Difference between revisions of "Chess Engine Communication Protocol"

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(→‎Pros and Cons)
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* It has redundant commands for almost all chess tasks from old-time to now
 
* It has redundant commands for almost all chess tasks from old-time to now
 
* Designed to work without the need of having an extra thread for processing those commands
 
* Designed to work without the need of having an extra thread for processing those commands
 +
* Allow users play directly with chess engines without using chess GUIs
 
* Allow chess engines act a bit independently such as they can auto-start pondering after a move
 
* Allow chess engines act a bit independently such as they can auto-start pondering after a move
  
 
==Cons==
 
==Cons==
 
* Has a long and complicated list of commands
 
* Has a long and complicated list of commands
−
* Use many suppose about data without keywords requirements. For example, the string "a2a3" is considered as a move, "9 156 1084 48000 Nf3 Nc6 Nc3 Nf6" is considered as a computing output when the first number is the ply, the second number is a score in centipawn unit...
+
* Use many assumptions about data without keywords requirements. For example, the string "a2a3" is considered as a move, "9 156 1084 48000 Nf3 Nc6 Nc3 Nf6" is considered as a computing output when the first number is the ply, the second number is a score in centipawn unit...
−
* Since allowing chess engines acting independently chess GUIs may get loss to control engines
+
* Since allowing chess engines acting more independently chess GUIs may get loss to control engines
 
* Some popular chess GUIs don't support
 
* Some popular chess GUIs don't support
−
* Very few new chess engines support
+
* The majority of new chess engines don't support
  
 
=Engines=
 
=Engines=

Revision as of 00:08, 19 October 2020

Home * Protocols * Chess Engine Communication Protocol

Chess Engine Communication Protocol (CECP),
also dubbed the XBoard or WinBoard protocol after the eponymous XBoard or WinBoard graphical user interfaces (GUI), is an open communication protocol for chess engines to play games automatically, that is to communicate with other chess playing entities.

GUI

A GUI supporting the protocol is known as XBoard or WinBoard, being for Unix (Posix) or Windows operating systems, respectively. Many other GUIs support the protocol, which is based on text commands, while requiring the engine to keep the state of the game internally. While the Universal Chess Interface is somewhat more popular today, the Chess Engine Communication Protocol protocol is preferred by some because it allows greater flexibility for the engine (for instance, in pondering).

How it began

Tim Mann in an Interview by Frank Quisinsky, April 2000 [1]: 

Originally, xboard and WinBoard were simply graphical user interfaces for GNU Chess, then for GNU Chess and Internet chess servers. Because the GUI and the chess engine are separate programs, several people thought of the idea of connecting their own chess programs in place of GNU Chess, and they began to email me asking how to do it. I think the first person to ask was Shay Bushinsky, in November 1994. Over the years I received so many requests for this information that I was more or less forced into documenting and extending the ad-hoc engine protocol to support them. The document that exists now (chess-engines.html) evolved directly from the original email reply I sent to Shay. Unfortunately, because the protocol was never really designed, but just grew out of documenting the existing communication with GNU Chess, there are still several bugs and deficiencies in it today. It would be nice to make some major revisions, but then of course it would (at best) take a long time for the existing engines to convert over to the new protocol, so both would have to be supported, probably forever.

UML State diagram

Xboard.gif

WinBoard/XBoard protocol UML state diagram by Alessandro Scotti [2] [3]

Version 2

Harm Geert Muller established a protocol Version 2 in September, 2009 [4], also covering Chess Variants and different board sizes.

Pros and Cons

Those pros and cons compared with UCI

Pros

  • Short commands
  • It has redundant commands for almost all chess tasks from old-time to now
  • Designed to work without the need of having an extra thread for processing those commands
  • Allow users play directly with chess engines without using chess GUIs
  • Allow chess engines act a bit independently such as they can auto-start pondering after a move

Cons

  • Has a long and complicated list of commands
  • Use many assumptions about data without keywords requirements. For example, the string "a2a3" is considered as a move, "9 156 1084 48000 Nf3 Nc6 Nc3 Nf6" is considered as a computing output when the first number is the ply, the second number is a score in centipawn unit...
  • Since allowing chess engines acting more independently chess GUIs may get loss to control engines
  • Some popular chess GUIs don't support
  • The majority of new chess engines don't support

Engines

GUIs

Native

Compatible

Utilities

See also

Forum Posts

1990 ...

1995 ...

2000 ...

2005 ...

2010 ...

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015 ...

2016

2017

2018 ...

2020 ...

External Links

What is new in XBoard/WinBoard 4.9.0? by H.G. Muller
rshd-readme.txt by Dan Newman [7] [8]
Winboard/XBoard UML state diagram by Alessandro Scotti

References

  1. ↑ XBoard Project History
  2. ↑ Winboard/XBoard UML state diagram by Alessandro Scotti
  3. ↑ Winboard state machine diagram by Harald Lüßen, CCC, April 15, 2019
  4. ↑ Chess Engine Communication Protocol by Tim Mann & H.G. Muller
  5. ↑ CECP ('WB protocol') specs by Harm Geert Muller, CCC, December 28, 2015
  6. ↑ WB protocol specs by Harm Geert Muller, CCC, December 12, 2014
  7. ↑ Remote Shell from Wikipedia
  8. ↑ Windows Implementation of RSHD
  9. ↑ Tool to recreate PGN from winboard.debug? by Sven Schüle, CCC, January 01, 2013

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