gnushogi(6)                OpenBSD Reference Manual                gnushogi(6)



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] 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.  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 (or just gnushogi)
              - simple curses based 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.


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.

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 undo's.

       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.

       xwndw -- change X window. The window around alpha/beta used to
       determine whether the position should be scored or just estimated.

BUGS
                                                                   gnushogi(6)
