11/3/71 CHESS (VI) NAME chess -- the game of chess SYNOPSIS /usr/games/chess DESCRIPTION Chess is an attempt at computer chess. The program `speaks' in algebraic chess notation. The initial board configuration in this notation is as follows: 8 R N B Q K B N R 7 P P P P P P P P 6 - * - * - * - * 5 * - * - * - * - 4 - * - * - * - * 3 * - * - * - * - 2 p p p p p p p p 1 r n b q k b n r a b c d e f g h A move is specified by the `from' co--ordinate followed by the `to' co--ordinate. Thus the white P--K4 move would be `e2e4'. The black P--K4 would be `e7e5'. The following commands are recognized by the chess program: move Make the move if legal. The program does not keep track of who is to play. The move is made for what ever side is specified. move x Make the move regardless of legality. This is a good way to either set up a desired situation or to cheat. The initial move `e2e8x' is a winner. mw The program will compute and make a move for the white pieces. m The program will compute and make a move for the black pieces. lab Set the level parameters to a and b, where a and b are numbers between 0 and 9. The initial settings are 2 and 8. The first parameter increases computation time rapidly while the second parameter only increases computation exponentially. Currently move times run from 20 seconds to 10 minutes. It was hoped that these numbers would be usefully related to the program's competence. 11/3/71 CHESS (VI) p The board is printed. u The last move is un--made. This is another good way to cheat. t All the moves to date are printed. s The current game situation is saved on the file c.tmp. r The game situation on the file c.tmp is restored. ! command The unix command is executed by the mini-- shell. An interrupt (DEL) will pull the program out of its computation. If it is trying to make a move, the best move to date is made. FILES c.tmp SEE ALSO msh DIAGNOSTICS ? if an illegal move is attempted, or if an unknown command is typed. BUGS The current version does not recognize castling, promotion and en passant. A new version is in the mill. OWNER ken