1 POLYGLOT(6) POLYGLOT(6)
6 PolyGlot - Winboard protocol to UCI protocol adapter
7 - book engine for Polyglot books
8 - a collection of utilities for creating and analyzing
10 - a utility for analyzing epd files
14 polyglot [configfile] [-noini] [-ec engine] [-ed enginedirectory] [-en
15 enginename] [-log true/false] [-lf logfile] [-pg <name>=<value>]* [-uci
18 polyglot make-book [-pgn inputfile] [-bin outputfile] [-max-ply ply]
19 [-min-game games] [-min-score score] [-only-white] [-only-black]
22 polyglot merge-book -in1 inputfile1 -in2 inputfile2 [-out outputfile]
24 polyglot info-book [-bin inputfile] [-exact]
26 polyglot dump-book [-bin inputfile] -color color [-out outputfile]
28 polyglot [configfile] epd-test [engineoptions] [-epd inputfile]
29 [-min-depth depth] [-max-depth depth] [-max-time time] [-depth-delta
32 polyglot perft [-fen fen] [-max-depth depth]
35 PolyGlot as adapter and book engine
37 PolyGlot is a "UCI adapter". It connects a GUI interface (such as
38 XBoard, Winboard, Arena or Chessbase) to a UCI chess engine.
40 By specifying an opening book (in PolyGlot book format) chess engines
41 can transparently use such books.
43 PolyGlot understands the two main GUI protocols: UCI and xboard.
44 Normally the protocol will be auto detected but this can be overridden
45 in the configuration file.
47 In xboard mode PolyGlot fully translates between the xboard and UCI
48 protocols. In addition it tries to solve known problems with other
49 adapters. For instance, it detects and reports draws by fifty-move
50 rule, repetition, etc ... It also supports Chess960.
52 When in UCI mode PolyGlot mostly passes commands from the GUI to the
53 engine and vice versa, except that it will play book moves on behalf of
54 the engine when the occasion arises.
56 The engine options are exported as UCI options in UCI mode and as
57 "feature option=" commands in xboard mode. The latter form an extension
58 of the xboard protocol as defined by H.G. Muller.
60 Options which normally appear in the [PolyGlot] section of the config
61 file (see below) are exported as options with their name prefixed by
62 "Polyglot". This makes it easy to filter them in the GUI.
64 NOTE: Not all options are exported, only those that make sense in the
69 PolyGlot supports the "PolyGlot opening book format". This is the
70 defacto standard non-proprietary opening book format. It is fully
73 http://alpha.uhasselt.be/Research/Algebra/Toga/book_format.html
75 Roughly speaking a PolyGlot opening book is a collection of triples
76 (position, move, weight). A "position" is represented by a 64-bit
77 Zobrist hash key. The weight is proportional to the probability the
78 move should be played.
80 Other opening book formats such as ChessBase's .ctg format and Arena's
81 .abk format are undocumented and proprietary. They can only be used by
84 PolyGlot can compile a pgn file into a binary PolyGlot book and
85 furthermore it can merge two such binary books into a third one.
87 PolyGlot can also extract some useful information from PolyGlot books.
88 The utility "dump-book" dumps the "lines" in a book for a given color.
89 By definition a line is a sequence of moves (from the starting
90 position) in which the given color makes only book moves and the other
91 color makes arbitrary moves (i.e. not necessarily book moves).
93 Since a PolyGlot book is built up from positions and not lines there
94 may be (and there usually are) many positions in the book that are not
95 on a "line" as defined in the previous paragraph. It is convenient to
96 call such positions "isolated" positions. The utility "info-book"
97 counts such isolated positions.
99 Some of the isolated positions are provably unreachable and they could
100 in principle be deleted from the book. For example if a book contains
101 only the move "e4" in the starting position but also the position after
102 "d4 d5" then this last position is provably unreachable since it
103 requires white to make a non-book move when a book move is available.
104 Such situations arise frequently from the priority rules in merging
107 Unfortunately not all isolated positions are provably unreachable and
108 it is difficult to identify the latter. If invoked with "-exact" the
109 utility info-book will attempt to count the isolated positions which
110 require a player to make a non-book move when a book move is available.
111 Due to the possibility of transpositions this is not a fool proof
116 In epd test mode, PolyGlot will search positions in an epd file and
117 record the number of times the right best move was found. The
118 arguments specify when to stop the search in any given position.
