xboard(6)xboard(6)NAMExboard - X user interface for GNU Chess, Crafty, the
Internet Chess Server (ICS), and electronic mail corre
spondence chess.
SYNOPSIS
To run with GNU Chess: xboard [options]
To run with Crafty: xboard-fcp crafty -fd crafty's-direc_
tory [options]
To run with the ICS: xboard-ics-icshost hostname
[options]
To play email chess: See cmail(6).
To run standalone: xboard-ncp [options]
To use in a pipeline: |pxboard
DESCRIPTIONxboard is a graphical chessboard that can serve as a user
interface to the GNU Chess and Crafty chess engines, the
Internet Chess Servers, electronic mail correspondence
chess, or your own collection of saved games.
As an interface to GNU Chess or Crafty, xboard lets you
play a game against the machine, set up arbitrary posi
tions, force variations, or watch a game between two
machines.
As an interface to Crafty, xboard also lets you interac
tively analyze your stored games or set up and analyze
arbitrary positions.
As an interface to the Internet Chess Server (ICS), xboard-ics lets you play against other ICS users, observe games
they are playing, or review games that have recently fin
ished. Most of the "wild" chess variants on ICS are sup
ported, including bughouse.
As an interface to electronic mail correspondence chess,
xboard works with the cmail(6) program. See its manual
page for instructions.
You can also use xboard as a chessboard to play through
games. It will read and write game files and allow you to
play through variations manually. You can use it to
browse games off the net or review games you have saved.
These features are available at all times; if you want to
use them without starting a chess engine or connecting to
the ICS, you can do so with the command xboard-ncp.
To view games from a netnews reader like rn(1) or xrn(1),
use the news reader's Save command and specify "|pxboard"
as the save file name. This pipes the article to pxboard,
a simple shell script that saves the article to a tempo
rary file and runs xboard in the background. See the
script itself for more information.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 1
xboard(6)xboard(6)
To move a piece, either drag it with the left mouse but
ton, or click the left mouse button once on the piece,
then once more on the destination square. To drop a new
piece on a square (when applicable), press button 2 or 3
over the square and select from the popup menu.
When xboard is iconized, its graphical icon is a white
knight if it is White's turn to move, a black knight if it
is Black's turn. See Iconize below if you have problems
getting this feature to work.
MENU COMMANDS, BUTTONS, AND KEYS
All xboard commands are available on menus. The most fre
quently used commands also have shortcut keys or on-screen
buttons.
File Menu
Reset Resets xboard and the chess engine to the begin
ning of a new chess game. The "r" key is a key
board equivalent. In Internet Chess Server mode,
clears the current state of xboard, then resyn
chronizes with ICS by sending a refresh command.
If you want to stop playing, observing, or examin
ing a game on ICS, use an appropriate command from
the Action menu, not Reset.
Load Game
Plays a game from a record file. The "g" key is a
keyboard equivalent. A popup dialog prompts you
for the file name. If the file contains more than
one game, a second popup dialog displays a list of
games (with information drawn from their PGN tags,
if any), and you can select the one you want.
Alternatively, you can load the Nth game in the
file directly from the file name dialog, by typing
the number N after the file name, separated by a
space.
The game file parser will accept PGN (portable
game notation), or in fact almost any file that
contains moves in algebraic notation. Notation of
the form "P@f7" is accepted for piece-drops in
bughouse games; this is a nonstandard extension to
PGN. If the file includes a PGN position (FEN
tag), or an old-style xboard position diagram
bracketed by "[--" and "--]" before the first
move, the game starts from that position. Text
enclosed in parentheses, square brackets, or curly
braces is assumed to be commentary and is dis
played in a pop-up window. Any other text in the
file is ignored. PGN variations (enclosed in
parentheses) are treated as comments; xboard is
not able to walk variation trees. The nonstandard
PGN tag [Variant "varname"] functions similarly to
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 2
xboard(6)xboard(6)
the -variant command-line option (see below),
allowing games in certain chess variants to be
loaded. There is also a heuristic to recognize
chess variants from the Event tag, by looking for
the strings that the Internet Chess Servers put
there when saving variant ("wild") games.
Load Next Game
Loads the next game from the last game record file
you loaded. The shifted "N" key is a keyboard
equivalent.
Load Previous Game
Loads the previous game from the last game record
file you loaded. The shifted "P" key is a key
board equivalent. Not available if the last game
was loaded from a pipe.
Reload Same Game
Reloads the last game you loaded. Not available
if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
Save Game
Appends a record of the current game to a file. A
popup dialog prompts you for the file name. If
the game did not begin with the standard starting
position, the game file includes the starting
position used. Games are saved in the PGN
(portable game notation) format, unless the old
SaveStyle option is True, in which case they are
saved in an older format that is specific to
xboard. Both formats are human-readable, and both
can be read back by the Load Game command. Nota
tion of the form "P@f7" is generated for piece-
drops in bughouse games; this is a nonstandard
extension to PGN.
Copy Game
Copies a record of the current game to an internal
clipboard in PGN format and sets the X selection
to the game text. The game can be pasted to
another application (such as a text editor or
another copy of xboard) using that application's
paste command. In many X applications, such as
xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
used for pasting; in xboard, you must use the
Paste Game command.
Paste Game
Interprets the current X selection as a game
record and loads it, as with Load Game.
Load Position
Sets up a position from a position file. A popup
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 3
xboard(6)xboard(6)
dialog prompts you for the file name. If the file
contains more than one saved position, and you
want to load the Nth one, type the number N after
the file name, separated by a space. Position
files must be in FEN (Forsythe-Edwards notation),
or in the format that the Save Position command
writes when oldSaveStyle is turned on.
Load Next Position
Loads the next position from the last position
file you loaded.
Load Previous Position
Loads the previous position from the last position
file you loaded. Not available if the last posi
tion was loaded from a pipe.
Reload Same Position
Reloads the last position you loaded. Not avail
able if the last position was loaded from a pipe.
Save Position
Appends a diagram of the current position to a
file. A popup dialog prompts you for the file
name. Positions are saved in FEN (Forsythe-
Edwards notation) format unless the oldSaveStyle
option is True, in which case they are saved in an
older, human-readable format that is specific to
xboard. Both formats can be read back by the Load
Position command.
Copy Position
Copies the current position to an internal clip
board in FEN format and sets the X selection to
the position text. The position can be pasted to
another application (such as a text editor or
another copy of xboard) using that application's
paste command. In many X applications, such as
xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
used for pasting; in xboard, you must use the
Paste Position command.
Paste Position
Interprets the current X selection as a FEN posi
tion and loads it, as with Load Position.
Mail Move
Reload CMail Message
See the manual page for cmail(6).
Exit Exits from xboard. The shifted "Q" key is a key
board equivalent.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 4
xboard(6)xboard(6)Mode Menu
Machine White
Tells the chess engine to play White.
Machine Black
Tells the chess engine to play Black.
Two Machines
Plays a game between two chess engines.
Analysis Mode
Puts XBoard in analysis mode on the current edited
position or game. This mode requires that you use
a chess engine that supports analysis, such as
Crafty; GNU Chess will not work. See the manual
section GETTING CRAFTY for more information on
getting and installing Crafty.
Analyze File
This mode lets you load a game from a file (PGN,
etc.) and use a chess engine to interactively ana
lyze it. This mode requires that you use a chess
engine that supports analysis, such as Crafty; GNU
Chess will not work. See the manual section GET
TING CRAFTY for more information on getting and
installing Crafty.
ICS Client
This is the normal mode when xboard is connected
to a chess server. If you have moved into Edit
Game or Edit Position mode, you can select this
option to get out.
To use xboard in ICS mode, run it in the fore
ground with the -ics option, and use the terminal
you started it from to type commands and receive
text responses from the chess server. Useful ICS
commands include who to see who is logged on,
games to see what games are being played, match to
challenge another player to a game, observe to
observe an ongoing game, examine or oldmoves to
review a recently completed game, and of course
help.
Some special xboard features are activated when
you are in examine or bsetup mode on ICS. See the
descriptions of the menu commands Forward, Back
ward, Pause, ICS Client, and Stop Examining below.
You can also issue the ICS position-editing com
mands with the mouse. Move pieces by dragging
with mouse button 1. To drop a new piece on a
square, press mouse button 2 or 3 over the square.
This brings up a menu of white pieces (button 2)
or black pieces (button 3). Additional menu
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 5
xboard(6)xboard(6)
choices let you empty the square or clear the
board. Click on the White or Black clock to set
the side to play. You cannot set the side to play
or drag pieces to arbitrary squares while examin
ing on ICC, but you can do so in bsetup mode on
FICS.
If you are playing a bughouse game on the ICS, you
can drop an offboard piece by pressing mouse but
ton 2 or 3 over an empty square to bring up a
piece menu. It makes no difference which button
you use. A list of the offboard pieces each
player has available is shown in the window title
after the player's name.
