This document answers some frequently asked questions about the -graphical chess interfaces XBoard and WinBoard. -A hyperlinked version of this FAQ is available on -the Web through the page - -http://www.gnu.org/software/xboard/FAQ.html.
- -This FAQ is in need of revision. Please contact us if you'd like -to help update it.
- -XBoard and WinBoard are graphical user interfaces for chess. - XBoard runs with the X Window System on Unix systems (including - GNU/Linux); see topic [B.1]. WinBoard runs - on true 32-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems, such as Windows - 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME, XP, Vista, and should continue to work on future - 32-bit Windows systems. It does not work on Windows CE (also known - as Pocket PC), nor does it work on 16-bit Windows systems such as - Windows 3.1. See topic [B.2].
- -As a shortcut to most things mentioned in this FAQ, try Tim Mann's - Chess Web page, http://www.tim-mann.org/chess.html. - This page page is currently a very bad place to get the latest released - versions of XBoard and WinBoard and the most up-to-date version of this - FAQ, though. A better place is the - WinBoard forum. - Also see our Savannah - project pages at https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/xboard/.
- -If you have other questions about XBoard/WinBoard that aren't - answered in this FAQ, you can try Aaron Tay's WinBoard and Chess - Engines FAQ, - atdefunct - URL.
- -For general news and information about chess, try the -CCC forum -or the - WinBoard forum. -Anothe possibility is the newsgroup hierarchy -rec.games.chess.*, especially the groups rec.games.chess.misc and -rec.games.chess.computer. Both of the latter groups have very informative -FAQs maintained by Steve Pribut; look for them on the newsgroups or at -defunct URL.
- -Like other GNU software, you can get XBoard, and WinBoard by anonymous FTP from -ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/ -and its many mirror sites. Look in the subdirectories xboard, and winboard. -The .tar.gz suffix on the files there indicates they were packed with tar -and compressed with gzip. The .exe or .zip suffixes indicate files that -were packed and compressed with zip.
- -For other chess software, try the Internet Chess Library. Use -anonymous FTP to connect to ftp.freechess.org, or go to the Web page -http://www.freechess.org/. -You can get chess software, game -collections, the FAQ file for rec.games.chess, and other chess-related -material there, in the directory pub/chess. The FTP server can -automatically decompress files for you as you download them, useful if you -don't have gzip.
- -Here is a sample anonymous ftp session. Some of the ftp server's responses -are abbreviated, but all the commands you must type are included.
- -- % ftp ftp.gnu.org - Connected to ftp.gnu.org - Name: anonymous - Password: your-email-address@your-site - ftp> binary - 200 Type set to I. - ftp> cd /pub/gnu/xboard - ftp> dir - -rw-r--r-- 1 14910 wheel 1057625 May 20 00:25 xboard-4.2.7.tar.gz - ftp> get xboard-4.2.7.tar.gz - 150 BINARY connection for xboard-4.2.7.tar.gz (1057625 bytes). - 226 Transfer complete. - ftp> quit -- -
At this writing, the current version numbers are:
- -Bug reports, suggestions, and offers to help on XBoard -or WinBoard should be sent to bug-xboard@gnu.org.
- -Beginner questions and discussion about the program may get faster -answers on the WinBoard Forum at http://www.open-aurec.com/wbforum/. -This forum also constains a section dedicated to propose and discuss -new features for WinBoard / XBoard or WinBoard protocol, -and reposrt bugs, -and offers downloads of pre-installed packages of WinBoard -bundled with other software, -useful for conducting computer-computer tournaments.
- -If you are developing a -chess engine that works with XBoard or WinBoard (or an alternative -GUI that works with such engines), see the Chess Engines mailing -list, hosted at -http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chess-engines. -For better response, join the above-mentioned WinBoard forum, -or the CCC forum.
- - -Any time you want to report a possible bug in XBoard or WinBoard, -we need to know exactly what you did, and exactly what error (or -other) messages you got.
- -If you are using Unix, run the "script" program, run XBoard with -the -debug flag (if you get as far as running it), do whatever is -necessary to reproduce the problem, type "exit" to the shell, and mail -us the resulting typescript file. We also need to know what -hardware/operating system combination you are using. The command -"uname -a" will usually tell you this; include its output in your -typescript.
- -If you are using MS Windows, run WinBoard with the -debug flag, and -send us a copy of the WinBoard.debug file. If you aren't sure how to -add command-line flags to WinBoard, you can hit Ctrl+Alt+F12 to create -a WinBoard.debug file after WinBoard starts, but that is not as good, -because a few messages that would have been printed at the start are -lost.
- -Either way, please send us the exact text of the commands you typed -and the output you got, not just your recollection of approximately -what they were. The messages may seem meaningless to you, but they -are very meaningful to us and essential for diagnosing problems.
- -Our plans are always in flux. As with most free software projects, -the next release will happen when it happens -- or it may never -happen. This has always been the policy for XBoard/WinBoard. -Releases have never been promised in specific time frames.
- -Starting in November 2003, several new developers have joined the -project, and work is now hosted at https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/xboard/. Lots of work is just -getting underway, but nothing is far along yet.
- -Here is a partial list of items that have a nonzero probability of -happening in finite time.
- -XBoard is a graphical user interface for chess. It displays a -chessboard on the screen, accepts moves made with the mouse, and loads -and saves games in Portable Game Notation (PGN). XBoard is free software. -It serves as a front-end for many different chess services, including:
- -Chess engines that will run on your machine and -play a game against you or help you analyze, such as GNU Chess and -Crafty (topic [D.3] below).
- -Chess servers on the Internet, where you can -connect to play chess with people from all over the world, watch other -users play, or just hang out and chat.
- -Correspondence chess played by electronic -mail. The cmail program (topic [B.6] below) -automates the tasks of parsing email from your opponent, playing his -moves out on your board, and mailing your reply move after you've -chosen it.
- -The Web and your own saved games. You can use -XBoard as a helper application to view PGN games in your -Web browser, or to load and save your own PGN files.
- -XBoard runs under Unix or Unix-compatible systems. It requires the -X Window System, version X11R4 or later. There are also ports of -XBoard to 32-bit Microsoft Windows and to -the Amiga. See topics [B.2] and [B.3] respectively.
- -WinBoard is a port of XBoard to 32-bit Microsoft Windows systems, such -as Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME, and XP. It uses the same back end -chess code as XBoard, but the front end graphics code is a complete -rewrite. WinBoard is free software.
- -The WinBoard distribution includes a sample Chess engine.
- -The WinBoard distribution also includes the ICC timestamp and FICS -timeseal programs (topic [B.12]).
- -cmail (topic [B.6]) has not been ported to -Windows. All the other XBoard functions are included in WinBoard. -The International Email Chess Group web site at http://www.iecg.org/ recommends -ECTool (http://www.ectool.nu/) -for playing correspondence chess under Windows.