122 A perft count is the number of legal move sequence in a given position
123 up to a given depth. PolyGlot can perform such perft counts. It is
124 however much slower than other more dedicated programs.
127 When PolyGlot is invoked as an adapter of in epd-test mode it gets its
128 options from a config file and then from the command line. The default
129 config file is "polyglot.ini" but an alternative one may be optionally
130 included as first argument. The config file format is described below.
132 The following engine options may be specified on the command line.
135 Do not use a config file, even if one was specified on the command
138 -pg The argument is a string of the form <name>=<value>. This option
139 will set the Polyglot option <name> to <value>.
142 The argument is a string of the form <name>=<value>. This option
143 will set the engine option <name> to <value>.
145 -ec This is an alias for -pg "EngineCommand=<value>"
147 -ed This is an alias for -pg "EngineDir=<value>"
149 -en This is an alias for -pg "EngineName=<value>"
151 -log (default: false)
152 This is an alias for -pg "Log=<value>"
154 -lf (default: "polyglot.log")
155 This is an alias for -pg "LogFile=<value>".
157 -wb (default: "true")
158 This is an alias for -pg "OnlyWbOptions=<value>".
164 PolyGlot supports the following options
166 -pgn (default: "book.pgn")
167 Input file in pgn format.
169 -bin (default: "book.bin")
170 Output file in PolyGlot format.
172 -max-ply (default: 1024)
173 Specifies the maximum ply-depth of lines included in the book.
175 -min-game (default: 3)
176 Specifies the minimum number of games that have to contain this
177 move for it to be included in the book.
179 -min-score (default: 0.0)
180 Specifies the minimum score (or weight) this move should have
181 received for it to be included in the book. The score is
182 2*(wins)+(draws), globally scaled to fit into 16 bits.
185 Include only moves for white in the book.
188 Include only moves for black in the book.
191 Set all weights to 1. In other words, all moves will be selected
192 with equal probability.
198 PolyGlot supports the following options
201 First input file (in PolyGlot book format).
204 Second input file (in PolyGlot book format).
206 -out (default: out.bin)
207 Output file (in PolyGlot book format).
209 Input files are not symmetrical, "in1" has priority over "in2". In
210 other words when a position occurs both in "in1" and "in2" only the
211 moves and weights from "in1" will be retained in "out".
217 PolyGlot supports the following options
219 -bin (default: book.bin)
220 Input file in PolyGlot book format.
223 The color for whom to generate the lines.
225 -out (default: book_<color>.txt)
226 The name of the output file.
232 PolyGlot supports the following options
234 -bin (default: book.bin)
235 Input file in PolyGlot book format.
238 Attempt to count the provably unreachable positions among the
239 isolated ones. Note that this takes a very long time.
245 (possibly with a config file as first argument) PolyGlot supports
246 besides the generic options described above the following additional
249 -max-depth (default: 63)
250 Unconditionally stop the search when this depth has been reached.
252 -max-time (default: 5.0)
253 Unconditionally stop the seach after this amount of time.
255 -depth-delta (default: 3)
256 Stop the search if the solution as been found and the best move has
257 been constant for this many depths, on condition that the mininal
258 depth and minimal time have been reached.
260 -min-depth (default: 8)
261 Minimal search depth when the search is stopped using
264 -min-time (default: 1.0)
265 Minimal search time when the search is stopped using
272 PolyGlot supports the following options
274 -fen (default: starting position)
275 Fen at which to start searching.
277 -max-depth (default: 1)
278 Maximum depth to search.
281 There should be a different config file for each engine.
283 The config file is in the traditional INI format.
292 The characters "#" and ";" serve as comment characters.
294 Initial and final white space is stripped from option names and values.
295 If you need to use characters which have a special meaning to PolyGlot
296 (these are ';#[]=\') you should quote them by preceding them with '\'.
297 "Quoting" other characters in this way has no effect. In particular the
298 use of '\' as a path separator in windows should normally not affected.
302 This section is used by PolyGlot only. The engine is unaware of these
303 options. The list of available options is detailed below.
305 EngineName (default: UCI name)
306 This is the name that will appear in the GUI. It is cosmetic only.
307 You can use different names for tweaked versions of the same
310 EngineDir (default: ".")
311 Full path of the directory where the engine is installed. You can
312 use "." (without the quotes) if you know that PolyGlot will be
313 launched in the engine directory or the engine is in the "path" and
314 does not need any data file.