Edit Game
Allows you to make moves for both Black and White,
and to change moves after backing up with the
Backward command. The clocks do not run.
In chess engine mode, the chess engine continues
to check moves for legality but does not partici
pate in the game. You can bring the chess engine
back into the game by selecting Machine White,
Machine Black, or Two Machines.
In ICS mode, the moves are not sent to the ICS:
Edit Game takes xboard out of ICS Client mode and
lets you edit games locally. If you want to edit
games on ICS in a way that other ICS users can
see, use the ICS examine command or start an ICS
match against yourself.
Edit Position
Lets you set up an arbitrary board position. Use
mouse button 1 to drag pieces to new squares, or
to delete a piece by dragging it off the board or
dragging an empty square on top of it. To drop a
new piece on a square, press mouse button 2 or 3
over the square. This brings up a menu of white
pieces (button 2) or black pieces (button 3).
Additional menu choices let you empty the square
or clear the board. You can set the side to play
next by clicking on the White or Black indicator
at the top of the screen. Selecting Edit Position
causes xboard to discard all remembered moves in
the current game.
In ICS mode, changes made to the position by Edit
Position are not sent to the ICS: Edit Position
takes xboard out of ICS Client mode and lets you
edit positions locally. If you want to edit posi
tions on ICS in a way that other ICS users can
see, use the ICS examine command, or start an ICS
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 6
xboard(6)xboard(6)
match against yourself. (See also the ICS Client
topic above.)
Training
Training mode lets you interactively guess the
moves of a game for one of the players. You guess
the next move of the game by playing the move on
the board. If the move played matches the next
move of the game, the move is accepted and the
opponent's response is autoplayed. If the move
played is incorrect, an error message is dis
played. You can select this mode only while load
ing a game (that is, after selecting Load Game
from the File menu). While xboard is in Training
mode, the navigation buttons are disabled.
Show Game List
Shows or hides the list of games generated by the
last Load Game command.
Edit Tags
Lets you edit the PGN (portable game notation)
tags for the current game. After editing, the
tags must still conform to the PGN tag syntax:
<tag-section> ::= <tag-pair> <tag-section>
<empty>
<tag-pair> ::= [ <tag-name> <tag-value> ]
<tag-name> ::= <identifier>
<tag-value> ::= <string>
See the PGN Standard for full details. Here is an
example:
[Event "Portoroz Interzonal"]
[Site "Portoroz, Yugoslavia"]
[Date "1958.08.16"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Robert J. Fischer"]
[Black "Bent Larsen"]
[Result "1-0"]
Any characters that do not match this syntax are
silently ignored. Note that the PGN standard
requires all games to have at least the seven tags
shown above. Any that you omit will be filled in
by xboard with "?" (unknown value), or "-" (inap
plicable value).
Edit Comment
Adds or modifies a comment on the current posi
tion. Comments are saved by Save Game and are
displayed by Load Game, Forward, and Backward.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 7
xboard(6)xboard(6)
ICS Input Box
If this mode is on in ICS mode, xboard creates an
extra window that you can use for typing in ICS
commands. The input box is especially useful if
you want to type in something long or do some
editing on your input, because output from ICS
doesn't get mixed in with your typing as it would
in the main terminal window.
Pause Pauses updates to the board, and if you are play
ing against a local chess engine, also pauses your
clock. To continue, select Pause again, and the
display will automatically update to the latest
position. The [P] button and keyboard "p" key are
equivalents.
If you select Pause when you are playing against a
local chess engine and it is not your move, the
engine's clock will continue to run and it will
eventually make a move, at which point both clocks
will stop. Since board updates are paused, how
ever, you will not see the move until you exit
from Pause mode (or select Forward). This behav
ior is meant to simulate adjournment with a sealed
move.
If you select Pause while you are in examine mode
on ICS, you can step backward and forward in the
current history of the examined game without
affecting the other observers and examiners.
Select Pause again to reconnect yourself to the
current state of the game on ICS.
If you select Pause while you are loading a game,
the game stops loading. You can load more moves
manually by selecting Forward, or resume automatic
loading by selecting Pause again.
Action Menu
Accept Accepts a pending ICS match offer. If there is
more than one offer pending, you will have to type
in a more specific command instead of using this
menu choice.
Decline Declines a pending ICS offer (match, draw,
adjourn, etc.). If there is more than one offer
pending, you will have to type in a more specific
command instead of using this menu choice.
Call Flag
Calls your opponent's flag, claiming a win on
time, or claiming a draw if you are both out of
time. You can also call your opponent's flag by
clicking on his clock or by pressing the keyboard
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 8
xboard(6)xboard(6)
"t" key.
Draw Offers a draw to your opponent, accepts a pending
draw offer from your opponent, or claims a draw by
repetition or the 50-move rule, as appropriate.
The "d" key is a keyboard equivalent.
Adjourn Asks your opponent to agree to adjourning the cur
rent game, or agrees to a pending adjournment
offer from your opponent.
Abort Asks your opponent to agree to aborting the cur
rent game, or agrees to a pending abort offer from
your opponent. An aborted ICS game ends immedi
ately without affecting either player's rating.
Resign Resigns the game to your opponent. The shifted
"R" key is a keyboard equivalent.
Stop Observing
Ends your participation in observing a game, by
issuing the ICS observe command with no arguments.
Stop Examining
Ends your participation in examining a game, by
issuing the ICS unexamine command.
Step Menu
Backward
Steps backward through a series of remembered
moves. The [<] button and the "b" key are equiva
lents. In addition, pressing the Control key
steps back one move, and releasing it steps for
ward again.
In most modes, Backward only lets you look back at
old positions; it does not retract moves. This is
the case if you are playing against a local chess
engine, playing or observing a game on the ICS, or
loading a game. If you select Backward in any of
these situations, you will not be allowed to make
a different move. Use Retract Move or Edit Game
if you want to change past moves.
If you are examining a game on ICS, the behavior
of Backward depends on whether xboard is in Pause
mode. If Pause mode is off, Backward issues the
ICS backward command, which backs up everyone's
view of the game and allows you to make a differ
ent move. If Pause mode is on, Backward only
backs up your local view.
Forward Steps forward through a series of remembered moves
(undoing the effect of Backward) or forward
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 9
xboard(6)xboard(6)
through a game file. The [>] button and the f key
are equivalents.
If you are examining a game on ICS, the behavior
of Forward depends on whether xboard is in Pause
mode. If Pause mode is off, Forward issues the
ICS forward command, which moves everyone's view
of the game forward along the current line. If
Pause mode is on, Forward only moves your local
view forward, and it will not go past the position
that the game was in when you paused.
Back to Start
Jumps backward to the first remembered position in
the game. The [<<] button and the shifted "B" key
are equivalents.
In most modes, Back to Start only lets you look
back at old positions; it does not retract moves.
This is the case if you are playing against a
local chess engine, playing or observing a game on
the ICS, or loading a game. If you select Back to
Start in any of these situations, you will not be
allowed to make different moves. Use Retract Move
or Edit Game if you want to change past moves; or
use Reset to start a new game.
If you are examining a game on ICS, the behavior
of Back to Start depends on whether xboard is in
Pause mode. If Pause mode is off, Back to Start
issues the ICS backward 999999 command, which
backs up everyone's view of the game to the start
and allows you to make different moves. If Pause
mode is on, Back to Start only backs up your local
view.
Forward to End
Jumps forward to the last remembered position in
the game. The [>>] button and the shifted "F" key
are equivalents.
If you are examining a game on ICS, the behavior
of Forward to End depends on whether xboard is in
Pause mode. If Pause mode is off, Forward to End
issues the ICS forward 999999 command, which moves
everyone's view of the game forward to the end of
the current line. If Pause mode is on, Forward to
End only moves your local view forward, and it
will not go past the position that the game was in
when you paused.
Revert If you are examining a game on ICS and Pause mode
is off, issues the ICS command revert.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 10
xboard(6)xboard(6)
Truncate Game
Discards all remembered moves of the game beyond
the current position. Puts xboard into Edit Game
mode if it was not there already.
Move Now
Forces the chess engine to move immediately. May
not work with all chess engines.
Retract Move
Retracts your last move. When playing a local
chess engine, you can do this only after the
engine has replied to your move; if it is still
thinking, use Move Now first. In ICS mode,
Retract Move issues the command takeback 1 or
takeback 2 depending on whether it is your oppo
nent's move or yours.
Options Menu
Always Queen
If this option is off, xboard brings up a dialog
box whenever you move a pawn to the last rank,
asking what piece you want to promote it to. If
the option is on, your pawns are always promoted
to queens. Your opponent can still underpromote.
