+++ /dev/null
-gnuchess(6) gnuchess(6)
-
-
-
-NAME
- gnuchess - Chess
-
-SYNOPSIS
- gnuchess [ [[-|+]a] [-A aging-rate] [-b bookfile] [-B binbookfile] [-C
- cache-table-size] [-c] [[-|+]D ] [[-|+]E ] [[-|+]e ] [[-|+]F ] [-H
- hash-depth] [[-|+]h ] [-L language] [-l listfile] [[-|+]N] [[-|+]p ]
- [-P plys] [-r length] [-s savefile] [-S binbooksize] [-t] [-c hashfile-
- size] [-T transition-table-size] [[-|+]V] [-v] [-x] [-z search-fuzz]
- arg1 arg2 ]
-
-DESCRIPTION
- Gnuchess plays a game of chess against the user or it plays against
- itself.
-
- Gnuchess is an updated version of the GNU chess playing program. It
- has a simple alpha-numeric board display, an IBM PC compatible inter-
- face, or it can be compiled for use with the chesstool program on a SUN
- workstation or with the xboard program under X-windows. To invoke the
- program type:
-
- gnuchess
- - simple curses based version
-
- gnuchessn
- - fancy version using curses and inverse video on UNIX, or IBM
- PC cursor controls and characters on MSDOS
-
- gnuchessr
- - ASCII based version
-
- gnuchessc
- - chesstool compatible version
-
- gnuchessx
- - xboard compatible version
-
-TIME CONTROLS
- If one argument is given, it is the search time per move in [min-
- utes:]seconds. So gnuchess 30 will generate one move every 30 seconds,
- while gnuchess 5:00 will generate one move every 5 minutes.
-
- If two or more arguments are given, they will be used to set tournament
- time controls with the first argument of each pair being the number of
- moves and the second being the total clock time in minutes[:seconds].
- Thus, entering gnuchess 60 5 will set the clocks for 5 minutes (300
- seconds) for the first 60 moves, and gnuchess 30 3:30 will allow 3 min-
- utes and 30 seconds for 30 moves.
-
- gnuchess 30 5 1 :30 will allow 5 minutes for the first 30 moves and 30
- seconds for each move after that. Up to 4 pairs of controls may be
- specified.
-
- If no argument is given the program will prompt the user for level of
- play.
-
- For use with chesstool or xboard, see the documentation on those pro-
- grams.
-
-BOOK
- At startup Gnuchess reads the binbook file if it is present. It then
- looks for a book file. If it is present it adds its contents to the
- binbook data. If the binbook file is writable a new combined binbook
- file is written.
-
- The book gnuchess.book consists of a sequence of openings. An opening
- begins with a line starting with a ! , the rest of the line is com-
- ments. Following this is a series of moves in algebraic notation
- alternating white and black separated by white space. A move may have a
- ? after it indicating this move should never be made in this position.
- Moves are stored as position:move so transpositions between openings
- can take place.
-
-HASHFILE
- The hashfile if created should be on the order of 4 megabytes or
- gnuchess -c 22. This file contains positions and moves learned from
- previous games. If a hashfile is used the computer makes use of the
- experience it gained in past games. Tests run so far show that it plays
- no worse with the hashfile than without, but it is not clear yet
- whether it provides a real advantage.
-
-LEGAL MOVES
- Note: Piece letters and legal castling notation is determined by the
- language file. What is specified here is the default English.
-
- Once gnuchess is invoked, the program will display the board and prompt
- the user for a move. To enter a move, use the notation e2e4 where the
- first letter-number pair indicates the origination square and the sec-
- ond letter-number pair indicates the destination square. An alterna-
- tive is to use the notation nf3 where the first letter indicates the
- piece type (p,n,b,r,q,k). To castle, type the origin and destination
- squares of the king just as you would do for a regular move, or type o-
- o or 0-0 for kingside castling and o-o-o or 0-0-0 for queenside. To
- promote a pawn append the type of the new piece to the move, as in
- e7e8q or c7c8r.
-
-FUNCTION LETTERS
- -L lang
- Use language lang from the file gnuchess.lang. If -L is not
- specified it defaults to the language used in the first line in
- the file. gnuchessr -L ger will use the german language.
-
- -A aging-rate
- Specify aging rate for hash table entries
-
- [-]a Do [do not] search on opponents time.
-
- -b bookfile
- Use bookfile for opening book.
-
- -B binbookfile
- Use binbookfile for binary opening book.
-
- -C cache-size
- Specify evaluation cache table size (in entries).
-
- -D Toggle DEEPNULL at runtime.
-
- -E Toggle flag.threat.
-
- -e Toggle flag.neweval to force evaluations instead of estimates
-
- -F Toggle flag.noscore
-
- -H hash-depth
- pecify depth in plys for hashing.
-
- -S size
- Size of binbookfile for memory based and GDX books. For creating
- a binbookfile.
-
- -P plylevels
- Number of plys to include in the binbookfile. For generating a
- binbookfile.
-
- -p Toggle flag.pvs
-
- -c size
- Create a new HASHFILE. File size is 2^size entries of approxi-
- mately 65 bytes.
-
- [-]h Do [do not] use hashfile.
-
- -l pathname
- Pathname of the loadfile use with the get or xget.
-
- -r length
- Rehash length times in searching entries for position in trans-
- position table.
-
- -s pathname
- Pathname of the save file to use with the save command.
-
- -t Show statistics for HASHFILE
-
- -T size
- Set the transposition table size to size entries. (minimum is
- MINTTABLE)
-
- -v Show version and patchlevel.
-
- -x value
- Use value as the evaluation window xwndw.
