5f021e6ca8
the source directory, but there isn't a very portable way of creating it w/out writing to the source directory, so I just copied it.
162 lines
5.1 KiB
Groff
162 lines
5.1 KiB
Groff
.TH Chess GNU
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.SH NAME
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Chess \- GNU Chess
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.SH SYNOPSIS
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.B Chess
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[
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.B arg1 arg2
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]
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.SH DESCRIPTION
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.I Chess
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plays a game of chess against the user or it plays against itself.
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.PP
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.I Chess
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has a simple alpha-numeric board display or it can be compiled for
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use with the CHESSTOOL program on a SUN workstation.
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The program gets its opening moves from the file gnuchess.book which
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should be located in the same directory as gnuchess.
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To invoke the prgram, type 'gnuchess' or type 'chesstool gnuchess'
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on a SUN workstation where 'CHESSTOOL' is installed.
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The 'gnuchess' command can be followed by up to 2 command line arguments.
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If one argument is given it determines the programs search time in
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seconds. If two arguments are given, they will be used to set tournament
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time controls with the first argument being the number of moves and the second
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being the total clock time in minutes. Thus, entering 'chess 60 5' will set
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the clocks for 5 minutes (300 seconds) for the first 60 moves.
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If no argument is given the program will prompt the user for level of
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play.
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For use with CHESSTOOL, see the documentation on that program.
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.PP
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Once
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.I Chess
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is invoked, the program will display the board and prompt the user
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for a move. To enter a move, use the notation 'e2e4' where the first
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letter-number pair indicates the origination square
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and the second letter-number pair indicates the destination square.
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An alternative is to use the notation 'nf3' where
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the first letter indicates the piece type (p,n,b,r,q,k).
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To castle, type the origin and destination squares
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of the king just as you would do for a regular move, or type
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"o-o" for kingside castling and "o-o-o" for queenside.
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.SH COMMANDS
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.PP
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In addition to legal moves, the following commands are available as responses.
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.PP
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.I beep
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-- causes the program to beep after each move.
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.PP
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.I bd
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-- updates the current board position on the display.
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.PP
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.I book
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-- turns off use of the opening library.
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.PP
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.I both
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-- causes the computer to play both sides of a chess game.
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.PP
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.I black
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-- causes the computer to take the black pieces with the move
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and begin searching.
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.PP
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.I level
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-- allows the user to set time controls such as
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60 moves in 5 minutes etc. In tournament mode, the program will
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vary the time it takes for each
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move depending on the situation. If easy mode is disabled (using
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the 'easy' command), the program
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will often respond with its move immediately, saving time on
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its clock for use later on.
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.PP
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.I depth
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-- allows the user to change the
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search depth of the program. The maximum depth is 29 ply.
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Normally the depth is set to 29 and the computer terminates
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its search based on elapsed time rather than depth.
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Using the depth command allows setting depth to say
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4 ply and setting response time to a large number such as
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9999 seconds. The program will then search until all moves
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have been examined to a depth of 4 ply (with extensions up
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to 11 additional ply for sequences of checks and captures).
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.PP
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.I easy
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-- toggles easy mode (thinking on opponents time)
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on and off. The default is easy mode ON. If easy mode is disabled,
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the user must enter a 'break' or '^C' to get the programs
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attention before entering each move.
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.PP
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.I edit
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-- allows the user to set up a board position.
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In this mode, the '#' command will clear the board, the 'c'
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command will toggle piece color, and the '.' command will exit
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setup mode. Pieces are entered by typing a letter (p,n,b,r,q,k) for
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the piece followed by the coordinate. For example "pb3" would
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place a pawn on square b3.
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.PP
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.I force
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-- allows the user to enter moves for both
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sides. To get the program to play after a sequence of moves
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has been entered use the 'white' or 'black' commands.
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.PP
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.I get
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-- retrieves a game from disk. The program will
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prompt the user for a file name.
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.PP
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.I help
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-- displays a short description of the commands.
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.PP
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.I hint
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-- causes the program to supply the user with
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its predicted move.
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.PP
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.I list
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-- writes the game moves and some statistics
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on search depth, nodes, and time to the file 'chess.lst'.
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.PP
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.I new
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-- starts a new game.
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.PP
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.I post
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-- causes the program to display the principle
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variation and the score during the search. A score of
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100 is equivalent to a 1 pawn advantage for the computer.
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.PP
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.I random
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-- causes the program to randomize its move
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selection slightly.
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.PP
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.I reverse
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-- causes the board display to be reversed. That
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is, the white pieces will now appear at the top of the board.
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.PP
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.I quit
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-- exits the game.
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.PP
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.I save
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-- saves a game to disk. The program will prompt
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the user for a file name.
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.PP
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.I switch
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-- causes the program to switch places with
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the opponent and begin searching.
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.PP
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.I undo
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-- undoes the last move whether it was the computer's
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or the human's. You may also type "remove". This is equivalent
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to two "undo's" (e.g. retract one move for each side).
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.PP
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.I white
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-- causes the computer to take the white pieces
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with the move and begin searching.
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.SH BUGS
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.PP
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Pawn promotion to pieces other than a queen is not allowed.
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En-Passant does not work properly with CHESSTOOOL.
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The transposition table may not work properly in some
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positions so the default is to turn this off.
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.fi
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.SH SEE ALSO
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.nf
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chesstool(6)
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.fi
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