 @cindex highlightMoveWithArrow, option
2837 Sets the Highlight with Arrow menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2838 @item -blind/-xblind or -blindfold true/false
2839 @cindex blind, option
2840 @cindex blindfold, option
2841 Sets the Blindfold menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2844 @cindex fSAN, option
2845 @cindex sSAN, option
2846 Causes the PV in thinking output of the mentioned engine to be converted
2847 to SAN before it is further processed.
2848 Warning: this might lose engine output not understood by the parser,
2849 and uses a lot of CPU power.
2850 Default: the PV is displayed exactly as the engine produced it.
2851 @item -clockFont font
2852 @cindex clockFont, option
2854 The font used for the clocks. If the option value is a pattern
2855 that does not specify the font size, XBoard tries to choose an
2856 appropriate font for the board size being used.
2857 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
2858 @item -coordFont font
2859 @cindex coordFont, option
2860 @cindex Font, coordinates
2861 The font used for rank and file coordinate labels if @code{showCoords}
2862 is true. If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
2863 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
2864 the board size being used.
2865 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
2866 @item -messageFont font
2867 @cindex messageFont, option
2868 @cindex Font, message
2869 The font used for popup dialogs, menus, comments, etc.
2870 If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
2871 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
2872 the board size being used.
2873 Default: -*-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
2874 @item -fontSizeTolerance tol
2875 @cindex fontSizeTolerance, option
2876 In the font selection algorithm, a nonscalable font will be preferred
2877 over a scalable font if the nonscalable font's size differs
2878 by @code{tol} pixels
2879 or less from the desired size. A value of -1 will force
2880 a scalable font to always be used if available; a value of 0 will
2881 use a nonscalable font only if it is exactly the right size;
2882 a large value (say 1000) will force a nonscalable font to always be
2883 used if available. Default: 4.
2884 @item -bm or -bitmapDirectory dir
2885 @itemx -pixmap or -pixmapDirectory dir
2887 @cindex bitmapDirectory, option
2888 @cindex pixmap, option
2889 @cindex pixmapDirectory, option
2890 These options control what piece images xboard uses. The XBoard
2891 distribution includes one set of pixmap pieces in xpm format, in the
2892 directory @file{pixmaps}, and one set of bitmap pieces in xbm format,
2893 in the directory @file{bitmaps}. Pixmap
2894 pieces give a better appearance on the screen: the white pieces have
2895 dark borders, and the black pieces have opaque internal details. With
2896 bitmaps, neither piece color has a border, and the internal details
2897 are transparent; you see the square color or other background color
2900 If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that includes libXpm,
2901 the X pixmap library, the xpm pixmap pieces are compiled in as the
2902 default. A different xpm piece set can be selected at runtime with
2903 the @code{pixmapDirectory} option, or a bitmap piece set can be selected
2904 with the @code{bitmapDirectory} option.
2906 If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that does not include
2907 libXpm (or the @code{--disable-xpm} option is given to the configure
2908 program), the bitmap pieces are compiled in as the default. It is not
2909 possible to use xpm pieces in this case, but pixmap pieces in another
2910 format called "xim" can be used by giving the @code{pixmapDirectory} option.
2911 Or again, a different bitmap piece set can be selected with the
2912 @code{bitmapDirectory} option.
2914 Files in the @code{bitmapDirectory} must be named as follows:
2915 The first character of a piece bitmap name gives the piece it
2916 represents (@samp{p}, @samp{n}, @samp{b}, @samp{r}, @samp{q}, or @samp{k}),
2917 the next characters give the size in pixels, the
2918 following character indicates whether the piece is
2919 solid or outline (@samp{s} or @samp{o}),
2920 and the extension is @samp{.bm}.
2921 For example, a solid 80x80 knight would be named @file{n80s.bm}.
2922 The outline bitmaps are used only in monochrome mode.
2923 If bitmap pieces are compiled in and the bitmapDirectory is missing
2924 some files, the compiled in pieces are used instead.
2926 If the bitmapDirectory option is given,
2927 it is also possible to replace xboard's icons and menu checkmark,
2928 by supplying files named @file{icon_white.bm}, @file{icon_black.bm}, and
2929 @file{checkmark.bm}.
2931 For more information about pixmap pieces and how to get additional
2932 sets, see @ref{zic2xpm} below.
2933 @item -whitePieceColor color
2934 @itemx -blackPieceColor color
2935 @itemx -lightSquareColor color
2936 @itemx -darkSquareColor color
2937 @itemx -highlightSquareColor color
2938 @itemx -lowTimeWarningColor color
2940 @cindex whitePieceColor, option
2941 @cindex blackPieceColor, option
2942 @cindex lightSquareColor, option
2943 @cindex darkSquareColor, option
2944 @cindex highlightSquareColor, option
2945 @cindex lowTimeWarningColor, option
2946 Colors to use for the pieces, squares, and square highlights.
2950 -whitePieceColor #FFFFCC
2951 -blackPieceColor #202020
2952 -lightSquareColor #C8C365
2953 -darkSquareColor #77A26D
2954 -highlightSquareColor #FFFF00
2955 -premoveHighlightColor #FF0000
2956 -lowTimeWarningColor #FF0000
2959 On a grayscale monitor you might prefer:
2962 -whitePieceColor gray100
2963 -blackPieceColor gray0
2964 -lightSquareColor gray80
2965 -darkSquareColor gray60
2966 -highlightSquareColor gray100
2967 -premoveHighlightColor gray70
2968 -lowTimeWarningColor gray70
2970 @item -useBoardTexture true/false
2971 @itemx -liteBackTextureFile filename
2972 @itemx -darkBackTextureFile filename
2973 @cindex useBoardTexture, option
2974 @cindex liteBackTextureFile, option
2975 @cindex darkBackTextureFile, option
2976 Indicate the pixmap files to be used for drawing the board squares,
2977 and if they should be used rather than using simple colors.
2978 The algorithm for cutting squares out of a given bitmap is such that
2979 the picture is perfectly reproduced when a bitmap the size of
2980 the complete board is given.