- -You install WinBoard as follows. Download the WinBoard package to -your PC (see topic [A.2]). It will be a file -with a name like winboard-4_0_0.exe. Double-click on this file -in the Explorer or File Manager to run it. Follow the on-screen -prompts.
- -AmyBoard is a port of XBoard to the Amiga, by Jochen Wiedmann. -The distribution includes a port of GNU Chess. -AmyBoard is free software.
- -The current version of AmyBoard is 330.5 (based on XBoard 3.3.0). -No one is currently maintaining it.
- -System requirements:
- -If you would like to use an ICS, you need an Internet connection via either
- -AmyBoard is available in the Internet Chess Library (topic [A.2]).
- -Note: I am not a Mac user and have not tried this myself, so I cannot -answer questions about it.
- -Because MacOS X has a Unix base, XBoard will compile and run on it. -You do need an X11 (X Window System) server and client libraries. I'm -told that these come standard with MacOS X 10.3 and later. Once you -install the X11 package, XBoard is reported to compile and run without -changes.
- -You can avoid having to compile XBoard (and GNU Chess) yourself by -using the Fink sofware packaging system. See -http://fink.sourceforge.net/ and -http://finkcommander.sourceforge.net/ for more info on Fink.
- -There is no version of XBoard or WinBoard that runs with the native -(non-X11) Mac graphical interface, and none that runs on MacOS 9 or -earlier.
- - -No. This port would probably be a lot easier than the Win32 and Amiga -ports were, because VMS has the X Window system (under the name -DECwindows) and is now POSIX compliant. If you are working on this, -send mail to bug-xboard@gnu.org to let us know.
- - -cmail is a program that helps you play and keep track of electronic mail -correspondence chess games using XBoard. It is distributed with XBoard and -has its own manual page. cmail is free software. It was written by -Even Welsh. cmail has not been ported to Windows; sorry.
- -The first step to building XBoard is to get the distribution file. See topic -[A.2] for places you can ftp the software from.
- -Next, decide what directory tree you are going to install XBoard -in. The default is /usr/local, but you probably don't have write -access to that directory unless you are a system administrator. If -you do, type the following to install it there:
- -- gzip -cd xboard-*.tar.gz | tar -xvf - - cd xboard-*/ - ./configure - make - su - make install -- -
If you want to install xboard in your personal home directory ($HOME/bin), -type this:
- -- gzip -cd xboard-*.tar.gz | tar -xvf - - cd xboard-*/ - ./configure --prefix=$HOME - make - make install -- -
If the first step above fails because you don't have gzip, see -topic [A.2], and ask a local Unix expert if you -need more help. If you have any problems with the last two steps, -read the READ_ME and INSTALL files in the xboard-*/ directory. You -will also find this FAQ there.
- -You don't need to have gcc to build XBoard. Almost any Unix C -compiler should do.
- -The only way for two humans on different machines to play chess in -real time using XBoard/WinBoard is to use an Internet Chess Server -as an intermediary. That is, each player runs his own copy of XBoard -or WinBoard, both of them log into an ICS, and they play a game there. -Two copies of XBoard/WinBoard cannot communicate with each other -directly.
- -Instructions on how to get started with Internet chess are included -with the XBoard and WinBoard distributions. The network addresses -included in the distribution may not always be current. The oldest -and largest ICS is the Internet Chess Club at chessclub.com, which now -has a fee for registered use, but still allows free unregistered use. -There are also many newer sites with no fees, using the Free Internet -Chess Server implementation (FICS). The most active FICS site is -freechess.org. On these and most other chess servers, -the port number to use is 5000.
- -If you don't have network connectivity to any ICS site, you -can run your own server using a version of the FICS code, but this -is not easy. See http://www.tim-mann.org/ics.html#ownics for advice and pointers.
- -The cmail program included with XBoard lets you play email postal games with -another human; see topic [B.6].
- -Two humans can play chess on the same machine using one copy of -XBoard/WinBoard in -Edit Game mode, but the clocks don't run in this mode, so it's of limited -usefulness.
- -See also topic [D.2], Winsock Chess.
- -WinBoard does not run on Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, etc., -not even with the Win32s compatibility package. The main problem is -that Win32s does not have threads or real concurrent processes. A -port of WinBoard to Windows 3.1 is possible in theory, but it would be -difficult and messy, and no one is going to do it.
- -WinBoard does not run on Windows CE (also -known as Pocket PC). I don't know what would be required to port it.
- -WinBoard does run well on full 32-bit versions of Windows, such as -Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME, XP, and Vista, and should continue to work -on future 32-bit Windows systems. -To use the help files in Vista, you will need to install the WinHlp32.exe -from MicroSoft on your Vista system. -
- -- application/x-chess-pgn pgn --
- application/x-chess-pgn; xboard -ncp -lgf %s --
The exact procedure depends on which Web browser you are using. -The current version of WinBoard automatically configures itself as -your PGN viewer for local files, Netscape 4.x and later, and Internet -Explorer. This automatic setup probably works for all other current Web -browsers, too.
-WinBoard sets this up automatically when you install it, except on old -versions of Windows NT (prior to 4.0). On Windows NT 3.51 or earlier, -go to the File Manager, click on the File menu, select Associate, -enter "pgn" as the extension, and use the Browse button to find your -copy of WinBoard and set up the association.
- -First, get the appropriate version of timestamp or timeseal for your -machine from ftp.chessclub.com or ftp.freechess.org. -Second, be sure that you can connect using XBoard without -timestamp/timeseal. Third, be sure that you can connect using -timestamp/timeseal without XBoard. See the help files on ICC and FICS -or ask people online if you have problems.
- -If you are in a completely ordinary situation, where your machine -is directly on the Internet and you can connect to ICC or FICS -without timestamp/timeseal using -just the command "xboard -ics" or "xboard -ics -icshost freechess.org", -change that command to one of the following:
- -- xboard -ics -icshost chessclub.com -icshelper timestamp - - xboard -ics -icshost freechess.org -icshelper timeseal -- -
If you have a firewall between your machine and the ICS, see topic -[B.19].
- -If you normally have to use the "/icscomm" command line option on -xboard to log into a second machine, and then telnet to ICC or FICS -from there, you are going to have to run the Unix version of timestamp -or timeseal on the second machine. (If the second machine is not -running Unix, you are out of luck.) Get the appropriate version of -timestamp or timeseal onto the shell machine via FTP; see the help -files on ICC and FICS for instructions. Then simply run it when you -would normally run telnet. In this configuration you are not -protected against lag between your PC and the shell machine, or for -lag caused by heavy load on the shell machine itself from other users.
- -For further information on timestamp and timeseal, see the help -files on ICC and FICS.
- -If you select an ICS from either the WinBoard Startup dialog or the -Windows Start submenu that WinBoard installs, WinBoard automatically -runs timestamp or timeseal if the ICS you chose is known to support it.
- -If you are constructing a WinBoard command line by hand, add the -option "/icshelper timestamp" or "/icshelper timeseal" to the WinBoard -command line to use timestamp or timeseal. Both timestamp.exe and -timeseal.exe are included in the WinBoard distribution. They both -function identically to the Unix versions, as documented in "help -timestamp" on ICC and "help timeseal" on FICS.
