Contents page | Winboard setup | Command line parameters | Commands reference | Licence and Warranty


Commands Reference: Winboard Commands

. - Show status of search.
accepted - Feature accepted [Ignored].
black - Change computer to black side.
computer - Tells GLC that it is playing against a computer.
hint - Show hint [Ignored].
ics - Says we are playing on the internet.
nopost - Don't show thinking.
otim - Time for opponents clock.
post - Show thinking.
protover - Says protocol version in use.
rejected - Feature rejected [Ignored].
result - Result of game (used to trigger TD learning).
setboard - Show current fen/Setup position from fen.
st - Set to fixed time per move.
sd - Set maximum depth.
time - Time for computers clock.
random - Random delta on evals [Ignored].
variant - Choose chess variant [Ignored].
white - Change computer to white side.
xboard - Set into xboard mode.


The . command

Summary

The . command is used by WinBoard to get the status of a search that is in progress.

Format

  .


The accepted command

Summary

The accepted command is sent by WinBoard in response to features that have been requested by the engine. This command is currently ignored by the engine.

Format

  accepted


The black command

Summary

The black command is sent by WinBoard to tell the engine that it should play the black side.

Format

  black


The computer command

Summary

The computer command is sent by Winboard to tell the engine that it's opponent is a computer. This command is currently ignored by the engine.

Format

  computer


The hint command

Summary

The hint command is sent by Winboard to request a hint as to the best move for the opponent to play. This command is currently ignored by the engine.

Format

  hint


The ics command

Summary

The ics command is sent by Winboard when playing on an internet server. It currently causes the engine to send a hello message.

Format

  ics [ics-inet-addr]


The nopost command

Summary

The nopost command is used to stop the engine from sending thinking reports to Winboard.

Format

  nopost


The otim command

Summary

The otim command is sent by Winboard to tell the engine how much time is left on the opponents clock.

Format

  otim centi-seconds


The post command

Summary

The post command is used to enable thinking reports to be sent to Winboard.

Format

  post


The protover version command

Summary

The protover version command is sent by Winboard to inform the engine which version of the protocol is in use. The engine uses this to decide whether or not to send any particular feature requests, and whether to spend time creating it's internal KPK endgame table.

Format

  protover version


The rejected command

Summary

The rejected command is sent by Winboard in response to an invalid feature request. This command is currently ignored by the engine.

Format

  rejected


The result command

Summary

The result command is sent by Winboard at the end of a game. It is currently used to trigger TD learning, if it has been enabled (For more information on TD learning see the -td command line parameter.)

Format

  result


The setboard command

Summary

The setboard command is used to setup the current position in the engine.

Format

  setb[oard] [fen-string]


The st command

Summary

The st command is used to set a fixed time per move.

Format

  st secs


The sd command

Summary

The sd command is used to limit the maximum search depth.

Format

  sd depth


The time command

Summary

The time command is sent by Winboard to inform the engine how much time it has left on it's clock.

Format

  time centisecs


The random command

Summary

The random command is sent by Winboard to request that the evaluation has a random delta added to it, which will have the effect that no two games should be alike. This command is currently ignored by the engine.

Format

  random


The variant command

Summary

The variant command is sent by Winboard to inform the engine which variant of chess it is to play. This command is currently ignored by the engine.

Format

  variant


The white command

Summary

The white command is sent by WinBoard to tell the engine that it should play the white side.

Format

  white


The xboard command

Summary

The xboard command is sent by Winboard to inform the engine that it is being used by Winboard.

Format

  xboard [off]

Send e-mail to chess@7sun.com.
Page last updated by Tim Foden on the 17th March 2003.