In addition to legal moves, the following commands are available as responses.
Note:
command names are determined by the
language
file and may vary with the implementation. This is default English.
alg
-- allow algebraic input (not implemented)
Awindow
-- change Alpha window (default score + 90)
Bwindow
-- change Beta window (default score - 90)
beep
-- causes the program to beep after each move.
bd
-- updates the current board position on the display.
bk
-- Print out all moves for this position from the book as: move response value
book
-- turns off use of the opening library.
both
-- causes the computer to play both sides of a chess game.
black
-- causes the computer to take the black pieces.
If the computer is to move first the
go
command must be given.
eco
-- Print out opening information for this game - lists ECO # and variations
coords
-- show coordinates on the display (visual only)
contempt
-- allows the value of
contempt
to be modified.
debug
-- asks for a piece as color piece, as wb or bn, and shows its calculated value on
each square.
debuglevel
-- sets level of debugging output if compiled with debug options.
depth
-- allows the user to change the
search depth of the program. The maximum depth is 29 ply.
Normally the depth is set to 29 and the computer terminates
its search based on elapsed time rather than depth.
If depth is set to (say) 4 ply,
the program will search until all moves
have been examined to a depth of 4 ply (with extensions up
to 11 additional ply for sequences of checks and captures).
If you set a maximum time per move and also use the depth command,
the search will stop at the specified time or the specified depth, whichever
comes first.
easy
-- toggles easy mode (thinking on opponents time)
on and off. The default is easy mode ON. If easy mode is disabled,
the keyboard is polled for input every so often and when input is
seen the search is terminated. It may also be terminated with a
sigint.
edit
-- allows the user to set up a board position.
#
- command will clear the board.
c
- toggle piece color.
.
- command will exit setup mode.
pb3
- place a pawn on b3
Pieces are entered by typing a letter (p,n,b,r,q,k) for
the piece followed by the coordinate.
The usual warning about the
language file
applies.
exit
-- exits gnuchess.
first
-- tells the computer to move first. Computer begins searching for a move.
(same as "go").
force
-- allows the user to enter moves for both
sides. To get the program to play after a sequence of moves
has been entered use the 'white' or 'black' command followed by 'go'.
gamein
-- toggles game mode time control. Assumes the time specified for time control
is the time for a complete game. Input with the level command should be the game time
and the expected number of moves in a game.
get
-- retrieves a game from disk. The program will
prompt the user for a file name.
go
-- tells the computer to move first. Computer begins searching for a move.
(same as "first").
hash
-- use/don't use hashfile.
hard
-- think on opponents time
hashdepth
-- allows the user to change the minimum depth for using the hashfile and the number of moves from the
begining of the game to use it.
help
-- displays a short description of the commands and the current status of options.
hint
-- causes the program to supply the user with its predicted move.
level
-- allows the user to set time controls such as
60 moves in 5 minutes etc. In tournament mode, the program will
vary the time it takes for each
move depending on the situation. If easy mode is disabled (using
the 'easy' command), the program
will often respond with its move immediately, saving time on
its clock for use later on.
list
-- writes the game moves and some statistics
on search depth, nodes, and time to the file 'chess.lst'.
material
-- toggle material flag - draws on no pawns and both sides < rook
Mwpawn, Mbpawn, Mwknight, Mbknight, Mwbishop, Mbbishop
-- print out static position evaluation table
new
-- starts a new game.
p
-- evaluates the board and shows the point score for each piece. The total score for
a position is the sum of these individual piece scores.
post
-- causes the program to display the principle
variation and the score during the search. A score of
100 is equivalent to a 1 pawn advantage for the computer.
unpost
-- turn off the post display.
quit
-- exits the game.
random
-- causes the program to randomize its move
selection slightly.
rcptr
-- set recapture mode.
remove
-- backout the last level for both sides. Equal to 2
undo's.
reverse
-- causes the board display to be reversed. That
is, the white pieces will now appear at the top of the board.
rv
-- reverse board display.
setup
-- Compatibility with Unix chess and the nchesstool. Set up a board position.
Eight lines of eight characters are used to setup the board. a8-h8 is the
first line. Black pieces are represented by uppercase characters.
stars
-- (gnuchessn only) add stars (*) to black pieces.
save
-- saves a game to disk. The program will prompt
the user for a file name.
switch
-- causes the program to switch places with
the opponent and begin searching.
test
-- performs some speed tests for MoveList and CaptureList generation, and ScorePosition position scoring
for the current board.
time otim
--
time
set computers time remaining, intended for synchronizing clocks among multiple players.
--
otim
set opponents time remaining, intended for synchronizing clocks among multiple players.
undo
-- undoes the last move whether it was the computer's
or the human's. You may also type "remove". This is equivalent
to two "undo's" (e.g. retract one move for each side).
white
-- causes the computer to take the white pieces. If the computer is to move
first the
go
command must be given.
xget
-- read an
xboard
position file.
xwndw
-- change X window. The window around alpha/beta used to determine whether the position
should be scored or just estimated.