ChessBrainVB V2.0 released (WB 2600 ELO, Office VBA 2100ELO)

[Roger Zuehlsdorf]

ChessBrainVB V2.0
=================

Chess engine with GUI for EXCEL / WORD VBA - plus winboard version ( VB6 compiled win32 engine)

There are two ways to use this chess engine:

1. Use ExcelChessBrainX.xlsm with EXCEL or WordChessBrainX.docm with WORD
(full install needed, viewers are not working) to play games using the GUI implemented in VBA forms (english+german).
Files needed: ChessBrainVB.ini for settings, ChessBrainVB_Book.opn, ChessBrainVB_Book.opi for opening book.
Playing strength 2100 ELO (CCRL 40/4 conditions)
Visual Basic for Applications is used for the chess engine.
This pseudo code is not compiled and 15 times slower than the compiled VB6 EXE for winboard:
calculates about 20.000 moves per second.

2. Use a free chess GUI like ARENA , add ChessBrainVB.exe as winboard engine.
Files needed: ChessBrainVB.ini for settings, ChessBrainVB_Book.opn, ChessBrainVB_Book.opi for opening book.
Playing strength 2600 ELO (CCRL 40/4 conditions)
Compiled with Visual Basic 6: calculates about 300.000 moves per second.

Download-Links:
Dropbox
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aec6ktxsfdzb ... NUJga?dl=0

GitHub (click <Download ZIP>)
https://github.com/RZulu54/ChessBrainVB


Changes from version 1.02 to 2.0 (Roger Zuehlsdorf 14-FEB-2016)
----------------------------------------------------------------

- improved evalution and search

- problem fixes in hash logic and castling rights

- added special functions for endgames with KQKP, KQKR, KRKP

- added endgame table base access to web service for root position and first ply (see ini file)

- added Wb2Uci files for use with UCI interface

- ELO increase: 100 ELO


Playing strength (Test matches: CCRL conditions 40 moves in 4 minutes, Powerbook2010-8 moves):

- ChessBrainVB.exe: Winboard 32bit version, compiled Visual Basic 6 : >>> 2600 ELO <<<

ChessBrainVB_V2 (300kn/s) - Colossus2008b ...(1600 kn/s / ELO 2644): 51,5/100 36-33-31 52% +14
ChessBrainVB_V2 (300kn/s) - SOS 5.1 for Arena (1000 kn/s / ELO 2577): 56,0/100 36-24-40 56% +42

- ChessbrainVB_PCode.exe: VB6 Pseudo Code (VBA speed as used in Excel/Word): >>> 2100 ELO <<<

ChessBrainVB_PCode_V2 (20kn/s) - Wing2.0a ....(1800 kn/s / ELO 2097): 51,0/100 41-39-20 51% + 7
ChessBrainVB_PCode_V2 (20kn/s) - Matheus-2.3 (4000 kn/s / ELO 2054): 64,0/109 53-34-22 59% +63

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[Sylwy]

NICE !!!
THANK YOU !!!

Here is my test for the previous version:

http://www.talkchess.com/forum/viewtopi ... 57&t=50060

[Sylwy]

Thanks Roger.

Oddly, I can use it under Arena but it does not move under WinBoard. I'm experimenting with the ini file, no success as yet. Tried -xboard from command line, gave it the WB path, switched off EGTB's, to no avail.

Works OK - like WB - in Arena and like UCI (via Wb2Uci) in Fritz GUI. And over +100 Elo points face to the previous 1.1 version ! The result in Sunday !

[Roger Zuehlsdorf]

Thanks Roger.

Oddly, I can use it under Arena but it does not move under WinBoard. I'm experimenting with the ini file, no success as yet. Tried -xboard from command line, gave it the WB path, switched off EGTB's, to no avail.

Test with Winboard 4.8 is ok. Noo need to edit ChessBrainVB.ini.
Sample entry for winboard.ini:
ChessBrainVB" -fcp "ChessBrainVB" -fd "..\CB_V2

[brianr]

I had to disable tablebases or there are many losses on time.

TB_ROOT_ENABLED=0
TB_SEARCH_ENABLED=0

BTW: It did work under Winboard analysis mode without doing so.

[Roger Zuehlsdorf]

I released version 2.04 which fixed the problem with Winboard.exe when using an external opening book and first move for the engine is with black pieces.
Arena GUI sends a "black" command first before the "go", so it was okay here.

Download links are the same (see first post). There should be no ELO change to V2.0.

Gabor, Brian: thank you for your support.

[hgm]

Indeed, the engine is supposed to keep track of who'se turn it is, when it receives moves in force mode (or in other modes, for that matter). Note it is also supposed to count them towards its expectation of when to receive new time in classical TC mode; many engines have the bug of not doing that, with desastrous consequences for their time management. (They use up all the time on their clock on what they think will be the last move of a session, to discover that they only get time added some 30 moves later, so that they have to play these 30 moves in just a few msec.)

Normally 'black' would only have to be used with engines that set up a position through the 'edit' command (which, unlike 'setboard', does not indicate the side to move through a FEN). And the protocol specs state that GUIs should not even do that (the 'black' command was deprecated), but put black on move by making a dummy move a2a3 in the initial position, before applying 'edit'.

[Sylwy]

http://talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 12&t=50060

[Norbert Raimund Leisner]

Hello ,

does ChessBrainVB https://github.com/RZulu54/ChessBrainVB/releases
only work with Micosoft´s Office Edition or with freeware like
https://www.openoffice.org/ or https://www.libreoffice.org/ too?

WinBoard-compatible version with Arena is o.k.

Best wishes,
Norbert

[mar]

Nice!
SF translated to VB minus bugs.
So yet another pathetic clone. You guys must be really desperate...
But don't worry, you're in a good company.

Such crap (and Alfil & co) only spoil amateur series.
PS I hope you realize you violate GPL