- -If you have a firewall between your machine and the ICS, see topic -[B.19].
- -If you normally have to use the "/icscomm" command line option on -WinBoard to log into a shell account, and then telnet to ICC or FICS -from there, you are going to have to run the Unix version of timestamp -or timeseal on the shell machine. (If the shell account is not on a -Unix machine, you are out of luck.) Get the appropriate version of -timestamp or timeseal onto the shell machine via FTP; see the help -files on ICC and FICS for instructions. Then simply run it when you -would normally run telnet. In this configuration you are not protected -against lag between your PC and the shell machine, or for lag caused by -heavy load on the shell machine itself from other users.
- -For further information on timestamp and timeseal, see the help -files on ICC and FICS.
- -XBoard and WinBoard have full bughouse support. -Offboard piece holdings are shown next to the board, and -you drop offboard pieces by dragging them with the mouse -(holding the left button down) to their drop square, -or left-click the piece and the drop square, just like when you enter -any ordinary move.
- -XBoard and WinBoard can display only one board at a time, but you -can observe your partner's game by running a second copy of the -program and logging in as a guest. (Unfortunately, this is not -possible if you are using the /icscomm option.) To observe your -partner's games automatically, use the "follow" or "pfollow" ICS -command; see the ICS online help for details.
- -Zippy is an interface that lets a compatible chess engine (such as GNU -Chess or Crafty) act as a computer -player on an Internet Chess Server. Zippy is included in both the -XBoard and WinBoard distributions. It is implemented as a small -amount of additional code within XBoard or WinBoard. -For documentation, see the file -zippy.README, included in both distributions or available -from my chess Web page, -http://www.tim-mann/chess.html. -The version of zippy.README on my Web page is often more up-to-date -than those in the XBoard/WinBoard distributions. -You'll also find a "biography" of Zippy and pointers to the original -Zippy the Pinhead comic strips on my Web page. -Please read zippy.README carefully before you ask me any questions about Zippy.
- -Using a computer to choose your moves on a chess server is -considered cheating unless your account is on the computer (C) list. -Read "help computer" on your favorite server for details on their -policy. Most of the servers have plenty of computers running now, so they -will not be excited about having you run a new one unless you have -written your own chess engine. They don't really need yet another -Crafty or GNU Chess clone.
- -This is a non-trivial task. XBoard and WinBoard were not designed -with a clean interface for talking to chess programs; they were -written to work with an existing version of GNU Chess that expects to -be talking to a person. Your program has to emulate GNU Chess's -rather idiosyncratic command structure to work with XBoard and -WinBoard. We are gradually cleaning up, improving, and documenting -the interface as newer versions of XBoard and WinBoard come out, -however.
- -For documentation, see the file engine-intf.html, included in both -distributions or available from Tim Mann's chess Web page, http://www.tim-mann.org/chess.html. -The version of engine-intf.html on Tim's Web page might totally obsolete, -though. -To know how the current WinBoard or XBoard version communicate with their -engines, use the documentation in the XBoard/WinBoard distributions, -or on the WinBoard forum.
- -The source code for WinBoard is available from the author's Web page, -http://www.tim-mann.org/chess.html.
- -WinBoard is currently developed using gcc under Cygwin. -To build WinBoard with the free Cygwin tools, available from http://www.cygwin.com/), use the -command "make -f makefile.gcc" from the winboard directory of the -source distribution.
-You can build the program from the MSVC++ GUI by opening the project -file (winboard.dsp) and telling MSVC++ to build the project. You can -also build it from the the command line by using the nmake program -supplied with MSVC++. -The makefile for MSVC is makefile.ms in the winboard directory.
- -WinBoard 4.2.5 was successfully -compiled with the net release of Cygwin as downloaded on 20-March-2001 -(cygwin1.dll 1.1.8, gcc 2.95.2-6, binutils 20001221-1, flex 2.5.4-1), -but exhibits a command-line parsing bug; see item 511 in the ToDo file -that comes with WinBoard. WinBoard 4.1.0 does not compile with -Cygwin. WinBoard 4.0.7 is known to compile with Cygwin BL20.1.
- -To build WinBoard with Borland C++ 4.5, use "borland.mak", supplied -with the WinBoard sources, as the Makefile. Support for Borland C++ -was contributed by Don Fong and has not been tested by the author of WinBoard.
- -WinBoard is a Win32 application, so you definitely need a compiler -and tool set that supports Win32. In particular, older versions of -DJGPP can build only 32-bit MSDOS programs; that is, programs that use -a DOS extender to get a 32-bit address space and do not make any -Windows calls. The latest versions of DJGPP are said to be able to -build Win32 programs when used with the proper extension package(s), -but this is not known to work with WinBoard. Use Cygwin instead.
- -See also topic [C.16].
- -There is no single answer to this question, because there are many -different kinds of firewalls in use. They work in various different -ways and have various different security policies. This answer can -only provide hints.
- -Note that you can't access Internet Chess Servers through a Web proxy, -because they are not a Web service. You talk to them through a raw -TCP connection, not an HTTP connection. If you can only access the -Web through a proxy, there may be a firewall that stops you from -making direct TCP connections, but there may also be a way through it. -Read on for hints, and contact your local system administrator if you -need more information about your local configuration.
- -A helpful user mailed me the following explanation of how to use -WinBoard with WinGate:
--"I have managed to setup WinBoard though my WinGate proxy. I have the -Office version. What I needed to do was to setup the TCP/IP -connection to add the User/Host name and my provider service name for -the DNS, but I had to leave the HOST IP address blank. I have not -played with all the variations, so it may be just that I have the DNS -lookup enabled." --
I hope this helps, though I don't find it very clear. I don't have -a copy of WinGate myself and can't help if you have questions about it.
- -If you are using some other non-SOCKS firewall, read the FIREWALLS section -in your XBoard or WinBoard documentation (man page, info document, or -Help file). If you can telnet to a chess server in some way, then you -can almost certainly connect to it with xboard/WinBoard, though in -some cases you may not be able to run timestamp or timeseal. The -timestamp and timeseal protocols require a clean, 8-bit wide TCP -connection from your machine to the ICS, which some firewalls do not -provide.
- -If you have a SOCKS firewall and are using XBoard, -you should be able to SOCKSify xboard and use it. See http://www.socks.nec.com/ for -information about SOCKS and socksification. However, if you do this, -you can't use timestamp or timeseal; what you really need is a -socksified version of timestamp or timeseal. This is hard because the -source code for timestamp and timeseal is proprietary; the folks -running the chess servers don't give it out because that would make it -too easy to cheat. On some versions of Unix, you may be able to -socksify a program that you don't have the source code to by running -it with an appropriate dynamic library; see http://www.socks.nec.com/. For -others, you might be able to get a pre-built socksified version from -the chess server administrators. For timeseal versions, see ftp://ftp.freechess.org/pub/chess/timeseal/. For timestamp -versions, the directory would be ftp://ftp.chessclub.com/pub/icc/timestamp/, but at this writing -there don't seem to be any socksified timestamps there. Once you have -a socksified timestamp or timeseal, simply run it with a normal, -non-socksified xboard in place of the standard timestamp or timeseal.
