Chess for Android 2.6 and other Android chess programs

[gekko]

The new game list is great! Thanks very much.

My 2 wishes for Scid on the go:
- Native PGN file support, so I don't have to convert my PGN file to a Scid database before using it
- Training mode could have some better way of letting you know if you chose the "wrong" move (or a move for which there is no variation). As it is, it just creates a new variation. I'd prefer if it would warn you (or if that would be an option, or something, I don't know what). This could be useful for openings training, too, for which there is currently no android app.

Otherwise, it's coming along really well!

Jeremy

Scid has a proprietary datatabase format for a reason: searches for pieces or current board in thousands of games are fast. I would be unable to support these searches in PGN files. Droidfish supports browsing games in a list for native PGN files.
The "study mode" in Scid on the go is probably misnamed. It just hides the move list and the arrows for variations.
A true training mode is missing and would be nice. I'm still evaluating as to how this should work. Suggestions for a training mode are welcome. E.g. I like the interface of the practice mode of Chess (from jwtc). I'd like to add something similar to Scid on the go if time permits. But this will take some time...

Gerhard

[Alex54]

I already got the new Chess for Android version, the 2.8.2, by Aart Bik. Fantastic. You can incorporate now many different UCI engines, and also endgame tablebases ( Nalimov, Gaviota or Scorpio), although I still dont know how to charge them. Aart come again to help me and explain this point, please, as I have many Nalimov TBs and would like to charge them on your CFA.
You can choose the UCI memory ( till 4096 MB), the cores!!!( till 64), the cache memory ( 4096 MB), the Elo level and the tablebases.Incredible.Charging 128 MB of memory on my Toshiba Folio 100 tablet ( maximum it can incorporate), and setting two cores it calculates up to 350.000 nps with the new Stockfish 2.1 for Android, released three days ago. 25/35 plys depth during the game, impressive. Now every people are waiting for the Hiarcs Android ( I will get a beta version in a few days) and the Houdini Android ( 1.5a or may be 2.0 version). Together with the Stockfish 2.1, 2.0.1, 2.0, Robbolito, Toga II, Komodo, Ivanhoe, Shredder 1.2, Chess Genius 2.3 and Droidfish 1.29...etc, we could have a pretty Android chess programs group this year.
But Aart, there are two points in my opinion you must improve here.
The first one is to increase the game times. Just eight levels with fixed response time, plus the other three, are not enough at all. We need blitz ones ( say 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes, and 1, 2 hours at least ), also with increments per move( say 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 30 seconds) .
The other point, even more crucial, is to enable CFA to incorporate opening books from SD card, Polyglot for example, as
Peter Österlund does with his Droidfish 1.29 program. Playing without OB does not give a clear idea of the programs playing level as they are at a disadvantage against other programs that can incorporate them.

[tomgdrums]

I already got the new Chess for Android version, the 2.8.2, by Aart Bik. Fantastic. You can incorporate now many different UCI engines, and also endgame tablebases ( Nalimov, Gaviota or Scorpio), although I still dont know how to charge them. Aart come again to help me and explain this point, please, as I have many Nalimov TBs and would like to charge them on your CFA.
You can choose the UCI memory ( till 4096 MB), the cores!!!( till 64), the cache memory ( 4096 MB), the Elo level and the tablebases.Incredible.Charging 128 MB of memory on my Toshiba Folio 100 tablet ( maximum it can incorporate), and setting two cores it calculates up to 350.000 nps with the new Stockfish 2.1 for Android, released three days ago. 25/35 plys depth during the game, impressive. Now every people are waiting for the Hiarcs Android ( I will get a beta version in a few days) and the Houdini Android ( 1.5a or may be 2.0 version). Together with the Stockfish 2.1, 2.0.1, 2.0, Robbolito, Toga II, Komodo, Ivanhoe, Shredder 1.2, Chess Genius 2.3 and Droidfish 1.29...etc, we could have a pretty Android chess programs group this year.
But Aart, there are two points in my opinion you must improve here.
The first one is to increase the game times. Just eight levels with fixed response time, plus the other three, are not enough at all. We need blitz ones ( say 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes, and 1, 2 hours at least ), also with increments per move( say 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 30 seconds) .
The other point, even more crucial, is to enable CFA to incorporate opening books from SD card, Polyglot for example, as
Peter Österlund does with his Droidfish 1.29 program. Playing without OB does not give a clear idea of the programs playing level as they are at a disadvantage against other programs that can incorporate them.