2981 Default: false and ""
2982 @item -drag/-xdrag or -animateDragging true/false
2983 @cindex drag, option
2984 @cindex animateDragging, option
2985 Sets the Animate Dragging menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2986 @item -animate/-xanimate or -animateMoving true/false
2987 @cindex animate, option
2988 @cindex animateMoving, option
2989 Sets the Animate Moving menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2990 @item -animateSpeed n
2991 @cindex -animateSpeed, option
2992 Number of milliseconds delay between each animation frame when Animate
2994 @item -autoDisplayComment true/false
2995 @itemx -autoDisplayTags true/false
2996 @cindex -autoDisplayComment, option
2997 @cindex -autoDisplayTags, option
2998 If set to true, these options cause the window with the move comments,
2999 and the window with PGN tags, respectively, to pop up automatically when
3000 such tags or comments are encountered during the replaying a stored or
3001 loaded game. Default: true.
3002 @item -pasteSelection true/false
3003 @cindex -pasteSelection, option
3004 If this option is set to true, the Paste Position and Paste Game
3005 options paste from the currently selected text. If false, they paste
3006 from the clipboard. Default: false.
3007 @item -dropMenu true|false
3008 @cindex dropMenu, option
3009 This option allows you to emulate old behavior,
3010 where the right mouse button brings up the (now deprecated) drop menu
3011 rather than displaying the position at the end of the principal variation.
3013 @item -pieceMenu true|false
3014 @cindex pieceMenu, option
3015 This option allows you to emulate old behavior,
3016 where the right mouse button brings up the (now deprecated) piece menu
3017 in Edit Position mode.
3018 From this menu you can select the piece to put on the square you
3019 clicked to bring up the menu,
3020 or select items such as @kbd{clear board}.
3021 You can also @kbd{promote} or @kbd{demote} a clicked piece to convert
3022 it into an unorthodox piece that is not directly in the menu,
3023 or give the move to @kbd{black} or @kbd{white}.
3024 @item -variations true|false
3025 @cindex variations, option
3026 When this option is on, you can start new variations in Edit Game or
3027 Analyze mode by holding the Shift key down while entering a move.
3028 When it is off, the Shift key will be ignored.
3030 @item -absoluteAnalysisScores true|false
3031 @cindex absoluteAnalysisScores, option
3032 When true, scores on the Engine Output window during analysis
3033 will be printed from the white point-of-view, rather than the
3034 side-to-move point-of-view.
3036 @item -scoreWhite true|false
3037 @cindex scoreWhite, option
3038 When true, scores will always be printed from the white point-of-view,
3039 rather than the side-to-move point-of-view.
3043 @node Adjudication Options
3044 @section Adjudication Options
3045 @cindex Options, adjudication
3047 @item -adjudicateLossThreshold n
3048 @cindex adjudicateLossThreshold, option
3049 If the given value is non-zero, XBoard adjudicates the game as a loss
3050 if both engines agree for a duration of 6 consecutive ply that the score
3051 is below the given score threshold for that engine. Make sure the score
3052 is interpreted properly by XBoard,
3053 using @code{-firstScoreAbs} and @code{-secondScoreAbs} if needed.
3054 Default: 0 (no adjudication)
3055 @item -adjudicateDrawMoves n
3056 @cindex adjudicateDrawMoves, option
3057 If the given value is non-zero, XBoard adjudicates the game as a draw
3058 if after the given number of moves it was not yet decided. Default: 0 (no adjudication)
3059 @item -checkMates true/false
3060 @cindex checkMates, option
3061 If this option is set, XBoard detects all checkmates and stalemates,
3062 and ends the game as soon as they occur.
3063 Legality-testing must be switched on for this option to work.
3065 @item -testClaims true/false
3066 @cindex testClaims, option
3067 If this option is set, XBoard verifies all result claims made by engines,
3068 and those who send false claims will forfeit the game because of it.
3069 Legality-testing must be switched on for this option to work. Default: true
3070 @item -materialDraws true/false
3071 @cindex materialDraws, option
3072 If this option is set, XBoard adjudicates games as draws when there is
3073 no sufficient material left to inflict a checkmate.
3074 This applies to KBKB with like bishops (any number, actually), and to KBK, KNK and KK.
3075 Legality-testing must be switched on for this option to work. Default: true
3076 @item -trivialDraws true/false
3077 @cindex trivialDraws, option
3078 If this option is set, XBoard adjudicates games as draws that cannot be
3079 usually won without opponent cooperation. This applies to KBKB with unlike bishops,
3080 and to KBKN, KNKN, KNNK, KRKR and KQKQ. The draw is called after 6 ply into these end-games,
3081 to allow quick mates that can occur in some exceptional positions to be found by the engines.
3082 KQKQ does not really belong in this category, and might be taken out in the future.
3083 (When bitbase-based adjudications are implemented.)
3084 Legality-testing must be on for this option to work. Default: false
3086 @cindex ruleMoves, option
3087 If the given value is non-zero, XBoard adjudicates the game as a draw after the given
3088 number of consecutive reversible moves. Engine draw claims are always accepted after 50 moves,
3089 irrespective of the given value of n.
3090 @item -repeatsToDraw n
3091 If the given value is non-zero, xboard adjudicates the game as a draw if a position
3092 is repeated the given number of times. Engines draw claims are always accepted after 3 repeats,
3093 (on the 3rd occurrence, actually), irrespective of the value of n.
3094 Beware that positions that have different castling or en-passant rights do not count
3095 as repeats, XBoard is fully e.p. and castling aware!
3099 @section Other options
3100 @cindex Options, miscellaneous
3102 @item -ncp/-xncp or -noChessProgram true/false
3104 @cindex noChessProgram, option
3105 If this option is true, XBoard acts as a passive chessboard; it
3106 does not start a chess engine at all. Turning on this option
3107 also turns off clockMode. Default: false.
3108 @item -mode or -initialMode modename
3109 @cindex mode, option
3110 @cindex initalMode, option
3111 If this option is given, XBoard selects the given modename
3112 from the Mode menu after starting and (if applicable) processing the
3113 loadGameFile or loadPositionFile option. Default: "" (no selection).