- -If you have a SOCKS firewall and you are using -WinBoard, we now know how to make this configuration -work, complete with timestamp or timeseal!
- -Start by getting SocksCap32. This software is freely available -from http://www.socks.nec.com/. -Install it on your machine, read the documentation, and learn to use -it. You may find it useful with many other programs besides WinBoard.
- -Next, don't socksify WinBoard. Socksifying -WinBoard itself doesn't let you use it with timestamp or timeseal. -For some reason I don't understand -- something strange that -SocksCap32 does -- the socksified WinBoard runs but does nothing, and -timestamp/timeseal runs all by itself in its own window.
- -Instead, use the following workaround. Follow the instructions -exactly; don't try to skip steps or simplify things.
- -First, make SocksCap32 application profiles for timestamp and -timeseal. Use the following command lines in the SocksCap32 -profiles. Name the first profile "timestamp" and the second -"timeseal".
- -- "c:\program files\winboard\timestamp.exe" chessclub.com 5000 -p 5000 - "c:\program files\winboard\timeseal.exe" freechess.org 5000 -p 5000 -- -
Second, run timestamp or timeseal by itself, socksified, using its -profile. This will open an unneeded, black window that will not -respond to typing. Minimize it to the task bar and ignore it. It will -go away when you exit from WinBoard.
- -Next, run WinBoard using the following command line. Make a shortcut -or type this command into an MS-DOS Prompt box. Don't run WinBoard -itself socksified, just run it directly.
- -- "c:\program files\winboard.exe" /ics /icshost=localhost /icsport=5000 -- -
After you get this working, you can try getting the timestamp window to -auto-minimize by starting it from a shortcut instead of from the -SocksCap32 control window. As it says in the SocksCap32 help file, put -the following in the Target field of a shortcut's Properties page:
- -- "c:\program files\sockscap32\sc32.exe" timestamp -- -
Then select "Run: Minimized" on the same page. Do the same for timeseal.
- -Another method that can work is to use a .bat file to start both -timestamp and WinBoard. It would look something like this:
- -- REM -- - REM -- icc.bat - REM -- Start timestamp under SocksCap32 and use WinBoard to connect to it. - REM -- The string "timestamp" refers to a SocksCap32 profile for timestamp. - REM -- Do not change it to the filename of the timestamp program! - REM -- - start /minimized "c:\program files\sockscap32\sc32.exe" timestamp - cd "c:\program files\winboard" - winboard /ics /icshost=localhost /icsport=5000 -- -
This workaround has a problem if you want to run two copies of -WinBoard at once, talking to the same chess server twice (for -bughouse) or to two different chess servers. If you need to do that, -you will need to run a separate copy of timestamp with a different -port number for each connection. You'll need to make a second set of -profile entries with a different value after the -p flag (say, 5001) -and you'll need to change the WinBoard command line /icsport=5000 for -the second WinBoard to match.
- -I believe chess.net provides a Win32 command-line version of -accuclock that will work with WinBoard. Please see the documentation -on the chess.net server itself; don't ask the author of WinBoard.
- -I don't know whether chess.net provides versions of accuclock for -Unix at this time. Ask them.
- -By default, Zippy automatically sends the command "gameend" to ICS -at the end of each game. You can alias this command (using the ICS -"alias" feature) to anything you want. On ICC, you can use the -"multi" feature to alias gameend to several commands, but other -servers don't have that feature. Zippy doesn't send anything at the -start of the game by default.
- -You can get Zippy to send one or more commands of your choosing, at -the start and/or end of each game, by using the -zippyGameStart and --zippyGameEnd command line options, newly added in version 4.0.3. -Both xboard and WinBoard have (somewhat obscure) ways of getting -newlines into this option to send several commands. Here is an -example of one way to do it for each.
- -- xboard -ics -zp -xrm '*zippyGameStart: say hi\nsay prepare to die\n' - - WinBoard /ics /zp /zippyGameEnd='say thanks\nseek 5 0\nseek 2 12\n' -- -
WinBoard does not have built-in printing functionality. -If you want to print a picture of the board, press Alt+PrintScrn, run the -standard Windows application Paintbrush, select Paste, and print from there. -If you want to print a list of moves, save your game as a PGN file, -then open the PGN file with Notepad or any other plain text editor and -print it from there.
- -WinBoard 4.4 has a menu item "Save Diagram..." in the file menu, -which saves the board part of the display as a Windows .bmp file, -but only if the board size is not too big.
- -There isn't a perfect solution to this problem yet, but a pretty -good one is to write a shell script (for xboard) or .bat script (for -WinBoard) that automatically restarts the program whenever it exits. -Use the -xexit flag so that you don't get a popup dialog that must be -dismissed with the OK button before the program will exit. The gap in -this solution is that your connection to ICS can sometimes get into a -state where the program does not notice that the connection is broken -until the next time it tries to send a command. Perhaps some future -version of xboard/WinBoard will have an option to send a harmless -command every five minutes or so.
- -Anyway, here is a sample Windows .bat file that restarts WinBoard each -time it exits. Thanks to Jason Williamson. It assumes that you have put -your computer account's name and password in a file named logon.ini.
- --REM -- -REM -- wbrecon.bat -REM -- Start WinBoard in Zippy mode, and restart it each time it exits. -REM -- Add or change parameters as needed for your application. -REM -- -:loop -start /w winboard /zp /ics /icslogon logon.ini /xexit /xautoraise -REM -- The next line is to have a short delay setup for 139 seconds. -REM -- Leave it out if it doesn't work on the version of Windows you use. -TYPE NUL | CHOICE.COM /N /CY /TY,99 >NUL -goto loop -- -
Here is a Unix shell script to do the same thing for xboard. -It's a bit more elaborate. It is based on the script I use for the -original Zippy. It logs all ICS output to a file named zippy.out, -and it lets you type commands to Zippy by running "cat > zippy.fifo".
- -
-#! /bin/sh
-host="204.178.125.65 -icsport 5000 -telnet -telnetProgram timestamp"
-#host="164.58.253.13 -icsport 5000 -telnet -telnetProgram timeseal"
-out=zippy.out
-fifo=zippy.fifo
-ZIPPYPASSWORD='something'
-export ZIPPYPASSWORD
-ZIPPYPASSWORD2='orother'
-export ZIPPYPASSWORD2
-ZIPPYLINES=`pwd`/all.lines
-export ZIPPYLINES
-ZIPPYGAMEEND='say Yow, that was FUN!