-
-COMMANDS
- In addition to legal moves, the following commands are available as
- responses. Note: command names are determined by the language file and
- may vary with the implementation. This is default English.
-
- alg -- allow algebraic input (not implemented)
-
- Awindow -- change Alpha window (default score + 90)
-
- Bwindow -- change Beta window (default score - 90)
-
- beep -- causes the program to beep after each move.
-
- bd -- updates the current board position on the display.
-
- bk -- Print out all moves for this position from the book as: move
- response value
-
- book -- turns off use of the opening library.
-
- both -- causes the computer to play both sides of a chess game.
-
- black -- causes the computer to take the black pieces. If the computer
- is to move first the go command must be given.
-
- eco -- Print out opening information for this game - lists ECO # and
- variations
-
- coords -- show coordinates on the display (visual only)
-
- contempt -- allows the value of contempt to be modified.
-
- debug -- asks for a piece as color piece, as wb or bn, and shows its
- calculated value on each square.
-
- debuglevel -- sets level of debugging output if compiled with debug
- options.
-
- depth -- allows the user to change the search depth of the program.
- The maximum depth is 29 ply. Normally the depth is set to 29 and the
- computer terminates its search based on elapsed time rather than depth.
- If depth is set to (say) 4 ply, the program will search until all moves
- have been examined to a depth of 4 ply (with extensions up to 11 addi-
- tional ply for sequences of checks and captures). If you set a maximum
- time per move and also use the depth command, the search will stop at
- the specified time or the specified depth, whichever comes first.
-
- easy -- toggles easy mode (thinking on opponents time) on and off. The
- default is easy mode ON. If easy mode is disabled, the keyboard is
- polled for input every so often and when input is seen the search is
- terminated. It may also be terminated with a sigint.
-
- edit -- allows the user to set up a board position.
-
- # - command will clear the board.
-
- c - toggle piece color.
-
- . - command will exit setup mode.
-
- pb3 - place a pawn on b3
-
- Pieces are entered by typing a letter (p,n,b,r,q,k) for the piece fol-
- lowed by the coordinate.
-
- The usual warning about the language file applies.
-
- exit -- exits gnuchess.
-
- first -- tells the computer to move first. Computer begins searching
- for a move. (same as "go").
-
- force -- allows the user to enter moves for both sides. To get the pro-
- gram to play after a sequence of moves has been entered use the 'white'
- or 'black' command followed by 'go'.
-
- gamein -- toggles game mode time control. Assumes the time specified
- for time control is the time for a complete game. Input with the level
- command should be the game time and the expected number of moves in a
- game.
-
- get -- retrieves a game from disk. The program will prompt the user
- for a file name.
-
- go -- tells the computer to move first. Computer begins searching for a
- move. (same as "first").
-
- hash -- use/don't use hashfile.
-
- hard -- think on opponents time
-
- hashdepth -- allows the user to change the minimum depth for using the
- hashfile and the number of moves from the begining of the game to use
- it.
-
- help -- displays a short description of the commands and the current
- status of options.
-
- hint -- causes the program to supply the user with its predicted move.
-
- level -- allows the user to set time controls such as 60 moves in 5
- minutes etc. In tournament mode, the program will vary the time it
- takes for each move depending on the situation. If easy mode is dis-
- abled (using the 'easy' command), the program will often respond with
- its move immediately, saving time on its clock for use later on.
-
- list -- writes the game moves and some statistics on search depth,
- nodes, and time to the file 'chess.lst'.
-
- material -- toggle material flag - draws on no pawns and both sides <
- rook
-
- Mwpawn, Mbpawn, Mwknight, Mbknight, Mwbishop, Mbbishop -- print out
- static position evaluation table
-
- new -- starts a new game.
-
- p -- evaluates the board and shows the point score for each piece. The
- total score for a position is the sum of these individual piece scores.
-
- post -- causes the program to display the principle variation and the
- score during the search. A score of 100 is equivalent to a 1 pawn
- advantage for the computer.
-
- unpost -- turn off the post display.
-
- quit -- exits the game.
-
- random -- causes the program to randomize its move selection slightly.
-
- rcptr -- set recapture mode.
-
- remove -- backout the last level for both sides. Equal to 2 undo's.
-
- reverse -- causes the board display to be reversed. That is, the white
- pieces will now appear at the top of the board.
-
- rv -- reverse board display.
-
- setup -- Compatibility with Unix chess and the nchesstool. Set up a
- board position. Eight lines of eight characters are used to setup the
- board. a8-h8 is the first line. Black pieces are represented by
- uppercase characters.
-
- stars -- (gnuchessn only) add stars (*) to black pieces.
-
- save -- saves a game to disk. The program will prompt the user for a
- file name.
-
- switch -- causes the program to switch places with the opponent and
- begin searching.
-
- test -- performs some speed tests for MoveList and CaptureList genera-
- tion, and ScorePosition position scoring for the current board.
-
- time otim -- time set computers time remaining, intended for synchro-
- nizing clocks among multiple players. -- otim set opponents time
- remaining, intended for synchronizing clocks among multiple players.
-
- undo -- undoes the last move whether it was the computer's or the
- human's. You may also type "remove". This is equivalent to two "undo's"
- (e.g. retract one move for each side).
-
- white -- causes the computer to take the white pieces. If the computer
- is to move first the go command must be given.
-
- xget -- read an xboard position file.
-
- xwndw -- change X window. The window around alpha/beta used to deter-
- mine whether the position should be scored or just estimated.
-
-BUGS
-SEE ALSO
- chesstool(6)
- xboard(6)
-
-
-
-
- gnuchess(6)
projects / xboard.git / blobdiff