1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
3 @setfilename xboard.info
11 INFO-DIR-SECTION Games
13 * xboard: (xboard). An X Window System graphical chessboard.
22 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
23 @include copyright.texi
27 .TH xboard 6 "$Date: " "GNU"
30 xboard @- X graphical user interface for chess
35 .B xboard -ics -icshost hostname [options]
37 .B xboard -ncp [options]
52 XBoard is a graphical chessboard that can serve as a
53 user interface to chess engines (such as GNU Chess), the
54 Internet Chess Servers,
55 electronic mail correspondence chess, or your own collection of saved games.
57 This manual documents version @value{VERSION} of XBoard.
60 * Major modes:: The main things XBoard can do.
61 * Basic operation:: Mouse and keyboard functions.
62 * Menus:: Menus, buttons, and keys.
63 * Options:: Command options supported by XBoard.
64 * Chess Servers:: Using XBoard with an Internet Chess Server (ICS).
65 * Firewalls:: Connecting to a chess server through a firewall.
66 * Environment:: Environment variables.
67 * Limitations:: Known limitations and/or bugs.
68 * Problems:: How and where to report any problems you run into.
69 * Contributors:: People who have helped developing XBoard.
70 * CMail:: Using XBoard for electronic correspondence chess.
71 * Other programs:: Other programs you can use with XBoard.
73 * Copyright:: Copyright notice for this manual.
75 * Copying:: The GNU General Public License.
77 * Index:: Index of concepts and symbol names.
84 XBoard always runs in one of four major modes. You select the
85 major mode from the command line when you start up XBoard.
88 @item xboard [options]
89 As an interface to GNU Chess or another chess engine running on your
90 machine, XBoard lets you play a game against the machine,
91 set up arbitrary positions, force variations, watch a game between two
92 chess engines, interactively analyze your stored games or set up and
93 analyze arbitrary positions. (Note: Not all chess engines support
95 @item xboard -ics -icshost hostname [options]
96 As Internet Chess Server (ICS) interface, XBoard
97 lets you play against other ICS users, observe games
98 they are playing, or review games that have recently finished. Most
99 of the ICS "wild" chess variants are supported, including bughouse.
100 @item xboard -ncp [options]
101 XBoard can also be used simply
102 as an electronic chessboard to play through games. It will read and
103 write game files and allow you to play through variations
104 manually. You can use it to browse games off the net or review games
105 you have saved. These features are also available in the other modes.
107 If you want to pipe games into XBoard, use the supplied shell
108 script @file{pxboard}. For example, from the news reader @file{xrn},
109 find a message with one or more games in it, click the Save button,
110 and type @samp{|pxboard} as the file name.
111 @item cmail [options]
112 As an interface to electronic mail correspondence chess, XBoard
113 works with the cmail program. See @ref{CMail} below for
117 @node Basic operation
118 @chapter Basic operation
119 @cindex Basic operation
121 To move a piece, you can drag it with the left mouse button, or you
122 can click the left mouse button once on the piece, then once more on
123 the destination square. In crazyhouse, bughouse or shogi you can
124 drag and drop pieces to the board from the holdings squares
125 displayed next to the board.
127 Old behavior, where right-clicking a square brings up a menu
128 where you can select what piece to drop on it can still be
129 selected through the @samp{Drop Menu} option.
130 Only in Edit Position mode right and middle clicking a square is still used to
131 put a piece on it, and the piece to drop is selected by sweeping
132 the mouse vertically with the button held down.
134 The default function of the right mouse button in other modes is
135 to display the position the chess program thinks it will end up in.
136 While moving the mouse vertically with this button pressed
137 XBoard will step through the principal variation to show how
138 this position will be reached.
139 Lines of play displayed in the engine-output window,
140 or PGN variations in the comment window can similarly
141 be played out on the board, by right-clicking on them.
142 Only in Analysis mode, when you walk along a PV,
143 releasing the mouse button will forward the game upto that point,
144 like you entered all previous PV moves.
145 As the display of the PV in that case starts after the first move
146 a simple right-click will play the move the engine indicates.
148 When connected to an ICS, it is possible to call up a graphical
149 representation of players seeking a game in stead of the chess board,
150 when the latter is not in use
151 (i.e. when you are not playing or observing).
152 Left-clicking the display area will switch between this 'seek graph'
154 Hovering the mouse pointer over a dot will show the details of the
155 seek ad in the message field above the board.
156 Left-clicking the dot will challenge that player.
157 Right-clicking a dot will 'push it to the back',
158 to reveal any dots that were hidden behind it.
159 Right-clicking off dots will refresh the graph.
161 Most other XBoard commands are available from the menu bar. The most
162 frequently used commands also have shortcut keys or on-screen buttons.
163 These shortcut keystrokes are mostly non-printable characters.
164 Typing a letter or digit while the board window has focus
165 will bring up a type-in box with the typed letter already in it.
166 You can use that to type a move in siuations where it is your
167 turn to enter a move,
168 type a move number to call up the position after that move
170 or, in Edit Position mode, type a FEN.
171 Some rarely used parameters can only be set through options on the
172 command line used to invoke XBoard.
174 XBoard uses a settings file, in which it can remember any changes to
175 the settings that are made through menus or command-line options,
176 so they will still apply when you restart XBoard for another session.
177 The settings can be saved into this file automatically when XBoard exits,
178 or on explicit request of the user.
179 The default name for the settings file is /etc/xboard/xboard.conf,
180 but in a standard install this file is only used as a master settings
181 file that determines the system-wide default settings,
182 and defers reading and writing of user settings to a user-specific
183 file like ~/.xboardrc in the user's home directory.
185 When XBoard is iconized, its graphical icon is a white knight if
186 it is White's turn to move, a black knight if it is Black's turn.
189 @chapter Menus, buttons, and keys
193 * File Menu:: Accessing external games and positions.
194 * Edit Menu:: Altering games, positions, PGN tags or comments.
195 * View Menu:: Controlling XBoard's shape and looks.
196 * Mode Menu:: Selecting XBoard's mode.
197 * Action Menu:: Talking to the chess engine or ICS opponents.
198 * Engine Menu:: Controlling settings and actions of the engine(s).
199 * Options Menu:: User preferences.
200 * Help Menu:: Getting help.
201 * Keys:: Other shortcut keys.
210 @cindex New Game, Menu Item
211 Resets XBoard and the chess engine to the beginning of a new chess
212 game. The @kbd{Ctrl-N} key is a keyboard equivalent. In Internet Chess
213 Server mode, clears the current state of XBoard, then
214 resynchronizes with the ICS by sending a refresh command. If you want to
215 stop playing, observing, or examining an ICS game, use an
216 appropriate command from the Action menu, not @samp{New Game}.
218 @item New Shuffle Game
219 @cindex New Shuffle Game, Menu Item
220 Similar to @samp{New Game}, but allows you to specify a particular initial position
221 (according to a standardized numbering system)
222 in chess variants which use randomized opening positions (e.g. Chess960).
223 You can also press the @samp{Pick Fixed} button to let XBoard generate
224 a random number for you.
225 The thus selected opening position will then persistently be chosen on any following
226 New Game command until you use this menu to select another.
227 Selecting position number -1 (or pushing the @samp{Randomize} button)
228 will produce a newly randomized position on any new game.
229 Using this menu item in variants that normally do not shuffle their opening position
230 does cause these variants to become shuffle variants until you use the
231 @samp{New Shuffle Game} menu to explicitly switch the randomization off,
232 or select a new variant.
234 @cindex New variant, Menu Item
235 Allows you to select a new chess variant in non-ICS mode.
236 (In ICS play, the ICS is responsible for deciding which variant will be played,
237 and XBoard adapts automatically.) The shifted @kbd{Alt+V} key is a
238 keyboard equivalent. If you play with an engine, the engine must
239 be able to play the selected variant, or the command will be ignored.
240 XBoard supports all major variants, such as xiangqi, shogi, chess, chess960,
241 Capablanca Chess, shatranj, crazyhouse, bughouse.
242 But not every board size has built-in bitmaps for un-orthodox pieces!
243 Only sizes bulky (72) and middling (49) have all pieces,
244 while size petite (33) has most.
245 These sizes would have to be set at startup through the @code{size}
246 command-line option when you start up XBoard for such variants to be playable.
248 You can overrule the default board format of the selected variant,
249 (e.g. to play suicide chess on a 6 x 6 board),
250 in this dialog, but normally you would not do that,
251 and leave them at '-1', which means 'default'.
253 @cindex Load Game, Menu Item
254 Plays a game from a record file. The @kbd{Ctrl-O} key is a keyboard equivalent.
255 A pop-up dialog prompts you for the file name. If the file contains more
256 than one game, a second pop-up dialog
257 displays a list of games (with information drawn from their PGN tags, if
258 any), and you can select the one you want. Alternatively, you can load the
259 Nth game in the file directly, by typing the number @kbd{N} after the
260 file name, separated by a space.
262 The game file parser will accept PGN (portable game notation),
263 or in fact almost any file that contains moves in algebraic
265 Notation of the form @samp{P@@f7}
266 is accepted for piece-drops in bughouse games;
267 this is a nonstandard extension to PGN.
268 If the file includes a PGN position (FEN tag), or an old-style
269 XBoard position diagram bracketed by @samp{[--} and @samp{--]}
270 before the first move, the game starts from that position. Text
271 enclosed in parentheses, square brackets, or curly braces is assumed to
272 be commentary and is displayed in a pop-up window. Any other
273 text in the file is ignored. PGN variations (enclosed in
274 parentheses) also are treated as comments;
275 however, if you rights-click them in the comment window,
276 XBoard will shelve the current line, and load the the selected variation,
277 so you can step through it.
278 You can later revert to the previous line with the @samp{Revert} command.
279 This way you can walk quite complex varation trees with XBoard.
280 The nonstandard PGN tag [Variant "varname"] functions similarly to
281 the -variant command-line option (see below), allowing games in certain chess
282 variants to be loaded.
283 Note that it must appear before any FEN tag for XBoard to recognize
284 variant FENs appropriately.
285 There is also a heuristic to
286 recognize chess variants from the Event tag, by looking for the strings
287 that the Internet Chess Servers put there when saving variant ("wild") games.
289 @cindex Load Position, Menu Item
290 Sets up a position from a position file. A pop-up dialog prompts
291 you for the file name. The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-O} key is a keyboard
292 equivalent. If the file contains more than one saved
293 position, and you want to load the Nth one, type the number N
294 after the file name, separated by a space. Position files must
295 be in FEN (Forsythe-Edwards notation), or in the format that the
296 Save Position command writes when oldSaveStyle is turned on.
297 @item Load Next Position
298 @cindex Load Next Position, Menu Item
299 Loads the next position from the last position file you loaded.
300 The shifted @kbd{PgDn} key is a keyboard equivalent.
301 @item Load Previous Position
302 @cindex Load Previous Position, Menu Item
303 Loads the previous position from the last position file you
304 loaded. The shifted @kbd{PgUp} key is a keyboard equivalent.
305 Not available if the last position was loaded from a pipe.
307 @cindex Save Game, Menu Item
308 Appends a record of the current game to a file.
309 The @kbd{Ctrl-S} key is a keyboard equivalent.
311 prompts you for the file name. If the game did not begin with
312 the standard starting position, the game file includes the
313 starting position used. Games are saved in the PGN (portable
314 game notation) format, unless the oldSaveStyle option is true,
315 in which case they are saved in an older format that is specific
316 to XBoard. Both formats are human-readable, and both can be
317 read back by the @samp{Load Game} command.
318 Notation of the form @samp{P@@f7}
319 is accepted for piece-drops in bughouse games;
320 this is a nonstandard extension to PGN.
322 @cindex Save Position, Menu Item
323 Appends a diagram of the current position to a file.
324 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl+S} key is a keyboard equivalent.
325 A pop-up dialog prompts you for the file name. Positions are saved in
326 FEN (Forsythe-Edwards notation) format unless the @code{oldSaveStyle}
327 option is true, in which case they are saved in an older,
328 human-readable format that is specific to XBoard. Both formats
329 can be read back by the @samp{Load Position} command.
331 @itemx Reload CMail Message
332 @cindex Mail Move, Menu Item
333 @cindex Reload CMail Message, Menu Item
336 @cindex Exit, Menu Item
337 Exits from XBoard. The @kbd{Ctrl-Q} key is a keyboard equivalent.
346 @cindex Copy Game, Menu Item
347 Copies a record of the current game to an internal clipboard in PGN
348 format and sets the X selection to the game text. The @kbd{Ctrl-C}
349 key is a keyboard equivalent. The game can be
350 pasted to another application (such as a text editor or another copy
351 of XBoard) using that application's paste command. In many X
352 applications, such as xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
353 used for pasting; in XBoard, you must use the Paste Game command.
355 @cindex Copy Position, Menu Item
356 Copies the current position to an internal clipboard in FEN format and
357 sets the X selection to the position text. The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-C} key
358 is a keyboard equivalent. The position can be pasted
359 to another application (such as a text editor or another copy of
360 XBoard) using that application's paste command. In many X
361 applications, such as xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
362 used for pasting; in XBoard, you must use the Paste Position command.
364 @cindex Copy Game List, Menu Item
365 Copies the current game list to the clipboard,
366 and sets the X selection to this text.
367 A format of comma-separated double-quoted strings is used,
369 so it can be easily imported into spread-sheet programs.
371 @cindex Paste Game, Menu Item
372 Interprets the current X selection as a game record and loads it, as
373 with Load Game. The @kbd{Ctrl-V} key is a keyboard equivalent.
375 @cindex Paste Position, Menu Item
376 Interprets the current X selection as a FEN position and loads it, as
377 with Load Position. The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-V} key is a keyboard equivalent.
379 @cindex Edit Game, Menu Item
380 Allows you to make moves for both Black and White, and to change
381 moves after backing up with the @samp{Backward} command. The clocks do
382 not run. The @kbd{Ctrl-E} key is a keyboard equivalent.
384 In chess engine mode, the chess engine continues to check moves for legality
385 but does not participate in the game. You can bring the chess engine
386 into the game by selecting @samp{Machine White}, @samp{Machine Black},
387 or @samp{Two Machines}.
389 In ICS mode, the moves are not sent to the ICS: @samp{Edit Game} takes
390 XBoard out of ICS Client mode and lets you edit games locally.
391 If you want to edit games on ICS in a way that other ICS users
392 can see, use the ICS @kbd{examine} command or start an ICS match
395 @cindex Edit Position, Menu Item
396 Lets you set up an arbitrary board position.
397 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-E} key is a keyboard equivalent.
398 Use mouse button 1 to drag pieces to new squares, or to delete a piece
399 by dragging it off the board or dragging an empty square on top of it.
400 To drop a new piece on a square, press mouse button 2 or 3 over the
402 This puts a white or black pawn in the square, respectively,
403 but you can change that to any other piece type by dragging the
404 mouse down before you release the button.
405 You will then see the piece on the originally clicked square
406 cycle through the available pieces
407 (including those of opposite color),
408 and can release the button when you see the piece you want.
409 To alter the side to move, you can click the clock
410 (the words White and Black above the board)
411 of the side you want to give the move to.
412 To clear the board you can click the clock of the side that
413 alread has the move (which is highlighted in black).
414 The old behavior with a piece menu can still be configured
415 with the aid of the @code{pieceMenu} option.
416 Selecting @samp{Edit Position} causes XBoard to discard
417 all remembered moves in the current game.
419 In ICS mode, changes made to the position by @samp{Edit Position} are
420 not sent to the ICS: @samp{Edit Position} takes XBoard out of
421 @samp{ICS Client} mode and lets you edit positions locally. If you want to
422 edit positions on ICS in a way that other ICS users can see, use
423 the ICS @kbd{examine} command, or start an ICS match against yourself.
424 (See also the ICS Client topic above.)
426 @cindex Edit Tags, Menu Item
427 Lets you edit the PGN (portable game notation)
428 tags for the current game. After editing, the tags must still conform to
432 <tag-section> ::= <tag-pair> <tag-section>
434 <tag-pair> ::= [ <tag-name> <tag-value> ]
435 <tag-name> ::= <identifier>
436 <tag-value> ::= <string>
439 See the PGN Standard for full details. Here is an example:
442 [Event "Portoroz Interzonal"]
443 [Site "Portoroz, Yugoslavia"]
446 [White "Robert J. Fischer"]
447 [Black "Bent Larsen"]
451 Any characters that do not match this syntax are silently ignored. Note that
452 the PGN standard requires all games to have at least the seven tags shown
453 above. Any that you omit will be filled in by XBoard
454 with @samp{?} (unknown value), or @samp{-} (inapplicable value).
456 @cindex Edit Comment, Menu Item
457 Adds or modifies a comment on the current position. Comments are
458 saved by @samp{Save Game} and are displayed by @samp{Load Game},
459 @samp{Forward}, and @samp{Backward}.
461 @cindex Edit Book, Menu Item
462 Pops up a window listing the moves available in the GUI book
463 (specified in the @samp{Common Engine Settings} dialog)
464 from the currently displayed position,
465 together with their weights and (optionally in braces) learn info.
466 You can then edit this list, and the new list will be stored
467 back into the book when you press OK.
468 Note that the listed percentages are neither used, nor updated when
469 you change the weights; they are just there as an optical aid.
472 @cindex Revert, Menu Item
473 @cindex Annotate, Menu Item
474 If you are examining an ICS game and Pause mode is off,
475 Revert issues the ICS command @samp{revert}.
476 In local mode, when you were editing or analyzing a game,
477 and the @code{-variations} command-line option is switched on,
478 you can start a new variation by holding the Shift key down while
479 entering a move not at the end of the game.
480 Variations can also become the currently displayed line by
481 clicking a PGN variation displayed in the Comment window.
482 This can be applied recursively,
483 so that you can analyze variations on variations;
484 each time you create a new variation by entering an alternative move
485 with Shift pressed, or select a new one from the Comment window,
486 the current variation will be shelved.
487 @samp{Revert} allows you to return to the most recently shelved variation.
488 The difference between @samp{Revert} and @samp{Annotate}
489 is that with the latter,
490 the variation you are now abandoning will be added as a comment
491 (in PGN variation syntax, i.e. between parentheses)
492 to the original move where you deviated, for later recalling.
493 The @kbd{Home} key is a keyboard equivalent to @samp{Revert}.
495 @cindex Truncate Game, Menu Item
496 Discards all remembered moves of the game beyond the current
497 position. Puts XBoard into @samp{Edit Game} mode if it was not there
499 The @kbd{End} key is a keyboard equivalent.
501 @cindex Backward, Menu Item
503 Steps backward through a series of remembered moves.
504 The @samp{[<]} button and the @kbd{Alt+LeftArrow} key are equivalents,
505 as is turning the mouse wheel towards you.
506 In addition, pressing the Control key steps back one move, and releasing
507 it steps forward again.
509 In most modes, @samp{Backward} only lets you look back at old positions;
510 it does not retract moves. This is the case if you are playing against
511 a chess engine, playing or observing a game on an ICS, or loading a game.
512 If you select @samp{Backward} in any of these situations, you will not
513 be allowed to make a different move. Use @samp{Retract Move} or
514 @samp{Edit Game} if you want to change past moves.
516 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Backward}
517 depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
518 off, @samp{Backward} issues the ICS backward command, which backs up
519 everyone's view of the game and allows you to make a different
520 move. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Backward} only backs up your local
523 @cindex Forward, Menu Item
525 Steps forward through a series of remembered moves (undoing the
526 effect of @samp{Backward}) or forward through a game file. The
527 @samp{[>]} button and the @kbd{Alt+RightArrow} key are equivalents,
528 as is turning the mouse wheel away from you.
530 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of Forward
531 depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
532 off, @samp{Forward} issues the ICS forward command, which moves
533 everyone's view of the game forward along the current line. If
534 Pause mode is on, @samp{Forward} only moves your local view forward,
535 and it will not go past the position that the game was in when
538 @cindex Back to Start, Menu Item
540 Jumps backward to the first remembered position in the game.
541 The @samp{[<<]} button and the @kbd{Alt+Home} key are equivalents.
543 In most modes, Back to Start only lets you look back at old
544 positions; it does not retract moves. This is the case if you
545 are playing against a local chess engine, playing or observing a game on
546 a chess server, or loading a game. If you select @samp{Back to Start} in any
547 of these situations, you will not be allowed to make different
548 moves. Use @samp{Retract Move} or @samp{Edit Game} if you want to change past
549 moves; or use Reset to start a new game.
551 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Back to
552 Start} depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode
553 is off, @samp{Back to Start} issues the ICS @samp{backward 999999}
554 command, which backs up everyone's view of the game to the start and
555 allows you to make different moves. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Back
556 to Start} only backs up your local view.
558 @cindex Forward to End, Menu Item
560 Jumps forward to the last remembered position in the game. The
561 @samp{[>>]} button and the @kbd{Alt+End} key are equivalents.
563 If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Forward to
564 End} depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode
565 is off, @samp{Forward to End} issues the ICS @samp{forward 999999}
566 command, which moves everyone's view of the game forward to the end of
567 the current line. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Forward to End} only moves
568 your local view forward, and it will not go past the position
569 that the game was in when you paused.
578 @cindex Flip View, Menu Item
579 Inverts your view of the chess board for the duration of the
580 current game. Starting a new game returns the board to normal.
581 The @kbd{F2} key is a keyboard equivalent.
582 @item Show Engine Output
583 @cindex Show Engine Output, Menu Item
584 Shows or hides a window in which the thinking output of any loaded engines
585 is displayed. The shifted @kbd{Alt+O} key is a keyboard equivalent.
586 XBoard will display lines of thinking output of the same depth ordered by score,
587 (highest score on top), rather than in the order the engine produced them.