3114 Other supported values are
3115 MachineWhite, MachineBlack, TwoMachines, Analysis,
3116 AnalyzeFile, EditGame, EditPosition, and Training.
3117 @item -variant varname
3118 @cindex variant, option
3119 Activates preliminary, partial support for playing chess variants
3120 against a local engine or editing variant games. This flag is not
3121 needed in ICS mode. Recognized variant names are:
3125 wildcastle Shuffle chess, king can castle from d file
3126 nocastle Shuffle chess, no castling allowed
3127 fischerandom Fischer Random shuffle chess
3128 bughouse Bughouse, ICC/FICS rules
3129 crazyhouse Crazyhouse, ICC/FICS rules
3130 losers Lose all pieces or get mated (ICC wild 17)
3131 suicide Lose all pieces including king (FICS)
3132 giveaway Try to have no legal moves (ICC wild 26)
3133 twokings Weird ICC wild 9
3134 kriegspiel Opponent's pieces are invisible
3135 atomic Capturing piece explodes (ICC wild 27)
3136 3check Win by giving check 3 times (ICC wild 25)
3137 shatranj An ancient precursor of chess (ICC wild 28)
3138 xiangqi Chinese Chess (on a 9x10 board)
3139 shogi Japanese Chess (on a 9x9 board & piece drops)
3140 capablanca Capablanca Chess (10x8 board, with Archbishop
3141 and Chancellor pieces)
3142 gothic similar, with a better initial position
3143 caparandom An FRC-like version of Capablanca Chess (10x8)
3144 janus A game with two Archbishops (10x8 board)
3145 courier Medieval intermediate between shatranj and
3146 modern Chess (on 12x8 board)
3147 falcon Patented 10x8 variant with two Falcon pieces
3148 berolina Pawns capture straight ahead, and move diagonal
3149 cylinder Pieces wrap around the board edge
3150 knightmate King moves as Knight, and vice versa
3151 super Superchess (shuffle variant with 4 exo-pieces)
3152 makruk Thai Chess (shatranj-like, P promotes on 6th rank)
3153 spartan Spartan Chess (black has unorthodox pieces)
3154 fairy A catchall variant in which all piece types
3155 known to XBoard can participate (8x8)
3156 unknown Catchall for other unknown variants
3159 NOT ALL BOARDSIZES PROVIDE A COMPLETE SET OF BUILT-IN BITMAPS FOR ALL
3160 UN-ORTHODOX PIECES, though. Only in @code{boardSize} middling and bulky
3161 all 22 piece types are provided, while -boardSize petite has most
3162 of them. Archbishop, Chancellor and Amazon are supported in every
3163 size from petite to bulky. Kings or Amazons are substituted for
3164 missing bitmaps. You can still play variants needing un-orthodox
3165 pieces in other board sizes providing your own bitmaps through the
3166 @code{bitmapDirectory} or @code{pixmapDirectory} options.
3168 In the shuffle variants, XBoard now does shuffle the pieces, although
3169 you can still do it by hand using Edit Position. Some variants are
3170 supported only in ICS mode, including bughouse, and
3171 kriegspiel. The winning/drawing conditions in crazyhouse (off-board
3172 interposition on mate) are not fully understood, but losers, suicide,
3173 giveaway, atomic, and 3check should be OK.
3174 Berolina and cylinder chess can only be played with legality testing off.
3175 In crazyhouse, XBoard now does keep
3176 track of off-board pieces. In shatranj it does implement the baring
3177 rule when mate detection is switched on.
3178 @item -boardHeight N
3179 @cindex boardHeight, option
3180 Allows you to set a non-standard number of board ranks in any variant.
3181 If the height is given as -1, the default height for the variant is used.
3184 @cindex boardWidth, option
3185 Allows you to set a non-standard number of board files in any variant.
3186 If the width is given as -1, the default width for the variant is used.
3187 With a non-standard width, the initial position will always be an empty board,
3188 as the usual opening array will not fit.
3190 @item -holdingsSize N
3191 @cindex holdingsSize, option
3192 Allows you to set a non-standard size for the holdings in any variant.
3193 If the size is given as -1, the default holdings size for the variant is used.
3194 The first N piece types will go into the holdings on capture, and you will be
3195 able to drop them on the board in stead of making a normal move. If size equals 0,
3196 there will be no holdings.
3198 @item -defaultFrcPosition N
3199 @cindex defaultFrcPosition, option
3200 Specifies the number of the opening position in shuffle games like Chess960.
3201 A value of -1 means the position is randomly generated by XBoard
3202 at the beginning of every game.
3204 @item -pieceToSquareTable string
3205 @cindex pieceToSquareTable, option
3206 The characters that are used to represent the piece types XBoard knows in FEN
3207 diagrams and SAN moves. The string argument has to have an even length
3208 (or it will be ignored), as white and black pieces have to be given separately
3209 (in that order). The last letter for each color will be the King.
3210 The letters before that will be PNBRQ and then a whole host of fairy pieces
3211 in an order that has not fully crystallized yet (currently FEACWMOHIJGDVSLU,
3212 F=Ferz, Elephant, A=Archbishop, C=Chancellor, W=Wazir, M=Commoner, O=Cannon,
3213 H=Nightrider). You should list at least all pieces that occur in the variant
3214 you are playing. If you have less than 44 characters in the string, the pieces
3215 not mentioned will get assigned a period, and you will not be able to distinguish
3216 them in FENs. You can also explicitly assign pieces a period, in which case they
3217 will not be counted in deciding which captured pieces can go into the holdings.
3218 A tilde '~' as a piece name does mean this piece is used to represent a promoted
3219 Pawn in crazyhouse-like games, i.e. on capture it turns back onto a Pawn.
3220 A '+' similarly indicates the piece is a shogi-style promoted piece, that should
3221 revert to its non-promoted version on capture (rather than to a Pawn).