-gameend'
-export ZIPPYGAMEEND
-zippylogon=`pwd`/logon.ini
-DISPLAY=`hostname`:0.0
-export DISPLAY
-mv -f $out ${out}.old
-rm -f $fifo
-mkfifo $fifo
-pid=$$
-( while [ true ] ; do cat -u $fifo ; done ) | \
- ( while [ true ] ; do
- xboard -iconic -ics -icshost $host \
- -zt -zp -xbell -xanimate \
- -xautosave -xquiet -fcp "gnuchessx -h" \
- -icslogon $zippylogon -xexit -autoflag -xautoraise $*
- sleep 600
- done ) > $out 2>&1 &
-
-
-The best way is to get a weaker chess engine. -On the ChessWar website -you will find a rating list of virtually all engines that are able to -play under XBoard/WinBoard, from super-humanly strong to ridculously weak. -Most of them can be downloaded for free from the internet.
- -A way to get that effect is to limit the time the engine can use for -deciding on its move. The time-odds options or menu items in the -time-control dialog) can be used to this end. This is only of limited -help, as engines do not weeken that much at faster time-control, -and there is a practical limit to how fast you can order the engine -to go. Also feel free to use Retract Move if -you make a blunder.
- -Many chess coaches will let you switch sides after -they get a stronger position so that you can get experience playing -positions where you are winning. You can try this with XBoard/WinBoard -by using the Machine White or Machine Black menu command to make the -machine take over your position.
- -The -depth command-line option to XBoard/WinBoard can also be used to -weaken the engine (see the man page or Help file). It's a bit of a -nuisance to set command line options in Windows, but see topic [C.7] for instructions.
- -Other ways of weakening engines are engine-specific. Many of them -let you adjust various parameters, and if you choose bad settings, the -engine will play more poorly. Consult whatever documentation came with -the engine you are using.
- -The piece bitmaps used in XBoard and WinBoard were designed by -Elmar Bartel. He released them under the GNU General Public -License. This means that if your program is also free software -distributed under the GPL, you can use them freely. If your program -is distributed under some other license, including commercial, -shareware, or non-GPL freeware, then you cannot use the bitmaps unless -you obtain special permission from Elmar. See the file README.bitmaps -that comes with the XBoard and WinBoard source code for more -information and an email address you can write to.
- -WinBoard 4.4.0 has an option /autoLogo, which makes is search for bitmap files to display as logo, -in the engine directory or in the folder "logos". -If you see logos without having asked for them, the settings in your winboard.ini file probably contains the line
-/autoLogo=true-
Just change that to /autoLogo=false. -You can also achieve that by starting WinBoard through the startup dialog (from the start menu), -and then tick "additional options" at the bottom, -and type /autoLogo=false in the edit field, before pressing OK. -If you then later select "Save Settings Now" from the Option menu, -or when "Save Settings on Exit" is on, and you close WinBoard, -this will automatically end up in your settings field. -
-When /autoLogo=false, logos will only be displayed if you explicitly ask for them, -by running WinBoard with the option /firstLogo=FILENAME.bmp or /secondLogo=FILENAME.bmp. -(Which will not be stored in the winboard.ini, -but might of course be hidden somewhere in a settings file mentioned on the command line as @SETTINGSFILE.ini.) -
- -With the option /autoLogo=true, (which is remembered in your settings file), -WinBoard automatically looks into the engine folder -(specified by the /fd="..." or /sd="..." option), for a file called "logo.bmp". -If it is found, it is used as a logo for the engine when it plays. -So all you have to do is put a logo.bmp file there. -Popular logo formats are 100x50 and 130x65; many engine logos are available from -David Dahlem or -Graham Banks -
-It is possible to overrule the /autoLogo by explicitly using a /firstLogo="FILENAME.bmp" -or /secondLogo="FILENAME.bmp" with the engine on the engine line in the startup dialog. -This is useful for engines that run with an adapter like Polyglot, -when you have only one polyglot on your system, used by many engines. -E.g. for Fruit the engine line to be typed in or selected from the combo box is -
-"polyglot fruit.ini" /firstLogo="D:\Engines\Fruit\logo.bmp" /fd="D:\Engines\Polyglot" --This prevents WinBoard looking for the logo in the Polyglot folder. - -For Internet Chess Servers and Human users the logos should be in the "logos" -sub-folder of the folder where WinBoard is installed. -With /autoLogo=true, WinBoard would look for a logo file in that folder with -the same name as the ICS, suffixed with .bmp (e.g. freechess.org.bmp) -or the Human username -(specified by the /userName="..." option or taken from the system), -suffixed by .bmp, e.g. administrator.bmp) - - -
There is a special ICS input box that has history support which is -the standard in Winboard and can be used in XBoard too.
-Another good tip from Michel van der Bergh is to use the rlwarp -program together with XBoard which gives you full readline support. -Just run "rlwrap xboard" instead of just "xboard". The rlwarp program -should be available for most linux distributions or can be downloaded -at: -http://utopia.knoware.nl/~hlub/uck/rlwrap/. -
- - -These are the header files for the Athena Widgets library, which XBoard uses -heavily. Some versions of Unix don't supply these files, but they are part of -the standard X distribution, freely available from MIT.
- -For general information on getting missing X sources, see the FAQ on -comp.windows.x. Note that you may be missing only the header files, or you -may be missing the libraries themselves too.
- -HP-UX users are missing only the header files. You can get them by -anonymous FTP as follows. (But first check with your system -administrator to see if someone else at your site has already done -this.) Get the archive file /hpux9/X11R5/Core/Xaw-5.00.tar.gz (Xaw -header files) via anonymous FTP from the site hpux.csc.liv.ac.uk -(138.253.42.172), or one of the other official sites---Germany: -hpux.ask.uni-karlsruhe.de (129.13.200.57), US: hpux.cae.wisc.edu -(144.92.4.15), France: hpux.cict.fr (192.70.79.53) or Netherlands: -hpux.ced.tudelft.nl (130.161.140.100). Unpack the archive using gzip -and follow the instructions in its README and/or HPUX.Install files. -Thanks to Richard Lloyd for this information.
- -If you have the Xaw header files installed in a different place -than the other X11 headers, you may need to configure XBoard with an -extra flag to help it find them. For example, if yours are in -/foo/bar/X11/Xaw, try this:
- -- rm config.cache - (setenv CFLAGS -I/foo/bar ; configure) -- -
Also see topic [C.2].
- -Perhaps you have the X server and client programs installed on your -machine, but not the X header files and link-time libraries. If so, -you can run existing X programs, but you cannot compile a new X -program from source code. In this case the XBoard configure script -will fail and will tell you to look at this question in the FAQ. Many -GNU/Linux distributions put the headers and libraries in a separate -package, which you might not have installed. If you are using RedHat, -install the XFree86-devel package. If you are using some other -kind of Unix, ask your system administrator where to find the X header -files and link-time libraries. If this is not your problem, read on.