588 Usually this amounts to the same, as a normal engine search will only find new PV
589 (and emit it as thinking output)
590 when it searches a move with a higher score than the previous variation.
591 But when the engine is in multi-variation mode this needs not always be true,
592 and it is more convenient for someone analyzing games to see the moves sorted by score.
593 The order in which the engine found them is only of interest to the engine author,
594 and can still be deduced from the time or node count printed with the line.
595 @item Show Move History
596 @cindex Show Move History, Menu Item
597 Shows or hides a list of moves of the current game.
598 The shifted @kbd{Alt+H} key is a keyboard equivalent.
599 This list allows you to move the display to any earlier position in the game
600 by clicking on the corresponding move.
601 @item Show Evaluation Graph
602 @cindex Show Evaluation Graph, Menu Item
603 Shows or hides a window which displays a graph of how the engine score(s)
604 evolved as a function of the move number.
605 The shifted @kbd{Alt+E} key is a keyboard equivalent.
606 Clicking on the graph will bring
607 the corresponding position in the board display.
609 @cindex Show Game List, Menu Item
610 Shows or hides the list of games generated by the last @samp{Load Game}
611 command. The shifted @kbd{Alt+G} key is a keyboard equivalent.
613 @cindex Tags, Menu Item
614 Pops up a window which shows the PGN (portable game notation)
615 tags for the current game.
616 For now this is a duplicate of the @samp{Edit Tags} item in the @samp{Edit} menu.
618 @cindex Comments, Menu Item
619 Pops up a window which shows any comments to or variations on the current move.
620 For now this is a duplicate of the @samp{Edit Comment} item in the @samp{Edit} menu.
622 @cindex ICS Input Box, Menu Item
623 If this option is set in ICS mode,
625 creates an extra window that you can use for typing in ICS commands.
626 The input box is especially useful if you want to type in something long or do
627 some editing on your input, because output from ICS doesn't get mixed
628 in with your typing as it would in the main terminal window.
630 @cindex Board, Menu Item
631 Summons a dialog where you can customaize the look of the chess board.
632 Here you can specify the directory from which piece images should be taken,
633 when you don't want to use the built-in piece images
634 (see @code{pixmapDirectory} and @code{bitmapDirectory} options),
635 an external pixmap to be used for the board squares
636 (@code{liteBackTextureFile} and @code{darkBackTextureFile} options),
637 and square and piece colors for the built-ins.
639 @cindex Game List Tags, Menu Item
640 a duplicate of the Game List dialog in the Options menu.
649 @cindex Machine White, Menu Item
650 Tells the chess engine to play White.
651 The @kbd{Ctrl-W} key is a keyboard equivalent.
653 @cindex Machine Black, Menu Item
654 Tells the chess engine to play Black.
655 The @kbd{Ctrl-B} key is a keyboard equivalent.
657 @cindex Two Machines, Menu Item
658 Plays a game between two chess engines.
659 The @kbd{Ctrl-T} key is a keyboard equivalent.
661 @cindex Analysis Mode, Menu Item
663 XBoard tells the chess engine to start analyzing the current game/position
664 and shows you the analysis as you move pieces around.
665 The @kbd{Ctrl-A} key is a keyboard equivalent.
666 Note: Some chess engines do not support Analysis mode.
668 To set up a position to analyze, you do the following:
670 1. Select Edit Position from the Mode Menu
672 2. Set up the position. Use the middle and right buttons to
673 bring up the white and black piece menus.
675 3. When you are finished, click on either the Black or White
676 clock to tell XBoard which side moves first.
678 4. Select Analysis Mode from the Mode Menu to start the analysis.
680 You can now play legal moves to create follow-up positions for the
681 engine to analyze, while the moves will be remembered as a stored game,
682 and then step backward through this game to take the moves back.
683 Note that you can also click on the clocks to set the opposite
684 side to move (adding a so-called @samp{null move} to the game).
686 The analysis function can also be used when observing games on an ICS
687 with an engine loaded (zippy mode); the engine then will analyse
688 the positions as they occur in the observed game.
690 @cindex Analyze Game, Menu Item
691 This option subjects the currently loaded game to automatic
692 analysis by the loaded engine.
693 The @kbd{Ctrl-G} key is a keyboard equivalent.
694 XBoard will start auto-playing the game from the currently displayed position,
695 while the engine is analyzing the current position.
696 The game will be annotated with the results of these analyses.
697 In particlar, the score and depth will be added as a comment,
698 and the PV will be added as a variation.
699 The time the engine spends on analyzing each move can be controlled
700 through the command-line option @samp{-timeDelay}.
701 Note: Some chess engines do not support Analysis mode.
703 Duplicate of the item in the Edit menu.
704 Note that @samp{Edit Game} is the idle mode of XBoard, and can be used
705 to get you out of other modes. E.g. to stop analyzing, stop a game
706 between two engines or stop editing a position.
708 Duplicate of the item in the Edit menu.
710 @cindex Training, Menu Item
711 Training mode lets you interactively guess the moves of a game for one
712 of the players. You guess the next move of the game by playing the
713 move on the board. If the move played matches the next move of the
714 game, the move is accepted and the opponent's response is auto-played.
715 If the move played is incorrect, an error message is displayed. You
716 can select this mode only while loading a game (that is, after
717 selecting @samp{Load Game} from the File menu). While XBoard is in
718 @samp{Training} mode, the navigation buttons are disabled.
720 @cindex ICS Client, Menu Item
721 This is the normal mode when XBoard
722 is connected to a chess server. If you have moved into
723 Edit Game or Edit Position mode, you can select this option to get out.
725 To use xboard in ICS mode, run it in the foreground with the -ics
726 option, and use the terminal you started it from to type commands and
727 receive text responses from the chess server. See
728 @ref{Chess Servers} below for more information.
730 XBoard activates some special position/game editing features when you
731 use the @kbd{examine} or @kbd{bsetup} commands on ICS and you have
732 @samp{ICS Client} selected on the Mode menu. First, you can issue the
733 ICS position-editing commands with the mouse. Move pieces by dragging
734 with mouse button 1. To drop a new piece on a square, press mouse
735 button 2 or 3 over the square. This brings up a menu of white pieces
736 (button 2) or black pieces (button 3). Additional menu choices let
737 you empty the square or clear the board. Click on the White or Black
738 clock to set the side to play. You cannot set the side to play or
739 drag pieces to arbitrary squares while examining on ICC, but you can
740 do so in @kbd{bsetup} mode on FICS. In addition, the menu commands
741 @samp{Forward}, @samp{Backward}, @samp{Pause}, and @samp{Stop Examining}
742 have special functions in this mode; see below.
744 @cindex Machine match, Menu Item
745 Starts a match between two chess programs,
746 with a number of games and other parameters set through
747 the @samp{Match Options} menu dialog.
748 When a match is already running, selecting this item will make
749 XBoard drop out of match mode after the current game finishes.
751 @cindex Pause, Menu Item
752 Pauses updates to the board, and if you are playing against a chess engine,
753 also pauses your clock. To continue, select @samp{Pause} again, and the
754 display will automatically update to the latest position.
755 The @samp{P} button and keyboard @kbd{Pause} key are equivalents.
757 If you select Pause when you are playing against a chess engine and
758 it is not your move, the chess engine's clock
759 will continue to run and it will eventually make a move, at which point
760 both clocks will stop. Since board updates are paused, however,
761 you will not see the move until you exit from Pause mode (or select Forward).
762 This behavior is meant to simulate adjournment with a sealed move.
764 If you select Pause while you are observing or examining a game on a
765 chess server, you can step backward and forward in the current history
766 of the examined game without affecting the other observers and
767 examiners, and without having your display jump forward to the latest
768 position each time a move is made. Select Pause again to reconnect
769 yourself to the current state of the game on ICS.
771 If you select @samp{Pause} while you are loading a game, the game stops
772 loading. You can load more moves manually by selecting @samp{Forward}, or
773 resume automatic loading by selecting @samp{Pause} again.
782 @cindex Accept, Menu Item
783 Accepts a pending match offer.
784 The @kbd{F3} key is a keyboard equivalent.
785 If there is more than one offer
786 pending, you will have to type in a more specific command
787 instead of using this menu choice.
789 @cindex Decline, Menu Item
790 Declines a pending offer (match, draw, adjourn, etc.).
791 The @kbd{F4} key is a keyboard equivalent. If there
792 is more than one offer pending, you will have to type in a more
793 specific command instead of using this menu choice.
795 @cindex Call Flag, Menu Item
796 Calls your opponent's flag, claiming a win on time, or claiming
797 a draw if you are both out of time.
798 The @kbd{F5} key is a keyboard equivalent.
799 You can also call your
800 opponent's flag by clicking on his clock.
802 @cindex Draw, Menu Item
803 Offers a draw to your opponent, accepts a pending draw offer
804 from your opponent, or claims a draw by repetition or the 50-move
805 rule, as appropriate. The @kbd{F6} key is a keyboard equivalent.
807 @cindex Adjourn, Menu Item
808 Asks your opponent to agree to adjourning the current game, or
809 agrees to a pending adjournment offer from your opponent.
810 The @kbd{F7} key is a keyboard equivalent.
812 @cindex Abort, Menu Item
813 Asks your opponent to agree to aborting the current game, or
814 agrees to a pending abort offer from your opponent.
815 The @kbd{F8} key is a keyboard equivalent. An aborted
816 game ends immediately without affecting either player's rating.
818 @cindex Resign, Menu Item
819 Resigns the game to your opponent. The @kbd{F9} key is a
822 @cindex Stop Observing, Menu Item
823 Ends your participation in observing a game, by issuing the ICS
824 observe command with no arguments. ICS mode only.
825 The @kbd{F10} key is a keyboard equivalent.
827 @cindex Stop Examining, Menu Item
828 Ends your participation in examining a game, by issuing the ICS
829 unexamine command. ICS mode only.
830 The @kbd{F11} key is a keyboard equivalent.
831 @item Upload to Examine
832 @cindex Upload to Examine, Menu Item
833 Create an examined game of the proper variant on the ICS,
834 and send the game there that is currenty loaded in XBoard
835 (e.g. through pasting or loading from file).
836 You must be connected to an ICS for this to work.
837 @item Adjudicate to White
838 @itemx Adjudicate to Black
839 @itemx Adjudicate Draw
840 @cindex Adjudicate to White, Menu Item
841 @cindex Adjudicate to Black, Menu Item
842 @cindex Adjudicate Draw, Menu Item
843 Terminate an ongoing game in Two-Machines mode (including match mode),
844 with as result a win for white, for black, or a draw, respectively.
845 The PGN file of the game will accompany the result string
846 by the comment "user adjudication".
855 @cindex Load Engine, Menu Item
856 Pops up a dialog where you can select or specify an engine to be loaded.
857 You will always have to indicate whether you want to load the engine
858 as first or second engine, through the ‘Load menitioned engine as’
859 drop-down list at the bottom of the dialog.
860 You can even replace engines during a game, without disturbing that game.
861 (Beware that after loading an engine, XBoard will always be in Edit Game mode,
862 so you will have to tell the new engine what to do before it does anything!)
863 When you select an already installed engine from the ‘Select Engine from List’
865 all other fields of the dialog will be ignored.
866 In other cases, you have to specify the engine executable,
867 possible arguments on the engine command line
868 (if the engine docs say the engine needs any),
869 and the directory where the engine should look for its files
870 (if this cannot be deduced automatically from the specification of the engine executable).
871 You will also have to specify (with the aid of checkboxes) if the engine is UCI.
872 If ‘Add this engine to the list’ is ticked (which it is by default),
873 the engine will be added to the list of installed engines in your settings file,
874 (provided you save the settings!),
875 so that next time you can select it from the drop-down list.
876 You can also specify a ‘nickname’,
877 under which the engine will then appear in that drop-down list,
878 and even choose to use that nickname for it in PGN files for engine-engine games.
879 The info you supply with the checkboxes whether the engine should use GUI book,
880 or (for variant engines) automatically switch to the current variant when loaded,
881 will also be included in the list.
882 For obsolete XBoard engines, which would normally take a long delay to load
883 because XBoard is waiting for a response they will not give,
884 you can tick ‘WB protocol v1’ to speed up the loading process.
885 @item Engine #N Settings
886 @cindex Engine Settings, Menu Item
887 @cindex Engine #1 Settings, Menu Item
888 @cindex Engine #2 Settings, Menu Item
889 Pop up a menu dialog to alter the settings specific to the applicable engine.
890 (The second engine is only accessible once it has been used in Two-Machines mode.)
891 For each parameter the engine allows to be set,
892 a control element will appear in this dialog that can be used to alter the value.
893 Depending on the type of parameter (text string, number, multiple choice,
894 on/off switch, instantaneous signal) the appropriate control will appear,
895 with a description next to it.
896 XBoard has no idea what these values mean; it just passes them on to the engine.
897 How this dialog looks is completely determined by the engine,
898 and XBoard just passes it on to the user.
899 Many engines do not have any parameters that can be set by the user,
900 and in that case the dialog will be empty (except for the OK and cancel buttons).
901 UCI engines usually have many parameters. (But these are only visible with
902 a sufficiently modern version of the Polyglot adapter needed to run UCI engines,
903 e.g. Polyglot 1.4.55b.) For native XBoard engines this is less common.
905 @cindex Hint, Menu Item
906 Displays a move hint from the chess engine.
908 @cindex Book, Menu Item
909 Displays a list of possible moves from the chess engine's opening
910 book. The exact format depends on what chess engine you are using.
911 With GNU Chess 4, the first column gives moves, the second column
912 gives one possible response for each move, and the third column shows
913 the number of lines in the book that include the move from the first
914 column. If you select this option and nothing happens, the chess
915 engine is out of its book or does not support this feature.
917 @cindex Move Now, Menu Item
918 Forces the chess engine to move immediately. Chess engine mode only.
919 The @kbd{Ctrl-M} key is a keyboard equivalent.
921 @cindex Retract Move, Menu Item
922 Retracts your last move. In chess engine mode, you can do this only
923 after the chess engine has replied to your move; if the chess engine is still
924 thinking, use @samp{Move Now} first. In ICS mode, @samp{Retract Move}
925 issues the command @samp{takeback 1} or @samp{takeback 2}
926 depending on whether it is your opponent's move or yours.
927 The @kbd{Ctrl-X} key is a keyboard equivalent.
928 @item Recently Used Engines
929 @cindex Recently Used Engines, In Menu
930 At the bottom of the engine menu there can be a list of names
931 of engines that you recently loaded through the Load Engine menu dialog
932 in previous sessions.
933 Clicking on such a name will load that engine as first engine,
934 so you won't have to search for it in your list of installed engines,
935 if that is very long.
936 The maximum number of displayed engine names is set by the
937 @code{recentEngines}command-line option.
941 @section Options Menu
942 @cindex Menu, Options
945 @item General Options
946 @cindex General Options, Menu Item
947 The following items to set option values appear in the dialog
948 summoned by the general Options menu item.
949 @itemx Absolute Analysis Scores
950 @cindex Absolute Analysis Scores, Menu Item
951 Controls if scores on the Engine Output window during analysis
952 will be printed from the white or the side-to-move point-of-view.
953 @itemx Almost Always Queen
954 @cindex Almost Always Queen, Menu Item
955 If this option is on, 7th-rank pawns automatically change into
956 Queens when you pick them up,
957 and when you drag them to the promotion square and release them there,
958 they will promote to that.
959 But when you drag such a pawn backwards first,
960 its identity will start to cycle through the other available pieces.
961 This will continue until you start to move it forward;
962 at which point the identity of the piece will be fixed,
963 so that you can safely put it down on the promotion square.
964 If this option is off, what happens depends on the
965 option @code{alwaysPromoteToQueen},
966 which would force promotion to Queen when true.
967 Otherwise XBoard would bring up a dialog
968 box whenever you move a pawn to the last rank, asking what piece
969 you want to promote to.
970 @itemx Animate Dragging
971 @cindex Animate Dragging, Menu Item
972 If Animate Dragging is on, while you are dragging a piece with the
973 mouse, an image of the piece follows the mouse cursor.
974 If Animate Dragging is off, there is no visual feedback while you are
975 dragging a piece, but if Animate Moving is on, the move will be
976 animated when it is complete.
977 @itemx Animate Moving
978 @cindex Animate Moving, Menu Item
979 If Animate Moving is on, all piece moves are animated. An image of the
980 piece is shown moving from the old square to the new square when the
981 move is completed (unless the move was already animated by Animate Dragging).
982 If Animate Moving is off, a moved piece instantly disappears from its
983 old square and reappears on its new square when the move is complete.
984 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-A} key is a keyboard equivalent.
986 @cindex Auto Flag, Menu Item
987 If this option is on and one player runs out of time
990 will automatically call his flag, claiming a win on time.
991 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-F} key is a keyboard equivalent.
992 In ICS mode, Auto Flag will only call your opponent's flag, not yours,
993 and the ICS may award you a draw instead of a win if you have
994 insufficient mating material. In local chess engine mode,
996 may call either player's flag and will not take material into account (?).
997 @itemx Auto Flip View
998 @cindex Auto Flip View, Menu Item
999 If the Auto Flip View option is on when you start a game, the board
1000 will be automatically oriented so that your pawns move from the bottom
1001 of the window towards the top.
1003 If you are playing a game on an ICS, the board is always
1004 oriented at the start of the game so that your pawns move from
1005 the bottom of the window towards the top. Otherwise, the starting
1006 orientation is determined by the @code{flipView} command line option;
1007 if it is false (the default), White's pawns move from bottom to top
1008 at the start of each game; if it is true, Black's pawns move from
1009 bottom to top. @xref{User interface options}.
1011 @cindex Blindfold, Menu Item
1012 If this option is on, XBoard displays the board as usual but does
1013 not display pieces or move highlights. You can still move in the
1014 usual way (with the mouse or by typing moves in ICS mode), even though
1015 the pieces are invisible.
1017 @cindex Drop Menu, Menu Item
1018 Controls if right-clicking the board in crazyhouse / bughouse
1019 will pop up a menu to drop a piece on the clicked square
1020 (old, deprecated behavior)
1021 or allow you to step through an engine PV
1022 (new, recommended behavior).
1023 @itemx Hide Thinking
1024 @cindex Hide Thinking, Menu Item
1025 If this option is off, the chess engine's notion of the score and best
1026 line of play from the current position is displayed as it is
1027 thinking. The score indicates how many pawns ahead (or if negative,
1028 behind) the chess engine thinks it is. In matches between two
1029 machines, the score is prefixed by @samp{W} or @samp{B} to indicate
1030 whether it is showing White's thinking or Black's, and only the thinking
1031 of the engine that is on move is shown.
1032 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-H} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1033 @itemx Highlight Last Move
1034 @cindex Highlight Last Move, Menu Item
1035 If Highlight Last Move is on, after a move is made, the starting and
1036 ending squares remain highlighted. In addition, after you use Backward
1037 or Back to Start, the starting and ending squares of the last move to
1038 be unmade are highlighted.
1039 @itemx Highlight with Arrow
1040 @cindex Highlight with Arrow, Menu Item
1041 Causes the highlighting described in Highlight Last Move to be done
1042 by drawing an arrow between the highlighted squares,
1043 so that it is visible even when the width of the grid lines is set to zero.
1045 @cindex Move Sound, Menu Item
1046 Enables the sounding of an audible signal when the computer performs a move.
1047 For the selection of the sound, see @samp{Sound Options}.
1048 If you turn on this option when using XBoard with the Internet
1049 Chess Server, you will probably want to give the
1051 command to the ICS, since otherwise the ICS will ring the terminal bell
1052 after every move (not just yours). (The @file{.icsrc} file
1053 is a good place for this; see @ref{ICS options}.)
1054 @itemx One-Click Moving
1055 @cindex One-Click Moving, Menu Item
1056 If this option is on, XBoard does not wait for you to click both the
1057 from- and the to-square, or drag the piece, but performs a move as soon
1058 as it is uniqely specified.
1059 This applies to clicking an own piece that only has a single legal move,
1060 clicking an empty square or opponent piece where only one of your pieces
1061 can move (or capture) to.
1062 Furthermore, a double-click on a piece that can only make a single capture
1063 will cause that capture to be made.
1064 Promoting a Pawn by clicking its to-square will suppress the promotion
1065 popup or other methods for selecting an under-promotion,
1066 and make it promote to Queen.
1067 @itemx Periodic Updates
1068 @cindex Periodic Updates, Menu Item
1069 If this option is off (or if
1070 you are using a chess engine that does not support periodic updates),
1072 will only be updated when the analysis changes. If this option is
1073 on, the Analysis Window will be updated every two seconds.
1074 @itemx Ponder Next Move
1075 @cindex Ponder Next Move, Menu Item
1076 If this option is off, the chess engine will think only when it is on
1077 move. If the option is on, the engine will also think while waiting
1078 for you to make your move.
1079 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-P} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1080 @itemx Popup Exit Message
1081 @cindex Popup Exit Message, Menu Item
1082 If this option is on, when XBoard wants to display a message just
1083 before exiting, it brings up a modal dialog box and waits for you to
1084 click OK before exiting. If the option is off, XBoard prints the
1085 message to standard error (the terminal) and exits immediately.
1086 @itemx Popup Move Errors
1087 @cindex Popup Move Errors, Menu Item
1088 If this option is off, when you make an error in moving (such as
1089 attempting an illegal move or moving the wrong color piece), the
1090 error message is displayed in the message area. If the option is
1091 on, move errors are displayed in small pop-up windows like other errors.
1092 You can dismiss an error pop-up either by clicking its OK button or by
1093 clicking anywhere on the board, including down-clicking to start a move.