317 Put here the name of the engine executable file. You can also add
318 command-line arguments. Path searching is used and the current
319 directory will be "EngineDir". On Linux the EngineCommand is passed
320 to wordexp so that shell quoting rules and expansions are applied.
321 On Windows the EngineCommand is simply passed to CreateProcess
322 which does its own shell like processing.
324 SettingsDir (default: $HOME/.polyglot on Linux; ".\_PG" on Windows)
325 The directory where ini files are stored for engines that are
326 started with -noini. Such ini files may be created by pushing the
327 "Save" button in the Engine settings dialog in WB/XB 4.4.0 and
328 higher. As a special exception (for WB/XB 4.4.0 compatibility) this
329 directory is also used in case PolyGlot is started with config
330 files named "polyglot_1st.ini" or "polyglot_2nd.ini".
333 Whether PolyGlot should log all transactions with the interface and
334 the engine. This should be necessary only to locate problems.
336 LogFile (default: polyglot.log)
337 The name of the log file. Note that it is put where PolyGlot was
338 launched from, not into the engine directory.
340 WARNING: Log files are not cleared between sessions, and can become
341 very large. It is safe to remove them though.
343 Resign (default: false)
344 Set this to "true" if you want PolyGlot to resign on behalf of the
347 NOTE: Some engines display buggy scores from time to time although
348 the best move is correct. Use this option only if you know what
349 you are doing (e.g. you always check the final position of games).
351 ResignMoves (default: 3)
352 Number of consecutive moves with "resign" score (see below) before
353 PolyGlot resigns for the engine. Positions with only one legal
356 ResignScore (default: 600)
357 This is the score in centipawns that will trigger resign
360 ShowPonder (default: true)
361 Show search information during engine pondering. Turning this off
362 might be better for interactive use in some interfaces.
364 ScoreWhite (default: true)
365 Report score from white's point of view in xboard mode.
367 KibitzMove (default: false)
368 Whether to kibitz when playing a move.
370 KibitzPV (default: false)
371 Whether to kibitz when the PV is changed (new iteration or new best
374 KibitzCommand (default: "tellall")
375 xboard command to use for kibitzing, normally "tellall" for
376 kibitzing or "tellothers" for whispering.
378 KibitzDelay (default: 5)
379 How many seconds to wait before starting kibitzing. This has an
380 effect only if "KibitzPV" is selected, move kibitzes are always
381 sent regardless of the delay.
383 KibitzInterval (default: 0)
384 This is another form of throttling. PolyGlot will usually wait this
385 many seconds before doing the next kibitz.
388 If true PolyGlot will not understand xboard commands.
390 MateScore (default: 10000)
391 Mate score reported to GUI when in xboard mode.
393 Book (default: false)
394 Indicates whether a PolyGlot book should be used. This has no
395 effect on the engine own book (which can be controlled with the UCI
396 option "OwnBook" in the [Engine] section). In particular, it is
397 possible to use both a PolyGlot book and an engine book. In that
398 case, the engine book will be used whenever PolyGlot is out of
399 book. Remember that PolyGlot is unaware of whether the engine is
400 itself using a book or not.
402 BookFile (default: book.bin)
403 The name of the (binary) book file. Note that PolyGlot will look
404 for it in the directory it was launched from, not in the engine
405 directory. Of course, full path can be used in which case the
406 current directory does not matter.
408 BookRandom (default: true)
409 Select moves according to their weights in the book. If false the
410 move with the highest weight is selected.
412 BookLearn (default: false)
415 BookDepth (default: 256)
416 Stop using the book after this number of moves.
418 BookTreshold (default: 5)
419 Do not play moves with a weight (probability) lower than this (in
422 UseNice (default: false)
423 Run the engine at nice level 5, or "NiceValue" if it set. On some
424 operating systems it may be necessary to run the engine at lower
425 priority for it to be responsive to commands from PolyGlot while
428 NiceValue (default: 5)
429 Nice levels go from -20 to 20 with 20 being the lowest priority.
430 On Unix only root can set negative nice levels. On Windows the
431 standard Win32 priority levels are mapped in a sensible way to Unix
434 Affinity (default: -1)
435 This a bit vector in which each bit represents the processors that
436 a process is allowed to run on. This option works only on Windows.
