Chess

Chrome Extension Link: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/chess/jhdggclikeenlkhcfmlopmdjlpimmimd

Introduction to Chess

Chess is a strategic board game that has been played for centuries. It originated in Southern Europe during the 15th century and has since become a beloved pastime for millions of players worldwide. The game has a rich history, evolving from older Indian and Persian games, and is now enjoyed in various settings including homes, clubs, online platforms, and competitive tournaments.

The classic game of chess is played on an 8×8 board with each player having 16 pieces, including the king, queen, rook, knight, bishop, and pawns. The objective of the game is to checkmate the opponent’s king, meaning the king is under attack and cannot escape capture.

AB Level and H Level

AB Level, short for Alpha-Beta pruning level, refers to the depth of the pruning technique applied in the game. On the other hand, H Level represents the heuristic search level, offering a more focused but less exhaustive search. It is essential to find the optimal combination of these levels for your system. For example, setting AB=3 and H=0 can be a suitable choice for balancing efficiency and accuracy in decision-making.

Teach Initiative

The Teach Initiative feature in the game allows chess enthusiasts to contribute to teaching the AI (Artificial Intelligence) opening moves. By clicking on the Teaching Tips link in the Teach tab, players can actively participate in enhancing the AI’s knowledge of chess strategies and tactics.

PGN and Snapshot Viewer

The PGN Viewer, located in the PGN tab, provides players with a graphical representation of Portable Game Notation, a standard chess notation system used for recording chess games. Additionally, the Snapshot feature enables users to capture specific board positions for sharing on blogs or websites, making it especially useful for chess bloggers and content creators.

Chess Rules

1. White makes the first move in a game of chess.
2. The king can move one square in any direction – horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. It also has the special ability to castle once per game.
3. The queen is the most versatile piece, able to move freely in any direction – diagonally, horizontally, or vertically.
4. The rook moves in straight lines vertically or horizontally, with no limit to the number of squares it can move.
5. The knight moves in an L-shape pattern, two squares in one direction and then one square perpendicular to that, making it the only piece that can jump over others.
6. The bishop moves diagonally across the board, staying on the same color squares throughout the game.
7. A pawn can move forward one square, but has the option to move two squares on its first move. Pawns capture diagonally and have a special move called en passant.
8. Special moves in chess include castling, en passant, and pawn promotion.

Castling

Castling is a special move involving the king and one of the rooks. It allows the king to move two squares towards a rook on its original square, then placing the rook on the other side of the king. This move helps in king’s safety and connecting the rooks. Specific conditions must be met for castling to be permissible, such as neither the king nor the rook involved can have moved prior in the game, and there should be no pieces between the king and the rook.

En Passant

En passant is a unique pawn capture move. When a pawn moves two squares from its starting position and lands next to an opponent’s pawn, the opponent has the option to capture the moving pawn as if it had only moved one square forward. This capture must be done immediately after the two-square move, or the option is lost.

Promotion

Promotion occurs when a pawn advances to the eighth rank of the board. At this point, the pawn is exchanged for any other piece (usually a queen) of the player’s choice, except for another king. This allows pawns to potentially become more powerful pieces, adding strategic depth to the game.

Check and Checkmate

A player is in check when their king is under threat of capture by the opponent’s pieces. If a player’s king is in check and has no legal moves to escape this threat, it results in checkmate, leading to the end of the game with victory for the opposing player.

Draw Conditions

Chess games may end in a draw due to various conditions, including stalemate (when the player to move has no legal moves and their king is not in check), insufficient material for checkmate (if neither player has enough pieces to checkmate the opponent), or by mutual agreement between players. Draws can also occur due to the fifty-move rule or threefold repetition of a position.

Our Rules

1. The game can start with either white or black pieces.
2. All pawns are automatically promoted to queens upon reaching the promotion rank, adding to the strategic complexity of the game.
3. In our version of the game, capturing the opponent’s king results in an immediate win without the need for a checkmate situation.
4. Draws are only permitted in specific scenarios, such as matches against the computer based on move count without any captures.

FAQ

1. What is the most important prerequisite?
   It is crucial to read the introductory information, familiarize yourself with the rules of the game, explore the various tabs and features, and make use of the Teaching Tips to improve your gameplay experience and understanding of chess strategies.
2. Why does the system freeze?
   To prevent the system from freezing during gameplay, it is recommended to select appropriate Alpha-Beta pruning and heuristic search levels based on your system’s capabilities. Adjusting these settings can help optimize the game’s performance and prevent freezing issues.
3. How do I play over the internet?
   To play chess online with others, you can utilize the I-PLAY tab in the game interface. By entering a shared key agreed upon by both players, you can engage in online matches, allowing for gameplay and communication over the internet with opponents from different locations.