1094 @itemx Scores in Move List
1095 @cindex Scores in Move List, Menu Item
1096 If this option is on, XBoard will display the depth and score
1097 of engine moves in the Move List, in the format of a PGN comment.
1099 @cindex Show Coords, Menu Item
1100 If this option is on, XBoard displays algebraic coordinates
1101 along the board's left and bottom edges.
1102 @itemx Show Target Squares
1103 @cindex Show Target Squares, Menu Item
1104 If this option is on, all squares a piece that is 'picked up' with the mouse
1105 can legally move to are highighted with a fat colored dot in the
1106 highlightColor (non-captures) or premoveHighlightColor (captures).
1107 Legality testing must be on for XBoard to know how the piece moves.
1108 @itemx Test Legality
1109 @cindex Test Legality, Menu Item
1110 If this option is on, XBoard tests whether the moves you try to make
1111 with the mouse are legal and refuses to let you make an illegal move.
1112 The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-L} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1113 Moves loaded from a file with @samp{Load Game} are also checked. If
1114 the option is off, all moves are accepted, but if a local chess engine
1115 or the ICS is active, they will still reject illegal moves. Turning
1116 off this option is useful if you are playing a chess variant with
1117 rules that XBoard does not understand. (Bughouse, suicide, and wild
1118 variants where the king may castle after starting on the d file are
1119 generally supported with Test Legality on.)
1122 @cindex Flash Moves, Menu Item
1123 @cindex Flash Rate, Menu Item
1124 If this option is non-zero, whenever a move is completed,
1125 the moved piece flashes the specified number of times.
1126 The flash-rate setting determines how rapidly this flashing occurs.
1127 @itemx Animation Speed
1128 @cindex Animation Speed, Menu Item
1129 Determines the duration (in msec) of an animation step,
1130 when @samp{Animate Moving} is swiched on.
1131 @itemx Zoom factor in Evaluation Graph
1132 @cindex Zoom factor in Evaluation Graph, Menu Item
1133 Sets the valueof the @code{evalZoom} option,
1134 indicating the factor by which the score interval (-1,1) should be
1135 blown up on the vertical axis of the Evaluation Graph.
1137 @cindex Time Control, Menu Item
1138 Pops up a sub-menu where you can set the time-control parameters interactively.
1139 Allows you to select classical or incremental time controls,
1140 set the moves per session, session duration, and time increment.
1141 Also allows specification of time-odds factors for one or both engines.
1142 If an engine is given a time-odds factor N, all time quota it gets,
1143 be it at the beginning of a session or through the time increment or
1144 fixed time per move, will be divided by N.
1145 The shifted @kbd{Alt+T} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1147 @cindex Common Engine, Menu Item
1148 Pops up a sub-menu where you can set some engine parameters common to most engines,
1149 such as hash-table size, tablebase cache size, maximum number of processors
1150 that SMP engines can use, and where to find the Polyglot adapter needed
1151 to run UCI engines under XBoard. The feature that allows setting of these parameters on
1152 engines is new since XBoard 4.3.15, so not many XBoard/WinBoard engines respond
1153 to it yet, but UCI engines should.
1155 It is also possible to specify a GUI opening book here, i.e. an opening
1156 book that XBoard consults for any position a playing engine gets in.
1157 It then forces the engine to play the book move, rather than to think up its own,
1158 if that position is found in the book.
1159 The book can switched on and off independently for either engine.
1160 The way book moves are chosen can be influenced through the settings of
1161 book depth and variety.
1162 After both sides have played more moves than the specified depth,
1163 the book will no longer be consulted.
1164 When the variety is set to 50, moves will be played with the probability
1165 specified in the book.
1166 When set to 0, only the move(s) with the highest probability will be played.
1167 When set to 100, all listed moves will be played with equal pobability.
1168 Other settings interpolate between that.
1169 The shifted @kbd{Alt+U} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1171 @cindex Adjudications, Menu Item
1172 Pops up a sub-menu where you can enable or disable various adjudications
1173 that XBoard can perform in engine-engine games.
1174 The shifted @kbd{Alt+J} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1175 You can instruct XBoard to detect and terminate the game on checkmate
1176 or stalemate, even if the engines would not do so, to verify engine
1177 result claims (forfeiting engines that make false claims), rather than
1178 naively following the engine, to declare draw on positions
1179 which can never be won for lack of mating material, (e.g. KBK),
1180 or which are impossible to win unless the opponent seeks its own demise
1182 For these adjudications to work, @samp{Test Legality} should be switched on.
1183 It is also possible to instruct XBoard to enforce a 50-move or 3-fold-repeat
1184 rule and automatically declare draw (after a user-adjustable number of moves
1185 or repeats) even if the engines are prepared to go on.
1186 It is also possible to have XBoard declare draw on games that seem to drag on
1187 forever, or adjudicate a loss if both engines agree (for 3 consecutive moves) that one
1188 of them is behind more than a user-adjustable score threshold.
1189 For the latter adjudication to work, XBoard should be able to properly understand
1190 the engine's scores. To facilitate the latter, you can inform xboard here if
1191 the engines report scores from the viewpoint of white, or from that of their own color.
1194 @cindex ICS Options, Menu Item
1195 The following options occur in a dialog summoned by the
1196 ICS Options menu item.
1198 @cindex Auto Kibitz, Menu Item
1199 Setting this option when playing with or aginst a chess program on an ICS
1200 will cause the last line of thinking output of the engine before its move
1201 to be sent to the ICS in a kibitz command.
1202 In addition, any kibitz message received through the ICS from
1203 an opponent chess program will be diverted to the engine-output window,
1204 (and suppressed in the console),
1205 where you can play through its PV by right-clicking it.
1207 @cindex Auto Comment, Menu Item
1208 If this option is on, any remarks made on ICS while you are observing or
1209 playing a game are recorded as a comment on the current move. This includes
1210 remarks made with the ICS commands @kbd{say}, @kbd{tell}, @kbd{whisper},
1212 Limitation: remarks that you type yourself are not recognized;
1213 XBoard scans only the output from ICS, not the input you type to it.
1215 @cindex Auto Observe, Menu Item
1216 If this option is on and you add a player to your @code{gnotify}
1217 list on ICS, XBoard will automatically observe all of that
1218 player's games, unless you are doing something else (such as
1219 observing or playing a game of your own) when one starts.
1220 The games are displayed
1221 from the point of view of the player on your gnotify list; that is, his
1222 pawns move from the bottom of the window towards the top.
1223 Exceptions: If both players in a game are on your gnotify list, if
1226 variable is set to 0, or if the ICS you are using does not
1227 properly support observing from Black's point of view,
1228 you will see the game from White's point of view.
1229 @itemx Auto Raise Board
1230 @cindex Auto Raise Board, Menu Item
1231 If this option is on, whenever a new game begins, the chessboard window
1232 is deiconized (if necessary) and raised to the top of the stack of windows.
1234 @cindex Auto Save, Menu Item
1235 If this option is true, at the end of every game XBoard prompts
1236 you for a file name and appends a record of the game to the file
1238 Disabled if the @code{saveGameFile} command-line
1239 option is set, as in that case all games are saved to the specified file.
1240 @xref{Load and Save options}.
1241 @itemx Background Observe
1242 @cindex Background Observe, Menu Item
1243 Setting this option will make XBoard suppress display of any boards
1244 from observed games while you are playing.
1245 In stead the last such board will be remembered,
1246 and shown to you when you right-click the board.
1247 This allows you to peek at your bughouse partner's game when you want,
1248 without disturbing your own game too much.
1250 @cindex Dual Board, Menu Item
1251 Setting this option in combination with @samp{Background Observe}
1252 will display boards of observed games while you are playing
1253 on a second board next to that of your own game.
1254 @itemx Get Move List
1255 @cindex Get Move List, Menu Item
1256 If this option is on, whenever XBoard
1257 receives the first board of a new ICS game (or a different game from
1258 the one it is currently displaying), it
1259 retrieves the list of past moves from the ICS.
1260 You can then review the moves with the @samp{Forward} and @samp{Backward}
1262 or save them with @samp{Save Game}. You might want to
1263 turn off this option if you are observing several blitz games at once,
1264 to keep from wasting time and network bandwidth fetching the move lists over
1266 When you turn this option on from the menu, XBoard
1267 immediately fetches the move list of the current game (if any).
1269 @cindex Quiet Play, Menu Item
1270 If this option is on, XBoard will automatically issue an ICS
1272 command whenever you start a game and a
1274 command whenever you finish one. Thus, you will not be distracted
1275 by shouts from other ICS users while playing.
1277 @cindex Seek Graph, Menu Item
1278 Setting this option will cause XBoard to display an graph of
1279 currently active seek ads when you left-click the board
1280 while idle and logged on to an ICS.
1281 @itemx Auto-Refresh Seek Graph
1282 @cindex Auto-Refresh Seek Graph, Menu Item
1283 In combination with the @samp{Seek Graph} option this
1284 will cause automatic update of the seek graph while it is up.
1285 This only works on FICS and ICC,
1286 and requires a lot of bandwidth on a busy server.
1288 @itemx Premove White
1289 @itemx Premove Black
1290 @itemx First White Move
1291 @itemx First Black Move
1292 @cindex Premove, Menu Item
1293 @cindex Premove White, Menu Item
1294 @cindex Premove Black, Menu Item
1295 @cindex First White Move, Menu Item
1296 @cindex First Black Move, Menu Item
1297 If this option is on while playing a game on an ICS, you can register
1298 your next planned move before it is your turn. Move the piece with
1299 the mouse in the ordinary way, and the starting and ending squares
1300 will be highlighted with a special color (red by default). When it is
1301 your turn, if your registered move is legal, XBoard will send it to
1302 ICS immediately; if not, it will be ignored and you can make a
1303 different move. If you change your mind about your premove, either
1304 make a different move, or double-click on any piece to cancel the move
1307 You can also enter premoves for the first white and black moves
1310 @itemx ICS Alarm Time
1311 @cindex ICS Alarm, Menu Item
1312 @cindex ICS Alarm Time, Menu Item
1313 When this option is on, an alarm sound is played when your clock
1314 counts down to the icsAlarmTime in an ICS game.
1315 (By default, the time is 5 seconds, but you can pecify other values
1316 with the Alarm Time spin control.)
1317 For games with time controls that include an increment, the
1318 alarm will sound each time the clock counts down to the icsAlarmTime.
1319 By default, the alarm sound is the terminal bell, but on some systems
1320 you can change it to a sound file using the soundIcsAlarm option; see
1322 @itemx Colorize Messages
1323 @cindex Colorize Messages, Menu Item
1324 Ticking this options causes various types of ICS messages do be
1325 displayed with different foreground or background colors in the console.
1326 The colors can be individually selected for each type,
1327 through the accompanying text edits.
1330 @cindex Match Options, Menu Item
1331 Summons a dialog where you can set options important for playing automatic
1332 matches between two chess programs
1333 (e.g. by using the @samp{Machine Match} menu item in the @samp{Mode} menu).
1334 @itemx Tournament file
1335 @cindex Tournament file, Menu item
1336 To run a tournament, XBoard needs a file to record its progress,
1337 so it can resume the tourney when it is interrupted.
1338 When you want to conduct anything more complex than a simple
1339 two-player match with the currently loaded engines,
1340 (i.e. when you select a list of participants),
1341 you must not leave this field blank.
1342 When you enter the name of an existing tournament file,
1343 XBoard will ignore all other input specified in the dialog,
1344 and will take them from that tournament file.
1345 This resumes an interrupted tournament, or adds another XBoard
1346 agent playing games for it to those that are already doing so.
1347 Specifying a not-yet-existing file will cause XBoard to create it,
1348 according to the tournament parameters specified in the rest of the dialog,
1349 before it starts the tournament on ‘OK’.
1350 Provided that you specify participants;
1351 without participants no tournament file will be made, but other entered values
1352 (e.g. for the file with opening positions) will take effect.
1353 Default: configured by the @code{defaultTourneyName} option.
1354 @itemx Sync after round
1355 @itemx Sync after cycle
1356 @cindex Sync after round, Menu Item
1357 @cindex Sync after cycle, Menu Item
1358 The sync options, when on, will cause WinBoard to refrain from starting games
1359 of the next round or cycle before all games of the previous round or cycle are finished.
1360 This guarantees correct ordering in the games file,
1361 even when multiple XBoard instances are concurrently playing games for the same tourney.
1362 Default: sync after cycle, but not after round.
1363 @itemx Select Engine
1364 @itemx Tourney participants
1365 @cindex Select Engine, Menu Item
1366 @cindex Tourney participants, Menu Item
1367 With the Select Engine drop-down list you can pick an engine from your list
1368 of installed engines in the settings file, to be added to the tournament.
1369 The engines selected so far will be listed in the ‘Tourney participants’ memo.
1370 The latter is a normal text edit, so you can use normal text-editing functions
1371 to delete engines you selected by accident, or change their order.
1372 Do not type names yourself there, because names that do not exactly match
1373 one of the names from the drop-down list will lead to undefined behavior.
1375 @cindex Tourney type, Menu Item
1376 Here you can specify the type of tournament you want.
1377 XBoard’s intrinsic tournament manager support round-robins (type = 0),
1378 where each participant plays every other participant, and (multi-)gauntlets,
1379 where one (or a few) so-called ‘gauntlet engines’ play an independent set of opponents.
1380 In the latter case, you specify the number of gauntlet engines.
1381 E.g. if you specified 10 engines, and tourney type = 2,
1382 the first 2 engines each play the remaining 8.
1383 A value of -1 instructs XBoard to play Swiss; for this to work an external
1384 pairing engine must be specified through the @code{pairingEngine} option.
1385 Each Swiss round will be considered a tourney cycle in that case.
1387 @itemx Number of tourney cycles
1388 @itemx Default number of Games
1389 @cindex Number of tourney cycles, Menu Item
1390 @cindex Default number of Games, Menu Item
1391 You can specify tourneys where every two opponents play each other multiple times.
1392 Such multiple games can be played in a row,
1393 as specified by the ‘number of games per pairing’,
1394 or by repeating the entire tournament schedule a number of times
1395 (specified by the ‘number of tourney cycles’).
1396 The total number of times two engine meet will be the product of these two.
1398 the number of games per pairing is the same as the default number of match games,
1399 stored in your settings file through the @code{defaultMatchGames} option.
1400 @itemx Save Tourney Games
1401 @cindex Save Tourney Games, Menu Item
1402 File where the tournament games are saved
1403 (duplicate of the item in the @samp{Save Game Options}).
1404 @itemx Game File with Opening Lines
1405 @itemx File with Start Positions
1407 @itemx Position Number
1408 @itemx Rewind Index after
1409 @cindex Game File with Opening Lines, Menu Item
1410 @cindex File with Start Positions, Menu Item
1411 @cindex Game Number, Menu Item
1412 @cindex Position Number, Menu Item
1413 @cindex Rewind Index after, Menu Item
1414 These items optionally specify the file with move sequences or board positions the tourney
1415 games should start from.
1416 The corresponding numbers specify the number of the game or position in the file.
1417 Here a value -1 means automatic stepping through all games on the file,
1418 -2 automatic stepping every two games.
1419 The Rewind-Index parameter causes a stepping index to reset to one after reaching
1421 A setting of -2 for the game number will also be effective in a tournament without
1422 specifying a game file, but playing from the GUI book instead.
1423 In this case the first (odd) games will randomly select from the book,
1424 but the second (even) games will select the same moves from the book as the previous game.
1425 (Note this leads to the same opening only if both engines use the GUI book!)
1426 Default: No game or position file will be used. The default index if such a file is used is 1.
1427 @itemx Replace Engine
1428 @itemx Upgrade Engine
1429 @cindex Replace Engine, Menu Item
1430 @cindex Upgrade Engine, Menu Item
1431 With these two buttons you can alter the participants of an already running tournament.
1432 After opening the Match Options dialog on an XBoard that is playing for the tourney,
1433 you will see all the tourney parameters in the dialog fields.
1434 You can then replace the name of one engine by that of another
1435 by editing the @samp{participants} field.
1436 (But preserve the order of the others!)
1437 Pressing the button after that will cause the substitution.
1438 With the @samp{Upgrade Engine} button the substitution will only affect future games.
1439 With @samp{Replace Engine} all games the substituted engine has already played will
1440 be invalidated, and they will be replayed with the substitute engine.
1441 In this latter case the engine must not be playing when you do this,
1442 but otherwise there is no need to pause the tournament play
1443 for making a substitution.
1444 @itemx Clone Tourney
1445 @cindex CloneTourney, Menu Item
1446 Pressing this button after you have specified an existing tournament file
1447 will copy the contents of the latter to the dialog,
1448 and then puts the originally proposed name for the tourney file back.
1449 You can then run a tourney with the same parameters
1450 (possibly after changing the proposed name of the tourney file for the new tourney)
1453 @item Load Game Options
1454 @cindex Load Game Options, Menu Item
1455 Summons a dialog where you can set the @code{autoDisplayComment} and
1456 @code{autoDisplayTags} options, (which control popups when viewing loaded games),
1457 and specify the rate at which loaded games are auto-played,
1458 in seconds per move (which can be a fractional number, like 1.6).
1459 You can also set search criteria for determining which games
1460 will be displayed in the Game List for a multi-game file,
1461 and thus be eligible for loading:
1462 @itemx Elo of strongest player
1463 @itemx Elo of weakest player
1465 @cindex Elo of strongest player, Menu Item
1466 @cindex Elo of weakest player, Menu Item
1467 @cindex year, Menu Item
1468 These numeric fields set thresholds (lower limits) on the Elo rating of the mentioned player,
1469 or the date the game was played.
1472 @cindex Search mode, Menu Item
1473 @cindex find position, Menu Item
1474 This setting determines which positions in a game will be considered a match
1475 to the position currently displayed in the board window
1476 when you press the @samp{find position} button in the Game List.
1477 You can search for an exact match,
1478 a position that has all shown material in the same place,
1479 but might contain additional material,
1480 a position that has all Pawns in the same place,
1481 but can have the shown material anywhere,
1482 a position that can have all shown material anywhere,
1483 or a position that has material between certain limits anywhere.
1484 For the latter you have to place the material that must be present
1485 in the four lowest ranks of the board,
1486 and optional additional material in the four highest ranks of the board.
1487 You can request the optional material to be balanced.
1488 @itemx number of consecutive positions
1489 @cindex number of consecutive positions, Menu Item
1490 When you are searching by material, rather than for an exact match,
1491 this parameter indicates forhowmany consecutive game positions
1492 the same amount of material must be on the board before it is
1494 @itemx Also match reversed colors
1495 @itemx Also match left-right flipped position
1496 @cindex Also match reversed colors, Menu Item
1497 @cindex Also match left-right flipped position, Menu Item
1498 When looking for matching positions rather than by material,
1499 these settings determine whether mirror images
1500 (in case of a vertical flip in combination with color reversal)
1501 will be also considered a match.
1502 The left-right flipping is only useful after all castling rights
1503 have expired (or in Xiangqi).
1505 @item Save Game Options
1506 @cindex Save Game Options, Menu Item
1507 Summons a dialog where you can specify the files on which XBoard should
1508 automtically save any played or entered games,
1509 (the @code{saveGameFile} option),
1510 or the final position of such games (the @code{savePositionfile} option).
1511 You can also select 'auto-save' without a file name,
1512 in which case XBoard will prompt the user for a file name after each game.
1513 You can also set the default value for the PGN Event tag that will
1514 be used for each new game you start.
1515 Various options for the format of the game can be specified as well,
1516 such as whether scores and depths of engine games should be saved as comments,
1517 and if a tag with info about the score with which the engine came out of book
1519 For Chess, always set the format to PGN, rather than "old save stye"!
1522 @cindex Game List Tags, Menu Item
1523 Pops up a dialog where you can select the PGN tags that should appear
1524 on the lines in the game list, and their order.
1527 @cindex Sound Options, Menu Item
1528 Summons a dialog where you can specify the sounds that should accompany
1529 various events that can occur XBoard.
1530 Most events are only relevant to ICS play,
1531 but the move sound is an important exception.
1532 For each event listed in the dialog,
1533 you can select a standard sound from a menu.
1534 You can also select a user-supplied sound file,
1535 by typing its name into the designated text-edit field first,
1536 and then selecting "Above WAV File" from the menu for the event.
1537 A dummy event has been provided for trying out the sounds with the
1538 "play" button next to it.
1539 The directory with standard sounds, and the external program for playing
1540 the sounds can be specified too, but normally you would not touch these
1541 once XBoard is properly installed.
1542 When a move sound other than 'None' is selected,
1543 XBoard alerts you by playing that sound
1544 after each of your opponent's moves (or after every
1545 move if you are observing a game on the Internet Chess Server).
1546 The sound is not played after moves you make or moves read from a
1549 @item Save Settings Now
1550 @cindex Save Settings Now, Menu Item
1551 Selecting this menu item causes the current XBoard settings to be
1552 written to the settings file, so they will also apply in future sessions.
1553 Note that some settings are 'volatile', and are not saved,
1554 because XBoard considers it too unlikely that you want those to apply
1556 In particular this applies to the Chess program names, and all options
1557 giving information on those Chess programs (such as their directory,
1558 if they have their own opening book, if they are UCI or native XBoard),
1559 or the variant you are playing.
1560 Such options would still be understood when they appear in the settings
1561 file in case they were put there with the aid of a text editor, but they
1562 would disappear from the file as soon as you save the settings.