Animate Dragging
If Animate Dragging is on, while you are dragging
a piece with the mouse, an image of the piece fol
lows the mouse cursor. If Animate Dragging is
off, there is no visual feedback while you are
dragging a piece, but if Animate Moving is on, the
move will be animated when it is complete.
Animate Moving
If Animate Moving is on, all piece moves are ani
mated. An image of the piece is shown moving from
the old square to the new square when the move is
completed (unless the move was already animated by
Animate Dragging). If Animate Moving is off, a
moved piece instantly disappears from its old
square and reappears on its new square when the
move is complete.
Auto Comment
If this option is on, any remarks made on ICS
while you are observing or playing a game are
recorded as a comment on the current move. This
includes remarks made with the ICS commands say,
tell, whisper, and kibitz. Limitation: remarks
that you type yourself are not recognized; xboard
scans only the output from ICS, not the input you
type to it.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 11
xboard(6)xboard(6)
Auto Flag
If this option is on and one player runs out of
time before the other, xboard will automatically
call his flag, claiming a win on time. In ICS
mode, Auto Flag will only call your opponent's
flag, not yours, and the ICS may award you a draw
instead of a win if you have insufficient mating
material. In local chess engine mode, xboard may
call either player's flag and will not take mate
rial into account.
Auto Flip View
If the Auto Flip View option is on when you start
a game, the board will be automatically oriented
so that your pawns move from the bottom of the
window towards the top.
Auto Observe
If this option is on and you add a player to your
gnotify list on ICS, xboard will automatically
observe all of that player's games, unless you are
doing something else (such as observing or playing
a game of your own) when one starts. The games
are displayed from the point of view of the player
on your gnotify list; that is, his pawns move from
the bottom of the window towards the top. Excep
tions: If both players in a game are on your gno
tify list, if your ICS highlight variable is set
to 0, or if the ICS you are using does not prop
erly support observing from Black's point of view,
you will see the game from White's point of view.
Auto Raise Board
If this option is on, whenever a new game begins,
the chessboard window is deiconized (if necessary)
and raised to the top of the stack of windows.
Auto Save
If this option is on, at the end of every game
xboard prompts you for a file name and appends a
record of the game to the file you specify. Dis
abled if the saveGameFile option is set, as in
that case all games are saved to the specified
file.
Blindfold
If this option is on, xboard displays the board as
usual but does not display pieces or move high
lights. You can still move in the usual way (with
the mouse or by typing moves in ICS mode), even
though the pieces are invisible.
Flash Moves
If this option is on, whenever a move is
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 12
xboard(6)xboard(6)
completed, the moved piece flashes. The number of
times to flash is set by the flashCount command-
line option; it defaults to 3 if Flash Moves is
first turned on from the menu.
Flip View
Inverts your view of the chess board for the dura
tion of the current game. Starting a new game
returns the board to normal. The "v" key is a
keyboard equivalent.
If you are playing a game on the ICS, the board is
always oriented at the start of the game so that
your pawns move from the bottom of the window
towards the top. Otherwise, the starting orienta
tion is determined by the flipView command line
option; if it is False (the default), White's
pawns move from bottom to top at the start of each
game; if it is True, Black's pawns move from bot
tom to top.
Get Move List
If this option is on, whenever xboard receives the
first board of a new ICS game (or a different ICS
game from the one it is currently displaying), it
retrieves the list of past moves from the ICS.
You can then review the moves with the Forward and
Backward commands or save them with Save Game.
You might want to turn off this option if you are
observing several blitz games at once, to keep
from wasting time and network bandwidth fetching
the move lists over and over. When you turn this
option on from the menu, xboard immediately
fetches the move list of the current game (if
any).
Highlight Last Move
If Highlight Last Move is on, after a move is
made, the starting and ending squares remain high
lighted. In addition, after you use Backward or
Back to Start, the starting and ending squares of
the last move to be unmade are highlighted.
Move Sound
If this option is on, xboard alerts you by playing
a sound after each of your opponent's moves (or
after every move if you are observing a game on
the Internet Chess Server). The sound is not
played after moves you make or moves read from a
saved game file. By default, the sound is the
terminal bell, but on some systems you can change
it to a sound file using the soundMove option; see
below.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 13
xboard(6)xboard(6)
If you turn on this option when using xboard with
the Internet Chess Server, you will probably want
to give the set bell 0 command to the ICS, since
otherwise the ICS will ring the terminal bell
after every move.
ICS Alarm
When this option is on, an alarm sound is played
when your clock counts down to the icsAlarmTime
(by default, 5 seconds) in an ICS game. For games
with time controls that include an increment, the
alarm will sound each time the clock counts down
to the icsAlarmTime. By default, the alarm sound
is the terminal bell, but on some systems you can
change it to a sound file using the soundIcsAlarm
option; see below.
Old Save Style
If this option is off, xboard saves games in PGN
(portable game notation) and positions in FEN
(Forsythe-Edwards notation). If the option is on,
a save style that is compatible with older ver
sions of xboard is used instead. The old position
style is more human-readable than FEN; the old
game style has no particular advantages.
Periodic Updates
If this option is off (or if you are using a chess
engine that does not support periodic updates),
the analysis window will be updated only when the
analysis changes. If this option is on, the Analy
sis Window will be updated every two seconds.
Ponder Next Move
If this option is off, the chess engine will think
only when it is on move. If the option is on, the
engine will also think while waiting for you to
make your move.
Popup Exit Message
If this option is on, when xboard wants to display
a message just before exiting, it brings up a
modal dialog box and waits for you to click OK
before exiting. If the option is off, xboard
prints the message to standard error (the termi
nal) and exits immediately.
Popup Move Errors
If this option is off, when you make an error in
moving (such as attempting an illegal move or mov
ing the wrong color piece), the error message is
displayed in the message area. If the option is
on, move errors are displayed in small popup win
dows like other errors. You can dismiss an error
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 14
xboard(6)xboard(6)
popup either by clicking its OK button or by
clicking anywhere on the board, including
downclicking to start a move.
Premove If this option is on while playing a game on ICS,
you can register your next planned move before it
is your turn. Move the piece with the mouse in
the ordinary way, and the starting and ending
squares will be highlighted with a special color
(red by default). When it is your turn, if your
registered move is legal, xboard will send it to
ICS immediately; if not, it will be ignored and
you can make a different move. If you change your
mind about your premove, either make a different
move, or double-click on any piece to cancel the
move entirely.
Quiet Play
If this option is on, xboard will automatically
issue an ICS set shout 0 command whenever you
start an ICS game and a set shout 1 command when
ever you finish one. Thus you will not be dis
tracted by shouts from other ICS users while play
ing.
Show Coords
If this option is on, xboard displays algebraic
coordinates along the board's left and bottom
edges.
Show Thinking
If this option is on, the chess engine's notion of
the score and best line of play from the current
position is displayed as it is thinking. The
score indicates how many pawns ahead (or if nega
tive, behind) the engine thinks it is. When GNU
Chess is thinking on your time, this thinking is
not shown if GNU Chess was compiled with the
-DQUIETBACKGROUND option. In matches between two
machines, the score is prefixed by W or B to indi
cate whether the display is of White's thinking or
Black's, and thinking on the opponent's time is
never shown.
Test Legality
If this option is on, xboard tests whether moves
you try to make with the mouse are legal, and
refuses to let you make an illegal move. Moves
loaded from a file with Load Game are also
checked. If the option is off, all moves are
accepted, but if a local chess engine or the ICS
is active, they will still reject illegal moves.
Turning off this option is useful if you are play
ing a chess variant with rules that xboard does
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 15
xboard(6)xboard(6)
not understand. (Bughouse, suicide, and wild
variants where the king may castle after starting
on the d file are generally supported with Test
Legality on.)
Help Menu
Info XBoard
Displays the xboard info file in a new window.
For this feature to work, you must have the GNU
info program installed on your system, and the
file xboard.info must either be present in the
current working directory, or have been installed
by the make install command when you built xboard.
Man XBoard
Displays this man page in a new window. For this
feature to work, the file xboard.6 must have been
installed by the make install command when you
built xboard, and the directory it was placed in
must be on the search path for your system's
man(1) command.
Hint Displays a move hint from the local chess engine.
Book Displays a list of possible moves from the local
chess engine's opening book. The first column
gives moves, the second column gives one possible
response for each move, and the third column shows
the number of lines in the book that include the
move from the first column. If you select this
option and nothing happens, the chess engine is
out of its book or does not support this command.
About XBoard
Shows the current xboard version number.
Other shortcut keys
Iconize Pressing the i or c key iconizes xboard. The
graphical icon displays a white knight if it is
White's move, or a black knight if it is Black's
move. If your X window manager displays only text
icons, not graphical ones, check its documenta
tion; there is probably a way to enable graphical
icons. If you are running the Motif window man
ager mwm(1), add these lines to your .Xdefaults
file and restart mwm:
Mwm*iconDecoration: activelabel label image
Mwm*XBoard*iconImageBackground: White
Mwm*XBoard*iconImageForeground: Black
The first line above enables graphical icons in
mwm; you don't need it if you already have them.