3222 Note that promoted pieces are represented by pieces 11 further in the list.
3223 You should not have to use this option often: each variant has its own default
3224 setting for the piece representation in FEN, which should be sufficient in normal use.
3226 @item -debug/-xdebug or -debugMode true/false
3227 @cindex debug, option
3228 @cindex debugMode, option
3229 Turns on debugging printout.
3230 @item -debugFile filename or -nameOfDebugFile filename
3231 @cindex debugFile, option
3232 @cindex nameOfDebugFile, option
3233 Sets the name of the file to which XBoard saves debug information
3234 (including all communication to and from the engines).
3235 @item -engineDebugOutput number
3236 @cindex engineDebugOutput, option
3237 Specifies how XBoard should handle unsolicited output from the engine,
3238 with respect to saving it in the debug file.
3239 The output is further (hopefully) ignored.
3240 If number=0, XBoard refrains from writing such spurious output to the debug file.
3241 If number=1, all engine output is written faithfully to the debug file.
3242 If number=2, any protocol-violating line is prefixed with a '#' character,
3243 as the engine itself should have done if it wanted to submit info for inclusion in the debug file.
3244 This option is provided for the benefit of applications that use the debug file
3245 as a source of information, such as the broadcaster of live games TLCV / TLCS.
3246 Such applications can be protected from spurious engine output that might otherwise confuse them.
3247 @item -rsh or -remoteShell shell-name
3249 @cindex remoteShell, option
3250 Name of the command used to run programs remotely. The default
3251 is @file{rsh} or @file{remsh}, determined when XBoard is
3252 configured and compiled.
3253 @item -ruser or -remoteUser user-name
3254 @cindex ruser, option
3255 @cindex remoteUser, option
3256 User name on the remote system when running programs with the
3257 @code{remoteShell}. The default is your local user name.
3258 @item -userName username
3259 @cindex userName, option
3260 Name under which the Human player will be listed in the PGN file.
3261 Default is the login name on your local computer.
3262 @item -delayBeforeQuit number
3263 @itemx -delayAfterQuit number
3264 @cindex delayBeforeQuit, option
3265 @cindex delayAfterQuit, option
3266 These options specify how long XBoard 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.
3268 @cindex searchMode, option
3269 The integer n encodes the mode for the @samp{find position} function.
3270 Default: 1 (= Exact position match)
3271 @item -eloThresholdBoth elo
3272 @itemx -eloThresholdAny elo
3273 @cindex eloThresholdBoth, option
3274 @cindex eloThresholdAny, option
3275 Defines a lower limit for the Elo rating, which has to be surpassed
3276 before a game will be considered when searching for a board position.
3278 @item -dateThreshold year
3279 @cindex dateThreshold, option
3280 Only games not played before the given year will be considered when
3281 searching for a board position
3287 @chapter Chess Servers
3289 @cindex ICS, addresses
3290 @cindex Internet Chess Server
3291 An @dfn{Internet Chess Server}, or @dfn{ICS}, is a place on the
3292 Internet where people can get together to play chess, watch other
3293 people's games, or just chat. You can use either @code{telnet} or a
3294 client program like XBoard to connect to the server. There are
3295 thousands of registered users on the different ICS hosts, and it is
3296 not unusual to meet 200 on both chessclub.com and freechess.org.
3298 Most people can just type @kbd{xboard -ics} to start XBoard as an ICS
3299 client. Invoking XBoard in this way connects you to the Internet
3300 Chess Club (ICC), a commercial ICS. You can log in there as a guest
3301 even if you do not have a paid account. To connect to the largest
3302 Free ICS (FICS), use the command @kbd{xboard -ics -icshost freechess.org}
3303 instead, or substitute a different host name to connect to your
3305 For a full description of command-line options that control
3306 the connection to ICS and change the default values of ICS options, see
3309 While you are running XBoard as an ICS client,
3310 you use the terminal window that you started XBoard from
3311 as a place to type in commands and read information that is
3312 not available on the chessboard.
3314 The first time you need to use the terminal is to enter your login name
3315 and password, if you are a registered player. (You don't need to do
3316 this manually; the @code{icsLogon} option can do it for you.
3317 @pxref{ICS options}.) If you are not registered,
3318 enter @kbd{g} as your name, and the server will pick a
3319 unique guest name for you.
3321 Some useful ICS commands
3325 @cindex help, ICS command
3326 to get help on the given <topic>. To get a list of possible topics type
3327 @dfn{help} without topic. Try the help command before you ask other
3328 people on the server for help.
3330 For example @kbd{help register} tells you how to become a registered
3333 @cindex who, ICS command
3334 to see a list of people who are logged on. Administrators
3335 (people you should talk to if you have a problem) are marked
3336 with the character @samp{*}, an asterisk. The <flags> allow you to
3337 display only selected players: For example, @kbd{who of} shows a
3338 list of players who are interested in playing but do not have
3341 @cindex games, ICS command
3342 to see what games are being played
3343 @item match <player> [<mins>] [<inc>]
3344 to challenge another player to a game. Both opponents get <mins> minutes
3345 for the game, and <inc> seconds will be added after each move.
3346 If another player challenges you, the server asks if you want to
3347 accept the challenge; use the @kbd{accept} or @kbd{decline} commands
3351 @cindex accept, ICS command
3352 @cindex decline, ICS command
3353 to accept or decline another player's offer.
3354 The offer may be to start a new game, or to agree to a
3355 @kbd{draw}, @kbd{adjourn} or @kbd{abort} the current game. @xref{Action Menu}.
3357 If you have more than one pending offer (for example, if more than one player
3358 is challenging you, or if your opponent offers both a draw and to adjourn the
3359 game), you have to supply additional information, by typing something
3360 like @kbd{accept <player>}, @kbd{accept draw}, or @kbd{draw}.
3364 @cindex draw, ICS command
3365 @cindex adjourn, ICS command
3366 @cindex abort, ICS command
3367 asks your opponent to terminate a game by mutual agreement. Adjourned
3368 games can be continued later.