1563 @item Save Settings on Exit
1564 @cindex Save Settings on Exit, Menu Item
1565 Setting this option has no immediate effect, but causes the settings
1566 to be saved when you quit XBoard. What happens then is otherwise
1567 identical to what happens when you use select "Save Settings Now",
1577 @cindex Info XBoard, Menu Item
1578 Displays the XBoard documentation in info format. For this feature to
1579 work, you must have the GNU info program installed on your system, and
1580 the file @file{xboard.info} must either be present in the current
1581 working directory, or have been installed by the @samp{make install}
1582 command when you built XBoard.
1584 @cindex Man XBoard, Menu Item
1585 Displays the XBoard documentation in man page format.
1586 The @kbd{F1} key is a keyboard equivalent. For this
1587 feature to work, the file @file{xboard.6} must have been installed by
1588 the @samp{make install} command when you built XBoard, and the
1589 directory it was placed in must be on the search path for your
1590 system's @samp{man} command.
1592 @cindex About XBoard, Menu Item
1593 Shows the current XBoard version number.
1597 @section Other Shortcut Keys
1599 @cindex Shortcut keys
1601 @item Show last move
1602 By hitting @kbd{Enter} the last move will be re-animated.
1603 @item Load Next Game
1604 @cindex Load Next Game, Menu Item
1605 Loads the next game from the last game record file you loaded.
1606 The @kbd{Alt+PgDn} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1607 @item Load Previous Game
1608 @cindex Load Previous Game, Menu Item
1609 Loads the previous game from the last game record file you
1610 loaded. The @kbd{Alt+PgUp} key is a keyboard equivalent.
1611 Not available if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
1612 @item Reload Same Game
1613 @cindex Reload Same Game, Menu Item
1614 Reloads the last game you loaded.
1615 Not available if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
1616 @item Reload Same Position
1617 @cindex Reload Same Position, Menu Item
1618 Reloads the last position you loaded.
1619 Not available if the last position was loaded from a pipe.
1622 You can add or remove shortcut keys using the X resources
1623 @code{form.translations}. Here is an example of what would go in your
1624 @file{.Xresources} file:
1627 XBoard*form.translations: \
1628 Shift<Key>?: AboutGameProc() \n\
1629 <Key>y: AcceptProc() \n\
1630 <Key>n: DeclineProc() \n\
1631 <Key>i: NothingProc()
1634 Binding a key to @code{NothingProc} makes it do nothing, thus removing
1635 it as a shortcut key. The XBoard commands that can be bound to keys
1639 AbortProc, AboutGameProc, AboutProc, AcceptProc, AdjournProc,
1640 AlwaysQueenProc, AnalysisModeProc, AnalyzeFileProc,
1641 AnimateDraggingProc, AnimateMovingProc, AutobsProc, AutoflagProc,
1642 AutoflipProc, AutoraiseProc, AutosaveProc, BackwardProc,
1643 BlindfoldProc, BookProc, CallFlagProc, CopyGameProc, CopyPositionProc,
1644 DebugProc, DeclineProc, DrawProc, EditCommentProc, EditGameProc,
1645 EditPositionProc, EditTagsProc, EnterKeyProc, FlashMovesProc,
1646 FlipViewProc, ForwardProc, GetMoveListProc, HighlightLastMoveProc,
1647 HintProc, IcsAlarmProc, IcsClientProc, IcsInputBoxProc,
1648 InfoProc, LoadGameProc, LoadNextGameProc, LoadNextPositionProc,
1649 LoadPositionProc, LoadPrevGameProc, LoadPrevPositionProc,
1650 LoadSelectedProc, MachineBlackProc, MachineWhiteProc, MailMoveProc,
1651 ManProc, MoveNowProc, MoveSoundProc, NothingProc, OldSaveStyleProc,
1652 PasteGameProc, PastePositionProc, PauseProc, PeriodicUpdatesProc,
1653 PonderNextMoveProc, PopupExitMessageProc, PopupMoveErrorsProc,
1654 PremoveProc, QuietPlayProc, QuitProc, ReloadCmailMsgProc,
1655 ReloadGameProc, ReloadPositionProc, RematchProc, ResetProc,
1656 ResignProc, RetractMoveProc, RevertProc, SaveGameProc,
1657 SavePositionProc, ShowCoordsProc, ShowGameListProc, ShowThinkingProc,
1658 StopExaminingProc, StopObservingProc, TestLegalityProc, ToEndProc,
1659 ToStartProc, TrainingProc, TruncateGameProc, and TwoMachinesProc.
1667 This section documents the command-line options to XBoard. You can
1668 set these options in two ways: by typing them on the shell command
1669 line you use to start XBoard, or by editing the settings file
1670 (usually ~/.xboardrc) to alter the value of the setting that was
1671 saved there. Some of the options
1672 cannot be changed while XBoard is running; others set the initial
1673 state of items that can be changed with the @ref{Options} menu.
1675 Most of the options have both a long name and a short name. To turn a
1676 boolean option on or off from the command line, either give its long
1677 name followed by the value true or false
1678 (@samp{-longOptionName true}), or give just the short name to turn the
1679 option on (@samp{-opt}), or the short name preceded by @samp{x} to
1680 turn the option off (@samp{-xopt}). For options that take strings or
1681 numbers as values, you can use the long or short option names
1685 * Chess engine options:: Controlling the chess engine.
1686 * UCI + WB Engine Settings:: Setting some very common engine parameters
1687 * Tournament options:: Running tournaments and matches between engines.
1688 * ICS options:: Connecting to and using ICS.
1689 * Load and Save options:: Input/output options.
1690 * User interface options:: Look and feel options.
1691 * Adjudication Options:: Control adjudication of engine-engine games.
1692 * Other options:: Miscellaneous.
1695 @node Chess engine options
1696 @section Chess Engine Options
1697 @cindex options, Chess engine
1698 @cindex Chess engine options
1700 @item -tc or -timeControl minutes[:seconds]
1702 @cindex timeControl, option
1703 Each player begins with his clock set to the @code{timeControl} period.
1705 The additional options @code{movesPerSession} and @code{timeIncrement}
1706 are mutually exclusive.
1707 @item -mps or -movesPerSession moves
1709 @cindex movesPerSession, option
1710 When both players have made @code{movesPerSession} moves, a
1711 new @code{timeControl} period is added to both clocks. Default: 40 moves.
1712 @item -inc or -timeIncrement seconds
1714 @cindex timeIncrement, option
1715 If this option is specified, @code{movesPerSession} is ignored.
1716 Instead, after each player's move, @code{timeIncrement} seconds are
1718 Use @samp{-inc 0} if you want to require the entire
1719 game to be played in one @code{timeControl} period, with no increment.
1720 Default: -1, which specifies @code{movesPerSession} mode.
1721 @item -clock/-xclock or -clockMode true/false
1722 @cindex clock, option
1723 @cindex clockMode, option
1724 Determines whether or not to display the chess clocks. If clockMode is
1725 false, the clocks are not shown, but the side that is to play next
1726 is still highlighted. Also, unless @code{searchTime}
1727 is set, the chess engine still keeps track of the clock time and uses it to
1728 determine how fast to make its moves.
1729 @item -st or -searchTime minutes[:seconds]
1731 @cindex searchTime, option
1732 Tells the chess engine to spend at most the given amount of time
1733 searching for each of its moves. Without this option, the chess engine
1734 chooses its search time based on the number of moves and amount
1735 of time remaining until the next time control.
1736 Setting this option also sets clockMode to false.
1737 @item -depth or -searchDepth number
1739 @cindex searchDepth, option
1740 Tells the chess engine to look ahead at most the given number of moves
1741 when searching for a move to make. Without this option, the chess
1742 engine chooses its search depth based on the number of moves and
1743 amount of time remaining until the next time control. With the option,
1744 the engine will cut off its search early if it reaches the specified depth.
1745 @item -firstNPS number
1746 @itemx -secondNPS number
1747 @cindex firstNPS, option
1748 @cindex secondNPS, option
1749 Tells the chess engine to use an internal time standard based on its node count,
1750 rather then wall-clock time, to make its timing decisions.
1751 The time in virtual seconds should be obtained by dividing the node count
1752 through the given number, like the number was a rate in nodes per second.
1753 Xboard will manage the clocks in accordance with this, relying on the number
1754 of nodes reported by the engine in its thinking output. If the given number equals zero,
1755 it can obviously not be used to convert nodes to seconds, and the time reported
1756 by the engine is used to decrement the XBoard clock in stead. The engine is supposed to
1757 report in CPU time it uses, rather than wall-clock time, in this mode. This option
1758 can provide fairer conditions for engine-engine matches on heavily loaded machines,
1759 or with very fast games (where the wall clock is too inaccurate).
1760 @code{showThinking} must be on for this option to work. Default: -1 (off).
1761 Not many engines might support this yet!
1762 @item -firstTimeOdds factor
1763 @itemx -secondTimeOdds factor
1764 @cindex firstTimeOdds, option
1765 @cindex secondTimeOdds, option
1766 Reduces the time given to the mentioned engine by the given factor.
1767 If pondering is off, the effect is indistinguishable from what would happen
1768 if the engine was running on an n-times slower machine. Default: 1.
1769 @item -timeOddsMode mode
1770 @cindex timeOddsMode, option
1771 This option determines how the case is handled where both engines have a time-odds handicap.
1772 If mode=1, the engine that gets the most time will always get the nominal time,
1773 as specified by the time-control options, and its opponent's time is renormalized accordingly.
1774 If mode=0, both play with reduced time. Default: 0.
1775 @item -hideThinkingFromHuman true/false
1776 Controls the Hide Thinking option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1777 (Replaces the Show-Thinking option of older xboard versions.)
1778 @item -thinking/-xthinking or -showThinking true/false
1779 @cindex thinking, option
1780 @cindex showThinking, option
1781 Forces the engine to send thinking output to xboard.
1782 Used to be the only way to control if thinking output was displayed
1783 in older xboard versions,
1784 but as the thinking output in xboard 4.3 is also used for several other
1785 purposes (adjudication, storing in PGN file) the display of it is now controlled
1786 by the new option Hide Thinking. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
1787 (But if xboard needs the thinking output for some purpose,
1788 it makes the engine send it despite the setting of this option.)
1789 @item -ponder/-xponder or -ponderNextMove true/false
1790 @cindex ponder, option
1791 @cindex ponderNextMove, option
1792 Sets the Ponder Next Move menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
1793 @item -smpCores number
1794 Specifies the maximum number of CPUs an SMP engine is allowed to use.
1795 Only works for engines that support the XBoard/WinBoard-protocol cores feature.
1796 @item -mg or -matchGames n
1798 @cindex matchGames, option
1799 Automatically runs an n-game match between two chess engines,
1800 with alternating colors.
1801 If the @code{loadGameFile} or @code{loadPositionFile} option is set,
1803 starts each game with the given opening moves or the given position;
1804 otherwise, the games start with the standard initial chess position.
1805 If the @code{saveGameFile} option is set, a move record for the
1806 match is appended to the specified file. If the @code{savePositionFile}
1807 option is set, the final position reached in each game of the match is appended
1808 to the specified file. When the match is over, XBoard
1809 displays the match score and exits. Default: 0 (do not run a match).
1810 @item -mm/-xmm or -matchMode true/false
1812 @cindex matchMode, option
1813 Setting @code{matchMode} to true is equivalent to setting
1814 @code{matchGames} to 1.
1815 @item -sameColorGames n
1816 @cindex sameColorGames, option
1817 Automatically runs an n-game match between two chess engines,
1818 without alternating colors.
1819 Otherwise the same applies as for the @samp{-matchGames} option,
1820 over which it takes precedence if both are specified. (See there.)
1821 Default: 0 (do not run a match).
1822 @item -fcp or -firstChessProgram program
1824 @cindex firstChessProgram, option
1825 Name of first chess engine.
1826 Default: @file{Fairy-Max}.
1827 @item -scp or -secondChessProgram program
1829 @cindex secondChessProgram, option
1830 Name of second chess engine, if needed.
1831 A second chess engine is started only in Two Machines (match) mode.
1832 Default: @file{Fairy-Max}.
1833 @item -fb/-xfb or -firstPlaysBlack true/false
1835 @cindex firstPlaysBlack, option
1836 In games between two chess engines, firstChessProgram normally plays
1837 white. If this option is true, firstChessProgram plays black. In a
1838 multi-game match, this option affects the colors only for the first
1839 game; they still alternate in subsequent games.
1840 @item -fh or -firstHost host
1841 @itemx -sh or -secondHost host
1843 @cindex firstHost, option
1845 @cindex secondHost, option
1846 Hosts on which the chess engines are to run. The default for
1847 each is @file{localhost}. If you specify another host, XBoard
1848 uses @file{rsh} to run the chess engine there. (You can substitute a
1849 different remote shell program for rsh using the @code{remoteShell}
1850 option described below.)
1851 @item -fd or -firstDirectory dir
1852 @itemx -sd or -secondDirectory dir
1854 @cindex firstDirectory, option
1856 @cindex secondDirectory, option
1857 Working directories in which the chess engines are to be run.
1858 The default is "", which means to run the chess engine
1859 in the same working directory as XBoard
1860 itself. (See the CHESSDIR environment variable.)
1861 This option is effective only when the chess engine is being run
1862 on the local host; it does not work if the engine is run remotely
1863 using the -fh or -sh option.
1864 @item -initString string or -firstInitString
1865 @itemx -secondInitString string
1866 @cindex initString, option
1867 @cindex firstInitString, option
1868 @cindex secondInitString, option
1869 The string that is sent to initialize each chess engine for a new game.
1877 Setting this option from the command line is tricky, because you must
1878 type in real newline characters, including one at the very end.
1879 In most shells you can do this by
1880 entering a @samp{\} character followed by a newline. It is easier to set
1881 the option from your @file{.Xresources} file; in that case you can
1882 include the character sequence @samp{\n} in the string, and it will
1883 be converted to a newline.
1885 If you change this option, don't remove the @samp{new}
1886 command; it is required by all chess engines to
1889 You can remove the @samp{random} command if you like; including it
1890 causes GNU Chess 4 to randomize its move selection slightly so that it
1891 doesn't play the same moves in every game. Even without
1892 @samp{random}, GNU Chess 4 randomizes its choice of moves from its
1893 opening book. Many other chess engines ignore this command entirely
1894 and always (or never) randomize.
1896 You can also try adding other commands to the initString; see the
1897 documentation of the chess engine you are using for details.
1898 @item -firstComputerString string
1899 @itemx -secondComputerString string
1900 @cindex firstComputerString, option
1901 @cindex secondComputerString, option
1902 The string that is sent to the chess engine if its opponent is another
1903 computer chess engine. The default is @samp{computer\n}. Probably the
1904 only useful alternative is the empty string (@samp{}), which keeps the
1905 engine from knowing that it is playing another computer.
1906 @item -reuse/-xreuse or -reuseFirst true/false
1907 @itemx -reuse2/-xreuse2 or -reuseSecond true/false
1908 @cindex reuse, option
1909 @cindex reuseFirst, option
1910 @cindex reuse2, option
1911 @cindex reuseSecond, option
1912 If the option is false,
1913 XBoard kills off the chess engine after every game and starts
1914 it again for the next game.
1915 If the option is true (the default),
1916 XBoard starts the chess engine only once
1917 and uses it repeatedly to play multiple games.
1918 Some old chess engines may not work properly when
1919 reuse is turned on, but otherwise games will start faster if it is left on.
1920 @item -firstProtocolVersion version-number
1921 @itemx -secondProtocolVersion version-number
1922 @cindex firstProtocolVersion, option
1923 @cindex secondProtocolVersion, option
1924 This option specifies which version of the chess engine communication
1925 protocol to use. By default, version-number is 2. In version 1, the
1926 "protover" command is not sent to the engine; since version 1 is a
1927 subset of version 2, nothing else changes. Other values for
1928 version-number are not supported.
1929 @item -firstScoreAbs true/false
1930 @itemx -secondScoreAbs true/false
1931 @cindex firstScoreAbs, option
1932 @cindex secondScoreAbs, option
1933 If this option is set, the score reported by the engine is taken to be
1934 that in favor of white, even when the engine plays black.
1935 Important when XBoard uses the score for adjudications, or in PGN reporting.
1936 @item -niceEngines priority
1937 @cindex niceEngines, option
1938 This option allows you to lower the priority of the engine processes,
1939 so that the generally insatiable hunger for CPU time of chess engines does not interfere so much
1940 with smooth operation of XBoard (or the rest of your system).
1941 Negative values could increase the engine priority, which is not recommended.
1942 @item -firstOptions string
1943 @itemx -secondOptions string
1944 @cindex firstOptions, option
1945 @cindex secondOptions, option
1946 The given string is a comma-separated list of (option name=option value) pairs,
1947 like the following example: "style=Karpov,blunder rate=0".
1948 If an option announced by the engine at startup through the feature commands of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol
1949 matches one of the option names (i.e. "style" or "blunder rate"),
1950 it would be set to the given value (i.e. "Karpov" or 0)
1951 through a corresponding option command to the engine.
1952 This provided that the type of the value (text or numeric) matches as well.
1953 @item -firstNeedsNoncompliantFEN string
1954 @itemx -secondNeedsNoncompliantFEN string
1955 @cindex firstNeedsNoncompliantFEN, option
1956 @cindex secondNeedsNoncompliantFEN, option
1957 The castling rights and e.p. fields of the FEN sent to the mentioned engine
1958 with the setboard command will be replaced by the given string. This can for
1959 instance be used to run engines that do not understand Chess960 FENs in
1960 variant fischerandom, to make them at least understand the opening position,
1961 through setting the string to "KQkq -". (Note you also have to give the e.p. field!)
1962 Other possible applications are to provide work-arounds for engines that want to see
1963 castling and e.p. fields in variants that do not have castling or e.p.
1964 (shatranj, courier, xiangqi, shogi) so that XBoard would normally omit them
1965 (string = "- -"), or to add variant-specific fields that are not yet supported by XBoard
1966 (e.g. to indicate the number of checks in 3check).
1967 @item -shuffleOpenings
1968 @cindex shuffleOpenings, option
1969 Forces shuffling of the opening setup in variants that normally have a fixed initial position.
1970 Shufflings are symmetric for black and white, and exempt King and Rooks in variants
1971 with normal castling.
1972 Remains in force until a new variant is selected.
1975 @node UCI + WB Engine Settings
1976 @section UCI + WB Engine Settings
1977 @cindex Engine Settings
1978 @cindex Settings, Engine
1980 @item -fUCI or -firstIsUCI true/false
1981 @itemx -sUCI or -secondIsUCI true/false
1982 @cindex fUCI, option
1983 @cindex sUCI, option
1984 @cindex firstIsUCI, option
1985 @cindex secondIsUCI, option
1986 Indicates if the mentioned engine executable file is an UCI engine,
1987 and should be run with the aid of the Polyglot adapter rather than directly.
1988 Xboard will then pass the other UCI options and engine name to Polyglot
1989 on its command line, according to the option @code{adapterCommand}.
1994 @cindex fUCCI, option
1995 @cindex sUCCI, option
1996 @cindex fUSI, option
1997 @cindex sUSI, option
1998 Options similar to @code{fUCI} and @code{sUCI}, except that they
1999 use the indicated engine with the protocol adapter specified in
2000 the @samp{uxiAdapter} option.
2001 This can then be configured for running an UCCI or USI adapter,
2003 @item -adapterCommand string
2004 @cindex adapterCommand, option
2005 The string conatins the command that should be issued by XBoard
2006 to start an engine that is accompanied by the @code{fUCI} option.
2007 Any identifier following a percent sign in the command (e.g. %fcp)
2008 will be considered the name of an XBoard option, and be replaced
2009 by the value of that option at the time the engine is started.
2010 For starting the second engine, any leading "f" or "first" in
2011 the option name will first be replaced by "s" or "second",
2012 before finding its value.
2013 Default: 'polyglot -noini -ec "%fcp" -ed "%fd"'
2014 @item -uxiAdapter string
2015 @cindex uxiAdapter, option
2016 Similar to @code{adapterCommand}, but used for engines accompanied
2017 by the @code{fUCCI} or @code{fUSI} option, so you can configure
2018 XBoard to be ready to handle more than one flavor of non-native protocols.
2020 @item -polyglotDir filename
2021 @cindex polyglotDir, option
2022 Gives the name of the directory in which the Polyglot adapter for UCI engines resides.
2024 @item -usePolyglotBook true/false
2025 @cindex usePolyglotBook, option
2026 Specifies if the Polyglot book should be used as GUI book.
2027 @item -polyglotBook filename
2028 @cindex polyglotBook, option
2029 Gives the filename of the opening book.
2030 The book is only used when the @code{usePolyglotBook} option is set to true,
2031 and the option @code{firstHasOwnBookUCI} or @code{secondHasOwnBookUCI}
2032 applying to the engine is set to false.
2033 The engine will be kept in force mode as long as the current position is in book,
2034 and XBoard will select the book moves for it. Default: "".
2035 @item -fNoOwnBookUCI or -firstXBook or -firstHasOwnBookUCI true/false
2036 @itemx -sNoOwnBookUCI or -secondXBook or -secondHasOwnBookUCI true/false
2037 @cindex fNoOwnBookUCI, option
2038 @cindex sNoOwnBookUCI, option
2039 @cindex firstHasOwnBookUCI, option
2040 @cindex secondHasOwnBookUCI, option
2041 @cindex firstXBook, option
2042 @cindex secondXBook, option
2043 Indicates if the mentioned engine has its own opening book it should play from,
2044 rather than using the external book through XBoard.
2045 Default: depends on setting of the option @code{discourageOwnBooks}.
2046 @item -discourageOwnBooks true/false
2047 @cindex discourageOwnBooks, option
2048 When set, newly loaded engines will be assumed to use the GUI book,
2049 unless they explicitly specify differently.
2050 Otherwise they will be assumed to not use the GUI book,
2051 unless the specify differently (e.g. with @code{firstXBook}).