The next two lines force the white knights to come
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 16
xboard(6)xboard(6)
out white and the black knights black. Unfortu
nately these resources can't be set from inside
xboard; you have to set them in your .Xdefaults.
You can add or remove xboard shortcut keys using the X
resource form.translations. Here is an example of what
would go in your .Xdefaults file:
XBoard*form.translations: \
Shift<Key>?: AboutGameProc() \n \
<Key>y: AcceptProc() \n \
<Key>n: DeclineProc() \n \
<Key>i: NothingProc()
Binding a key to NothingProc makes it do nothing, thus
removing it as a shortcut key. The xboard functions that
can be bound to keys are:
AbortProc, AboutGameProc, AboutProc, AcceptProc,
AdjournProc, AlwaysQueenProc, AnalysisModeProc,
AnalyzeFileProc, AnimateDraggingProc, AnimateMovingProc,
AutobsProc, AutoflagProc, AutoflipProc, AutoraiseProc,
AutosaveProc, BackwardProc, BlindfoldProc, BookProc,
CallFlagProc, CopyGameProc, CopyPositionProc, DebugProc,
DeclineProc, DrawProc, EditCommentProc, EditGameProc,
EditPositionProc, EditTagsProc, EnterKeyProc,
FlashMovesProc, FlipViewProc, ForwardProc,
GetMoveListProc, HighlightLastMoveProc, HintProc,
Iconify, IcsAlarmProc, IcsAlarmProc, IcsClientProc,
IcsInputBoxProc, InfoProc, LoadGameProc,
LoadNextGameProc, LoadNextPositionProc, LoadPositionProc,
LoadPrevGameProc, LoadPrevPositionProc, LoadSelectedProc,
MachineBlackProc, MachineWhiteProc, MailMoveProc,
ManProc, MoveNowProc, MoveSoundProc, NothingProc,
OldSaveStyleProc, PasteGameProc, PastePositionProc,
PauseProc, PeriodicUpdatesProc, PonderNextMoveProc,
PopupExitMessageProc, PopupMoveErrorsProc, PremoveProc,
QuietPlayProc, QuitProc, ReloadCmailMsgProc,
ReloadGameProc, ReloadPositionProc, RematchProc,
ResetProc, ResignProc, RetractMoveProc, RevertProc,
SaveGameProc, SavePositionProc, ShowCoordsProc,
ShowGameListProc, ShowThinkingProc, StopExaminingProc,
StopObservingProc, TestLegalityProc, ToEndProc,
ToStartProc, TrainingProc, TruncateGameProc, and
TwoMachinesProc.
OPTIONS
This section documents the command-line options to xboard.
You can set these options in two ways: by typing them on
the shell command line you use to start xboard, or by set
ting them as X resources (typically in your .Xdefaults
file). Many of the options cannot be changed while xboard
is running; others set the initial state of items that can
be changed with the Options menu.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 17
xboard(6)xboard(6)
Most of the options have both a long name and a short
name. To turn a boolean option on or off from the command
line, either give its long name followed by the value True
or False (-longOptionName True), or give just the short
name to turn the option on (-opt), or the short name pre
ceded by "x" to turn the option off (-xopt). For options
that take strings or numbers as values, you can use the
long or short option names interchangeably.
Each option corresponds to an X resource with the same
name, so if you like, you can set options in your .Xde_
faults file or in a file named XBoard in your home direc
tory. For options that have two names, the longer one is
the name of the corresponding X resource; the short name
is not recognized. To turn a boolean option on or off as
an X resource, give its long name followed by the value
True or False (XBoard*longOptionName: True).
Chess Engine Options
All of these options apply to both the GNU Chess and
Crafty chess engines.
-tc or -timeControl minutes[:seconds]
Each player begins with his clock set to the time
Control period. Default: 5 minutes. The addi
tional options movesPerSession and timeIncrement
are mutually exclusive.
-mps or -movesPerSession moves
When both players have made movesPerSession moves,
a new timeControl period is added to both clocks.
Default: 40 moves.
-inc or -timeIncrement seconds
If this option is specified, movesPerSession is
ignored. Instead, after each player's move,
timeIncrement seconds are added to his clock. Use
-timeIncrement 0 if you want to require the entire
game to be played in one timeControl period, with
no increment. Default: -1, which specifies moves
PerSession mode.
-clock/-xclock or -clockMode True/False
Determines whether or not to display the chess
clocks. If clockMode is False, the clocks are not
shown, but the side that is to play next is still
highlighted. Also, unless searchTime is set, the
chess engine still keeps track of the clock time
and uses it to determine how fast to make its
moves.
-st or -searchTime minutes[:seconds]
Tells the chess engine to spend at most the given
amount of time searching for each of its moves.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 18
xboard(6)xboard(6)
Without this option, the engine chooses its search
time based on the number of moves and amount of
time remaining until the next time control. Set
ting this option also sets clockMode to False.
-depth or -searchDepth number
Tells the chess engine to look ahead at most the
given number of moves when searching for a move to
make. Without this option, the engine chooses its
search depth based on the number of moves and
amount of time remaining until the next time con
trol. With the option, the engine will cut off
its search early if it reaches the specified
depth.
-thinking/-xthinking or -showThinking True/False
Sets the Show Thinking menu option. Default:
False.
-ponder/-xponder or -ponderNextMove True/False
Sets the Ponder Next Move menu option. Default:
True.
-mg or -matchGames n
Automatically runs an n-game match between two
chess engines, with alternating colors. If the
loadGameFile or loadPositionFile option is set,
xboard starts each game with the given opening
moves or the given position; otherwise, the games
start with the standard initial chess position.
If the saveGameFile option is set, a move record
for the match is appended to the specified file.
If the savePositionFile option is set, the final
position reached in each game of the match is
appended to the specified file. When the match is
over, xboard displays the match score and exits.
Default: 0 (do not run a match).
-mm/-xmm or -matchMode True/False
Provided for backward compatibility. If true and
matchGames is 0, sets matchGames to 1.
-fcp or -firstChessProgram program
Name of first chess engine. Default: gnuchessx.
-scp or -secondChessProgram program
Name of second chess engine. A second chess
engine is started only in Two Machines (match)
mode. Default: gnuchessx.
-fb/-xfb or -firstPlaysBlack True/False
In games between two chess engines, firstChessPro
gram normally plays white. (This is a change from
earlier versions of xboard.) If this option is
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 19
xboard(6)xboard(6)
True, firstChessProgram plays black. In a multi-
game match, this option affects the colors only
for the first game; they still alternate in subse
quent games.
-fh or -firstHost host
-sh or -secondHost host
Hosts on which the chess engines are to be run.
The default for each is localhost. If you specify
another host, xboard uses rsh(1) to run the chess
engine there. (You can substitute a different
remote shell program for rsh using the remoteShell
option described below.)
-fd or -firstDirectory dir
-sd or -secondDirectory dir
Working directories in which the chess engines are
to be run. The default for both is "", which
means to run the chess engine in the same working
directory as xboard itself. (See the CHESSDIR
environment variable.) This option is effective
only when the chess engine is being run on the
local host; it does not work if the engine is run
remotely using the -fh or -sh option.
-initString string
-secondInitString string
The string that is sent to initialize each chess
engine for a new game. Default:
new
random
Setting this option from the command line is
tricky, because you must type in real newline
characters, including one at the end. In most
shells you can do this by entering a "\" character
followed by a newline. It is easier to set the
option from your .Xdefaults file; in that case you
can include the character sequence "\n" in the
string, and it will be converted to a newline.
If you change this option, don't remove the new
command; it is required by all chess engines to
start a new game.
You can remove the random command if you like;
including it causes GNU Chess to randomize its
move selection slightly so that it doesn't play
the same moves in every game. Even without ran_
dom, GNU Chess randomizes its choice of moves from
its opening book. Crafty ignores this command; it
randomizes by default.
You can also try adding other commands to the
initString; see the GNU Chess or Crafty
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 20
xboard(6)xboard(6)
documentation for details.
-firstComputerString string
-secondComputerString string
The string that is sent to the chess engine if its
opponent is another computer chess engine. The
default is "computer\n". Probably the only useful
alternative is the empty string (""), which keeps
the engine from knowing that it is playing another
computer.
-reuse/-xreuse or -reuseFirst True/False
-reuse2/-xreuse2 or -reuseSecond True/False
If the option is False, xboard kills off the chess
engine after every game and starts it again for
the next game. If the option is True (the
default), xboard starts the chess engine only once
and uses it repeatedly to play multiple games.