- -The configure script for XBoard looks for X libraries and header -files in some common places. Sometimes it fails: If yours are -installed in an odd place, it may not find them at all. If you have -more than one version of X installed on your system, it may find the -"wrong" one, or occasionally it may find libraries from one version -and incompatible header files from another. You can work around these -problems by telling the configure script where the files are. For -example:
- -- configure --x-includes=/odd/place/include \ - --x-libraries=/odd/place/lib -- -
The directory named in the argument to --x-includes must have a -subdirectory "X11" that contains the actual .h files. That is, if -your X.h file has full pathname /odd/place/X11R6/include/X11/X.h, then -you must give the argument --x-includes=/odd/place/X11R6/include.
- -Some linkers have bugs that cause bogus error messages when you try -to link X programs. The configure script includes a workaround for a -bug of this kind that exists in some SunOS 4.x.x installations. See -the FAQ on comp.windows.x for more information about problems of this -kind.
- -If all else fails, check whether anyone else at your site has been able to -compile any X programs on your system. Your X installation might be buggy. -If so, the system administrator at your site might know how to fix or work -around the problem.
- -Also see topic [C.1].
- -Here are solutions to some common problems in this area.
- -Some people want to connect to ICS through HyperTerminal or some other -terminal program first, then run WinBoard. This is not how it works. -WinBoard wants to talk directly with your modem, acting as a terminal program -itself. Start out with the modem "on hook" (not making a call).
- -Run WinBoard with a command line like this (adding more options if desired):
- -- WinBoard /ics /icscom com1 -- -
Use com2, com3, or com4 in place of com1 if your modem is connected to one of those ports.
- -After you start WinBoard, you may need to change some of the options in the -Communications dialog (on the Options menu). The dialog has the usual options -for talking to modems: bits per second, bits per byte, parity, number of stop -bits. You will probably want to use Save Settings Now when you're done.
- -Next, type dialing commands to your modem in the text window that WinBoard -creates. You may need to turn off Local Line Editing on the Options menu -while you are typing commands to your modem. Turn it back on when you're -done. See the WinBoard Help file for instructions if you see your typing -echoed an extra time after you hit Enter.
- -WinBoard is a 32-bit application, but some Winsock (TCP/IP) implementations -support only 16-bit applications. You get a strange looking error message -if you try to use a 32-bit application because -there is no standard Winsock error code number -for "32-bit application not supported."
- -Microsoft TCP/IP works with both 16-bit and -32-bit applications, supports SLIP, PPP, Ethernet, etc., and is included -with Windows 95 and later Windows systems. -If possible, I recommend that you uninstall -whatever Winsock you are using and install Microsoft TCP/IP instead. -For more information, see -http://walden.mo.net/~rymabry/95winfaq.html (the Win95-L FAQ).
- -Trumpet Winsock 2.1 (and earlier) supports only 16-bit -applications, and hence does not work with WinBoard. But there is a -beta-test release available that does support 32-bit applications. -I have not tried it with WinBoard, but it -should work. See Trumpet's Web page -http://www.trumpet.com.au/wsk/winsock.htm -for more information.
- -The 16-bit versions of America On-Line's software do not support -32-bit Winsock applications. Get the 32-bit version. At one time the -32-bit version was called "AOL for Windows 95," but I imagine that has -changed. Hopefully the current versions are all 32-bit.
- -A few versions of Winsock may have bugs that prevent -Windows timestamp/timeseal from working with them. I'm not sure if -such bugs exist in any versions that actually have 32-bit support, -so this point might be moot. Again, Microsoft TCP/IP is known to work.
- -This message means that WinBoard is trying to run GNU Chess, but -GNU Chess cannot find a file that it needs, named gnuchess.lan. -If you see it, you've probably customized WinBoard's /fcp, /fd, /scp, -and/or /sd options and made a mistake in the process. Review what -you did, and see the WinBoard help file.
- -XBoard and WinBoard have three major modes that can't be changed from the -menus: local chess engine mode, -ICS mode, and standalone mode.
- -With XBoard, you have to set the mode using command-line options. -Local chess engine mode is the default, -ics selects ICS mode, and --ncp ("no chess program") selects standalone mode.
- -With WinBoard, if you don't set the mode using command-line -options, you get a dialog box asking which mode you want. To bypass -the dialog box, use -cp ("chess program") for local chess engine mode, -or -ics or -ncp as with XBoard. Also see topic [C.7].
- -There are many ways; pick your favorite:
- -Be sure you have the current versions of WinBoard and the chess -engine you are using. WinBoard 3.4.1 and earlier had a bug that -caused this problem to occur with all chess engines. A buggy chess -engine that does not respond to the "quit" command will also cause -this.
- -If you still see this problem, you can stop the rogue chess engine -by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del, selecting the chess engine process from the -menu, and pressing the End Task button.
- -If you are playing with the ICS incremental clock, both you and your -opponent get a set amount of extra time after each move.
- -If your or your opponent has netlag, your opponent might appear to -get extra time, especially if your opponent is using timestamp or -timeseal. The ICS charges each player who is using timestamp or -timeseal only for the time between when the player received his -opponent's move and the time he sent his own move. Thus delays in -network transmission do not count against either player. But WinBoard -counts down the display of your opponent's clock on your screen under -the assumption that there is no netlag. When his move comes in, if -there was netlag, the ICS may not have really charged him for that -much time, and WinBoard corrects the clock to what the ICS says it -should read.
- -If you are not using timestamp or timeseal, you may appear to lose -time off your clock at some point after you make your move. In this -case, the ICS charges you for the time between when it sent you your -opponent's move and the time it received your move. Thus delays in -network transmission count against you. WinBoard stops counting down -the display of your clock on your screen (and starts your opponent's) -when you make your move. When the ICS echoes your move back to you, it -may have charged you for more time than that, and WinBoard corrects -the clocks to what the ICS says they should read.
- -See "help lag" and "help timestamp" or "help timeseal" on your ICS for -more detailed information.
- -Most people don't have this problem, but two or three people using -Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3 or 4 have reported it. I have no -idea what causes this problem. Contrary to what was reported in a -previous version of this FAQ, reinstalling the service pack after -installing WinBoard does not seem to solve the problem.
- -The file parser.c is automatically generated from parser.l. The -copy included with XBoard 4.0.2 was generated by lex on Tru64 Unix and -has problems compiling and linking on current GNU/Linux versions. The -copy included with XBoard 4.0.3 was generated by flex on a GNU/Linux -machine, but it too won't necessarily work on other versions of Unix. -If you have this problem, you can fix it by deleting parser.c and -letting the Makefile re-create it from parser.l. This will work if -you have either lex or flex on your system. Flex is available in all -GNU/Linux distributions and can be obtained at no charge from the Free -Software Foundation, www.fsf.org.
- -The file parser.c is automatically generated from parser.l. The -Makefile included with the WinBoard source kit has a rule for -generating parser.c using the program "flex", which will fail if you -don't have flex. However, the source kit also includes a ready-made -copy of parser.c, so you don't really need flex unless you have made -changes to parser.l. Check that you still have a copy of parser.c; if -you don't, unpack the WinBoard source zip file again to get one. -Either set the last-modified time of parser.c to be later than that of -parser.l, delete parser.l, or comment out the Makefile rule for -building parser.c from parser.l, and then try building WinBoard again.