So does this mean that Hiarcs for Android is around the corner? I hope so!! I am eagerly awaiting that app!

I really like Shredder Chess and Chess Genius for droid. And Chess by Mobilia has a great puzzle collection!

[AartBik]

Aart come again to help me and explain this point, please, as I have many Nalimov TBs and would like to charge them on your CFA.

To setup any or all of the tablebases in Chess for Android, simply copy them to the sdcard and, when importing the UCI chess engine, provide the directory. For easy of use, I assume the following "default" directories, but you can pick your own naming scheme if you don't mind the extra typing later:

Code: Select all

/sdcard/tb       Nalimov
/sdcard/gtb      Gaviota
/sdcard/egbb     Scorpio
/sdcard/robbo    RobboTotalBases 

For a small sdcard, I recommend just copying the 3- and 4-piece men. But for larger storage, you can of course copy as many tablebases as will fit. In the long run, I suspect that Android engines authors want to modify their probing heuristics to deal specifically with accessing sdcard storage.

But Aart, there are two points in my opinion you must improve here.

As author, let me be the first to say I can think of more than two .
I am working on several new features. But progress is a little slow next to a busy job and family life. Please bare with me!

[Cubeman]

Would it be possible for UCI engines to be able to use the dual cores on the new cell-phones such as the Samsung Galaxy 2.

[thorstenczub]

dual cores ARE supported for the android tegra2 platform.
its working on my advent vega tegra 2 tablet pc.

i guess it should work with mobile phones too.

[AartBik]

Would it be possible for UCI engines to be able to use the dual cores on the new cell-phones such as the Samsung Galaxy 2.

You are not a big follower of my blog, are you?
Yes, like Thorsten said, this is supported in the UCI setup of Chess for Android, see this posting:

http://aartbik.blogspot.com/2011/04/and ... allel.html

Also, please note that Jim Ablett very kindly made many more UCI engines for Android availabe at his website:

http://jimablett.hostwebs.com/

[thorstenczub]

as it seems this diablo is always moving in an instant.

simplex plays indeed simple... e.g. moves the kings out of the box.
i don't get this sissa running.

is the file to be colpied this md5 file ??

[AartBik]

as it seems this diablo is always moving in an instant.
simplex plays indeed simple... e.g. moves the kings out of the box.
i don't get this sissa running.

All these engines work for me, although not all engines properly support the "movetime" command of the UCI protocol.
I am planning an Android UCI engine tournament soon, to get a proper ranking of all engines.

[Alex54]

Thanks, Aart, for your quick reply and useful help, as usual.
I will download the TBs to the SD card with the default names you gave me, and eagerly waiting for your new improvements.
Yes Cube, a friend of mine got the new Samsung Galaxy SII smartphone, the fastest on the market now till the appearance of the HTC Sensation next month. He downloaded Droidfish 1.29 and Chess for Android 2.8.2 and tells me Stockfish 2.1 on the CFA calculates nearly 500.000 nps. My Folio 100 incorporates the Tegra 2 processor ( 2X1 GHz) and the new Galaxy SII has dual core at 1.2 GHz, arround 20% faster.
The Tegra guys told me they will start releasing Quad-core devices ( now named Krait) for Christmas. We will see, it sounds too fantastic to be true.
I asked Mark a beta Android Hiarcs to try to face it , on an informal basis, with Anand and/or Shirov next June in Leon ( Spain), where I have been invited. A nearly impossible mission but again we will see.

Waiting for news and thx everybody.
Regards.

Alex54