Some chess engines may not work properly when
reuse is turned on, such as versions of Crafty
earlier than 12.0, but otherwise new games will
start faster if it is left on.
-firstProtocolVersion version-number
-secondProtocolVersion version-number
This option specifies which version of the chess
engine communication protocol to use. By default,
version-number is 2. In version 1, the "protover"
command is not sent to the engine; since version 1
is a subset of version 2, nothing else changes.
Other values for version-number are not supported.
Internet Chess Server Options
-ics/-xics or -internetChessServerMode True/False
Connect with an Internet Chess Server to play
chess against its other users, observe games they
are playing, or review games that have recently
finished. Default: False.
-icshost or -internetChessServerHost host
The Internet host name or address of the chess
server to connect to when in ICS mode. Default:
chessclub.com. See the file ics-addresses in the
xboard source distribution for a list of other
addresses to try. If your site doesn't have a
working Internet name server, try specifying the
host address in numeric form. You may also need
to specify the numeric address when using the
icshelper option with timestamp or timeseal (see
below). At this writing, chessclub.com is
207.99.5.190 and freechess.org (formerly
fics.onenet.net) is 164.58.253.13.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 21
xboard(6)xboard(6)-icsport or -internetChessServerPort port-number
The port number to use when connecting to a chess
server in ICS mode. Default: 5000.
-icshelper or -internetChessServerHelper prog-name
An external helper program used to communicate
with the chess server. You would set it to
"timestamp" for ICC (chessclub.com) or "timeseal"
for FICS (freechess.org, eics.daimi.aau.dk, etc.),
after obtaining the correct version of timestamp
or timeseal for your computer. See "help times
tamp" on ICC and "help timeseal" on FICS. This
option is shorthand for "-useTelnet -telnetProgram
program".
-telnet/-xtelnet or -useTelnet True/False
This option is poorly named; it should be called
useHelper. If set to True, it instructs xboard to
run an external program to communicate with the
Internet Chess Server. The program to use is
given by the telnetProgram option. If the option
is False (the default), xboard opens a TCP socket
and uses its own internal implementation of the
telnet protocol to communicate with the ICS. See
the FIREWALLS section below for an explanation of
when this option is useful.
-telnetProgram prog-name
This option is poorly named; it should be called
helperProgram. It gives the name of the telnet
program to be used with the gateway and useTelnet
options. The default is telnet. The telnet pro
gram is invoked with the value of inter
netChessServerHost as its first argument and the
value of internetChessServerPort as its second
argument. See the FIREWALLS section below for an
explanation of when this option is useful.
-gateway host-name
If this option is set to a host name, xboard com
municates with the Internet Chess Server by using
rsh(1) to run the telnetProgram on the given host,
instead of using its own internal implementation
of the telnet protocol. You can substitute a dif
ferent remote shell program for rsh with the
remoteShell option described below. See the FIRE
WALLS section below for an explanation of when
this option is useful.
-internetChessServerCommPort or -icscomm dev-name
If this option is set, xboard communicates with
the ICS through the given character I/O device
instead of opening a TCP connection. Use this
option if your system does not have any kind of
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 22
xboard(6)xboard(6)
Internet connection itself (not even a SLIP or PPP
connection), but you do have dialup access (or a
hardwired terminal line) to an Internet service
provider from which you can telnet to the ICS.
The support for this option in xboard is minimal.
You need to set all communication parameters and
tty modes before you enter xboard.
Use a script something like this:
stty raw -echo 9600 > /dev/tty00
xboard-ics -icscomm /dev/tty00
Here replace /dev/tty00 with the name of the
device that your modem is connected to. You might
have to add several more options to these stty
commands. See the man pages for stty(1) and
tty(4) if you run into problems. Also, on many
systems stty works on its standard input instead
of standard output, so you have to use "<" instead
of ">".
If you are using linux, try starting with the
script below. Change it as necessary for your
installation.
##################################################
#!/bin/sh -f
# configure modem and fire up xboard
# configure modem
( stty 2400 ; stty raw ; stty hupcl ; stty -clocal
stty ignbrk ; stty ignpar ; stty ixon ; stty ixoff
stty -iexten ; stty -echo ) < /dev/modem
xboard-ics -icscomm /dev/modem
##################################################
After you start xboard in this way, type whatever
commands are necessary to dial out to your Inter
net provider and log in. Then telnet to ICS,
using a command like telnet chessclub.com 5000.
Important: See the paragraph in the LIMITATIONS
section below about extra echoes.
-icslogon or -internetChessServerLogonScript file-name
Whenever xboard connects to the Internet Chess
Server, if it finds a file with the name given in
this option, it feeds the file's contents to the
ICS as commands. The default file name is .icsrc.
Usually the first two lines of the file should be
your ICS user name and password. The file can be
either in $CHESSDIR, in xboard's working directory
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 23
xboard(6)xboard(6)
if CHESSDIR is not set, or in your home directory.
-msLoginDelay delay
If you experience trouble logging onto an ICS
using the -icslogon option, inserting some delay
between characters of the login script may help.
This option inserts delay milliseconds of delay
per character. Good values to try are 100 and 250.
-icsinput/-xicsinput or -internetChessServerInputBox
True/False
Sets ICS Input Box on the mode menu. Default:
False.
-autocomm/-xautocomm or -autoComment True/False
Sets the Auto Comment menu option. Default:
False.
-autoflag/-xautoflag or -autoCallFlag True/False
Sets the Auto Flag menu option. Default: False.
-autobs/-xautobs or -autoObserve True/False
Sets the Auto Observe menu option. Default:
False.
-moves/-xmoves or -getMoveList True/False
Sets the Get Move List menu option. Default:
True.
-alarm/-xalarm or -icsAlarm True/False
Sets the ICS Alarm menu option. Default: True.
-icsAlarmTime ms
Sets the time in milliseconds for the ICS Alarm
menu option. Default: 5000.
-pre/-xpre or -premove True/False
Sets the Premove menu option. Default: True.
-quiet/-xquiet or -quietPlay True/False
Sets the Quiet Play menu option. Default: False.
Default: False.
-colorize/-xcolorize or -colorizeMessages TrueFalse
Setting colorizeMessages to True causes xboard to
colorize the messages received from the ICS. Col
orization works only if your xterm supports ISO
6429 escape sequences for changing text colors.
-colorShout foreground,background,bold
-colorSShout foreground,background,bold
-colorChannel foreground,background,bold
-colorKibitz foreground,background,bold
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 24
xboard(6)xboard(6)-colorTell foreground,background,bold
-colorChallenge foreground,background,bold
-colorRequest foreground,background,bold
-colorSeek foreground,background,bold
-colorNormal foreground,background,bold
These options set the colors used when colorizing
ICS messages. All ICS messages are grouped into
one of these categories: shout, sshout, channel 1,
other channel, kibitz, tell, challenge, request
(including abort, adjourn, draw, pause, and take
back), seek, or normal (all other messages).
Each foreground or background argument can be one
of the following: black, red, green, yellow, blue,
magenta, cyan, white, or default. Here "default"
means the default foreground or background color
of your xterm. Bold can be 1 or 0. If background
is omitted, "default" is assumed; if bold is omit
ted, 0 is assumed.
Here is an example of how to set the colors in
your .Xdefaults file. The colors shown here are
the default values; you will get them if you turn
-colorize on without specifying your own colors.
xboard*colorizeMessages: true
xboard*colorShout: green
xboard*colorSShout: green, black, 1
xboard*colorChannel1: cyan
xboard*colorChannel: cyan, black, 1
xboard*colorKibitz: magenta, black, 1
xboard*colorTell: yellow, black, 1
xboard*colorChallenge: red, black, 1
xboard*colorRequest: red
xboard*colorSeek: blue
xboard*colorNormal: default
-soundProgram progname
If this option is set to a sound-playing program
that is installed and working on your system,
xboard can play sound files when certain events
occur, listed below. The default program name is
"play". If any of the sound options is set to
"$", the event rings the terminal bell by sending
a ^G character to standard output, instead of
playing a sound file. If an option is set to the
empty string "", no sound is played for that
event.
-soundShout filename
-soundSShout filename
-soundChannel filename
-soundKibitz filename
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 25
xboard(6)xboard(6)-soundTell filename
-soundChallenge filename
-soundRequest filename
-soundSeek filename
These sounds are triggered in the same way as the
colorization events described above. They all
default to "", no sound. They are played only if
the colorizeMessages is on.
-soundMove filename
This sound is used by the Move Sound menu option.
Default: "$".
-soundIcsAlarm filename
This sound is used by the ICS Alarm menu option.
Default: "$".
-soundIcsWin filename
This sound is played when you win an ICS game.
Default: "" (no sound).
-soundIcsLoss filename
This sound is played when you lose an ICS game.