3369 Your opponent can either @kbd{decline} your offer or accept it (by typing the
3370 same command or typing @kbd{accept}). In some cases these commands work
3371 immediately, without asking your opponent to agree. For example, you can
3372 abort the game unilaterally if your opponent is out of time, and you can claim
3373 a draw by repetition or the 50-move rule if available simply by typing
3375 @item finger <player>
3376 @cindex finger, ICS command
3377 to get information about the given <player>. (Default: yourself.)
3379 @cindex vars, ICS command
3380 to get a list of personal settings
3381 @item set <var> <value>
3382 @cindex set, ICS command
3383 to modify these settings
3384 @item observe <player>
3385 @cindex observe, ICS command
3386 to observe an ongoing game of the given <player>.
3389 @cindex examine, ICS command
3390 @cindex oldmoves, ICS command
3391 to review a recently completed game
3394 Some special XBoard features are activated when you are
3395 in examine mode on ICS. See the descriptions of the menu commands
3396 @samp{Forward}, @samp{Backward}, @samp{Pause}, @samp{ICS Client},
3397 and @samp{Stop Examining} on the @ref{Edit Menu}, @ref{Mode Menu}, and
3402 By default, XBoard communicates with an Internet Chess Server
3403 by opening a TCP socket directly from the machine it is running on
3404 to the ICS. If there is a firewall between your machine and the ICS,
3405 this won't work. Here are some recipes for getting around common
3406 kinds of firewalls using special options to XBoard.
3407 Important: See the paragraph in the below about extra echoes, in
3410 Suppose that you can't telnet directly to ICS, but you can telnet
3411 to a firewall host, log in, and then telnet from there to ICS.
3412 Let's say the firewall is called @samp{firewall.example.com}. Set
3413 command-line options as follows:
3416 xboard -ics -icshost firewall.example.com -icsport 23
3419 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
3422 XBoard*internetChessServerHost: firewall.example.com
3423 XBoard*internetChessServerPort: 23
3426 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, you will be prompted
3427 to log in to the firewall host. This works because port 23 is the
3428 standard telnet login service. Do so, then telnet to ICS, using a
3429 command like @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000}, or whatever command
3430 the firewall provides for telnetting to port 5000.
3432 If your firewall lets you telnet (or rlogin) to remote hosts but
3433 doesn't let you telnet to port 5000, you may be able to connect to the
3434 chess server on port 23 instead, which is the port the telnet program
3435 uses by default. Some chess servers support this (including
3436 chessclub.com and freechess.org), while some do not.
3438 If your chess server does not allow connections on port 23 and your
3439 firewall does not allow you to connect to other ports, you may be able
3440 to connect by hopping through another host outside the firewall that
3441 you have an account on. For instance, suppose you have a shell
3442 account at @samp{foo.edu}. Follow the recipe above, but instead of
3443 typing @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000} to the firewall, type
3444 @samp{telnet foo.edu} (or @samp{rlogin foo.edu}), log in there, and
3445 then type @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000}.
3447 Suppose that you can't telnet directly to ICS, but you can use rsh
3448 to run programs on a firewall host, and that host can telnet to ICS.
3449 Let's say the firewall is called @samp{rsh.example.com}. Set
3450 command-line options as follows:
3453 xboard -ics -gateway rsh.example.com -icshost chessclub.com
3457 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
3460 XBoard*gateway: rsh.example.com
3461 XBoard*internetChessServerHost: chessclub.com
3464 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, it will connect to
3465 the ICS by using @file{rsh} to run the command
3466 @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000} on host @samp{rsh.example.com}.
3468 Suppose that you can telnet anywhere you want, but you have to
3469 run a special program called @file{ptelnet} to do so.
3471 First, we'll consider the easy case, in which
3472 @samp{ptelnet chessclub.com 5000} gets you to the chess server.
3473 In this case set command line options as follows:
3476 xboard -ics -telnet -telnetProgram ptelnet
3480 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
3483 XBoard*useTelnet: true
3484 XBoard*telnetProgram: ptelnet
3488 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, it will issue the
3489 command @samp{ptelnet chessclub.com 5000} to connect to the ICS.
3491 Next, suppose that @samp{ptelnet chessclub.com 5000} doesn't work;
3492 that is, your @file{ptelnet} program doesn't let you connect to
3493 alternative ports. As noted above, your chess server may allow you to
3494 connect on port 23 instead. In that case, just add the option
3495 @samp{-icsport ""} to the above command, or add
3496 @samp{XBoard*internetChessServerPort:} to your @file{.Xresources} file.
3497 But if your chess server doesn't let you connect on port 23, you will have
3498 to find some other host outside the firewall and hop through it. For
3499 instance, suppose you have a shell account at @samp{foo.edu}. Set
3500 command line options as follows:
3503 xboard -ics -telnet -telnetProgram ptelnet -icshost foo.edu -icsport ""
3507 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
3510 XBoard*useTelnet: true
3511 XBoard*telnetProgram: ptelnet
3512 XBoard*internetChessServerHost: foo.edu
3513 XBoard*internetChessServerPort:
3517 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, it will issue the
3518 command @samp{ptelnet foo.edu} to connect to your account at
3519 @samp{foo.edu}. Log in there, then type @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000}.
3521 ICC timestamp and FICS timeseal do not work through some
3522 firewalls. You can use them only if your firewall gives a clean TCP
3523 connection with a full 8-bit wide path. If your firewall allows you
3524 to get out only by running a special telnet program, you can't use
3525 timestamp or timeseal across it. But if you have access to a
3526 computer just outside your firewall, and you have much lower netlag
3527 when talking to that computer than to the ICS, it might be worthwhile
3528 running timestamp there. Follow the instructions above for hopping
3529 through a host outside the firewall (foo.edu in the example),
3530 but run timestamp or timeseal on that host instead of telnet.
