Provided by: gnushogi_1.4.2-7_amd64 bug

NAME

       gnushogi - GNU Shogi (Japanese Chess)

SYNOPSIS

       gnushogi  [  [[-]a]  [-b  bookfile]  [-B binbookfile] [-C] [-h langfile] [-L langfile] [-r
       length] [-R] [-s pathname] [-l pathname] [-S binbooksize] [-t] [-c size]  [-T  size]  [-v]
       [-x] [-X] arg1 arg2 ]

DESCRIPTION

       Gnushogi  plays  a  game  of  japanese  chess (shogi) against the user or it plays against
       itself.

       At startup Gnushogi reads the binbook file if it is present. It  then  looks  for  a  book
       file.  If  it  is present it adds its contents to the binbook data. If the binbook file is
       writable a new combined binbook file is written.

       Gnushogi is a modified version of the gnuchess program.   It  has  a  simple  alphanumeric
       board display, or it can be compiled for use with the xshogi program under X windows.  The
       program gets its opening moves from the file gnushogi.bbk which is located in a  directory
       specified in the Makefile.  To invoke the program type:

       gnushogi -C
              - simple curses based version

       gnushogi -X (or just gnushogi)
              - xshogi compatible version

       gnushogi -R
              - raw test display version

TIME CONTROLS

       If  one  argument  is  given,  it  is  the  search time per move in [minutes:]seconds.  So
       gnushogi 30 will generate one move every 30 seconds, while gnushogi 5:00 will generate one
       move every 5 minutes.

       If two or more arguments are given, they will be used to set tournament time controls with
       the first argument of each pair being the number of moves and the second being  the  total
       clock  time  in minutes[:seconds].  Thus, entering gnushogi 60 5 will set the clocks for 5
       minutes (300 seconds) for the first 60 moves, and gnushogi 30 3:30 will  allow  3  minutes
       and 30 seconds for 30 moves.

       gnushogi  30  5  1 :30 will allow 5 minutes for the first 30 moves and 30 seconds for each
       move after that.  Up to 4 pairs of controls may be specified.

       If no argument is given the program will prompt the user for level of play.

       For use with xshogi see the documentation on that program.

BOOK

       The book gnushogi.tbk consists of a sequence of openings.  An opening begins with  a  line
       starting  with  a  #  ,  the rest of the line is a comment.  Following this is a series of
       moves in algebraic notation alternating black and white separated by white space.  A  move
       may  have a ?  after it indicating this move should never be made in this position.  Moves
       are stored as position:move so transpositions between openings can take place.

HASHFILE

       The hashfile if created should be on the order of 4 megabytes or  gnushogi  -c  22.   This
       file  contains positions and moves learned from previous games.  If a hashfile is used the
       computer makes use of the experience it gained in past games. Tests run so far  show  that
       it  plays  no  worse  with  the  hashfile than without, but it is not clear yet whether it
       provides a real advantage.

LEGAL MOVES

       Note: Piece letters are determined by the language file.  What is specified  here  is  the
       default (English).

       Once  gnushogi  is  invoked,  the program will display the board and prompt the user for a
       move. To enter a move, use the notation 7g7f where the first letter-number pair  indicates
       the  origin square and the second letter-number pair indicates the destination square.  An
       alternative is to use the notation P7f where the first letter  indicates  the  piece  type
       (P,L,N,S,G,B,R,K).   To  promote  append  a + the type of the new piece to the move, as in
       2d2c+ or P2c+.  Note that you must use capital letters for the pieces by default.

COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS

       -a     Do not search on opponent's time.

       a      Do search on opponent's time.

       -b bookfile
              Use bookfile for opening book.

       -B binbookfile
              Use binbookfile for binary opening book.

       -c size
              Create a new HASHFILE. File size is 2^size entries of approximately 65+? bytes.

       -C     Use curses-based display mode.

       -h     Do not use hashfile.

       h      Do use hashfile.

       -l pathname
              Pathname of the loadfile use with get or xget.

       -L lang
              Use language lang from the file gnushogi.lang.  If -L is not specified it uses  the
              first language in the file.

       -P plylevels
              Number of plys to include in the binbookfile. For generating a binbookfile.

       -r length
              Rehash length times in searching  entries for position in transposition table.

       -R     Use raw text display mode.  This can be used for dumb terminals or for systems that
              don't have curses.

       -s pathname
              Pathname of the save file to use with the save command.