- -If you do want to change parser.l and rebuild parser.c, you can get -flex as part of the free Cygwin kit from -http://sourceware.cygnus.com/cygwin/. You can -probably also get flex for Windows by itself from various other places -around the Internet. It is free software distributed by the Free -Software Foundation, www.fsf.org.
- -After connecting to a chess server, XBoard 4.0.2 and later sends an -escape sequence to its terminal that is meant to display your handle -and the ICS host name (for example, -"user@chessclub.com") in the -terminal's banner and icon. It seems that several of the alternative -X terminal programs have a bug that makes them hang when sent this -escape sequence.
- -You can work -around the problem by using xterm, nxterm, rxvt, aterm, xiterm, or -gnome-terminal, all of which seem to work fine. In fact, current -versions of kterm and konsole seem to work fine too, so if you are -having problems with one of them, be sure you are not running an -outdated version.
- -Alternatively, you can disable this feature by commenting out the -body of DisplayIcsInteractionTitle in xboard.c and recompling xboard.
- -This can happen if you have a bug in your Windows display driver. -Check with the manufacturer of your display card, the manufacturer of -your computer, or Microsoft to see if there is an updated driver -available. You can usually download updated drivers from the Web.
- -If you can't find an updated driver, you can try running Windows -using a different number of colors and/or disabling some of the -hardware acceleration features on your display card. To change the -number of colors, go to Windows Start / Settings / Control Panel / -Display / Settings / Color Palette. To disable hardware acceleration -features, go to Windows Start / Settings / Control Panel / Display / -Settings / Advanced Properties / Performance / Hardware Acceleration.
- -It's also possible that Windows has the right driver for your -hardware already but you are not using it. It may help to reinstall -your driver. Go to Windows Start / Settings / Control Panel / System -and delete your display card (maybe even your monitor too), then -reboot. Windows should automatically re-detect your card and monitor -and re-install the drivers; if it doesn't, run Start / Settings / -Control Panel / Add New Hardware to force it to.
- -If all else fails, try Monochrome mode. On WinBoard's menus, go -to Options / Color and check Monochrome. WinBoard will display in black -and white.
- -This message means that your chess engine crashed, probably due to -a bug in the engine, or because you have it configured incorrectly. -You can try running XBoard or WinBoard again with the "-debug" flag on -the command line. This will print out all the messages received from -the chess engine. (With WinBoard, the messages go into a file called -WinBoard.debug; with XBoard, they go to the xterm that you started -XBoard from.)
- -If you are using GNU Chess and you see this problem as soon as it -starts up, most likely GNU Chess is exiting with an error message. If -you see the message "NO LANGFILE", it means that you did not install -GNU Chess correctly, and it is unable to find the file gnuchess.lang. -Make sure that you defined LIBDIR in the gnuchess Makefile, and that -gnuchess.lang is in that directory. If gnuchess.lang is not there, -you probably didn't type "make install" in the gnuchess src directory; -you must do this to install gnuchess.lang (and the gnuchess book). If -you defined LIBDIR to something that is not an absolute pathname (that -is, to something that does not start with a "/"), GNU Chess will work -only if you run it from the GNU Chess "src" directory where you built -it.
- -You are running your X server with 8-bit color depth, and you are running -some program that has used up all 256 of your colors. Netscape tends -to do this, or maybe you have a background image that uses up all of -your colors.
- -If you have a modern machine, you probably have enough display -memory to run your X server with 16-, 24-, or 32-bit color depth. If -you're using "startx" to start the X server, try giving the command as -"startx -- -bpp 24" (or 16, or 32). On newer X servers you -may have to use -depth instead of -bpp. Further details on -configuring your X server are beyond the scope of this FAQ.
- -If you must run in 8-bit mode, try the following: -Avoid background images that use up all your colors. If you -run Netscape, try starting it up with the -install command-line -option; this gives Netscape its own private colormap that X will -switch to when Netscape has the keyboard focus.
- -If all else fails, another possibility is to run xboard in -monochrome (black and white) mode by giving it the -mono -command-line option. XBoard will try this by itself in some cases. -Monochrome mode works only with bitmap pieces, not pixmap pieces, so -trying to use it may give you the error "XPM pieces cannot be used in -monochrome mode". To get around this, either use the -bitmapDirectory -command line option to point XBoard to the directory containing the -bitmap pieces included with the XBoard source code, or rebuild XBoard -with pixmap support disabled, using "./configure --disable-xpm ; make -clean ; make".
- -This is a pretty rare problem. It should only arise if you have to -reach freechess.org by telnetting (or connecting with WinBoard -/icsport=23) from a Windows PC to a Unix box, and then telnetting from -there to freechess.org. The Enter key should always work when -connecting directly from your PC to freechess.org.
- -The best way to get around the problem is to run timeseal on the -intermediate Unix box instead of telnet. Get the appropriate version -of timeseal for your box from ftp.freechess.org and follow the -directions in the help files on FICS.
- -If you can't run timeseal for some reason, there are some things -you can do to make telnet stay in line mode instead of going to -character mode. Then the Enter key will work. First, try "telnet -freechess.org 5000" instead of "telnet freechess.org." -If that still doesn't work, then when the Enter key stops working, -type the following. Here < and > surround the -names of keys.
- -- <Ctrl+S><Ctrl+]>mode line<Enter> -- -
XBoard is looking for the Fairy-Max chess engine. -If you didn't want to use XBoard with Fairy-Max, please see topic -[C.6]. -If you did want to use Fairy-Max, be sure you have it installed and -that it is on your $PATH. If you wanted to use GNU Chess instead, -see topic [D.6].
- -XChess is an older chessboard program that is no longer supported. XChess was -written for X version 10, and you may or may not be able to build and run it -on an X11 system.
- -XChess has only one significant feature that is not present in XBoard: Two -humans can play chess using XChess on different machines, without using the -Internet Chess Server as an intermediary. This feature is of interest only if -you don't have network connectivity to the Internet Chess Server.
- -Note: There actually have been several different programs called "XChess" in -circulation at various times. The above describes one that was associated -with GNU Chess.
- -Winsock Chess is a program that lets two people play chess across a -network. It runs only under Microsoft Windows. Some of the code in -Winsock Chess is derived from GNU Chess, but it is not maintained by -the GNU Chess team. You can get a copy from the Internet Chess -Library; see topic [A.2]. For more information, -contact its author, Donald Munro, -ccahdm@beluga.upe.ac.za.
- -Crafty is a freely-available chess program written by Bob Hyatt. -Bob is the main author of the well-known chess program Cray -Blitz. Crafty is a very strong program, its code is available, commented -and fairly readable, and its author is actively working on improvements.
- -You can download Crafty from ftp://ftp.cis.uab.edu/pub/hyatt/. Start by getting the read.me file and -reading it. Among other things, this file contains instructions on -how to install Crafty as a command-line application on your machine.