3532 Suppose that you have a SOCKS firewall that will give you a clean
3533 8-bit wide TCP connection to the chess server, but only after you
3534 authenticate yourself via the SOCKS protocol. In that case, you could
3535 make a socksified version of XBoard and run that. If you are using
3536 timestamp or timeseal, you will to socksify it, not XBoard; this may
3537 be difficult seeing that ICC and FICS do not provide source code for
3538 these programs. Socksification is beyond the scope of this document,
3539 but see the SOCKS Web site at http://www.socks.permeo.com/.
3540 If you are missing SOCKS, try http://www.funbureau.com/.
3543 @chapter Environment variables
3544 @cindex Environment variables
3546 Game and position files are found in a directory named by the
3547 @code{CHESSDIR} environment variable. If this variable is not set, the
3548 current working directory is used. If @code{CHESSDIR} is set,
3549 XBoard actually changes its working directory to
3550 @code{$CHESSDIR}, so any files written by the chess engine
3551 will be placed there too.
3554 @chapter Limitations and known bugs
3557 There is no way for two people running copies of XBoard to play
3558 each other without going through an Internet Chess Server.
3560 Under some circumstances, your ICS password may be echoed when you log on.
3562 If you are connecting to the ICS by running telnet on an Internet
3563 provider or firewall host, you may find that each line you type is
3564 echoed back an extra time after you hit @key{Enter}. If your Internet
3565 provider is a Unix system, you can probably turn its echo off by
3566 typing @kbd{stty -echo} after you log in, and/or typing
3567 @key{^E}@key{Enter} (Ctrl+E followed by the Enter key) to the telnet
3568 program after you have logged into ICS. It is a good idea to do this
3569 if you can, because the extra echo can occasionally confuse XBoard's
3572 The game parser recognizes only algebraic notation.
3574 Many of the following points used to be limitations in XBoard 4.2.7 and earlier,
3576 The internal move legality tester in XBoard 4.3.xx does look at the game history,
3577 and is fully aware of castling or en-passant-capture rights. It permits castling with
3578 the king on the d file because this is possible in some "wild 1" games on ICS.
3579 The piece-drop menu does not check piece drops in bughouse to see if you actually hold
3580 the piece you are trying to drop. But this way of dropping pieces should be considered
3581 an obsolete feature, now that pieces can be dropped by dragging them from the holdings
3582 to the board. Anyway, if you would attempt an illegal move when using a chess engine or the ICS,
3583 XBoard will accept the error message that comes back, undo the move, and let you try another.
3584 FEN positions saved by XBoard do include correct information about whether castling or
3585 en passant are legal, and also handle the 50-move counter.
3586 The mate detector does not understand that non-contact mate is not really mate in bughouse.
3587 The only problem this causes while playing is minor: a "#" (mate indicator) character will
3588 show up after a non-contact mating move in the move list. XBoard will not assume the game
3589 is over at that point, not even when the option Detect Mates is on.
3590 Edit Game mode always uses the rules of the selected variant,
3591 which can be a variant that uses piece drops.
3592 You can load and edit games that contain piece drops.
3593 The (obsolete) piece menus are not active,
3594 but you can perform piece drops by dragging pieces from the holdings.
3595 Fischer Random castling is fully understood.
3596 You can enter castlings by dragging the King on top of your Rook.
3597 You can probably also play Fischer Random successfully on ICS by typing
3598 castling moves into the ICS Interaction window.
3600 The menus may not work if your keyboard is in Caps Lock or Num Lock mode.
3601 This seems to be a problem with the Athena menu widget,
3604 Also see the ToDo file included with the distribution for many other
3605 possible bugs, limitations, and ideas for improvement that have been
3608 @chapter Reporting problems
3611 @cindex Reporting bugs
3613 @cindex Reporting problems
3615 You can report bugs and problems with XBoard using
3616 the bug tracker at @code{https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/xboard/}
3617 or by sending mail to @code{<bug-xboard@@gnu.org>}. It can also
3618 be useful to report or discuss bugs in the WinBoard Forum at
3619 @code{http://www.open-aurec.com/wbforum/},
3620 WinBoard development section.
3622 Please use the @file{script} program to start a typescript, run
3623 XBoard with the @samp{-debug} option, and include the typescript
3624 output in your message.
3625 Also tell us what kind of machine and what operating system version
3626 you are using. The command @samp{uname -a} will often tell you this.
3628 If you improve XBoard, please send a message about your changes,
3629 and we will get in touch with you about merging them in
3630 to the main line of development.
3633 @chapter Authors and contributors
3635 @cindex Contributors
3637 Chris Sears and Dan Sears wrote the original XBoard. They were
3638 responsible for versions 1.0 through 1.2. The color scheme was taken
3639 from Wayne Christopher's @code{XChess} program.
3641 Tim Mann was primarily responsible for XBoard versions 1.3 through
3642 4.2.7, and for WinBoard (a port of XBoard to Microsoft Win32) from its
3643 inception through version 4.2.7.
3645 John Chanak contributed the initial implementation of ICS mode. Evan
3646 Welsh wrote @code{CMail}, and Patrick Surry helped in designing,
3647 testing, and documenting it. Elmar Bartel contributed the new piece
3648 bitmaps introduced in version 3.2. Jochen Wiedmann converted the
3649 documentation to texinfo. Frank McIngvale added click/click moving,
3650 the Analysis modes, piece flashing, ZIICS import, and ICS text
3651 colorization to XBoard. Hugh Fisher added animated piece movement to
3652 XBoard, and Henrik Gram added it to WinBoard. Mark Williams
3653 contributed the initial (WinBoard-only) implementation of many new
3654 features added to both XBoard and WinBoard in version 4.1.0, including
3655 copy/paste, premove, icsAlarm, autoFlipView, training mode, auto
3656 raise, and blindfold. Ben Nye contributed X copy/paste code for
3659 In a fork from version 4.2.7, Alessandro Scotti added many elements to
3660 the user interface of WinBoard, including the board textures and
3661 font-based rendering, the evaluation-graph, move-history and
3662 engine-output window. He was also responsible for adding the UCI
3665 H. G. Muller continued this fork of the project, producing version
3666 4.3. He made WinBoard castling- and e.p.-aware, added variant support
3667 with adjustable board sizes, the crazyhouse holdings, and the fairy
3668 pieces. In addition he added most of the adjudication options, made
3669 WinBoard more robust in dealing with buggy and crashing engines, and
3670 extended time control with a time-odds and node-count-based modes.