       -S size
              Size of binbookfile for memory based books. For creating a binbookfile.

       -t     Show statistics for HASHFILE

       -T size
              Set the transposition table size to 2^size entries.

       -v     Show version and patchlevel.

       -x value
              Use value as the evaluation window xwndw.

       -X     Use xshogi display mode (the default).

COMMANDS

       In addition to legal moves, the following commands  are  available  as  responses.   Note:
       command  names  are  determined by the language file and may vary with the implementation.
       The default language is English.

       alg -- allow algebraic input (not implemented)

       Awindow -- change Alpha window (default score + 90)

       Bwindow -- change Beta window (default score - 90)

       beep -- toggles beeping after each move (default: on).

       bd -- updates the current board position on the display.

       book -- turns off use of the opening library.

       both -- causes the computer to play both sides of a shogi game.

       black -- causes the computer to take the white pieces, if the computer is to move first.

       bsave -- saves a game to disk as a book textfile.  The program will prompt the user for  a
       file name.

       gamein  --  toggles game mode time control. Assumes the time specified for time control is
       the time for a complete game.  Input with the level command should be the  game  time  and
       the expected number of moves in a game.  go command must be given.

       coords -- show coordinates on the display (visual only)

       contempt -- allows the value of contempt to be modified.

       debug  --  asks for a piece as color piece, as wb or bn, and shows its calculated value on
       each square.

       debuglevel --  sets level of debugging output if compiled with debug options.

       depth -- allows the user to change the search depth of the program.  The maximum depth  is
       29  ply.   Normally the depth is set to 29 and the computer terminates its search based on
       elapsed time rather than depth.  If depth is set to (say) 4 ply, the program  will  search
       until  all  moves  have  been  examined  to  a  depth  of  4 ply (with extensions up to 11
       additional ply for sequences of checks and captures).  If you set a maximum time per  move
       and  also  use  the  depth  command,  the  search  will  stop at the specified time or the
       specified depth, whichever comes first.

       easy -- toggles easy mode (thinking on opponents time) on and off.  The  default  is  easy
       mode  ON.   If  easy mode is disabled, the keyboard is polled for input every so often and
       when input is seen the search is terminated. It may also be terminated with a sigint.

       edit -- allows the user to set up a board position.

       # - command will clear the board.

       c - toggle piece color.

       .  - command will exit setup mode.

       p3b - place a pawn on 3b

       p3b+ - place a promoted pawn on 3b

       p* - place a pawn to the captured pieces

       Pieces are entered by typing a letter (p,l,n,s,g,b,r,k) for  the  piece  followed  by  the
       coordinate.

       The usual warning about the language file applies.

       exit -- exits gnushogi.

       first -- tells the computer to move first. Computer begins searching for a move.  (same as
       "go").

       force -- allows the user to enter moves for both sides. To get the program to play after a
       sequence of moves has been entered use the 'black' or 'white' commands.

       get -- retrieves a game from disk.  The program will prompt the user for a file name.

       hash -- use/don't use hashfile.

       hashdepth  --  allows  the user to change the minimum depth for using the hashfile and the
       number of moves from the beginning of the game to use it.

       help -- displays a short description of the commands and the current status of options.

       go -- tells the computer to move first. Computer begins searching for a  move.   (same  as
       "first").

       hint -- causes the program to supply the user with its predicted move.

       level  --  allows  the  user  to  set time controls such as 60 moves in 5 minutes etc.  In
       tournament mode, the program will vary the time it takes for each move  depending  on  the
       situation.   If  easy  mode is disabled (using the 'easy' command), the program will often
       respond with its move immediately, saving time on its clock for use later on.

       list -- writes the game moves and some statistics on search depth, nodes, and time to  the
       file 'shogi.lst'.

       material -- toggle material flag - draws on no pawns and both sides < rook

       new -- starts a new game.

       p  --  evaluates the board and shows the point score for each piece. The total score for a
       position is the sum of these individual piece scores.

       post -- causes the program to display the principal variation and  the  score  during  the
       search.  A score of 100 is equivalent to a 1 pawn advantage for the computer.

       quit -- exits the game.

       random -- causes the program to randomize its move selection slightly.

       rcptr -- set recapture mode.

       remove -- backout the last level for both sides. Equal to 2 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.

       xget -- read an xshogi position file.

       xsave -- save as an xshogi position file.

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

BUGS

SEE ALSO

       xshogi(6)

                                                                                      gnushogi(6)