2054 @cindex bookDepth, option
2055 Limits the use of the GUI book to the first n moves of each side.
2057 @item -bookVariation n
2058 @cindex bookVariation, option
2059 A value n from 0 to 100 tunes the choice of moves from the GUI books
2060 from totally random to best-only. Default: 50
2061 @item -fn string or -firstPgnName string
2062 @itemx -sn string or -secondPgnName string
2063 @cindex firstPgnName, option
2064 @cindex secondPgnName, option
2067 Indicates the name that should be used for the engine in PGN tags of
2068 engine-engine games.
2069 Intended to allow you to install verions of the same engine with different settings,
2070 and still distinguish them.
2072 @item -defaultHashSize n
2073 @cindex defaultHashSize, option
2074 Sets the size of the hash table to n MegaBytes. Together with the EGTB cache size
2075 this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of XBoard/WinBoard engines,
2076 for those that support the memory feature of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol. Default: 64.
2077 @item -defaultCacheSizeEGTB n
2078 @cindex defaultCacheSizeEGTB, option
2079 Sets the size of the EGTB cache to n MegaBytes. Together with the hash-table size
2080 this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of XBoard/WinBoard engines,
2081 for those that support the memory feature of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol. Default: 4.
2082 @item -defaultPathEGTB filename
2083 @cindex defaultPathEGTB, option
2084 Gives the name of the directory where the end-game tablebases are installed, for UCI engines.
2085 Default: "/usr/local/share/egtb".
2086 @item -egtFormats string
2087 @cindex egtFormats, option
2088 Specifies which end-game tables are installed on the computer, and where.
2089 The argument is a comma-separated list of format specifications,
2090 each specification consisting of a format name, a colon, and a directory path name,
2091 e.g. "nalimov:/usr/local/share/egtb".
2092 If the name part matches that of a format that the engine requests through a feature command,
2093 xboard will relay the path name for this format to the engine through an egtpath command.
2094 One egtpath command for each matching format will be sent.
2095 Popular formats are "nalimov" DTM tablebases and "scorpio" bitbases.
2097 @item -firstChessProgramNames=@{names@}
2098 This option lets you customize the drop-down list of chess engine names
2099 that appears in the @samp{Load Engine} and @samp{Match Options} dialog.
2100 It consists of a list of strings, one per line.
2101 When an engine is loaded, the corresponding line is prefixed with "-fcp ",
2102 and processed like it appeared on the command line.
2103 That means that apart from the engine command,
2104 it can contain any list of XBoard options you want to use with this engine.
2105 (Commonly used options here are -fd, -firstXBook, -fUCI, -variant.)
2107 The value of this option is gradually built as you load new engines
2108 through the @samp{Load Engine} menu dialog, with @samp{Add to list} ticked.
2109 To change it, edit your settings file with a plain text editor.
2112 @node Tournament options
2113 @section Tournament options
2114 @cindex Tournament Options
2115 @cindex Options, Tournament
2117 @item -defaultMatchGames n
2118 @cindex defaultMatchGames, option
2119 Sets the number of games that will be used for a match between two engines
2120 started from the menu to n. Also used as games per pairing in other tournament
2121 formats. Default: 10.
2123 @cindex matchPause, option
2124 Specifies the duration of the pause between two games of a match or tournament
2125 between engines as n milliseconds.
2126 Especially engines that do not support ping need this option,
2127 to prevent that the move they are thinking on when an opponent unexpectedly
2128 resigns will be counted for the next game, (leading to illegal moves there).
2130 @item -tf filename or -tourneyFile filename
2132 @cindex tourneyFile, option
2133 Specifies the name of the tournament file used in match mode
2134 to conduct a multi-player tournament.
2135 This file is a special settings file,
2136 which stores the description of the tournament (including progress info),
2137 through normal options (e.g. for time control, load and save files),
2138 and through some special-purpose options listed below.
2139 @item -tt number or -tourneyType number
2141 @cindex tourneyType, option
2142 Specifies the type of tourney: 0 = round-robin,
2143 N>0 = (multi-)gauntlet with N gauntlet engines,
2144 -1 = Swiss through external pairing engine.
2145 Volatile option, but stored in tourney file.
2146 @item -cy number or -tourneyCycles number
2148 @cindex tourneyCycles, option
2149 Specifies the number of cycles in a tourney.
2150 Volatile option, but stored in tourney file.
2151 @item -participants list
2152 @cindex participants, option
2153 The list is a multi-line text string that specifies engines
2154 occurring in the @code{firstChesProgramNames} list
2155 in the settings file by their (implied or explicitly given) nicknames,
2156 one engine per line.
2157 The mentioned engines will play in the tourney.
2158 Volatile option, but stored in tourney file.
2159 @item -results string
2160 @cindex results, option
2161 The string of +=- characters lists the result of all played games in a toruney.
2162 Games currently playing are listed as *,
2163 while a space indicates a game that is not yet played or playing .
2164 Volatile option, but stored in tourney file.
2165 @item -defaultTourneyName string
2166 @cindex defaultTourneyName, option
2167 Specifies the name of the tournament file XBoard should propose
2168 when the @samp{Match Options} dialog is opened.
2169 Any %y, %M, %d, %h, %m, %s in the string are replaced by the current
2170 year, month, day of the month, hours, minutes, seconds of the current time,
2171 respectively, as two-digit number.
2172 A %Y would be replaced by the year as 4-digit number. Default: empty string.
2173 @item -pairingEngine filename
2174 @cindex pairingEngine, option
2175 Specifies the external program to be used to pair the participants in Swiss tourneys.
2176 XBoard communicates with this engine in the same way as it communicates with Chess engines.
2177 The only commands sent to the pairing engine are “results N string”,
2178 (where N is the number of participants,
2179 and string the results so far in the format of the results option),
2180 and “pairing N”, (where N is the number of the tourney game).
2181 To the latter the pairing engine should answer with “A-B”,
2182 where A and B are participant numbers (in the range 1-N).
2183 (There should be no reply to the results command.) Default: empty string.
2184 @item -afterGame string
2185 @itemx -afterTourney string
2186 @cindex afterGame, option
2187 @cindex afterTourney, option
2188 When non-empty, the given string will be executed as a system command
2189 after each tournament game, orafterthe tourney completes, respectively.
2190 This can be used, for example, to autmatically run a cross-table generator
2191 on the PGN file where games are saved, to update the tourney standings.
2193 @item -syncAfterRound true/false
2194 @itemx -syncAfterCycle true/false
2195 @cindex syncAfterRound, option
2196 @cindex syncAfterCycle, option
2197 Controls whether different instances of XBoard concurrently running the
2198 same tournament will wait for each other.
2199 Defaults: sync after cycle, but not after round.
2200 @item -seedBase number
2201 @cindex seedBase, option
2202 Used to store the seed of the pseudo-random-number generator in the
2203 tourneyFile, so that separate instances of XBoard working on the same
2204 tourney can take coherent 'random' decisions, such as picking an
2205 opening for a given game number.
2209 @section ICS options
2211 @cindex Options, ICS
2213 @item -ics/-xics or -internetChessServerMode true/false
2215 @cindex internetChessServerMode, option
2216 Connect with an Internet Chess Server to play chess against its
2217 other users, observe games they are playing, or review games
2218 that have recently finished. Default: false.
2219 @item -icshost or -internetChessServerHost host
2220 @cindex icshost, option
2221 @cindex internetChessServerHost, option
2222 The Internet host name or address of the chess server to connect
2223 to when in ICS mode. Default: @code{chessclub.com}.
2224 Another popular chess server to try is @code{freechess.org}.
2225 If your site doesn't have a working Internet name server, try
2226 specifying the host address in numeric form.
2228 to specify the numeric address when using the icshelper option
2229 with timestamp or timeseal (see below).
2230 @item -icsport or -internetChessServerPort port-number
2231 @cindex icsport, option
2232 @cindex internetChessServerPort, option
2233 The port number to use when connecting to a chess server in ICS
2234 mode. Default: 5000.
2235 @item -icshelper or -internetChessServerHelper prog-name
2236 @cindex icshelper, option
2237 @cindex internetChessServerHelper, option
2238 An external helper program used to communicate with the chess server.
2239 You would set it to "timestamp" for ICC (chessclub.com) or
2240 "timeseal" for FICS (freechess.org), after
2241 obtaining the correct version of timestamp or timeseal for your
2242 computer. See "help timestamp" on ICC and "help timeseal" on FICS.
2243 This option is shorthand for @code{-useTelnet -telnetProgram program}.
2244 @item -telnet/-xtelnet or -useTelnet true/false
2245 @cindex telnet, option
2246 @cindex useTelnet, option
2247 This option is poorly named; it should be called useHelper.
2248 If set to true, it instructs XBoard to run an external
2249 program to communicate with the Internet Chess Server.
2250 The program to use is given by the telnetProgram option.
2252 false (the default), XBoard opens a TCP socket and uses its own
2253 internal implementation of the telnet protocol to communicate with the
2254 ICS. @xref{Firewalls}.
2255 @item -telnetProgram prog-name
2256 @cindex telnetProgram, option
2257 This option is poorly named; it should be called helperProgram.
2258 It gives the name of the telnet program to be used with
2259 the @code{gateway} and @code{useTelnet} options. The default is
2260 @file{telnet}. The telnet program is invoked with the value of
2261 @code{internetChessServerHost} as its first argument and the value
2262 of @code{internetChessServerPort} as its second argument.
2264 @item -gateway host-name
2265 @cindex gateway, option
2266 If this option is set to a host name, XBoard communicates with the
2267 Internet Chess Server by using @file{rsh} to run
2268 the @code{telnetProgram} on the given host,
2269 instead of using its own internal implementation
2270 of the telnet protocol. You can substitute a different remote shell
2271 program for @file{rsh} using the @code{remoteShell} option described below.
2273 @item -internetChessServerCommPort or -icscomm dev-name
2274 @cindex internetChessServerCommPort, option
2275 @cindex icscomm, option
2276 If this option is set, XBoard communicates with the ICS through
2277 the given character I/O device instead of opening a TCP connection.
2278 Use this option if your system does not have any kind of
2279 Internet connection itself (not even a SLIP or PPP connection),
2280 but you do have dial-up access (or a hardwired terminal line) to
2281 an Internet service provider from which you can telnet to the ICS.
2283 The support for this option in XBoard is minimal. You need to
2284 set all communication parameters and tty modes before you enter
2287 Use a script something like this:
2290 stty raw -echo 9600 > /dev/tty00
2291 xboard -ics -icscomm /dev/tty00
2294 Here replace @samp{/dev/tty00} with the name of the device that your
2295 modem is connected to. You might have to add several more
2296 options to these stty commands. See the man pages for @file{stty}
2297 and @code{tty} if you run into problems. Also, on many systems stty
2298 works on its standard input instead of standard output, so you
2299 have to use @samp{<} instead of @samp{>}.
2301 If you are using linux, try starting with the script below.
2302 Change it as necessary for your installation.
2306 # configure modem and fire up XBoard
2310 stty 2400 ; stty raw ; stty hupcl ; stty -clocal
2311 stty ignbrk ; stty ignpar ; stty ixon ; stty ixoff
2312 stty -iexten ; stty -echo
2314 xboard -ics -icscomm /dev/modem
2317 After you start XBoard in this way, type whatever commands are
2318 necessary to dial out to your Internet provider and log in.
2319 Then telnet to ICS, using a command like
2320 @kbd{telnet chessclub.com 5000}.
2321 Important: See the paragraph below about extra echoes,
2322 in @ref{Limitations}.
2323 @item -icslogon or -internetChessServerLogonScript file-name
2324 @cindex icslogon, option
2325 @cindex internetChessServerLogonScript, option
2327 Whenever XBoard connects to the Internet Chess Server,
2328 if it finds a file with the name given in this option, it feeds the
2329 file's contents to the ICS as commands. The default file name
2331 Usually the first two lines of the file should be
2332 your ICS user name and password.
2333 The file can be either in $CHESSDIR, in XBoard's working
2334 directory if CHESSDIR is not set, or in your home directory.
2335 @item -msLoginDelay delay
2336 @cindex msLoginDelay, option
2337 If you experience trouble logging on to an ICS when using the
2338 @code{-icslogon} option, inserting some delay between characters
2339 of the logon script may help. This option adds @code{delay}
2340 milliseconds of delay between characters. Good values to try
2342 @item -icsinput/-xicsinput or -internetChessServerInputBox true/false
2343 @cindex icsinput, option
2344 @cindex internetChessServerInputBox, option
2345 Sets the ICS Input Box menu option. @xref{Mode Menu}. Default: false.
2346 @item -autocomm/-xautocomm or -autoComment true/false
2347 @cindex autocomm, option
2348 @cindex autoComment, option
2349 Sets the Auto Comment menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2350 @item -autoflag/-xautoflag or -autoCallFlag true/false
2351 @cindex autoflag, option
2352 @cindex autoCallFlag, option
2353 Sets the Auto Flag menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2354 @item -autobs/-xautobs or -autoObserve true/false
2355 @cindex autobs, option
2356 @cindex autoObserve, option
2357 Sets the Auto Observe menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2359 @cindex autoKibitz, option
2360 Enables kibitzing of the engines last thinking output (depth, score, time, speed, PV)
2362 to the ICS, in zippy mode. The option @code{showThinking} must be switched on for
2363 this option to work.
2364 Also diverts similar kibitz information of an opponent engine that is playing you
2365 through the ICS to the engine-output window, as if the engine was playing locally.
2366 @item -seekGraph true/false or -sg
2367 @cindex seekGraph, option
2369 Enables displaying of the seek graph by left-clicking the board when
2370 you are logged on to an ICS and currently idle.
2371 The seek graph show all players currently seeking games on the ICS,
2372 plotted according to their rating and the time control of the game they seek,
2373 in three different colors (for rated, unrated and wild games).
2374 Computer ads are displayed as squares, human ads are dots.
2376 @item -autoRefresh true/false
2377 @cindex autoRefresh, option
2378 Enables automatic updating of the seek graph,
2379 by having the ICS send a running update of all newly placed
2380 and removed seek ads.
2381 This consumes a substantial amount of communication bandwidth,
2382 and is only supported for FICS and ICC.
2384 @item -backgroundObserve true/false
2385 @cindex backgroundObserve, option
2386 When true, boards sent to you by the ICS from other games while you are playing
2387 (e.g. because you are observing them)
2388 will not be automatically displayed.
2389 Only a summary of time left and material of both players will appear
2390 in the message field above the board.
2391 XBoard will remember the last board it has received this way,
2392 and will display it in stead of the position in your own game
2393 when you press the right mouse button.
2394 No other information is stored on such games observed in the background;
2395 you cannot save such a game later, or step through its moves.
2396 This feature is provided solely for the benefit of bughouse players,
2397 to enable them to peek at their partner's game without the need
2400 @item -dualBoard true/false
2401 @cindex dualBoard, option
2402 In combination with -backgroundObserve true, this option will display
2403 the board of the background game side by side with that of your own game,
2404 so you can have it in view permanently.
2405 Any board or holdings info coming in will be displayed on the secondary
2407 This feature is still experimental and largely unfinished.
2408 There is no animation or highlighting of moves on the secondary board.
2410 @item -disguisePromotedPieces true/false
2411 @cindex disguisePromotedPieces, option
2412 When set promoted Pawns in crazyhouse/bughouse are displayed identical
2413 to primordial pieces of the same type, rather than distinguishable.
2415 @item -moves/-xmoves or -getMoveList true/false
2416 @cindex moves, option
2417 @cindex getMoveList, option
2418 Sets the Get Move List menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2419 @item -alarm/-xalarm or -icsAlarm true/false
2420 @cindex alarm, option
2421 @cindex icsAlarm, option
2422 Sets the ICS Alarm menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2423 @item -icsAlarmTime ms
2424 @cindex icsAlarmTime, option
2425 Sets the time in milliseconds for the ICS Alarm menu option.
2426 @xref{Options Menu}. Default: 5000.
2427 @item lowTimeWarning true/false
2428 @cindex lowTimeWarning, option
2429 Controls a color change of the board as a warning your time is running out.
2430 @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2431 @item -pre/-xpre \fRor\fB -premove true/false
2433 @cindex premove, option
2434 Sets the Premove menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2435 @item -prewhite/-xprewhite or -premoveWhite
2436 @itemx -preblack/-xpreblack or -premoveBlack
2437 @itemx -premoveWhiteText string
2438 @itemx -premoveBlackText string
2439 @cindex prewhite, option
2440 @cindex premoveWhite, option
2441 @cindex preblack, option
2442 @cindex premoveBlack, option
2443 @cindex premoveWhiteText, option
2444 @cindex premoveBlackText, option
2445 Set the menu options for specifying the first move for either color.
2446 @xref{Options Menu}. Defaults: false and empty strings, so no pre-moves.
2447 @item -quiet/-xquiet or -quietPlay true/false
2448 @cindex quiet, option
2449 @cindex quietPlay, option
2450 Sets the Quiet Play menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2451 @item -colorizeMessages or -colorize/-xcolorize
2453 @cindex colorize, option
2454 @cindex colorizeMessages, option
2455 Setting colorizeMessages
2456 to true tells XBoard to colorize the messages received from
2457 the ICS. Colorization works only if your xterm
2458 supports ISO 6429 escape sequences for changing text colors.
2460 @item -colorShout foreground,background,bold
2461 @itemx -colorSShout foreground,background,bold
2462 @itemx -colorCShout foreground,background,bold
2463 @itemx -colorChannel1 foreground,background,bold
2464 @itemx -colorChannel foreground,background,bold
2465 @itemx -colorKibitz foreground,background,bold
2466 @itemx -colorTell foreground,background,bold
2467 @itemx -colorChallege foreground,background,bold
2468 @itemx -colorRequest foreground,background,bold
2469 @itemx -colorSeek foreground,background,bold
2470 @itemx -colorNormal foreground,background,bold
2472 @cindex colorShout, option
2473 @cindex colorSShout, option
2474 @cindex colorCShout, option
2475 @cindex colorChannel1, option
2476 @cindex colorChannel, option
2477 @cindex colorKibitz, option
2478 @cindex colorTell, option
2479 @cindex colorChallenge, option
2480 @cindex colorRequest, option
2481 @cindex colorSeek, option
2482 @cindex colorNormal, option
2483 These options set the colors used when colorizing ICS messages.
2484 All ICS messages are grouped into one of these categories:
2485 shout, sshout, channel 1, other channel, kibitz, tell, challenge,
2486 request (including abort, adjourn, draw, pause, and takeback), or
2487 normal (all other messages).
2489 Each foreground or background argument can be one of the following:
2490 black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, white, or default.
2491 Here ``default'' means the default foreground or background color of
2492 your xterm. Bold can be 1 or 0. If background is omitted, ``default''
2493 is assumed; if bold is omitted, 0 is assumed.
2495 Here is an example of how to set the colors in your @file{.Xresources} file.
2496 The colors shown here are the default values; you will get
2497 them if you turn @code{-colorize} on without specifying your own colors.
2498 CShout is synonymous with SShout.
2501 xboard*colorizeMessages: true
2502 xboard*colorShout: green
2503 xboard*colorSShout: green, black, 1
2504 xboard*colorChannel1: cyan
2505 xboard*colorChannel: cyan, black, 1
2506 xboard*colorKibitz: magenta, black, 1
2507 xboard*colorTell: yellow, black, 1
2508 xboard*colorChallenge: red, black, 1
2509 xboard*colorRequest: red
2510 xboard*colorSeek: blue
2511 xboard*colorNormal: default
2513 @item -soundProgram progname
2514 @cindex soundProgram, option
2516 If this option is set to a sound-playing program that is installed and
2517 working on your system, XBoard can play sound files when certain
2518 events occur, listed below. The default program name is "play". If
2519 any of the sound options is set to "$", the event rings the terminal
2520 bell by sending a ^G character to standard output, instead of playing
2521 a sound file. If an option is set to the empty string "", no sound is
2522 played for that event.
2523 @item -soundDirectory directoryname
2524 @cindex soundDirectory, option
2526 This option specifies where XBoard will look for sound files,
2527 when these are not given as an absolute path name.
2528 @item -soundShout filename
2529 @itemx -soundSShout filename
2530 @itemx -soundCShout filename
2531 @itemx -soundChannel filename
2532 @itemx -soundChannel1 filename
2533 @itemx -soundKibitz filename
2534 @itemx -soundTell filename
2535 @itemx -soundChallenge filename
2536 @itemx -soundRequest filename
2537 @itemx -soundSeek filename
2538 @cindex soundShout, option
2539 @cindex soundSShout, option
2540 @cindex soundCShout, option
2541 @cindex soundChannel, option
2542 @cindex soundChannel1, option
2543 @cindex soundKibitz, option
2544 @cindex soundTell, option
2545 @cindex soundChallenge, option
2546 @cindex soundRequest, option
2547 @cindex soundSeek, option
2548 These sounds are triggered in the same way as the colorization events
2549 described above. They all default to "", no sound. They are played
2550 only if the colorizeMessages is on.