3671 Most of the options that initially were WinBoard only have now been
3672 back-ported to XBoard.
3674 Michel van den Bergh provided the code for reading Polyglot opening books.
3676 Meanwhile, some work continued on the GNU XBoard project maintained at
3677 savannah.gnu.org, but version 4.2.8 was never released. Daniel
3678 Mehrmann was responsible for much of this work.
3680 Most recently, Arun Persaud worked with H. G. Muller to merge all
3681 the features of the never-released XBoard/WinBoard 4.2.8 of the GNU
3682 XBoard project and the never-released 4.3.16 from H. G.'s fork into a
3683 unified XBoard/WinBoard 4.4, which is now available both from the
3684 savannah.gnu.org web site and the WinBoard forum.
3689 The @file{cmail} program can help you play chess by email with opponents of
3690 your choice using XBoard as an interface.
3692 You will usually run @file{cmail} without giving any options.
3695 * CMail options:: Invoking CMail.
3696 * CMail game:: Starting a CMail game.
3697 * CMail answer:: Answering a move.
3698 * CMail multi:: Multiple games in one message.
3699 * CMail completion:: Completing a game.
3700 * CMail trouble:: Known CMail problems.
3704 @section CMail options
3707 Displays @file{cmail} usage information.
3709 Shows the conditions of the GNU General Public License.
3712 Shows the warranty notice of the GNU General Public License.
3716 Provides or inhibits verbose output from @file{cmail} and XBoard,
3717 useful for debugging. The
3719 form also inhibits the cmail introduction message.
3722 Invokes or inhibits the sending of a mail message containing the move.
3725 Invokes or inhibits the running of XBoard on the game file.
3728 Invokes or inhibits the reuse of an existing XBoard to display the
3731 Resends the last mail message for that game. This inhibits running
3734 The name of the game to be processed.
3735 @item -wgames <number>
3736 @itemx -bgames <number>
3737 @itemx -games <number>
3738 Number of games to start as White, as Black or in total. Default is 1 as
3739 white and none as black. If only one color is specified then none of the
3740 other color is assumed. If no color is specified then equal numbers of
3741 White and Black games are started, with the extra game being as White if an
3742 odd number of total games is specified.
3743 @item -me <short name>
3744 @itemx -opp <short name>
3745 A one-word alias for yourself or your opponent.
3746 @item -wname <full name>
3747 @itemx -bname <full name>
3748 @itemx -myname <full name>
3749 @itemx -oppname <full name>
3750 The full name of White, Black, yourself or your opponent.
3751 @item -wna <net address>
3752 @itemx -bna <net address>
3753 @itemx -na <net address>
3754 @itemx -oppna <net address>
3755 The email address of White, Black, yourself or your opponent.
3756 @item -dir <directory>
3757 The directory in which @file{cmail} keeps its files. This defaults to the
3758 environment variable @code{$CMAIL_DIR} or failing that, @code{$CHESSDIR},
3759 @file{$HOME/Chess} or @file{~/Chess}. It will be created if it does not exist.
3760 @item -arcdir <directory>
3761 The directory in which @file{cmail} archives completed games. Defaults to
3762 the environment variable @code{$CMAIL_ARCDIR} or, in its absence, the same
3763 directory as cmail keeps its working files (above).
3764 @item -mailprog <mail program>
3765 The program used by cmail to send email messages. This defaults to the
3766 environment variable @code{$CMAIL_MAILPROG} or failing that
3767 @file{/usr/ucb/Mail}, @file{/usr/ucb/mail} or @file{Mail}. You will need
3768 to set this variable if none of the above paths fit your system.
3769 @item -logFile <file>
3770 A file in which to dump verbose debugging messages that are invoked with
3773 @item -event <event>
3774 The PGN Event tag (default @samp{Email correspondence game}).
3776 The PGN Site tag (default @samp{NET}).
3777 @item -round <round>
3778 The PGN Round tag (default @samp{-}, not applicable).
3780 The PGN Mode tag (default @samp{EM}, Electronic Mail).
3782 Any option flags not listed above are passed through to XBoard.
3783 Invoking XBoard through CMail changes the default values of two XBoard
3784 options: The default value for @samp{-noChessProgram} is changed to
3785 true; that is, by default no chess engine is started. The default
3786 value for @samp{-timeDelay} is changed to 0; that is, by default
3787 XBoard immediately goes to the end of the game as played so far,
3788 rather than stepping through the moves one by one. You can still set
3789 these options to whatever values you prefer by supplying them on
3790 CMail's command line. @xref{Options}.
3794 @section Starting a CMail Game
3795 Type @file{cmail} from a shell to start a game as white. After an opening
3796 message, you will be prompted for a game name, which is optional---if you
3797 simply press @key{Enter}, the game name will take the form
3798 @samp{you-VS-opponent}. You will next be prompted for the short name
3799 of your opponent. If you haven't played this person before, you will also
3800 be prompted for his/her email address. @file{cmail} will then invoke
3801 XBoard in the background. Make your first move and select
3802 @samp{Mail Move} from the @samp{File} menu. @xref{File Menu}. If all is well,
3803 @file{cmail} will mail a copy of the move to your opponent. If you select
3804 @samp{Exit} without having selected @samp{Mail Move} then no move will be
3808 @section Answering a Move
3809 When you receive a message from an opponent containing a move in one of
3810 your games, simply pipe the message through @file{cmail}. In some mailers
3811 this is as simple as typing @kbd{| cmail} when viewing the message, while in
3812 others you may have to save the message to a file and do @kbd{cmail < file}
3813 at the command line. In either case @file{cmail} will display the game using
3814 XBoard. If you didn't exit XBoard when you made your first move
3815 then @file{cmail} will do its best to use the existing XBoard instead
3816 of starting a new one. As before, simply make a move and select
3817 @samp{Mail Move} from the @samp{File} menu. @xref{File Menu}. @file{cmail}
3819 XBoard that was most recently used to display the current game. This
3820 means that many games can be in progress simultaneously, each with its own
3823 If you want to look at the history or explore a variation, go ahead, but
3824 you must return to the current position before XBoard will allow you
3825 to mail a move. If you edit the game's history you must select
3826 @samp{Reload Same Game} from the @samp{File} menu to get back to the original
3827 position, then make the move you want and select @samp{Mail Move}.