Default: "" (no sound).
-soundIcsDraw filename
This sound is played when you draw an ICS game.
Default: "" (no sound).
-soundIcsUnfinished filename
This sound is played when an ICS game that you are
participating in is aborted, adjourned, or other
wise ends inconclusively. Default: "" (no sound).
Here is an example of how to set the sounds in
your .Xdefaults file.
xboard*soundShout: shout.wav
xboard*soundSShout: sshout.wav
xboard*soundChannel1: channel1.wav
xboard*soundChannel: channel.wav
xboard*soundKibitz: kibitz.wav
xboard*soundTell: tell.wav
xboard*soundChallenge: challenge.wav
xboard*soundRequest: request.wav
xboard*soundSeek: seek.wav
xboard*soundMove: move.wav
xboard*soundIcsWin: win.wav
xboard*soundIcsLoss: lose.wav
xboard*soundIcsDraw: draw.wav
xboard*soundIcsUnfinished: unfinished.wav
xboard*soundIcsAlarm: alarm.wav
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 26
xboard(6)xboard(6)Load and Save Options-lgf or -loadGameFile file
-lgi or -loadGameIndex index
If the loadGameFile option is set, xboard loads
the specified game file at startup. The file name
"-" specifies the standard input. If there is
more than one game in the file, xboard pops up a
menu of the available games, with entries based on
their PGN (portable game notation) tags. If the
loadGameIndex option is set to N, the menu is sup
pressed and the Nth game found in the file is
loaded immediately. The menu is also suppressed
if matchMode is enabled or if the game file is a
pipe; in these cases the first game in the file is
loaded immediately. Use the pxboard shell script
if you want to pipe files containing multiple
games into xboard and still see the menu.
-td or -timeDelay seconds
Time delay between moves during Load Game. Frac
tional seconds are allowed; try -td 0.4. A time
delay value of -1 tells xboard not to step through
game files automatically. Default: 1 second.
-sgf or -saveGameFile file
If this option is set, xboard appends a record of
every game played to the specified file. The file
name "-" specifies the standard output.
-autosave/-xautosave or -autoSaveGames True/False
Sets the Auto Save menu option. Ignored if saveG
ameFile is set. Default: False.
-lpf or -loadPositionFile file
-lpi or -loadPositionIndex index
If the loadPositionFile option is set, xboard
loads the specified position file at startup. The
file name "-" specifies the standard input. If
the loadPositionIndex option is set to N, the Nth
position found in the file is loaded; otherwise
the first position is loaded.
-spf or -savePositionFile file
If this option is set, xboard appends the final
position reached in every game played to the spec
ified file. The file name "-" specifies the stan
dard output.
-oldsave/-xoldsave or -oldSaveStyle True/False
Sets the Old Save Style menu option. Default:
False.
User Interface OptionsGNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 27
xboard(6)xboard(6)
standard Xt options
xboard accepts standard Xt options like -display,
-geometry, and -iconic.
-movesound/-xmovesound or -ringBellAfterMoves True/False
Sets the Move Sound menu option. Default: False.
For upward compatibility, -bell/-xbell are also
accepted as abbreviations for this option.
-exit/-xexit or -popupExitMessage True/False
Sets the Popup Exit Message menu option. Default:
True.
-popup/-xpopup or -popupMoveErrors True/False
Sets the Popup Move Errors menu option. Default:
False.
-queen/-xqueen or -alwaysPromoteToQueen True/False
Sets the Always Queen menu option. Default:
False.
-legal/-xlegal or -testLegality True/False
Sets the Test Legality menu option. Default:
True.
-size or -boardSize (sizeName | n1,n2,n3,n4,n5,n6,n7)
Determines how large the board will be, by select
ing the pixel size of the pieces and setting a few
related parameters. The sizeName can be one of:
Titanic, giving 129x129 pixel pieces, Colossal
116x116, Giant 108x108, Huge 95x95, Big 87x87,
Large 80x80, Bulky 72x72, Medium 64x64, Moderate
58x58, Average 54x54, Middling 49x49, Mediocre
45x45, Small 40x40, Slim 37x37, Petite 33x33,
Dinky 29x29, Teeny 25x25, or Tiny 21x21. Pieces
of all these sizes are built into xboard. Other
sizes can be used if you have them; see the
pixmapDirectory and bitmapDirectory options. The
default depends on the size of your screen; it is
approximately the largest size that will fit with
out clipping.
You can select other sizes or vary other layout
parameters by providing a list of comma-separated
values (with no spaces) as the argument. You do
not need to provide all the values; for any you
omit from the end of the list, defaults are taken
from the nearest built-in size. The value n1
gives the piece size, n2 the width of the black
border between squares, n3 the desired size for
the clockFont, n4 the desired size for the coord_
Font, n5 the desired size for the default font, n6
the smallLayout flag (0 or 1), and n7 the tinyLay
out flag (0 or 1). All dimensions are in pixels.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 28
xboard(6)xboard(6)
If the border between squares is eliminated (0
width), the various highlight options will not
work, as there is nowhere to draw the highlight.
If smallLayout is 1 and titleInWindow is True, the
window layout is rearranged to make more room for
the title. If tinyLayout is 1, the labels on the
menu bar are abbreviated to one character each and
the buttons in the button bar are made narrower.
-coords/-xcoords or -showCoords True/False
Sets the Show Coords menu option. Default: False.
The coordFont option specifies what font to use.
-autoraise/-xautoraise or -autoRaiseBoard True/False
Sets the Auto Raise Board menu option. Default:
True.
-autoflip/-xautoflip or -autoFlipView True/False
Sets the Auto Flip View menu option. Default:
True.
-flip/-xflip or -flipView True/False
If Auto Flip View is not set, or if you are
observing but not participating in a game, then
the positioning of the board at the start of each
game depends on the flipView option. If flipView
is False (the default), the board is positioned so
that the white pawns move from the bottom to the
top; if True, the black pawns move from the bottom
to the top. In any case, the Flip menu option can
be used to flip the board after the game starts.
-title/-xtitle or -titleInWindow True/False
If this option is True, xboard displays player
names (for ICS games) and game file names (for
Load Game) inside its main window. If the option
is False (the default), this information is dis
played only in the window banner. You probably
won't want to set this option unless the informa
tion is not showing up in the banner, as happens
with a few X window managers.
-mono/-xmono or -monoMode True/False
Determines whether xboard displays its pieces and
squares with two colors (True) or four (False).
You shouldn't have to specify monoMode; xboard
will determine if it is necessary.
-flashCount count
-flashRate rate
-flash
-xflash These options enable flashing of pieces when they
land on their destination square. flashCount
tells XBoard how many times to flash a piece after
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 29
xboard(6)xboard(6)
it lands on its destination square. flashRate
controls the rate of flashing (flashes/sec).
Abbreviations: flash sets flashCount to 3. xflash
sets flashCount to 0. Defaults: flashCount=0 (no
flashing), flashRate=5.
-highlight/-xhighlight or -highlightLastMove True/False
Sets the Highlight Last Move menu option. Default:
False.
-blind/-xblind or -blindfold True/False
Sets the Blindfold menu option. Default: False.
-clockFont font
The font used for the clocks. If the option value
is a pattern that does not specify the font size,
xboard tries to choose an appropriate font for the
board size being used. Default: -*-helvetica-
bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
-coordFont font
The font used for rank and file coordinate labels
if showCoords is True. If the option value is a
pattern that does not specify the font size,
xboard tries to choose an appropriate font for the
board size being used. Default: -*-helvetica-
bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
-font font
The font used for popup dialogs, menus, comments,
etc. If the option value is a pattern that does
not specify the font size, xboard tries to choose
an appropriate font for the board size being used.
Default: -*-helvetica-medium-r-nor
mal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
-fontSizeTolerance tol
In the font selection algorithm, a nonscalable
font will be preferred over a scalable font if the
nonscalable font's size differs by tol pixels or
less from the desired size. A value of -1 will
force a scalable font to always be used if avail
able; a value of 0 will use a nonscalable font
only if it is exactly the right size; a large
value (say 1000) will force a nonscalable font to
always be used if available. Default: 4.
-bm or -bitmapDirectory dir
-pixmap or -pixmapDirectory dir
These options control what piece images xboard
uses. The xboard distribution includes one set of
pixmap pieces in xpm format, in the directory
pixmaps, and two sets of bitmap pieces in xbm for
mat, in the directories bitmaps and
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 30
xboard(6)xboard(6)
bitmaps.xchess. Pixmap pieces give a better
appearance on the screen: the white pieces have
dark borders, and the black pieces have opaque
internal details. With bitmaps, neither piece
color has a border, and the internal details are
transparent; you see the square color or other
background color through them.
If xboard is configured and compiled on a system
that includes libXpm, the X pixmap library, the
xpm pixmap pieces are compiled in as the default.