438 STFudge (default: 20)
439 PolyGlot will translate "st x" as "go movetime 1000*x-STFudge".
440 The rationale is that in the UCI specification the argument of
441 movetime is defined as the exact search time whereas the argument
442 of the st command is only an upperbound.
444 OnlyWbOptions (default: true)
445 If true then PolyGlot restricts the options it sends to those that
446 are potentially useful for WinBoard.
450 Work arounds are identical to options except that they should be used
451 only when necessary. Their purpose is to try to hide problems with
452 various software (not just engines).
454 IMPORTANT: Any of these work arounds might be removed in future
455 versions of PolyGlot. You are strongly recommended to contact the
456 author of faulty software and truly fix the problem.
458 PolyGlot supports the following work arounds:
460 UCIVersion (default: 2)
461 The default value of 2 corresponds to UCI+. Use 1 to select plain
462 UCI for engines that have problems with UCI+.
464 CanPonder (default: false)
465 PolyGlot now conforms to the documented UCI behaviour: the engine
466 will be allowed to ponder only if it (the engine) declares the
467 "Ponder" UCI option. However some engines which can actually
468 ponder do not declare the option. This work around lets PolyGlot
469 know that they can ponder.
471 SyncStop (default: false)
472 When a ponder miss occurs, Polyglot interrupts the engine and
473 IMMEDIATELY launches a new search. While there should be no
474 problem with this, some engines seem confused and corrupt their
475 search board. "SyncStop" forces PolyGlot to wait for the (now
476 useless) ponder search to finish before launching the new search.
478 PromoteWorkAround (default: false)
479 Some engines do not specify a promotion piece, e.g. they send
480 "e7e8" instead of the correct "e7e8q". This work around enables
481 the incorrect form (and of course promotes into a queen).
483 RepeatPV (default: true)
484 When true, PolyGlot repeats the last pv string (which also contains
485 score,depth and time usage) it got from the engine. Some engines
486 however do not send a new pv string just before sending the move.
487 In that case the output of PolyGlot would be inconsistent. When
488 RepeatPV is false PolyGlot does not repeat the last pv string. Due
489 to the way kibitzing is implemented, KibitzMove is disabled in that
494 This section contains engine UCI options. PolyGlot does not understand
495 them, but sends the information to the engine at startup (converted to
496 UCI form). You can add any UCI option that makes sense to the engine
497 (not just the common options about hash-table size and tablebases).
499 NOTE: use INI syntax, not UCI. For example "OwnBook = true" is
500 correct. It will be replaced by PolyGlot with "setoption name OwnBook
501 value true" at engine startup.
503 Standard UCI options are
510 Hidden options like "Ponder" or "UCI_xxx" are automatic and should not
511 be put in an INI file.
513 The other options are engine-specific. Check their name using a UCI
514 GUI or launch the engine in a console and type "uci".
517 Running the UCI engine "fruit" under xboard 4.3.15 and later (this
518 invokes PolyGlot internally).
520 xboard -fcp fruit -fUCI
522 An explicit command line for using the UCI engine "fruit" with logging
523 enabled (this works also with older versions of xboard).
525 xboard -fcp "polyglot -noini -log true -ec fruit"
527 The equivalent config file would be:
530 EngineCommand = fruit
534 Compile "games.pgn" into a book "book.bin" retaining all lines of at
537 polyglot make-book -pgn games.pgn -bin book.bin -max-ply 30
539 Merge books "w1.bin" and "w2.bin" into a book "w.bin".
541 polyglot merge-book -in1 w1.bin -in2 w2.bin -out w.bin
543 Inspect lines for white in "w.bin"
545 polyglot dump-book -bin w.bin -color white -out w_white.txt
547 Test epd file "test.epd" with a (maximum) search time of 7 minutes per
550 polyglot epd-test -epd test.epd -max-time 420
553 PolyGlot always returns 0 on exit.
556 Main author: Fabien Letouzey<fabien_letouzey(at)hotmail.com>
558 Native Windows port: Huang Chen<webmaster@elephantbase.net> ("Morning
561 Various enhancements: Fonzy Bleumers<match(at)geenvis.net>
563 UCI port and implementation of new WB protocol: Michel Van den Bergh
564 <michel.vandenbergh(at)uhasselt.be>
571 2011-06-01 POLYGLOT(6)