2551 CShout is synonymous with SShout.
2552 @item -soundMove filename
2553 @cindex soundMove, option
2554 This sound is used by the Move Sound menu option. Default: "$".
2555 @item -soundIcsAlarm filename
2556 @cindex soundIcsAlarm, option
2557 This sound is used by the ICS Alarm menu option. Default: "$".
2558 @item -soundIcsWin filename
2559 @cindex soundIcsWin, option
2560 This sound is played when you win an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).
2561 @item -soundIcsLoss filename
2562 @cindex soundIcsLoss, option
2563 This sound is played when you lose an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).
2564 @item -soundIcsDraw filename
2565 @cindex soundIcsDraw, option
2566 This sound is played when you draw an ICS game. Default: "" (no sound).
2567 @item -soundIcsUnfinished filename
2568 @cindex soundIcsUnfinished, option
2569 This sound is played when an ICS game that you are participating in is
2570 aborted, adjourned, or otherwise ends inconclusively. Default: "" (no
2573 Here is an example of how to set the sounds in your @file{.Xresources} file:
2576 xboard*soundShout: shout.wav
2577 xboard*soundSShout: sshout.wav
2578 xboard*soundChannel1: channel1.wav
2579 xboard*soundChannel: channel.wav
2580 xboard*soundKibitz: kibitz.wav
2581 xboard*soundTell: tell.wav
2582 xboard*soundChallenge: challenge.wav
2583 xboard*soundRequest: request.wav
2584 xboard*soundSeek: seek.wav
2585 xboard*soundMove: move.wav
2586 xboard*soundIcsWin: win.wav
2587 xboard*soundIcsLoss: lose.wav
2588 xboard*soundIcsDraw: draw.wav
2589 xboard*soundIcsUnfinished: unfinished.wav
2590 xboard*soundIcsAlarm: alarm.wav
2594 @node Load and Save options
2595 @section Load and Save options
2596 @cindex Options, Load and Save
2597 @cindex Load and Save options
2599 @item -lgf or -loadGameFile file
2600 @itemx -lgi or -loadGameIndex index
2602 @cindex loadGameFile, option
2604 @cindex loadGameIndex, option
2605 If the @code{loadGameFile} option is set, XBoard loads the specified
2606 game file at startup. The file name @file{-} specifies the standard
2607 input. If there is more than one game in the file, XBoard
2608 pops up a menu of the available games, with entries based on their PGN
2609 (Portable Game Notation) tags.
2610 If the @code{loadGameIndex} option is set to @samp{N}, the menu is suppressed
2611 and the N th game found in the file is loaded immediately.
2612 The menu is also suppressed if @code{matchMode} is enabled or if the game file
2613 is a pipe; in these cases the first game in the file is loaded immediately.
2614 Use the @file{pxboard} shell script provided with XBoard if you
2615 want to pipe in files containing multiple games and still see the menu.
2616 If the loadGameIndex specifies an index -1, this triggers auto-increment
2617 of the index in @code{matchMode}, which means that after every game the
2618 index is incremented by one, causing each game of the match to be played
2619 from the next game in the file. Similarly, specifying an index value of -2
2620 causes the index to be incremented every two games, so that each game
2621 in the file is used twice (with reversed colors).
2622 The @code{rewindIndex} option causes the index to be reset to the
2623 first game of the file when it has reached a specified value.
2624 @item -rewindIndex n
2625 Causes a position file or game file to be rewound to its beginning after n
2626 positions or games in auto-increment @code{matchMode}.
2627 See @code{loadPositionIndex} and @code{loadGameIndex}.
2628 default: 0 (no rewind).
2629 @item -td or -timeDelay seconds
2631 @cindex timeDelay, option
2632 Time delay between moves during @samp{Load Game} or @samp{Analyze File}.
2633 Fractional seconds are allowed; try @samp{-td 0.4}.
2634 A time delay value of -1 tells
2635 XBoard not to step through game files automatically. Default: 1 second.
2636 @item -sgf or -saveGameFile file
2638 @cindex saveGameFile, option
2639 If this option is set, XBoard appends a record of every game
2640 played to the specified file. The file name @file{-} specifies the
2642 @item -autosave/-xautosave or -autoSaveGames true/false
2643 @cindex autosave, option
2644 @cindex autoSaveGames, option
2645 Sets the Auto Save menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2646 Ignored if @code{saveGameFile} is set.
2647 @item -lpf or -loadPositionFile file
2648 @itemx -lpi or -loadPositionIndex index
2650 @cindex loadPositionFile, option
2652 @cindex loadPositionIndex, option
2653 If the @code{loadPositionFile} option is set, XBoard loads the
2654 specified position file at startup. The file name @file{-} specifies the
2655 standard input. If the @code{loadPositionIndex} option is set to N,
2656 the Nth position found in the file is loaded; otherwise the
2657 first position is loaded.
2658 If the loadPositionIndex specifies an index -1, this triggers auto-increment
2659 of the index in @code{matchMode}, which means that after every game the
2660 index is incremented by one, causing each game of the match to be played
2661 from the next position in the file. Similarly, specifying an index value of -2
2662 causes the index to be incremented every two games, so that each position
2663 in the file is used twice (with the engines playing opposite colors).
2664 The @code{rewindIndex} option causes the index to be reset to the
2665 first position of the file when it has reached a specified value.
2666 @item -spf or -savePositionFile file
2668 @cindex savePositionFile, option
2669 If this option is set, XBoard appends the final position reached
2670 in every game played to the specified file. The file name @file{-}
2671 specifies the standard output.
2672 @item -pgnExtendedInfo true/false
2673 @cindex pgnExtendedInfo, option
2674 If this option is set, XBoard saves depth, score and time used for each
2675 move that the engine found as a comment in the PGN file.
2677 @item -pgnEventHeader string
2678 @cindex pgnEventHeader, option
2679 Sets the name used in the PGN event tag to string.
2680 Default: "Computer Chess Game".
2681 @item -pgnNumberTag true/false
2682 @cindex pgnNumberTag, option
2683 Include the (unique) sequence number of a tournament game into the saved
2684 PGN file as a 'number' tag.
2686 @item -saveOutOfBookInfo true/false
2687 @cindex saveOutOfBookInfo, option
2688 Include the information on how the engine(s) game out of its opening book
2689 in a special 'annotator' tag with the PGN file.
2691 @item -oldsave/-xoldsave or -oldSaveStyle true/false
2692 @cindex oldsave, option
2693 @cindex oldSaveStyle, option
2694 Sets the Old Save Style menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2695 @item -gameListTags string
2696 @cindex gameListTags, option
2697 The character string lists the PGN tags that should be printed in the
2698 Game List, and their order. The meaning of the codes is e=event,
2699 s=site, d=date, o=round, p=players, r=result, w=white Elo, b=black Elo,
2700 t=time control, v=variant, a=out-of-book info, c=result comment.
2702 @item -ini or -settingsFile filename
2703 @itemx -saveSettingsFile filename
2705 @cindex saveSettingsFile, option
2706 @cindex SettingsFile, option
2707 @cindex init, option
2708 @cindex at sign, option
2709 When XBoard encounters an option -settingsFile (or -ini for short),
2710 or @@filename, it tries to read the mentioned file,
2711 and substitutes the contents of it (presumaby more command-line options)
2712 in place of the option.
2713 In the case of -ini or -settingsFile, the name of a successfully read
2714 settings file is also remembered as the file to use for saving settings
2715 (automatically on exit, or on user command).
2716 An option of the form @@filename does not affect saving.
2717 The option -saveSettingsFile does specify a name of the file to use
2718 for saving, without reading any options from it, and is thus also effective
2719 when the file did not exist yet.
2720 So the settings will be saved to the file specified in the last
2721 -saveSettingsFile or succesfull -settingsFile / -ini command,
2722 if any, and in /etc/xboard/xboard.conf otherwise.
2723 Usualy the latter is only accessible for the system administrator, though,
2724 and will be used to contain system-wide default setings, amongst which
2725 a -saveSettingsFile and -settingsFile options to specify a settings file
2726 accessible to the individual user, such as ~/.xboardrc in the user's
2728 @item -saveSettingsOnExit true/false
2729 @cindex saveSettingsOnExit, option
2730 Controls saving of options on the settings file. @xref{Options Menu}.
2734 @node User interface options
2735 @section User interface options
2736 @cindex User interface options
2737 @cindex Options, User interface
2743 @cindex display, option
2744 @cindex geometry, option
2745 @cindex iconic, option
2746 @cindex resource name, option
2747 These and most other standard Xt options are accepted.
2749 @cindex noGUI, option
2750 Suppresses all GUI functions of XBoard
2751 (to speed up automated ultra-fast engine-engine games, which you don't want to watch).
2752 There will be no board or clock updates, no printing of moves,
2753 and no update of the icon on the task bar in this mode.
2754 @item -recentEngines number
2755 @itemx -recentEngineList list
2756 @cindex recentEngines, option
2757 @cindex recentEngineList, option
2758 When the number is larger than zero, it determines how many recently
2759 used engines will be appended at the bottom of the @samp{Engines} menu.
2760 The engines will be saved in your settings file as the option
2761 @code{recentEngineList}, by their nicknames,
2762 and the most recently used one will always be sorted to the top.
2763 If the list after that is longer than the specified number,
2764 the last one is discarded.
2765 hanges in the list will only become visible the next session,
2766 provided you saved the settings.
2767 @item -oneClickMove true/false
2768 @cindex oneClickMove, option
2769 When set, this option allows you to enter moves by only clicking the to-
2770 or from-square, when only a single legal move to or from that square
2772 Double-clicking a piece (or clicking an already selected piece)
2773 will instruct that piece to make the only capture it can legally do.
2775 @item -movesound/-xmovesound or -ringBellAfterMoves true/false
2776 @cindex movesound, option
2777 @cindex bell, option
2778 @cindex ringBellAfterMoves, option
2779 Sets the Move Sound menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2780 For compatibility with old XBoard versions, -bell/-xbell are also
2781 accepted as abbreviations for this option.
2782 @item -exit/-xexit or -popupExitMessage true/false
2783 @cindex exit, option
2784 @cindex popupExitMessage, option
2785 Sets the Popup Exit Message menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2786 @item -popup/-xpopup or -popupMoveErrors true/false
2787 @cindex popup, option
2788 @cindex popupMoveErrors, option
2789 Sets the Popup Move Errors menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2790 @item -queen/-xqueen or -alwaysPromoteToQueen true/false
2791 @cindex queen, option
2792 @cindex alwaysPromoteToQueen, option
2793 Sets the Always Queen menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2794 @item -sweepPromotions true/false
2795 @cindex sweepPromotion, option
2796 Sets the @samp{Almost Always Promote to Queen} menu option.
2797 @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2798 @item -legal/-xlegal or -testLegality true/false
2799 @cindex legal, option
2800 @cindex testLegality, option
2801 Sets the Test Legality menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2802 @item -size or -boardSize (sizeName | n1,n2,n3,n4,n5,n6,n7)
2803 @cindex size, option
2804 @cindex boardSize, option
2806 Determines how large the board will be, by selecting the pixel size
2807 of the pieces and setting a few related parameters.
2808 The sizeName can be one of: Titanic, giving 129x129 pixel pieces,
2809 Colossal 116x116, Giant 108x108, Huge 95x95, Big 87x87, Large 80x80, Bulky 72x72,
2810 Medium 64x64, Moderate 58x58, Average 54x54, Middling 49x49, Mediocre
2811 45x45, Small 40x40, Slim 37x37, Petite 33x33, Dinky 29x29, Teeny 25x25,
2813 Orthodox pieces of all these sizes are built into XBoard.
2815 be used if you have them; see the pixmapDirectory and bitmapDirectory
2817 Complete sets of un-orthodox pieces are only provided in sizes
2818 Bulky, Middling and (to a lesser extent) Petite;
2819 Archbishop, Marshall and Amazon are also available in all sizes between
2821 When no bitmap is available, the piece will be displayed as Amazon or King.
2822 The default depends on the size of your screen; it is approximately the
2823 largest size that will fit without clipping.
2825 You can select other sizes or vary other layout parameters by providing
2826 a list of comma-separated values (with no spaces) as the argument.
2827 You do not need to provide all the values; for any you omit from the
2828 end of the list, defaults are taken from the nearest built-in size.
2829 The value @code{n1} gives the piece size, @code{n2} the width of the
2831 between squares, @code{n3} the desired size for the
2832 clockFont, @code{n4} the desired size for the coordFont,
2833 @code{n5} the desired size for the messageFont,
2834 @code{n6} the smallLayout flag (0 or 1),
2835 and @code{n7} the tinyLayout flag (0 or 1).
2836 All dimensions are in pixels.
2837 If the border between squares is eliminated (0 width), the various
2838 highlight options will not work, as there is nowhere to draw the highlight.
2839 If smallLayout is 1 and @code{titleInWindow} is true,
2840 the window layout is rearranged to make more room for the title.
2841 If tinyLayout is 1, the labels on the menu bar are abbreviated
2842 to one character each and the buttons in the button bar are made narrower.
2843 @item -overrideLineGap n
2844 @cindex overrideLineGap, option
2845 When n >= 0, this forces the width of the black border between squares
2846 to n pixels for any board size. Mostly used to suppress the grid
2847 entirely by setting n = 0, e.g. in xiangqi or just getting a prettier
2848 picture. When n < 0 this the size-dependent width of the grid lines
2849 is used. Default: -1.
2850 @item -coords/-xcoords or -showCoords true/false
2851 @cindex coords, option
2852 @cindex showCoords, option
2853 Sets the Show Coords menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2854 The @code{coordFont} option specifies what font to use.
2855 @item -autoraise/-xautoraise or -autoRaiseBoard true/false
2856 @cindex autoraise, option
2857 @cindex autoRaiseBoard, option
2858 Sets the Auto Raise Board menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2859 @item -autoflip/-xautoflip or -autoFlipView true/false
2860 @cindex autoflip, option
2861 @cindex autoFlipView, option
2862 Sets the Auto Flip View menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
2863 @item -flip/-xflip or -flipView true/false
2864 @cindex flip, option
2865 @cindex flipView, option
2866 If Auto Flip View is not set, or if you are observing but not participating
2867 in a game, then the positioning of the board at the start of each game
2868 depends on the flipView option. If flipView is false (the default),
2869 the board is positioned so that the white pawns move from the bottom to the
2870 top; if true, the black pawns move from the bottom to the top.
2871 In any case, the Flip menu option (see @ref{Options Menu})
2872 can be used to flip the board after
2874 @item -title/-xtitle or -titleInWindow true/false
2875 @cindex title, option
2876 @cindex titleInWindow, option
2877 If this option is true, XBoard displays player names (for ICS
2878 games) and game file names (for @samp{Load Game}) inside its main
2879 window. If the option is false (the default), this information is
2880 displayed only in the window banner. You probably won't want to
2881 set this option unless the information is not showing up in the
2882 banner, as happens with a few X window managers.
2883 @item -buttons/-xbuttons or -showButtonBar True/False
2884 @cindex buttons, option
2885 @cindex showButtonBar, option
2886 If this option is False, xboard omits the [<<] [<] [P] [>] [>>] button
2887 bar from the window, allowing the message line to be wider. You can
2888 still get the functions of these buttons using the menus or their keyboard
2889 shortcuts. Default: true.
2890 @item -evalZoom factor
2891 @cindex evalZoom, option
2892 The score interval (-1,1) is blown up on the vertical axis of
2893 the Evaluation Graph by the given factor.
2895 @item -evalThreshold n
2896 @cindex evalThreshold, option
2897 Score below n (centiPawn) are plotted as 0 in the Evaluation Graph.
2899 @item -mono/-xmono or -monoMode true/false
2900 @cindex mono, option
2901 @cindex monoMode, option
2902 Determines whether XBoard displays its pieces and squares with
2903 two colors (true) or four (false). You shouldn't have to
2904 specify @code{monoMode}; XBoard will determine if it is necessary.
2905 @item -showTargetSquares true/false
2906 @cindex showTargetSquares, option
2907 Determines whether XBoard can highlight the squares a piece has
2908 legal moves to, when you grab that piece with the mouse.
2910 @item -flashCount count
2911 @itemx -flashRate rate
2912 @itemx -flash/-xflash
2913 @cindex flashCount, option
2914 @cindex flashRate, option
2915 @cindex flash, option
2916 @cindex xflash, option
2917 These options enable flashing of pieces when they
2918 land on their destination square.
2920 tells XBoard how many times to flash a piece after it
2921 lands on its destination square.
2923 controls the rate of flashing (flashes/sec).
2926 sets flashCount to 3.
2928 sets flashCount to 0.
2929 Defaults: flashCount=0 (no flashing), flashRate=5.
2930 @item -highlight/-xhighlight or -highlightLastMove true/false
2931 @cindex highlight, option
2932 @cindex highlightLastMove, option
2933 Sets the Highlight Last Move menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2934 @item -highlightMoveWithArrow true/false
2935 @cindex highlight Arrow, option
2936 @cindex highlightMoveWithArrow, option
2937 Sets the Highlight with Arrow menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2938 @item -blind/-xblind or -blindfold true/false
2939 @cindex blind, option
2940 @cindex blindfold, option
2941 Sets the Blindfold menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
2942 @item -periodic/-xperiodic or -periodicUpdates true/false
2943 @cindex periodic, option
2944 @cindex periodicUpdates, option
2945 Controls updating of current move andnode counts in analysis mode. Default: true.
2948 @cindex fSAN, option
2949 @cindex sSAN, option
2950 Causes the PV in thinking output of the mentioned engine to be converted
2951 to SAN before it is further processed.
2952 Warning: this might lose engine output not understood by the parser,
2953 and uses a lot of CPU power.
2954 Default: the PV is displayed exactly as the engine produced it.
2955 @item -showEvalInMoveHistory true/false
2956 @cindex showEvalInMoveHistory, option
2957 Controls whether the evaluation scores and search depth of engine moves
2958 are displayed with the move in the move-history window.
2960 @item -clockFont font
2961 @cindex clockFont, option
2963 The font used for the clocks. If the option value is a pattern
2964 that does not specify the font size, XBoard tries to choose an
2965 appropriate font for the board size being used.
2966 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
2967 @item -coordFont font
2968 @cindex coordFont, option
2969 @cindex Font, coordinates
2970 The font used for rank and file coordinate labels if @code{showCoords}
2971 is true. If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
2972 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
2973 the board size being used.
2974 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
2975 @item -messageFont font
2976 @cindex messageFont, option
2977 @cindex Font, message
2978 The font used for popup dialogs, menus, comments, etc.
2979 If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
2980 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
2981 the board size being used.
2982 Default: -*-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
2983 @item -fontSizeTolerance tol
2984 @cindex fontSizeTolerance, option
2985 In the font selection algorithm, a nonscalable font will be preferred
2986 over a scalable font if the nonscalable font's size differs
2987 by @code{tol} pixels
2988 or less from the desired size. A value of -1 will force
2989 a scalable font to always be used if available; a value of 0 will
2990 use a nonscalable font only if it is exactly the right size;
2991 a large value (say 1000) will force a nonscalable font to always be
2992 used if available. Default: 4.
2993 @item -bm or -bitmapDirectory dir
2994 @itemx -pixmap or -pixmapDirectory dir
2996 @cindex bitmapDirectory, option
2997 @cindex pixmap, option
2998 @cindex pixmapDirectory, option
2999 These options control what piece images xboard uses. The XBoard
3000 distribution includes one set of pixmap pieces in xpm format, in the
3001 directory @file{pixmaps}, and one set of bitmap pieces in xbm format,
3002 in the directory @file{bitmaps}. Pixmap
3003 pieces give a better appearance on the screen: the white pieces have
3004 dark borders, and the black pieces have opaque internal details. With
3005 bitmaps, neither piece color has a border, and the internal details
3006 are transparent; you see the square color or other background color
3009 If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that includes libXpm,
3010 the X pixmap library, the xpm pixmap pieces are compiled in as the
3011 default. A different xpm piece set can be selected at runtime with
3012 the @code{pixmapDirectory} option, or a bitmap piece set can be selected
3013 with the @code{bitmapDirectory} option.
3015 If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that does not include
3016 libXpm (or the @code{--disable-xpm} option is given to the configure
3017 program), the bitmap pieces are compiled in as the default. It is not
3018 possible to use xpm pieces in this case, but pixmap pieces in another
3019 format called "xim" can be used by giving the @code{pixmapDirectory} option.
3020 Or again, a different bitmap piece set can be selected with the
3021 @code{bitmapDirectory} option.
3023 Files in the @code{bitmapDirectory} must be named as follows:
3024 The first character of a piece bitmap name gives the piece it
3025 represents (@samp{p}, @samp{n}, @samp{b}, @samp{r}, @samp{q}, or @samp{k}),
3026 the next characters give the size in pixels, the
3027 following character indicates whether the piece is
3028 solid or outline (@samp{s} or @samp{o}),
3029 and the extension is @samp{.bm}.
3030 For example, a solid 80x80 knight would be named @file{n80s.bm}.
3031 The outline bitmaps are used only in monochrome mode.
3032 If bitmap pieces are compiled in and the bitmapDirectory is missing
3033 some files, the compiled in pieces are used instead.
3035 If the bitmapDirectory option is given,
3036 it is also possible to replace xboard's icons and menu checkmark,
3037 by supplying files named @file{icon_white.bm}, @file{icon_black.bm}, and
3038 @file{checkmark.bm}.
3040 For more information about pixmap pieces and how to get additional
3041 sets, see @ref{zic2xpm} below.