A different xpm piece set can be selected at run
time with the -pixmapDirectory option, or a bitmap
piece set can be selected with the -bitmapDirec
tory option.
If xboard is configured and compiled on a system
that does not include libXpm (or the --disable-xpm
option is given to the configure program), the
bitmap pieces are compiled in as the default. It
is not possible to use xpm pieces in this case,
but pixmap pieces in another format called "xim"
can be used by giving the -pixmapDirectory option.
Or again, a different bitmap piece set can be
selected with the -bitmapDirectory option.
Files in the bitmapDirectory must be named as fol
lows: The first character of a piece bitmap name
gives the piece it represents (p, n, b, r, q, or
k), the next characters give the size in pixels,
the following character indicates whether the
piece is solid or outline (s or o), and the exten
sion is ".bm". For example, a solid 80x80 knight
would be named "n80s.bm". The outline bitmaps are
used only in monochrome mode. If bitmap pieces
are compiled in and the bitmapDirectory is missing
some files, the compiled in pieces are used
instead.
If the bitmapDirectory option is given, it is also
possible to replace xboard's icons and menu check
mark, by supplying files named "icon_white.bm",
"icon_black.bm", and "checkmark.bm".
You can import pixmap pieces from the ZIICS dis
tribution by using the zic2xpm program to convert
them. This program produces both xpm and xim
pixmaps, so you can use these pieces even if you
do not have xpm support compiled into your xboard.
ZIICS provides a large number of piece sets to
choose from. Here's how to import them:
1) Download the ZIICS distribution. It is avail
able from
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 31
xboard(6)xboard(6)
ftp://ftp.freechess.org/pub/chess/DOS/ziics131.exe
2) Unzip it into a directory, for example:
unzip -L ziics131.exe -d ~/ziics
3) Pick a chess set you want to use, for example
the FRITZ4 set. Create a directory to hold the
pieces, then run the zic2xpm program to create the
pieces:
mkdir ~/fritz4
cd ~/fritz4
zic2xpm ~/ziics/fritz4.*
(The zic2xpm program is in the directory where
xboard was compiled, in case you didn't do a make
install.)
4) Now, just add the -pixmapDirectory option when
you start xboard:
xboard-pixmapDirectory ~/fritz4
Or add the option to your .Xdefaults file:
xboard*pixmapDirectory: ~/fritz4
-whitePieceColor color
-blackPieceColor color
-lightSquareColor color
-darkSquareColor color
-highlightSquareColor color
-premoveHighlightColor color
Colors to use for the pieces, squares, and square
highlights. Defaults:
-whitePieceColor #FFFFCC
-blackPieceColor #202020
-lightSquareColor #C8C365
-darkSquareColor #77A26D
-highlightSquareColor #FFFF00
-premoveHighlightColor #FF0000
If you are using a grayscale monitor, try setting
the colors to:
-whitePieceColor gray100
-blackPieceColor gray0
-lightSquareColor gray80
-darkSquareColor gray60
-highlightSquareColor gray100
-premoveHighlightColor gray70
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 32
xboard(6)xboard(6)
-drag/-xdrag or -animateDragging True/False
Sets the Animate Dragging menu option. Default:
True.
-animate/-xanimate or -animateMoving True/False
Sets the Animate Moving menu option. Default:
True.
-animateSpeed n
Number of milliseconds delay between each anima
tion frame when Animate Moves is on.
Other Options
-ncp/-xncp or -noChessProgram True/False
If this option is True, xboard acts as a passive
chessboard; it does not start a chess engine at
all. Turning on this option also turns off clock
Mode. Default: False.
-mode or -initialMode modename
If this option is given, xboard selects the given
modename from the Mode menu after starting and (if
applicable) processing the loadGameFile or loadPo
sitionFile option. Default: "" (no selection).
Other supported values are MachineWhite,
MachineBlack, TwoMachines, Analysis, AnalyzeFile,
EditGame, EditPosition, and Training.
-variant varname
Activates preliminary, partial support for playing
chess variants against a local engine or editing
variant games. This flag is not needed in ICS
mode. Recognized variant names are:
normal Normal chess
wildcastle Shuffle chess, king can castle from d file
nocastle Shuffle chess, no castling allowed
fischerandom Fischer Random shuffle chess
bughouse Bughouse, ICC/FICS rules
crazyhouse Crazyhouse, ICC/FICS rules
losers Lose all pieces or get mated (ICC wild 17)
suicide Lose all pieces including king (FICS)
giveaway Try to have no legal moves (ICC wild 26)
twokings Weird ICC wild 9
kriegspiel Opponent's pieces are invisible
atomic Capturing piece explodes (ICC wild 27)
3check Win by giving check 3 times (ICC wild 25)
unknown Catchall for other unknown variants
In the shuffle variants, xboard does not shuffle
the pieces, but you can do it by hand using Edit
Position. Some variants are supported only in ICS
mode, including fischerandom, bughouse, and
kriegspiel. The winning/drawing conditions in
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 33
xboard(6)xboard(6)
crazyhouse (offboard interposition on mate),
losers, suicide, giveaway, atomic, and 3check are
not fully understood. In crazyhouse, xboard does
not yet keep track of offboard pieces.
-debug/-xdebug or -debugMode True/False
Turns on debugging printout.
-rsh or -remoteShell shell-name
Name of the command used to run programs remotely.
The default is rsh or remsh, determined when
xboard is configured and compiled.
-ruser or -remoteUser user-name
User name on the remote system when running pro
grams with the remoteShell. The default is your
local user name.
ANALYSIS MODES
If you are using a chess engine that supports analysis,
such as Crafty, you can use xboard to analyze your games.
GNU Chess does not support analysis. See the section
titled GETTING CRAFTY for more information on obtaining
and installing Crafty. There are a few ways to analyze:
Analyzing a stored game (PGN, etc): Choose Analyze File
from the Mode Menu. Type the name of the file you
wish to load. If the file contains multiple games,
another popup will appear to let you choose which
game you want to analyze. Use the arrow buttons to
move through the game and watch the engine's analy
sis.
Setting up a position to analyze Choose Edit Position
from the Mode Menu. Edit the board (the right and
middle mouse buttons bring up the black/white piece
menus). When finished editing, click on either the
White or Black clock to tell xboard whose turn it is
to move. Choose Analysis Mode from the Mode Menu.
Watch the analysis, move pieces around, etc.
Analyzing a new game If you want to start a new analysis
from a fresh board, choose Reset Game from the File
Menu, then choose Analysis Mode from the Mode Menu.
Now you can move pieces around and watch the
engine's analysis.
GETTING CRAFTY
Crafty is a chess engine written by Bob Hyatt
(hyatt@cis.uab.edu). You can use XBoard to play a game
against Crafty, hook Crafty up to an ICS, or use Crafty to
interactively analyze games and positions for you.
Crafty is a strong, rapidly evolving chess program. This
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 34
xboard(6)xboard(6)
rapid pace of development is good, because it means Crafty
is always getting better. This can sometimes cause prob
lems with backwards compatibility, but usually the latest
version of Crafty will work well with the latest version
of xboard. Crafty can be obtained from its author's FTP
site: ftp://ftp.cis.uab.edu/hyatt/.
To use Crafty with XBoard, give the -fcp and -fd options
as follows, where crafty's-directory is the directory in
which you installed Crafty and placed its book and other
support files.
xboard-fcp crafty -fd crafty's-directory
FIREWALLS
By default, xboard-ics communicates with an Internet
Chess Server by opening a TCP socket directly from the
machine it is running on to the ICS. If there is a fire
wall between your machine and the ICS, this won't work.
Here are some recipes for getting around common kinds of
firewalls using special options to xboard. Important: See
the paragraph in the LIMITATIONS section below about extra
echoes.
Suppose that you can't telnet directly to ICS, but you can
telnet to a firewall host, log in, and then telnet from
there to ICS. Let's say the firewall is called
fire.wall.com. Set command-line options as follows:
xboard-ics -icshost fire.wall.com -icsport 23
Or in your .Xdefaults file:
XBoard*internetChessServerHost: fire.wall.com
XBoard*internetChessServerPort: 23
Then when you run xboard in ICS mode, you will be prompted
to log in to the firewall host. (This works because port
23 is the standard telnet login service.) Log in, then
telnet to ICS, using a command like telnet chessclub.com
5000, or whatever command the firewall provides for tel
netting to port 5000.
If your firewall lets you telnet (or rlogin) to remote
hosts, but doesn't let you telnet to port 5000, you will
have to find some other host outside the firewall that
does let you do this, and hop through it. For instance,
suppose you have an account at foo.edu. Follow the recipe
above, but instead of typing telnet chessclub.com 5000 to
the firewall, type telnet foo.edu (or rlogin foo.edu), log
in there, and then type telnet chessclub.com 5000.