- -There is a Crafty mailing list. -To subscribe, send email to -majordomo@cis.uab.edu, with -"subscribe crafty-list" in the body.
- -First, you need to get Crafty and install it as a command-line -application on your machine. See topic [D.3].
- -To use Crafty with XBoard, give the -fcp -parameter like this:
- -- xboard -fcp "./crafty" -fd crafty_directory -- -
Here crafty_directory is the directory where you installed Crafty. -You can add more xboard options at the end of the command line.
- -Crafty 15.14 or later is required to work properly with XBoard -4.0.0 or later. We generally recommend using the latest versions of -both XBoard and Crafty.
- -First, you need to get Crafty and install it as a command-line -application on your machine. See topic [D.3]. -It is best to use the latest version of Crafty with the latest version -of WinBoard to make sure all features are compatible and function -correctly. You can install Crafty in any directory you like.
- -You also need to get WinBoard and install it in the normal way -using its built-in installer. You can do that either before or after -you install Crafty.
- -After both Crafty and WinBoard are installed separately, follow the -directions in the WinBoard Help file (included with WinBoard) for -connecting new chess engines to WinBoard.
- -If you want to have Crafty act as an automated computer player on a -chess server, see topic [B.16]. Before you try -to get that working, be sure you can play against Crafty locally, -first without WinBoard, then with it. Also be sure you can use -WinBoard to play on the chess server yourself, without having Crafty -connected to it. You have to crawl before you can walk!
- -By default, XBoard tries to use Fairy-Max by running the -command "fairymax". That's why if you don't have Fairy-Max, you -get the error message "Failed to start first chess program fairymax -on localhost: fairymax: No such file or directory."
- -If you have GNU Chess 5, the command should be "gnuchess xboard" -instead. To make XBoard use this command, give the -fcp parameter -like this:
- -- xboard -fcp "gnuchess xboard" -- -If you instaled GNU Chess as a package, the operating system usually -knows where to find it, and GNU Chess knwos where to find its data -files, such as the opening book. -If GNU Chess is installed in a non-compliant way, e.g. together -with its book file in a user directory, you must use: - -
- xboard -fd gnuchess_directory -fcp "./gnuchess xboard" -- -
Here gnuchess_directory is the directory where you installed -GNU Chess 5 and its book. -In all cases you can add more xboard options at the end of the command -line.
- -If you want to use GNU Chess 4, the command should be "gnuchessx" -instead. To make XBoard use this command, give the -fcp parameter -like this:
- -- xboard -fcp "gnuchessx" -- -
The same applies for non-compliant installs as for GNU Chess 5: -the install directory has to be given with the -fd argument.
- -Well, why would you want to? If you want a strong free engine, -use Crafty, Glaurung, Fruit or Toga. -If you wnt an engine that plays many variants, use Fairy-Max, -Pulsar or Sjeng. -But the procedure to install and run those is not any different than -for GNU Chess. -
-If you want to use a WinBoard-compatible chess engine that is not -automatically installed with the download, -you will have to download it yourself. -Most chess engines are downloaded as a compressed archive (e.g. a .zip file), -and on downloadig it, the decompression software on your Windows system -is automatically invoked when you seected "Open" in the download dialog. -You can then click "extract all files", and you are prompted for a place -to put the unpacked stuff. -The place it proposes is usually no good, so browse to the folder -in which you installed the winBoard download -(where you see the Fairy-Max and WinBoard folders). -
-When the archiv contained a single folder, (with files in it), -unpack it there. -If the archive contained a lot of small files, first create a folder, -and browse there, before you unpack. -(To get all the files in a single place, not mixed with others, -so you can easily delete it again.) -Say you unpacked in a folder named "NewEngine", which now sits -next to your "WinBoard" folder amongst the chess files on your system. -Say there is a file "Engine.exe" in this "NewEngine" folder. -
-Then to run the engine with WinBoard, -you have to enter the command: -
-- winboard /fcp="Engine.exe" /fd="..\NewEngine" --
-Sometimes engines need parameters on their command line, -e.g. to set the hash-table size, or tell them they have to -deal with WinBoard. -These should then go within the quotes around the Engine.exe file name, -directly behind it, and separated from it (and each other) by spaces. -See any README files that come with the engine to learn how -exactly the engine has to be invoked. -
-Fairy-Max is a chess engine that plays chess at a level where -you don't need to be a super GM to still have a chance to beat it. -Apart from normal chess it plays many variants as well, -such as Capablanca or Gothic Chess, Knightmate, etc. -Dedicated versions of it are available to play Shatranj and Xiangqi -(Chinese Chess). -
- -UCI, or Universal Chess Interface, is a standard for communication -between chess engines and its Graphical User Interface, that was -created as an alternative to the way XBoard / WinBoard does it. -(The latter way having become known as -"WinBoard protocol"). -XBoard / WinBoard do not understand a word of UCI, -so UCI engines cannnot be run directly as engine under them. -
-Polyglot is an adapter that translates WB protocol to UCI. -It bhaves like it is a WB engine, but, without XBoard / WinBoard -knowing about this, it consults an UCI engine for getting the moves. -With the aid of Polyglot, any UCI engine can be run under WinBoard. -Polyglot is available as a Debian package for Linux, and is included -in the WinBoard installation. -Polyglot is open source software released under the GPL. -
- -First you have to download and install the UCI engine. -This is similar to installing WinBoard engines, -see D.7. -Furthermore, you have to make sure that -Polyglot is nstalled on -your system, in a place where XBoard / WinBoard can find it. -There are then two ways to run the UCI engine: -
-In the first method, the only thing you have to do is add an extra -option to the command that invokes XBoard / WinBoard, -to tell it that the engine is UCI: -
-- xboard -fcp "fruit" -fUCI - - winboard /fcp="Fruit_21.exe" /fd="..\Fruit" /fUCI --
-The second method is more complicated, but also more versatile. -UCI engines accept many settings from their GUI than XBoard / WinBoard -usually send to a WB engine. -Polyglot can provide such settings from a file dedicated to that engine, -usully referred to as a "polyglot.ini" file (although the actual name -can be different.) -If the engine you downloaded comes with a polyglot.ini file for it, -you can force Polyglot to use this file with engine settings -by invoking it explicitly from XBoard / WinBoard: -
-- xboard -fcp "polyglot INIFILE" - - winboard /fcp="polyglot INIFILE" /fd="POLYGLOTDIR" --
-INIFILE is the name of the polyglot.ini file (possibly a path name, -such as "PG\fruit.ini", while POLYGLOTDIR should be the directory -(path) name were the Polyglot executable is located. -The directory and name of the actual engine are described in the -polygot.ini file, and XBoard / WinBoard need not be aware of them. -
-If you don't have a polyglot.ini file for the engine, you would -have to make one. -How to do that is beyond the scope of this FAQ. -Refer to the Polyglot documentation for this, -or use method 1. -
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