3042 @item -whitePieceColor color
3043 @itemx -blackPieceColor color
3044 @itemx -lightSquareColor color
3045 @itemx -darkSquareColor color
3046 @itemx -highlightSquareColor color
3047 @itemx -preoveHighlightColor color
3048 @itemx -lowTimeWarningColor color
3050 @cindex whitePieceColor, option
3051 @cindex blackPieceColor, option
3052 @cindex lightSquareColor, option
3053 @cindex darkSquareColor, option
3054 @cindex highlightSquareColor, option
3055 @cindex premoveHighlightColor, option
3056 @cindex lowTimeWarningColor, option
3057 Colors to use for the pieces, squares, and square highlights.
3061 -whitePieceColor #FFFFCC
3062 -blackPieceColor #202020
3063 -lightSquareColor #C8C365
3064 -darkSquareColor #77A26D
3065 -highlightSquareColor #FFFF00
3066 -premoveHighlightColor #FF0000
3067 -lowTimeWarningColor #FF0000
3070 On a grayscale monitor you might prefer:
3073 -whitePieceColor gray100
3074 -blackPieceColor gray0
3075 -lightSquareColor gray80
3076 -darkSquareColor gray60
3077 -highlightSquareColor gray100
3078 -premoveHighlightColor gray70
3079 -lowTimeWarningColor gray70
3081 @item -useBoardTexture true/false
3082 @itemx -liteBackTextureFile filename
3083 @itemx -darkBackTextureFile filename
3084 @cindex useBoardTexture, option
3085 @cindex liteBackTextureFile, option
3086 @cindex darkBackTextureFile, option
3087 Indicate the pixmap files to be used for drawing the board squares,
3088 and if they should be used rather than using simple colors.
3089 The algorithm for cutting squares out of a given bitmap is such that
3090 the picture is perfectly reproduced when a bitmap the size of
3091 the complete board is given.
3092 Default: false and ""
3093 @item -drag/-xdrag or -animateDragging true/false
3094 @cindex drag, option
3095 @cindex animateDragging, option
3096 Sets the Animate Dragging menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
3097 @item -animate/-xanimate or -animateMoving true/false
3098 @cindex animate, option
3099 @cindex animateMoving, option
3100 Sets the Animate Moving menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
3101 @item -animateSpeed n
3102 @cindex -animateSpeed, option
3103 Number of milliseconds delay between each animation frame when Animate
3105 @item -autoDisplayComment true/false
3106 @itemx -autoDisplayTags true/false
3107 @cindex -autoDisplayComment, option
3108 @cindex -autoDisplayTags, option
3109 If set to true, these options cause the window with the move comments,
3110 and the window with PGN tags, respectively, to pop up automatically when
3111 such tags or comments are encountered during the replaying a stored or
3112 loaded game. Default: true.
3113 @item -pasteSelection true/false
3114 @cindex -pasteSelection, option
3115 If this option is set to true, the Paste Position and Paste Game
3116 options paste from the currently selected text. If false, they paste
3117 from the clipboard. Default: false.
3118 @item -dropMenu true|false
3119 @cindex dropMenu, option
3120 This option allows you to emulate old behavior,
3121 where the right mouse button brings up the (now deprecated) drop menu
3122 rather than displaying the position at the end of the principal variation.
3124 @item -pieceMenu true|false
3125 @cindex pieceMenu, option
3126 This option allows you to emulate old behavior,
3127 where the right mouse button brings up the (now deprecated) piece menu
3128 in Edit Position mode.
3129 From this menu you can select the piece to put on the square you
3130 clicked to bring up the menu,
3131 or select items such as @kbd{clear board}.
3132 You can also @kbd{promote} or @kbd{demote} a clicked piece to convert
3133 it into an unorthodox piece that is not directly in the menu,
3134 or give the move to @kbd{black} or @kbd{white}.
3135 @item -variations true|false
3136 @cindex variations, option
3137 When this option is on, you can start new variations in Edit Game or
3138 Analyze mode by holding the Shift key down while entering a move.
3139 When it is off, the Shift key will be ignored.
3141 @item -absoluteAnalysisScores true|false
3142 @cindex absoluteAnalysisScores, option
3143 When true, scores on the Engine Output window during analysis
3144 will be printed from the white point-of-view, rather than the
3145 side-to-move point-of-view.
3147 @item -scoreWhite true|false
3148 @cindex scoreWhite, option
3149 When true, scores will always be printed from the white point-of-view,
3150 rather than the side-to-move point-of-view.
3154 @node Adjudication Options
3155 @section Adjudication Options
3156 @cindex Options, adjudication
3158 @item -adjudicateLossThreshold n
3159 @cindex adjudicateLossThreshold, option
3160 If the given value is non-zero, XBoard adjudicates the game as a loss
3161 if both engines agree for a duration of 6 consecutive ply that the score
3162 is below the given score threshold for that engine. Make sure the score
3163 is interpreted properly by XBoard,
3164 using @code{-firstScoreAbs} and @code{-secondScoreAbs} if needed.
3165 Default: 0 (no adjudication)
3166 @item -adjudicateDrawMoves n
3167 @cindex adjudicateDrawMoves, option
3168 If the given value is non-zero, XBoard adjudicates the game as a draw
3169 if after the given number of moves it was not yet decided. Default: 0 (no adjudication)
3170 @item -checkMates true/false
3171 @cindex checkMates, option
3172 If this option is set, XBoard detects all checkmates and stalemates,
3173 and ends the game as soon as they occur.
3174 Legality-testing must be switched on for this option to work.
3176 @item -testClaims true/false
3177 @cindex testClaims, option
3178 If this option is set, XBoard verifies all result claims made by engines,
3179 and those who send false claims will forfeit the game because of it.
3180 Legality-testing must be switched on for this option to work. Default: true
3181 @item -materialDraws true/false
3182 @cindex materialDraws, option
3183 If this option is set, XBoard adjudicates games as draws when there is
3184 no sufficient material left to inflict a checkmate.
3185 This applies to KBKB with like bishops (any number, actually), and to KBK, KNK and KK.
3186 Legality-testing must be switched on for this option to work. Default: true
3187 @item -trivialDraws true/false
3188 @cindex trivialDraws, option
3189 If this option is set, XBoard adjudicates games as draws that cannot be
3190 usually won without opponent cooperation. This applies to KBKB with unlike bishops,
3191 and to KBKN, KNKN, KNNK, KRKR and KQKQ. The draw is called after 6 ply into these end-games,
3192 to allow quick mates that can occur in some exceptional positions to be found by the engines.
3193 KQKQ does not really belong in this category, and might be taken out in the future.
3194 (When bitbase-based adjudications are implemented.)
3195 Legality-testing must be on for this option to work. Default: false
3197 @cindex ruleMoves, option
3198 If the given value is non-zero, XBoard adjudicates the game as a draw after the given
3199 number of consecutive reversible moves. Engine draw claims are always accepted after 50 moves,
3200 irrespective of the given value of n.
3201 @item -repeatsToDraw n
3202 If the given value is non-zero, xboard adjudicates the game as a draw if a position
3203 is repeated the given number of times. Engines draw claims are always accepted after 3 repeats,
3204 (on the 3rd occurrence, actually), irrespective of the value of n.
3205 Beware that positions that have different castling or en-passant rights do not count
3206 as repeats, XBoard is fully e.p. and castling aware!
3210 @section Other options
3211 @cindex Options, miscellaneous
3213 @item -ncp/-xncp or -noChessProgram true/false
3215 @cindex noChessProgram, option
3216 If this option is true, XBoard acts as a passive chessboard; it
3217 does not start a chess engine at all. Turning on this option
3218 also turns off clockMode. Default: false.
3219 @item -mode or -initialMode modename
3220 @cindex mode, option
3221 @cindex initalMode, option
3222 If this option is given, XBoard selects the given modename
3223 from the Mode menu after starting and (if applicable) processing the
3224 loadGameFile or loadPositionFile option. Default: "" (no selection).
3225 Other supported values are
3226 MachineWhite, MachineBlack, TwoMachines, Analysis,
3227 AnalyzeFile, EditGame, EditPosition, and Training.
3228 @item -variant varname
3229 @cindex variant, option
3230 Activates preliminary, partial support for playing chess variants
3231 against a local engine or editing variant games. This flag is not
3232 needed in ICS mode. Recognized variant names are:
3236 wildcastle Shuffle chess, king can castle from d file
3237 nocastle Shuffle chess, no castling allowed
3238 fischerandom Fischer Random shuffle chess
3239 bughouse Bughouse, ICC/FICS rules
3240 crazyhouse Crazyhouse, ICC/FICS rules
3241 losers Lose all pieces or get mated (ICC wild 17)
3242 suicide Lose all pieces including king (FICS)
3243 giveaway Try to have no legal moves (ICC wild 26)
3244 twokings Weird ICC wild 9
3245 kriegspiel Opponent's pieces are invisible
3246 atomic Capturing piece explodes (ICC wild 27)
3247 3check Win by giving check 3 times (ICC wild 25)
3248 shatranj An ancient precursor of chess (ICC wild 28)
3249 xiangqi Chinese Chess (on a 9x10 board)
3250 shogi Japanese Chess (on a 9x9 board & piece drops)
3251 capablanca Capablanca Chess (10x8 board, with Archbishop
3252 and Chancellor pieces)
3253 gothic similar, with a better initial position
3254 caparandom An FRC-like version of Capablanca Chess (10x8)
3255 janus A game with two Archbishops (10x8 board)
3256 courier Medieval intermediate between shatranj and
3257 modern Chess (on 12x8 board)
3258 falcon Patented 10x8 variant with two Falcon pieces
3259 berolina Pawns capture straight ahead, and move diagonal
3260 cylinder Pieces wrap around the board edge
3261 knightmate King moves as Knight, and vice versa
3262 super Superchess (shuffle variant with 4 exo-pieces)
3263 makruk Thai Chess (shatranj-like, P promotes on 6th rank)
3264 spartan Spartan Chess (black has unorthodox pieces)
3265 fairy A catchall variant in which all piece types
3266 known to XBoard can participate (8x8)
3267 unknown Catchall for other unknown variants
3270 NOT ALL BOARDSIZES PROVIDE A COMPLETE SET OF BUILT-IN BITMAPS FOR ALL
3271 UN-ORTHODOX PIECES, though. Only in @code{boardSize} middling and bulky
3272 all 22 piece types are provided, while -boardSize petite has most
3273 of them. Archbishop, Chancellor and Amazon are supported in every
3274 size from petite to bulky. Kings or Amazons are substituted for
3275 missing bitmaps. You can still play variants needing un-orthodox
3276 pieces in other board sizes providing your own bitmaps through the
3277 @code{bitmapDirectory} or @code{pixmapDirectory} options.
3279 In the shuffle variants, XBoard now does shuffle the pieces, although
3280 you can still do it by hand using Edit Position. Some variants are
3281 supported only in ICS mode, including bughouse, and
3282 kriegspiel. The winning/drawing conditions in crazyhouse (off-board
3283 interposition on mate) are not fully understood, but losers, suicide,
3284 giveaway, atomic, and 3check should be OK.
3285 Berolina and cylinder chess can only be played with legality testing off.
3286 In crazyhouse, XBoard now does keep
3287 track of off-board pieces. In shatranj it does implement the baring
3288 rule when mate detection is switched on.
3289 @item -boardHeight N
3290 @cindex boardHeight, option
3291 Allows you to set a non-standard number of board ranks in any variant.
3292 If the height is given as -1, the default height for the variant is used.
3295 @cindex boardWidth, option
3296 Allows you to set a non-standard number of board files in any variant.
3297 If the width is given as -1, the default width for the variant is used.
3298 With a non-standard width, the initial position will always be an empty board,
3299 as the usual opening array will not fit.
3301 @item -holdingsSize N
3302 @cindex holdingsSize, option
3303 Allows you to set a non-standard size for the holdings in any variant.
3304 If the size is given as -1, the default holdings size for the variant is used.
3305 The first N piece types will go into the holdings on capture, and you will be
3306 able to drop them on the board in stead of making a normal move. If size equals 0,
3307 there will be no holdings.
3309 @item -defaultFrcPosition N
3310 @cindex defaultFrcPosition, option
3311 Specifies the number of the opening position in shuffle games like Chess960.
3312 A value of -1 means the position is randomly generated by XBoard
3313 at the beginning of every game.
3315 @item -pieceToCharTable string
3316 @cindex pieceToCharTable, option
3317 The characters that are used to represent the piece types XBoard knows in FEN
3318 diagrams and SAN moves. The string argument has to have an even length
3319 (or it will be ignored), as white and black pieces have to be given separately
3320 (in that order). The last letter for each color will be the King.
3321 The letters before that will be PNBRQ and then a whole host of fairy pieces
3322 in an order that has not fully crystallized yet (currently FEACWMOHIJGDVSLU,
3323 F=Ferz, Elephant, A=Archbishop, C=Chancellor, W=Wazir, M=Commoner, O=Cannon,
3324 H=Nightrider). You should list at least all pieces that occur in the variant
3325 you are playing. If you have less than 44 characters in the string, the pieces
3326 not mentioned will get assigned a period, and you will not be able to distinguish
3327 them in FENs. You can also explicitly assign pieces a period, in which case they
3328 will not be counted in deciding which captured pieces can go into the holdings.
3329 A tilde '~' as a piece name does mean this piece is used to represent a promoted
3330 Pawn in crazyhouse-like games, i.e. on capture it turns back onto a Pawn.
3331 A '+' similarly indicates the piece is a shogi-style promoted piece, that should
3332 revert to its non-promoted version on capture (rather than to a Pawn).
3333 Note that promoted pieces are represented by pieces 11 further in the list.
3334 You should not have to use this option often: each variant has its own default
3335 setting for the piece representation in FEN, which should be sufficient in normal use.
3337 @item -pieceNickNames string
3338 @cindex pieceNickNames, option
3339 The characters in the string are interpreted the same way as in the
3340 @code{pieceToCharTable} option. But on input, piece-ID letters are
3341 first looked up in the nicknames, and only if not defined there,
3342 in the normal pieceToCharTable. This allows you to have two letters
3343 designate the same piece, (e.g. N as an alternative to H for Horse
3344 in Xiangqi), to make reading of non-compliant notations easier.
3346 @item -colorNickNames string
3347 @cindex colorNickNames, option
3348 The side-to-move field in a FEN will be first matched against the letters
3349 in the string (first character for white, second for black),
3350 before it is matched to the regular 'w' and 'b'.
3351 This makes it easier to read non-compliant FENs,
3352 which, say, use 'r' for white.
3354 @item -debug/-xdebug or -debugMode true/false
3355 @cindex debug, option
3356 @cindex debugMode, option
3357 Turns on debugging printout.
3358 @item -debugFile filename or -nameOfDebugFile filename
3359 @cindex debugFile, option
3360 @cindex nameOfDebugFile, option
3361 Sets the name of the file to which XBoard saves debug information
3362 (including all communication to and from the engines).
3363 A @kbd{%d} in the given file name (e.g. game%d.debug) will be replaced
3364 by the unique sequence number of a tournament game,
3365 so that the debug output of each game will be written on a separate file.
3366 @item -engineDebugOutput number
3367 @cindex engineDebugOutput, option
3368 Specifies how XBoard should handle unsolicited output from the engine,
3369 with respect to saving it in the debug file.
3370 The output is further (hopefully) ignored.
3371 If number=0, XBoard refrains from writing such spurious output to the debug file.
3372 If number=1, all engine output is written faithfully to the debug file.
3373 If number=2, any protocol-violating line is prefixed with a '#' character,
3374 as the engine itself should have done if it wanted to submit info for inclusion in the debug file.
3375 This option is provided for the benefit of applications that use the debug file
3376 as a source of information, such as the broadcaster of live games TLCV / TLCS.
3377 Such applications can be protected from spurious engine output that might otherwise confuse them.
3378 @item -rsh or -remoteShell shell-name
3380 @cindex remoteShell, option
3381 Name of the command used to run programs remotely. The default
3382 is @file{rsh} or @file{remsh}, determined when XBoard is
3383 configured and compiled.
3384 @item -ruser or -remoteUser user-name
3385 @cindex ruser, option
3386 @cindex remoteUser, option
3387 User name on the remote system when running programs with the
3388 @code{remoteShell}. The default is your local user name.
3389 @item -userName username
3390 @cindex userName, option
3391 Name under which the Human player will be listed in the PGN file.
3392 Default is the login name on your local computer.
3393 @item -delayBeforeQuit number
3394 @itemx -delayAfterQuit number
3395 @cindex delayBeforeQuit, option
3396 @cindex delayAfterQuit, option
3397 These options specify how long XBoard has to wait before sending a termination signal to rogue engine processes, that do not want to react to the 'quit' command. The second one determines the pause after killing the engine, to make sure it dies.
3399 @cindex searchMode, option
3400 The integer n encodes the mode for the @samp{find position} function.
3401 Default: 1 (= Exact position match)
3402 @item -eloThresholdBoth elo
3403 @itemx -eloThresholdAny elo
3404 @cindex eloThresholdBoth, option
3405 @cindex eloThresholdAny, option
3406 Defines a lower limit for the Elo rating, which has to be surpassed
3407 before a game will be considered when searching for a board position.
3409 @item -dateThreshold year
3410 @cindex dateThreshold, option
3411 Only games not played before the given year will be considered when
3412 searching for a board position
3418 @chapter Chess Servers
3420 @cindex ICS, addresses
3421 @cindex Internet Chess Server
3422 An @dfn{Internet Chess Server}, or @dfn{ICS}, is a place on the
3423 Internet where people can get together to play chess, watch other
3424 people's games, or just chat. You can use either @code{telnet} or a
3425 client program like XBoard to connect to the server. There are
3426 thousands of registered users on the different ICS hosts, and it is
3427 not unusual to meet 200 on both chessclub.com and freechess.org.
3429 Most people can just type @kbd{xboard -ics} to start XBoard as an ICS
3430 client. Invoking XBoard in this way connects you to the Internet
3431 Chess Club (ICC), a commercial ICS. You can log in there as a guest
3432 even if you do not have a paid account. To connect to the largest
3433 Free ICS (FICS), use the command @kbd{xboard -ics -icshost freechess.org}
3434 instead, or substitute a different host name to connect to your
3436 For a full description of command-line options that control
3437 the connection to ICS and change the default values of ICS options, see
3440 While you are running XBoard as an ICS client,
3441 you use the terminal window that you started XBoard from
3442 as a place to type in commands and read information that is
3443 not available on the chessboard.
3445 The first time you need to use the terminal is to enter your login name
3446 and password, if you are a registered player. (You don't need to do
3447 this manually; the @code{icsLogon} option can do it for you.
3448 @pxref{ICS options}.) If you are not registered,
3449 enter @kbd{g} as your name, and the server will pick a
3450 unique guest name for you.
3452 Some useful ICS commands
3456 @cindex help, ICS command
3457 to get help on the given <topic>. To get a list of possible topics type
3458 @dfn{help} without topic. Try the help command before you ask other
3459 people on the server for help.
3461 For example @kbd{help register} tells you how to become a registered
3464 @cindex who, ICS command
3465 to see a list of people who are logged on. Administrators
3466 (people you should talk to if you have a problem) are marked
3467 with the character @samp{*}, an asterisk. The <flags> allow you to
3468 display only selected players: For example, @kbd{who of} shows a
3469 list of players who are interested in playing but do not have
3472 @cindex games, ICS command
3473 to see what games are being played
3474 @item match <player> [<mins>] [<inc>]
3475 to challenge another player to a game. Both opponents get <mins> minutes
3476 for the game, and <inc> seconds will be added after each move.
3477 If another player challenges you, the server asks if you want to
3478 accept the challenge; use the @kbd{accept} or @kbd{decline} commands
3482 @cindex accept, ICS command
3483 @cindex decline, ICS command
3484 to accept or decline another player's offer.
3485 The offer may be to start a new game, or to agree to a
3486 @kbd{draw}, @kbd{adjourn} or @kbd{abort} the current game. @xref{Action Menu}.
3488 If you have more than one pending offer (for example, if more than one player
3489 is challenging you, or if your opponent offers both a draw and to adjourn the
3490 game), you have to supply additional information, by typing something
3491 like @kbd{accept <player>}, @kbd{accept draw}, or @kbd{draw}.
3495 @cindex draw, ICS command
3496 @cindex adjourn, ICS command
3497 @cindex abort, ICS command
3498 asks your opponent to terminate a game by mutual agreement. Adjourned
3499 games can be continued later.
3500 Your opponent can either @kbd{decline} your offer or accept it (by typing the
3501 same command or typing @kbd{accept}). In some cases these commands work
3502 immediately, without asking your opponent to agree. For example, you can
3503 abort the game unilaterally if your opponent is out of time, and you can claim
3504 a draw by repetition or the 50-move rule if available simply by typing
3506 @item finger <player>
3507 @cindex finger, ICS command
3508 to get information about the given <player>. (Default: yourself.)
3510 @cindex vars, ICS command
3511 to get a list of personal settings
3512 @item set <var> <value>
3513 @cindex set, ICS command
3514 to modify these settings
3515 @item observe <player>
3516 @cindex observe, ICS command
3517 to observe an ongoing game of the given <player>.
3520 @cindex examine, ICS command
3521 @cindex oldmoves, ICS command
3522 to review a recently completed game
3525 Some special XBoard features are activated when you are
3526 in examine mode on ICS. See the descriptions of the menu commands
3527 @samp{Forward}, @samp{Backward}, @samp{Pause}, @samp{ICS Client},
3528 and @samp{Stop Examining} on the @ref{Edit Menu}, @ref{Mode Menu}, and
3533 By default, XBoard communicates with an Internet Chess Server
3534 by opening a TCP socket directly from the machine it is running on
3535 to the ICS. If there is a firewall between your machine and the ICS,
3536 this won't work. Here are some recipes for getting around common
3537 kinds of firewalls using special options to XBoard.
3538 Important: See the paragraph in the below about extra echoes, in
3541 Suppose that you can't telnet directly to ICS, but you can telnet
3542 to a firewall host, log in, and then telnet from there to ICS.
3543 Let's say the firewall is called @samp{firewall.example.com}. Set
3544 command-line options as follows:
3547 xboard -ics -icshost firewall.example.com -icsport 23
3550 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
3553 XBoard*internetChessServerHost: firewall.example.com
3554 XBoard*internetChessServerPort: 23
3557 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, you will be prompted
3558 to log in to the firewall host. This works because port 23 is the
3559 standard telnet login service. Do so, then telnet to ICS, using a
3560 command like @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000}, or whatever command
3561 the firewall provides for telnetting to port 5000.
