Banksia GUI released

[Laskos]

Version 0.13 released


1) Bugs fixed: almost all known bugs so far, including (serious ones):
- Crashed when creating a database and/or open games from databases in some systems
- Could not parse some PGN games
- Ruled O-O+ and O-O-O+ as illegal moves
- Did not swap multi-timers when changing engines’ sides in tournaments


2) Some small improvements/adjustments

3) New features:
- Open PGN games from URLs
- Analyze games using multi engines (just select multi engines as bellow illustration)

14 Is A "Lucky Number" for me I will await the release of update GUI v0.14..any news on saving multiple ongoing tournaments in the Banksia GUI? Thx AR

The speed that this guy is releasing is breath-taking - I really wish we could support him somehow.

I'm going to review Banksia on my website, so that'll get him a ton of new users, but still...

This GUI is going to the the dominant one for computer chess by end of 2020, I have no doubts.

Love it.



Really impressive work.

Yes, isn't the speed of development and quality amazing? This guy in weeks is doing what other entire groups of developers are doing in years.

[phhnguyen]

Thanks all for good words
-----

I have started working to show engine icons/logos. There is some information I don’t know.

Q: Are there (semi) standards about icons/logos on:
- sizes
- image types (png, gif, jpeg)?
- names (same names with their engines)?
- paths (same folders with their engines)?

Basically I am finding if chess GUIs could automatically detect those icons or users have to set up them manually.

Thanks in advance

[Ferdy]

Version 0.13 released


1) Bugs fixed: almost all known bugs so far, including (serious ones):
- Crashed when creating a database and/or open games from databases in some systems
- Could not parse some PGN games
- Ruled O-O+ and O-O-O+ as illegal moves
- Did not swap multi-timers when changing engines’ sides in tournaments


2) Some small improvements/adjustments

3) New features:
- Open PGN games from URLs
- Analyze games using multi engines (just select multi engines as bellow illustration)

It adjudicated this position with insufficient material. But this is not over yet, it should allow the game to continue.

[d]8/8/8/4k3/5BK1/8/6b1/8 b - - 0 78


The same situation for the following position, it also adjudicated this as insufficient material.

[d]8/8/8/4kN2/3n4/8/5K2/8 b - - 0 80

[BrendanJNorman]

Thanks all for good words
-----

I have started working to show engine icons/logos. There is some information I don’t know.

Q: Are there (semi) standards about icons/logos on:
- sizes
- image types (png, gif, jpeg)?
- names (same names with their engines)?
- paths (same folders with their engines)?

Basically I am finding if chess GUIs could automatically detect those icons or users have to set up them manually.

Thanks in advance

Arena allows you to select and assign your engine logo, while Fritz requires the engine to be in .BMP format, in the same folder and have the exact same name as the engine file.

Obviously the Arena approach is more user friendly.

[Ovyron]

Probably auto-detect if there's a .BMP file with the engine name on the folder so people that already set their engines in the Fritz GUI are set up, but allow users to change it when installing the engine.

[carldaman]

(in response to Ferdy's last post)

Current FIDE rules notwithstanding, common sense would suggest those positions (K+B/N vs K+B/N) should be as good as 'insufficient material'. If tablebase adjudication was present it would automatically be drawn in 99.99% of cases.

It's true that very unlikely checkmates (in the corner of the board) may still be possible with that material, and hence the current rules, but this possibility is so remote it does not make much sense to let the game go on. Of course, one could argue that a study-like position could maybe occur where checkmate could be delivered on the next move and we don't want that situation unfairly adjudicated as an insufficient material draw.

One potential compromise tweak to this rule would be to adjudicate these positions as draws, but only if neither King is in the corner. Otherwise, let the game continue until this condition is no longer applicable or a checkmate/stalemate or capture occurs.

Not sure if a GUI could implement this easily without at least 4-man TB adjudication.

[BrendanJNorman]

Probably auto-detect if there's a .BMP file with the engine name on the folder so people that already set their engines in the Fritz GUI are set up, but allow users to change it when installing the engine.

But why model the Fritz way of doing things when Fritz is the least user friendly GUI for computer chess?

The fritz method means that you essentially need a different .exe for every engine personality (logo) you create, even if using the same engine.

[Ovyron]

No, it'd just check if it's already set up to set a default image, just so people that already did it for Fritz don't need to do anything to get a logo for their engine.

[BrendanJNorman]

No, it'd just check if it's already set up to set a default image, just so people that already did it for Fritz don't need to do anything to get a logo for their engine.

Sure. Arena already does this. If it finds a .BMP file with the same name as the exe, it assigns it automatically.

But if there is none, it can be assigned with a simple selection box.

Best of both worlds.

[Ovyron]

That's what I was suggesting - sorry I wasn't clear.