NAME
gnushogi - GNU Shogi (Japanese Chess), version 1.3
SYNOPSIS
gnushogi [ [[-]a] [-b bookfile] [-B binbookfile] [-C] [-h langfile] [-L
langfile] [-r length] [-R] [-s pathname] [-l pathname] [-S binbooksize]
[-t] [-c size] [-T size] [-v] [-x] [-X] arg1 arg2 ]
DESCRIPTION
Gnushogi plays a game of japanese chess (shogi) against the user or it
plays against itself.
At startup Gnushogi reads the binbook file if it is present. It then
looks for a book file. If it is present it adds its contents to the
binbook data. If the binbook file is writable a new combined binbook
file is written.
Gnushogi is a modified version of the gnuchess program. It has a
simple alphanumeric board display, or it can be compiled for use with
the xshogi program under X windows. The program gets its opening moves
from the file gnushogi.bbk which is located in a directory specified in
the Makefile. To invoke the program type:
gnushogi -C
- simple curses based version
gnushogi -X (or just gnushogi)
- xshogi compatible version
gnushogi -R
- raw test display version
TIME CONTROLS
If one argument is given, it is the search time per move in
[minutes:]seconds. So gnushogi 30 will generate one move every 30
seconds, while gnushogi 5:00 will generate one move every 5 minutes.
If two or more arguments are given, they will be used to set tournament
time controls with the first argument of each pair being the number of
moves and the second being the total clock time in minutes[:seconds].
Thus, entering gnushogi 60 5 will set the clocks for 5 minutes (300
seconds) for the first 60 moves, and gnushogi 30 3:30 will allow 3
minutes and 30 seconds for 30 moves.
gnushogi 30 5 1 :30 will allow 5 minutes for the first 30 moves and 30
seconds for each move after that. Up to 4 pairs of controls may be
specified.
If no argument is given the program will prompt the user for level of
play.
For use with xshogi see the documentation on that program.
BOOK
The book gnushogi.tbk consists of a sequence of openings. An opening
begins with a line starting with a # , the rest of the line is a
comment. Following this is a series of moves in algebraic notation
alternating black and white separated by white space. A move may have a
? after it indicating this move should never be made in this position.
Moves are stored as position:move so transpositions between openings
can take place.
HASHFILE
The hashfile if created should be on the order of 4 megabytes or
gnushogi -c 22. This file contains positions and moves learned from
previous games. If a hashfile is used the computer makes use of the
experience it gained in past games. Tests run so far show that it plays
no worse with the hashfile than without, but it is not clear yet
whether it provides a real advantage.
LEGAL MOVES
Note: Piece letters are determined by the language file. What is
specified here is the default (English).
Once gnushogi is invoked, the program will display the board and prompt
the user for a move. To enter a move, use the notation 7g7f where the
first letter-number pair indicates the origin square and the second
letter-number pair indicates the destination square. An alternative is
to use the notation P7f where the first letter indicates the piece type
(P,L,N,S,G,B,R,K). To promote append a + the type of the new piece to
the move, as in 2d2c+ or P2c+. Note that you must use capital letters
for the pieces by default.
COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS
-a Do not search on opponent’s time.
a Do search on opponent’s time.
-b bookfile
Use bookfile for opening book.
-B binbookfile
Use binbookfile for binary opening book.
-c size
Create a new HASHFILE. File size is 2^size entries of
approximately 65+? bytes.
-C Use curses-based display mode.
-h Do not use hashfile.
h Do use hashfile.
-l pathname
Pathname of the loadfile use with get or xget.
-L lang
Use language lang from the file gnushogi.lang. If -L is not
specified it uses the first language in the file.
-P plylevels
Number of plys to include in the binbookfile. For generating a
binbookfile.
-r length
Rehash length times in searching entries for position in
transposition table.
-R Use raw text display mode. This can be used for dumb terminals
or for systems that don’t have curses.
-s pathname
Pathname of the save file to use with the save command.
-S size
Size of binbookfile for memory based books. For creating a
binbookfile.
-t Show statistics for HASHFILE
-T size
Set the transposition table size to 2^size entries.
-v Show version and patchlevel.
-x value
Use value as the evaluation window xwndw.
-X Use xshogi display mode (the default).
COMMANDS
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. The default language is English.
alg -- allow algebraic input (not implemented)
Awindow -- change Alpha window (default score + 90)
Bwindow -- change Beta window (default score - 90)
beep -- toggles beeping after each move (default: on).
bd -- updates the current board position on the display.
book -- turns off use of the opening library.
both -- causes the computer to play both sides of a shogi game.
black -- causes the computer to take the white pieces, if the computer
is to move first.
bsave -- saves a game to disk as a book textfile. The program will
prompt the user for a file name.
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. go command must be given.
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.
p3b - place a pawn on 3b
p3b+ - place a promoted pawn on 3b
p* - place a pawn to the captured pieces
Pieces are entered by typing a letter (p,l,n,s,g,b,r,k) for the piece
followed by the coordinate.
The usual warning about the language file applies.
exit -- exits gnushogi.
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
’black’ or ’white’ commands.
get -- retrieves a game from disk. The program will prompt the user
for a file name.
hash -- use/don’t use hashfile.
hashdepth -- allows the user to change the minimum depth for using the
hashfile and the number of moves from the beginning of the game to use
it.
help -- displays a short description of the commands and the current
status of options.
go -- tells the computer to move first. Computer begins searching for a
move. (same as "first").
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 ’shogi.lst’.
material -- toggle material flag - draws on no pawns and both sides <
rook
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 principal variation and the
score during the search. A score of 100 is equivalent to a 1 pawn
advantage for the computer.
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 undos.
reverse -- causes the board display to be reversed. That is, the black
pieces will now appear at the top of the board.
rv -- reverse board display.
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 -- set computer’s time remaining, intended for synchronizing
clocks among multiple players.
tsume -- toggle tsume mode. In tsume mode, not all possible moves will
be generated. If a king is in check, only moves that get the king out
of check are generated. If the king is not in check, only moves that
give check to the opponent’s king are generated.
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 black pieces, if the computer
is to move first the go command must be given.
xget -- read an xshogi position file.
xsave -- save as an xshogi position file.
xwndw -- change X window. The window around alpha/beta used to
determine whether the position should be scored or just estimated.
BUGS
SEE ALSO
xshogi(6)
gnushogi(6)