3563 If your firewall lets you telnet (or rlogin) to remote hosts but
3564 doesn't let you telnet to port 5000, you may be able to connect to the
3565 chess server on port 23 instead, which is the port the telnet program
3566 uses by default. Some chess servers support this (including
3567 chessclub.com and freechess.org), while some do not.
3569 If your chess server does not allow connections on port 23 and your
3570 firewall does not allow you to connect to other ports, you may be able
3571 to connect by hopping through another host outside the firewall that
3572 you have an account on. For instance, suppose you have a shell
3573 account at @samp{foo.edu}. Follow the recipe above, but instead of
3574 typing @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000} to the firewall, type
3575 @samp{telnet foo.edu} (or @samp{rlogin foo.edu}), log in there, and
3576 then type @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000}.
3578 Suppose that you can't telnet directly to ICS, but you can use rsh
3579 to run programs on a firewall host, and that host can telnet to ICS.
3580 Let's say the firewall is called @samp{rsh.example.com}. Set
3581 command-line options as follows:
3584 xboard -ics -gateway rsh.example.com -icshost chessclub.com
3588 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
3591 XBoard*gateway: rsh.example.com
3592 XBoard*internetChessServerHost: chessclub.com
3595 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, it will connect to
3596 the ICS by using @file{rsh} to run the command
3597 @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000} on host @samp{rsh.example.com}.
3599 Suppose that you can telnet anywhere you want, but you have to
3600 run a special program called @file{ptelnet} to do so.
3602 First, we'll consider the easy case, in which
3603 @samp{ptelnet chessclub.com 5000} gets you to the chess server.
3604 In this case set command line options as follows:
3607 xboard -ics -telnet -telnetProgram ptelnet
3611 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
3614 XBoard*useTelnet: true
3615 XBoard*telnetProgram: ptelnet
3619 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, it will issue the
3620 command @samp{ptelnet chessclub.com 5000} to connect to the ICS.
3622 Next, suppose that @samp{ptelnet chessclub.com 5000} doesn't work;
3623 that is, your @file{ptelnet} program doesn't let you connect to
3624 alternative ports. As noted above, your chess server may allow you to
3625 connect on port 23 instead. In that case, just add the option
3626 @samp{-icsport ""} to the above command, or add
3627 @samp{XBoard*internetChessServerPort:} to your @file{.Xresources} file.
3628 But if your chess server doesn't let you connect on port 23, you will have
3629 to find some other host outside the firewall and hop through it. For
3630 instance, suppose you have a shell account at @samp{foo.edu}. Set
3631 command line options as follows:
3634 xboard -ics -telnet -telnetProgram ptelnet -icshost foo.edu -icsport ""
3638 Or in your @file{.Xresources} file:
3641 XBoard*useTelnet: true
3642 XBoard*telnetProgram: ptelnet
3643 XBoard*internetChessServerHost: foo.edu
3644 XBoard*internetChessServerPort:
3648 Then when you run XBoard in ICS mode, it will issue the
3649 command @samp{ptelnet foo.edu} to connect to your account at
3650 @samp{foo.edu}. Log in there, then type @samp{telnet chessclub.com 5000}.
3652 ICC timestamp and FICS timeseal do not work through some
3653 firewalls. You can use them only if your firewall gives a clean TCP
3654 connection with a full 8-bit wide path. If your firewall allows you
3655 to get out only by running a special telnet program, you can't use
3656 timestamp or timeseal across it. But if you have access to a
3657 computer just outside your firewall, and you have much lower netlag
3658 when talking to that computer than to the ICS, it might be worthwhile
3659 running timestamp there. Follow the instructions above for hopping
3660 through a host outside the firewall (foo.edu in the example),
3661 but run timestamp or timeseal on that host instead of telnet.
3663 Suppose that you have a SOCKS firewall that will give you a clean
3664 8-bit wide TCP connection to the chess server, but only after you
3665 authenticate yourself via the SOCKS protocol. In that case, you could
3666 make a socksified version of XBoard and run that. If you are using
3667 timestamp or timeseal, you will to socksify it, not XBoard; this may
3668 be difficult seeing that ICC and FICS do not provide source code for
3669 these programs. Socksification is beyond the scope of this document,
3670 but see the SOCKS Web site at http://www.socks.permeo.com/.
3671 If you are missing SOCKS, try http://www.funbureau.com/.
3674 @chapter Environment variables
3675 @cindex Environment variables
3677 Game and position files are found in a directory named by the
3678 @code{CHESSDIR} environment variable. If this variable is not set, the
3679 current working directory is used. If @code{CHESSDIR} is set,
3680 XBoard actually changes its working directory to
3681 @code{$CHESSDIR}, so any files written by the chess engine
3682 will be placed there too.
3685 @chapter Limitations and known bugs
3688 There is no way for two people running copies of XBoard to play
3689 each other without going through an Internet Chess Server.
3691 Under some circumstances, your ICS password may be echoed when you log on.
3693 If you are connecting to the ICS by running telnet on an Internet
3694 provider or firewall host, you may find that each line you type is
3695 echoed back an extra time after you hit @key{Enter}. If your Internet
3696 provider is a Unix system, you can probably turn its echo off by
3697 typing @kbd{stty -echo} after you log in, and/or typing
3698 @key{^E}@key{Enter} (Ctrl+E followed by the Enter key) to the telnet
3699 program after you have logged into ICS. It is a good idea to do this
3700 if you can, because the extra echo can occasionally confuse XBoard's
3703 The game parser recognizes only algebraic notation.
3705 Many of the following points used to be limitations in XBoard 4.2.7 and earlier,
3707 The internal move legality tester in XBoard 4.3.xx does look at the game history,
3708 and is fully aware of castling or en-passant-capture rights. It permits castling with
3709 the king on the d file because this is possible in some "wild 1" games on ICS.
3710 The piece-drop menu does not check piece drops in bughouse to see if you actually hold
3711 the piece you are trying to drop. But this way of dropping pieces should be considered
3712 an obsolete feature, now that pieces can be dropped by dragging them from the holdings
3713 to the board. Anyway, if you would attempt an illegal move when using a chess engine or the ICS,
3714 XBoard will accept the error message that comes back, undo the move, and let you try another.
3715 FEN positions saved by XBoard do include correct information about whether castling or
3716 en passant are legal, and also handle the 50-move counter.
3717 The mate detector does not understand that non-contact mate is not really mate in bughouse.
3718 The only problem this causes while playing is minor: a "#" (mate indicator) character will
3719 show up after a non-contact mating move in the move list. XBoard will not assume the game
3720 is over at that point, not even when the option Detect Mates is on.
3721 Edit Game mode always uses the rules of the selected variant,
3722 which can be a variant that uses piece drops.
3723 You can load and edit games that contain piece drops.
3724 The (obsolete) piece menus are not active,
3725 but you can perform piece drops by dragging pieces from the holdings.
3726 Fischer Random castling is fully understood.
3727 You can enter castlings by dragging the King on top of your Rook.
3728 You can probably also play Fischer Random successfully on ICS by typing
3729 castling moves into the ICS Interaction window.
3731 The menus may not work if your keyboard is in Caps Lock or Num Lock mode.
3732 This seems to be a problem with the Athena menu widget,
3735 Also see the ToDo file included with the distribution for many other
3736 possible bugs, limitations, and ideas for improvement that have been
3739 @chapter Reporting problems
3742 @cindex Reporting bugs
3744 @cindex Reporting problems
3746 You can report bugs and problems with XBoard using
3747 the bug tracker at @code{https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/xboard/}
3748 or by sending mail to @code{<bug-xboard@@gnu.org>}. It can also
3749 be useful to report or discuss bugs in the WinBoard Forum at
3750 @code{http://www.open-aurec.com/wbforum/},
3751 WinBoard development section.
3753 Please use the @file{script} program to start a typescript, run
3754 XBoard with the @samp{-debug} option, and include the typescript
3755 output in your message.
3756 Also tell us what kind of machine and what operating system version
3757 you are using. The command @samp{uname -a} will often tell you this.
3759 If you improve XBoard, please send a message about your changes,
3760 and we will get in touch with you about merging them in
3761 to the main line of development.
3764 @chapter Authors and contributors
3766 @cindex Contributors
3768 Chris Sears and Dan Sears wrote the original XBoard. They were
3769 responsible for versions 1.0 through 1.2. The color scheme was taken
3770 from Wayne Christopher's @code{XChess} program.
3772 Tim Mann was primarily responsible for XBoard versions 1.3 through
3773 4.2.7, and for WinBoard (a port of XBoard to Microsoft Win32) from its
3774 inception through version 4.2.7.
3776 John Chanak contributed the initial implementation of ICS mode. Evan
3777 Welsh wrote @code{CMail}, and Patrick Surry helped in designing,
3778 testing, and documenting it. Elmar Bartel contributed the new piece
3779 bitmaps introduced in version 3.2. Jochen Wiedmann converted the
3780 documentation to texinfo. Frank McIngvale added click/click moving,
3781 the Analysis modes, piece flashing, ZIICS import, and ICS text
3782 colorization to XBoard. Hugh Fisher added animated piece movement to
3783 XBoard, and Henrik Gram added it to WinBoard. Mark Williams
3784 contributed the initial (WinBoard-only) implementation of many new
3785 features added to both XBoard and WinBoard in version 4.1.0, including
3786 copy/paste, premove, icsAlarm, autoFlipView, training mode, auto
3787 raise, and blindfold. Ben Nye contributed X copy/paste code for
3790 In a fork from version 4.2.7, Alessandro Scotti added many elements to
3791 the user interface of WinBoard, including the board textures and
3792 font-based rendering, the evaluation-graph, move-history and
3793 engine-output window. He was also responsible for adding the UCI
3796 H. G. Muller continued this fork of the project, producing version
3797 4.3. He made WinBoard castling- and e.p.-aware, added variant support
3798 with adjustable board sizes, the crazyhouse holdings, and the fairy
3799 pieces. In addition he added most of the adjudication options, made
3800 WinBoard more robust in dealing with buggy and crashing engines, and
3801 extended time control with a time-odds and node-count-based modes.
3802 Most of the options that initially were WinBoard only have now been
3803 back-ported to XBoard.
3805 Michel van den Bergh provided the code for reading Polyglot opening books.
3807 Meanwhile, some work continued on the GNU XBoard project maintained at
3808 savannah.gnu.org, but version 4.2.8 was never released. Daniel
3809 Mehrmann was responsible for much of this work.
3811 Most recently, Arun Persaud worked with H. G. Muller to merge all
3812 the features of the never-released XBoard/WinBoard 4.2.8 of the GNU
3813 XBoard project and the never-released 4.3.16 from H. G.'s fork into a
3814 unified XBoard/WinBoard 4.4, which is now available both from the
3815 savannah.gnu.org web site and the WinBoard forum.
3820 The @file{cmail} program can help you play chess by email with opponents of
3821 your choice using XBoard as an interface.
3823 You will usually run @file{cmail} without giving any options.
3826 * CMail options:: Invoking CMail.
3827 * CMail game:: Starting a CMail game.
3828 * CMail answer:: Answering a move.
3829 * CMail multi:: Multiple games in one message.
3830 * CMail completion:: Completing a game.
3831 * CMail trouble:: Known CMail problems.
3835 @section CMail options
3838 Displays @file{cmail} usage information.
3840 Shows the conditions of the GNU General Public License.
3843 Shows the warranty notice of the GNU General Public License.
3847 Provides or inhibits verbose output from @file{cmail} and XBoard,
3848 useful for debugging. The
3850 form also inhibits the cmail introduction message.
3853 Invokes or inhibits the sending of a mail message containing the move.
3856 Invokes or inhibits the running of XBoard on the game file.
3859 Invokes or inhibits the reuse of an existing XBoard to display the
3862 Resends the last mail message for that game. This inhibits running
3865 The name of the game to be processed.
3866 @item -wgames <number>
3867 @itemx -bgames <number>
3868 @itemx -games <number>
3869 Number of games to start as White, as Black or in total. Default is 1 as
3870 white and none as black. If only one color is specified then none of the
3871 other color is assumed. If no color is specified then equal numbers of
3872 White and Black games are started, with the extra game being as White if an
3873 odd number of total games is specified.
3874 @item -me <short name>
3875 @itemx -opp <short name>
3876 A one-word alias for yourself or your opponent.
3877 @item -wname <full name>
3878 @itemx -bname <full name>
3879 @itemx -myname <full name>
3880 @itemx -oppname <full name>
3881 The full name of White, Black, yourself or your opponent.
3882 @item -wna <net address>
3883 @itemx -bna <net address>
3884 @itemx -na <net address>
3885 @itemx -oppna <net address>
3886 The email address of White, Black, yourself or your opponent.
3887 @item -dir <directory>
3888 The directory in which @file{cmail} keeps its files. This defaults to the
3889 environment variable @code{$CMAIL_DIR} or failing that, @code{$CHESSDIR},
3890 @file{$HOME/Chess} or @file{~/Chess}. It will be created if it does not exist.
3891 @item -arcdir <directory>
3892 The directory in which @file{cmail} archives completed games. Defaults to
3893 the environment variable @code{$CMAIL_ARCDIR} or, in its absence, the same
3894 directory as cmail keeps its working files (above).
3895 @item -mailprog <mail program>
3896 The program used by cmail to send email messages. This defaults to the
3897 environment variable @code{$CMAIL_MAILPROG} or failing that
3898 @file{/usr/ucb/Mail}, @file{/usr/ucb/mail} or @file{Mail}. You will need
3899 to set this variable if none of the above paths fit your system.
3900 @item -logFile <file>
3901 A file in which to dump verbose debugging messages that are invoked with
3904 @item -event <event>
3905 The PGN Event tag (default @samp{Email correspondence game}).
3907 The PGN Site tag (default @samp{NET}).
3908 @item -round <round>
3909 The PGN Round tag (default @samp{-}, not applicable).
3911 The PGN Mode tag (default @samp{EM}, Electronic Mail).
3913 Any option flags not listed above are passed through to XBoard.
3914 Invoking XBoard through CMail changes the default values of two XBoard
3915 options: The default value for @samp{-noChessProgram} is changed to
3916 true; that is, by default no chess engine is started. The default
3917 value for @samp{-timeDelay} is changed to 0; that is, by default
3918 XBoard immediately goes to the end of the game as played so far,
3919 rather than stepping through the moves one by one. You can still set
3920 these options to whatever values you prefer by supplying them on
3921 CMail's command line. @xref{Options}.
3925 @section Starting a CMail Game
3926 Type @file{cmail} from a shell to start a game as white. After an opening
3927 message, you will be prompted for a game name, which is optional---if you
3928 simply press @key{Enter}, the game name will take the form
3929 @samp{you-VS-opponent}. You will next be prompted for the short name
3930 of your opponent. If you haven't played this person before, you will also
3931 be prompted for his/her email address. @file{cmail} will then invoke
3932 XBoard in the background. Make your first move and select
3933 @samp{Mail Move} from the @samp{File} menu. @xref{File Menu}. If all is well,
3934 @file{cmail} will mail a copy of the move to your opponent. If you select
3935 @samp{Exit} without having selected @samp{Mail Move} then no move will be
3939 @section Answering a Move
3940 When you receive a message from an opponent containing a move in one of
3941 your games, simply pipe the message through @file{cmail}. In some mailers
3942 this is as simple as typing @kbd{| cmail} when viewing the message, while in
3943 others you may have to save the message to a file and do @kbd{cmail < file}
3944 at the command line. In either case @file{cmail} will display the game using
3945 XBoard. If you didn't exit XBoard when you made your first move
3946 then @file{cmail} will do its best to use the existing XBoard instead
3947 of starting a new one. As before, simply make a move and select
3948 @samp{Mail Move} from the @samp{File} menu. @xref{File Menu}. @file{cmail}
3950 XBoard that was most recently used to display the current game. This
3951 means that many games can be in progress simultaneously, each with its own
3954 If you want to look at the history or explore a variation, go ahead, but
3955 you must return to the current position before XBoard will allow you
3956 to mail a move. If you edit the game's history you must select
3957 @samp{Reload Same Game} from the @samp{File} menu to get back to the original
3958 position, then make the move you want and select @samp{Mail Move}.
3959 As before, if you decide you aren't ready to make a move just yet you can
3960 either select @samp{Exit} without sending a move or just leave
3961 XBoard running until you are ready.
3964 @section Multi-Game Messages
3966 It is possible to have a @file{cmail} message carry more than one game.
3967 This feature was implemented to handle IECG (International Email Chess
3968 Group) matches, where a match consists of one game as white and one as black,
3969 with moves transmitted simultaneously. In case there are more general uses,
3970 @file{cmail} itself places no limit on the number of black/white games
3971 contained in a message; however, XBoard does.
3973 @node CMail completion
3974 @section Completing a Game
3975 Because XBoard can detect checkmate and stalemate, @file{cmail}
3976 handles game termination sensibly. As well as resignation, the
3977 @samp{Action} menu allows draws to be offered and accepted for
3980 For multi-game messages, only unfinished and just-finished games will be
3981 included in email messages. When all the games are finished, they are
3982 archived in the user's archive directory, and similarly in the opponent's
3983 when he or she pipes the final message through @file{cmail}. The archive
3984 file name includes the date the game was started.
3987 @section Known CMail Problems
3988 It's possible that a strange conjunction of conditions may occasionally
3989 mean that @file{cmail} has trouble reactivating an existing
3990 XBoard. If this should happen, simply trying it again should work.
3991 If not, remove the file that stores the XBoard's PID
3992 (@file{game.pid}) or use the @samp{-xreuse} option to force
3993 @file{cmail} to start a new XBoard.
3995 Versions of @file{cmail} after 2.16 no longer understand the old file format
3996 that XBoard used to use and so cannot be used to correspond with
3997 anyone using an older version.
3999 Versions of @file{cmail} older than 2.11 do not handle multi-game messages,
4000 so multi-game correspondence is not possible with opponents using an older
4003 @node Other programs
4004 @chapter Other programs you can use with XBoard
4005 @cindex Other programs
4007 Here are some other programs you can use with XBoard
4010 * GNU Chess:: The GNU Chess engine.
4011 * Fairy-Max:: The Fairy-Max chess engine.
4012 * HoiChess:: The HoiChess chess engine.
4013 * Crafty:: The Crafty chess engine.
4014 * zic2xpm:: The program used to import chess sets from ZIICS.
4020 The GNU Chess engine is available from:
4022 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gnuchess/
4024 You can use XBoard to play a game against GNU Chess, or to
4025 interface GNU Chess to an ICS.
4030 Fairy-Max is a derivative from the once World's smallest Chess program micro-Max,
4031 which measures only about 100 lines of source code.
4032 The main difference with micro-Max is that Fairy-Max loads its move-generator
4033 tables from a file, so that the rules for piece movement can be easily configured
4034 to implement unorthodox pieces.
4035 Fairy-Max can therefore play a large number of variants, normal Chess being one of those.
4036 In addition it plays Knightmate, Capablanca and Gothic Chess, Shatranj, Courier Chess,
4037 Cylinder chess, Berolina Chess, while the user can easily define new variants.
4038 It can be obtained from:
4040 http://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/dwnldpage.html
4045 HoiChess is a not-so-very-strong Chess engine, which comes with a derivative HoiXiangqi,
4046 able to play Chinese Chess. It can be obtained from the standard Linux repositories
4049 sudo apt-get install hoichess
4054 Crafty is a chess engine written by Bob Hyatt.
4055 You can use XBoard to play a game against Crafty, hook Crafty up
4056 to an ICS, or use Crafty to interactively analyze games and positions
4059 Crafty is a strong, rapidly evolving chess program. This rapid
4060 pace of development is good, because it means Crafty is always
4061 getting better. This can sometimes cause problems with
4062 backwards compatibility, but usually the latest version of Crafty
4063 will work well with the latest version of XBoard.
4064 Crafty can be obtained from its author's FTP site:
4065 ftp://ftp.cis.uab.edu/hyatt/.
4067 To use Crafty with XBoard, give the -fcp and -fd options as follows, where
4068 <crafty's directory> is the directory in which you installed Crafty
4069 and placed its book and other support files.
4074 The ``zic2xpm'' program is used to import chess sets from the ZIICS(*)
4075 program into XBoard. ``zic2xpm'' is part of the XBoard distribution.
4076 ZIICS is available from:
4078 ftp://ftp.freechess.org/pub/chess/DOS/ziics131.exe
4080 To import ZIICS pieces, do this:
4082 @item 1. Unzip ziics131.exe into a directory:
4085 unzip -L ziics131.exe -d ~/ziics
4087 @item 2. Use zic2xpm to convert a set of pieces to XBoard format.
4089 For example, let's say you want to use the
4090 FRITZ4 set. These files are named ``fritz4.*'' in the ZIICS distribution.
4095 zic2xpm ~/ziics/fritz4.*
4097 @item 3. Give XBoard the ``-pixmap'' option when starting up, e.g.:
4100 xboard -pixmap ~/fritz4
4103 Alternatively, you can add this line to your @file{.Xresources} file:
4106 xboard*pixmapDirectory: ~/fritz4
4110 (*) ZIICS is a separate copyrighted work of Andy McFarland.
4111 The ``ZIICS pieces'' are copyrighted works of their respective
4112 creators. Files produced by ``zic2xpm'' are for PERSONAL USE ONLY
4113 and may NOT be redistributed without explicit permission from
4114 the original creator(s) of the pieces.
4118 @unnumbered Copyright
4119 @include copyright.texi
4123 @unnumbered GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
4124 @include gpl.texinfo