Exception: chessclub.com itself lets you connect to the
chess server on the default telnet port (23), which is
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 35
xboard(6)xboard(6)
what you get if you don't specify a port to the telnet
program. But the other chess servers don't allow this.
Suppose that you can't telnet directly to ICS, but you can
use rsh to run programs on a firewall host, and that host
can telnet to ICS. Let's say the firewall is called
rsh.wall.com. Set command-line options as follows:
xboard-ics -gateway rsh.wall.com -icshost chessclub.com
Or in your .Xdefaults file:
XBoard*gateway: rsh.wall.com
XBoard*internetChessServerHost: chessclub.com
Then when you run xboard in ICS mode, it will connect to
the ICS by using rsh to run the command telnet chess_
club.com 5000 on host rsh.wall.com.
Suppose that you can telnet anywhere you want, but you
have to run a special program called ptelnet to do so.
First, we'll consider the easy case, in which ptelnet
chessclub.com 5000 gets you to the chess server. In this
case set command line options as follows:
xboard-ics -telnet -telnetProgram ptelnet
Or in your .Xdefaults file:
XBoard*useTelnet: true
XBoard*telnetProgram: ptelnet
Then when you run xboard in ICS mode, it will issue the
command ptelnet chessclub.com 5000 to connect to the ICS.
Next, suppose that ptelnet chessclub.com 5000 doesn't
work; that is, your ptelnet program doesn't let you con
nect to alternative ports. In this case, you will have to
find some other host outside the firewall that does let
you do this, and hop through it. For instance, suppose
you have an account at foo.edu. Set command line options
as follows:
xboard-ics -telnet -telnetProgram ptelnet -icshost foo.edu -icsport ""
Or in your .Xdefaults file:
XBoard*useTelnet: true
XBoard*telnetProgram: ptelnet
XBoard*internetChessServerHost: foo.edu
XBoard*internetChessServerPort:
Then when you run xboard in ICS mode, it will issue the
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 36
xboard(6)xboard(6)
command ptelnet foo.edu to connect to your account at
foo.edu. Log in there, then type telnet chessclub.com
5000.
ICC timestamp and FICS timeseal do not work through many
firewalls. You can use them only if your firewall gives a
clean TCP connection with a full 8-bit wide path. If your
firewall allows you to get out only by running a special
telnet program, you can't use timestamp or timeseal across
it. But if you have access to a computer just outside
your firewall, and you have much lower netlag when talking
to that computer than to the ICS, it might be worthwhile
running timestamp there. Follow the instructions above
for hopping through a host outside the firewall (foo.edu
in the example), but run timestamp or timeseal on that
host instead of telnet.
Suppose that you have a SOCKS firewall that requires you
to go through some extra level of authentication, but
after that will give you a clean 8-bit wide TCP connection
to the chess server. In that case, you could make a sock
sified version of xboard and run that. If you are using
timestamp or timeseal, you will need to socksify it, not
xboard; this may be difficult seeing that ICC and FICS do
not provide source code for these programs. Socksifica
tion is beyond the scope of this document, but see the
SOCKS Web site at http://www.socks.nec.com/how2sock
sify.html.
ENVIRONMENT
Game and position files are found in the directory named
by the CHESSDIR environment variable. If this variable is
not set, the current working directory is used. If CHESS
DIR is set, xboard actually changes its working directory
to $CHESSDIR, so any files written by the chess engine
will be placed there too.
SEE ALSOgnuchess(6), cmail(6).
LIMITATIONS
There is no way for two people running copies of xboard to
play each other without going through the Internet Chess
Server.
Under some circumstances, your ICS password may be echoed
when you log on.
If you are connecting to the ICS by running telnet, times
tamp, or timeseal on an Internet provider or firewall
host, you may find that each line you type is echoed back
an extra time after you hit Return. If your Internet
provider is a Unix system, you can probably turn its echo
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 37
xboard(6)xboard(6)
off by typing stty -echo after you log in, and/or typing
^E-Return (control-E followed by the Return key) to the
telnet program after you have logged into ICS. It is a
good idea to do this if you can, because otherwise the
extra echo can occasionally confuse xboard's parsing rou
tines.
The game parser recognizes only algebraic notation.
The internal move legality tester does not look at the
game history, so in some cases it misses illegal castling
or en passant captures. It permits castling with the king
on the d file because this is possible in some "wild 1"
games on ICS. However, if you attempt an illegal move
when using a chess engine or the ICS, xboard will accept
the error message that comes back, undo the move, and let
you try another.
Fischer Random castling is not understood. You can proba
bly play Fischer Random chess successfully on ICS by typ
ing castling moves into the ICS Interaction window, but
they will not be animated correctly, and saved games will
not be loaded correctly if castling occurs.
FEN positions saved by xboard do not include correct
information about whether castling or en passant are
legal.
The mate detector does not understand that non-contact
mate is not really mate in bughouse. The only problem
this causes while playing is minor: a "#" (mate indicator)
character will show up after a non-contact mating move in
the move list; xboard will not assume the game is over at
that point. However, if you are editing a game, Edit Game
mode will be terminated by a non-contact mate.
Some xboard functions may not work with versions of GNU
Chess earlier than 4.0, patchlevel 77, or with versions of
Crafty earlier than 15.11. A few functions work with GNU
Chess but not Crafty, or vice versa.
The menus may not work if your keyboard is in Caps Lock or
Num Lock mode. This seems to be a problem with the Athena
menu widget, not an xboard bug.
Also see the ToDo file included with the distribution for
many other possible bugs, limitations, and ideas for
improvement that have been suggested.
REPORTING PROBLEMS
Report bugs and problems with xboard to <tim.mann@com
paq.com>. Please use the script(1) program to start a
typescript, run xboard with the -debug option, and include
the typescript output in your message. Also tell us what
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 38
xboard(6)xboard(6)
kind of machine and what operating system version you are
using. The command "uname -a" will often tell you this.
Here is a sample of approximately what you should type:
script
uname -a
./configure
make
./xboard -debug
exit
mail tim.mann@compaq.com
Subject: problem with foobaz command in XBoard
Description of the problem
~r typescript
.
If you improve xboard, please send a message about your
changes, and we will get in touch with you about merging
them in to the main line of development.
AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS
Tim Mann has been responsible for xboard versions 1.3 and
beyond, and for WinBoard, a port of xboard to Microsoft
Win32 (Windows NT and Windows 95).
Mark Williams contributed the initial (WinBoard-only)
implementation of many new features added to both XBoard
and WinBoard in version 4.1.0, including copy/paste, pre
move, icsAlarm, autoFlipView, training mode, auto raise,
and blindfold. Ben Nye contributed X copy/paste code for
XBoard.
Hugh Fisher added animated piece movement to xboard, and
Henrik Gram added it to WinBoard. Frank McIngvale added
click/click moving, the Analysis modes, piece flashing,
ZIICS import, and ICS text colorization to xboard. Jochen
Wiedmann ported xboard to the Amiga, creating AmyBoard,
and converted the documentation to texinfo. Elmar Bartel
contributed the new piece bitmaps for version 3.2. Evan
Welsh wrote cmail. John Chanak contributed the initial
implementation of ICS mode. The color scheme and the old
80x80 piece bitmaps were taken from Wayne Christopher's
XChess program.
Chris Sears and Dan Sears wrote the original xboard; they
were responsible for versions 1.0 through 1.2.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1991 by Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard,
Massachusetts. Enhancements Copyright 1992-95 Free Soft
ware Foundation, Inc.
XBoard's alternative piece bitmaps (bitmaps.xchess) are
derived from the bitmaps in the XChess program, which was
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 39
xboard(6)xboard(6)
written and is copyrighted by Wayne Christopher.
The following terms apply to Digital Equipment Corpora
tion's copyright interest in XBoard:
All Rights Reserved
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute
this software and its documentation for any purpose
and without fee is hereby granted, provided that
the above copyright notice appear in all copies and
that both that copyright notice and this permission
notice appear in supporting documentation, and that
the name of Digital not be used in advertising or
publicity pertaining to distribution of the soft
ware without specific, written prior permission.
DIGITAL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO
THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL DIG
ITAL BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSE
QUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULT
ING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN
AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS
ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE
USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
The following terms apply to this enhanced version of
XBoard distributed by the Free Software Foundation:
This program is free software; you can redistribute
it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Gen
eral Public License as published by the Free Soft
ware Foundation; either version 2 of the License,
or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it
will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without
even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Gen
eral Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General
Public License along with this program; if not,
write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307,
USA.
ZIICS is a separate copyrighted work of Andy McFarland
(Zek on ICC). Use of ZIICS falls under the ZIICS license,
not the GPL.
GNU $Date: 2001/02/04 04:42:43 $ 40