3828 As before, if you decide you aren't ready to make a move just yet you can
3829 either select @samp{Exit} without sending a move or just leave
3830 XBoard running until you are ready.
3833 @section Multi-Game Messages
3835 It is possible to have a @file{cmail} message carry more than one game.
3836 This feature was implemented to handle IECG (International Email Chess
3837 Group) matches, where a match consists of one game as white and one as black,
3838 with moves transmitted simultaneously. In case there are more general uses,
3839 @file{cmail} itself places no limit on the number of black/white games
3840 contained in a message; however, XBoard does.
3842 @node CMail completion
3843 @section Completing a Game
3844 Because XBoard can detect checkmate and stalemate, @file{cmail}
3845 handles game termination sensibly. As well as resignation, the
3846 @samp{Action} menu allows draws to be offered and accepted for
3849 For multi-game messages, only unfinished and just-finished games will be
3850 included in email messages. When all the games are finished, they are
3851 archived in the user's archive directory, and similarly in the opponent's
3852 when he or she pipes the final message through @file{cmail}. The archive
3853 file name includes the date the game was started.
3856 @section Known CMail Problems
3857 It's possible that a strange conjunction of conditions may occasionally
3858 mean that @file{cmail} has trouble reactivating an existing
3859 XBoard. If this should happen, simply trying it again should work.
3860 If not, remove the file that stores the XBoard's PID
3861 (@file{game.pid}) or use the @samp{-xreuse} option to force
3862 @file{cmail} to start a new XBoard.
3864 Versions of @file{cmail} after 2.16 no longer understand the old file format
3865 that XBoard used to use and so cannot be used to correspond with
3866 anyone using an older version.
3868 Versions of @file{cmail} older than 2.11 do not handle multi-game messages,
3869 so multi-game correspondence is not possible with opponents using an older
3872 @node Other programs
3873 @chapter Other programs you can use with XBoard
3874 @cindex Other programs
3876 Here are some other programs you can use with XBoard
3879 * GNU Chess:: The GNU Chess engine.
3880 * Fairy-Max:: The Fairy-Max chess engine.
3881 * HoiChess:: The HoiChess chess engine.
3882 * Crafty:: The Crafty chess engine.
3883 * zic2xpm:: The program used to import chess sets from ZIICS.
3889 The GNU Chess engine is available from:
3891 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnuchess/
3893 You can use XBoard to play a game against GNU Chess, or to
3894 interface GNU Chess to an ICS.
3899 Fairy-Max is a derivative from the once World's smallest Chess program micro-Max,
3900 which measures only about 100 lines of source code.
3901 The main difference with micro-Max is that Fairy-Max loads its move-generator
3902 tables from a file, so that the rules for piece movement can be easily configured
3903 to implement unorthodox pieces.
3904 Fairy-Max can therefore play a large number of variants, normal Chess being one of those.
3905 In addition it plays Knightmate, Capablanca and Gothic Chess, Shatranj, Courier Chess,
3906 Cylinder chess, Berolina Chess, while the user can easily define new variants.
3907 It can be obtained from:
3909 http://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/dwnldpage.html
3914 HoiChess is a not-so-very-strong Chess engine, which comes with a derivative HoiXiangqi,
3915 able to play Chinese Chess. It can be obtained from the standard Linux repositories
3918 sudo apt-get install hoichess
3923 Crafty is a chess engine written by Bob Hyatt.
3924 You can use XBoard to play a game against Crafty, hook Crafty up
3925 to an ICS, or use Crafty to interactively analyze games and positions
3928 Crafty is a strong, rapidly evolving chess program. This rapid
3929 pace of development is good, because it means Crafty is always
3930 getting better. This can sometimes cause problems with
3931 backwards compatibility, but usually the latest version of Crafty
3932 will work well with the latest version of XBoard.
3933 Crafty can be obtained from its author's FTP site:
3934 ftp://ftp.cis.uab.edu/hyatt/.
3936 To use Crafty with XBoard, give the -fcp and -fd options as follows, where
3937 <crafty's directory> is the directory in which you installed Crafty
3938 and placed its book and other support files.
3943 The ``zic2xpm'' program is used to import chess sets from the ZIICS(*)
3944 program into XBoard. ``zic2xpm'' is part of the XBoard distribution.
3945 ZIICS is available from:
3947 ftp://ftp.freechess.org/pub/chess/DOS/ziics131.exe
3949 To import ZIICS pieces, do this:
3951 @item 1. Unzip ziics131.exe into a directory:
3954 unzip -L ziics131.exe -d ~/ziics
3956 @item 2. Use zic2xpm to convert a set of pieces to XBoard format.
3958 For example, let's say you want to use the
3959 FRITZ4 set. These files are named ``fritz4.*'' in the ZIICS distribution.
3964 zic2xpm ~/ziics/fritz4.*
3966 @item 3. Give XBoard the ``-pixmap'' option when starting up, e.g.:
3969 xboard -pixmap ~/fritz4
3972 Alternatively, you can add this line to your @file{.Xresources} file:
3975 xboard*pixmapDirectory: ~/fritz4
3979 (*) ZIICS is a separate copyrighted work of Andy McFarland.
3980 The ``ZIICS pieces'' are copyrighted works of their respective
3981 creators. Files produced by ``zic2xpm'' are for PERSONAL USE ONLY
3982 and may NOT be redistributed without explicit permission from
3983 the original creator(s) of the pieces.
3987 @unnumbered Copyright
3988 @include copyright.texi
3992 @unnumbered GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
3993 @include gpl.texinfo