Chess for Android as Client of a Chess Server

-
User PJ+ at the OpenChess forum implemented a nifty client utility that converts Chess for Android to a client for a remote chess server. To make this work (assuming you already have a remote chess server running at some hostname and port), simply do the following steps.
  1. Download the version of Chess for Android that grants network permission to its UCI clients (the default version at the market does not do this for obvious security reasons).
  2. Download PJ+'s client-android-cli utility.
  3. Construct a file, for example uci_client, that contains the single line ./client-android-cli <hostname> <port> for the hostname and port of the remote chess server.
  4. Copy 2. and 3. to SD card, then install these from SD just like the first-time install of UCI engines.
  5. Finally, the single line file uci_client can now be imported as any other UCI engine, and will connect to the remote chess server.
I tried this method myself connecting Chess for Android as client to a remote chess server with a 64-bit BikJump engine on a Linux desktop, and this yielded over 1,000KNs. PJ+ used his utility to connect to a remote chess server with Houdini, yielding over 25,000KNs. Pretty neat to run a 25 million nodes per second search on a phone, right? Thanks PJ+!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hello, you might want to differentiate your Android Chess App because it is no longer in the market place due to the pulling of apps.
March 2, 2011 at 9:29 AM
Aart Bik said…
Ah, reading up on the news, I now understand what you are alluding to. Chess for Android should still be available on the market. Please let me know if you find otherwise.
March 2, 2011 at 2:06 PM
Matthias said…
I found a rule mistake in the chess game, you might could fix this plz. When the king is set chess before he makes the "rochade"(switch with tower) he should not be able to do this anymore.

Sincerly Matthias
March 13, 2011 at 5:32 AM
Aart Bik said…
Hi Matthias,
Castling is allowed even when the king has been in check previously, as long as it is not in check at the time of castling. Please see this explanation (listed under common mistakes).
March 13, 2011 at 9:34 AM
Boyan said…
Great work indeed! Best Android chess app for sure (well, together with top chess engines).

You (and PJ+) inspred me to try to use your Chess for Android with a remote chess engine (Houdini), but I cannot even start since I download of PJ+'s client-android-cli utility doesn't work. Can you put it up on your download page please?
June 25, 2011 at 3:28 PM
Aart Bik said…
If PJ+ gives me his permission, I will put the utility on my website.
June 25, 2011 at 6:08 PM
Boyan said…
Hi Aart!

Thanks for your quick reply and willingness to help all of us chess fans ;-)

I've set up chess server on Linux desktop and would really like to try accessing Stockfish via your "Chess for Android" app on my Samsung Galaxy S2.

Waiting for PJ+ reply might take a while, so, could you please email me that cli utility to BojDob@yahoo.com? I don't think there will be any problem since the file was actually up and free for all to take...

Also, which engine did you find strongest, actually, fastest, on a mobile smartphone? (Say, Stockfish might be strongest, but if say Robbolito calculates more moves in one minute, then this is actually strongest engine.)
June 27, 2011 at 10:21 AM
Boyan said…
Hi again! Would you try to make Chess for Android work with Glaurung free chess server? See www.glaurungchess.com If it works, would you be so kind to post instructions?
June 27, 2011 at 2:08 PM
Aart Bik said…
The link you posted provides code to setup a chess server and client, similar to using Chess for Android and PJ+'s utility as client of some chess server (it does seem not provide a free chess server, however).
June 27, 2011 at 4:35 PM
Aart Bik said…
PJ+ gave permission, and I will put the utility on my website shortly.
June 30, 2011 at 10:17 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Checkers Move Generation

-
I was able to make a small improvement in the checkers move generator (written in Java for the Android SDK). The following table shows run times of several perft depths before and after optimization when run on the emulator (which should mimic actual run times on the phone quite well). DEPTH #LEAF NODES ORIGINAL OPTIMIZED TIME TIME ==================================== 7 179740 2.9s 1.9s 8 845931 14.2s 9.7s 9 3963680 66.3s 45.6s 10 18391564 294.6s 208.7s P.S. Runtimes for a C++ checkers move generator on a 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo are given at my checkers page .
Read more

Connecting Chess for Android to a Remote Server

-
Image
I have received several questions on how to connect Chess for Android running on an Android device (e.g. a phone) as client to a remote chess server (e.g. a powerful desktop), so I decided to write a small document with detailed instructions. What you will need: The server software from Bernhard Wallner's chess utilities , suited for your server's operating system (if, say, your desktop runs Windows, you will need to download the Windows version). You do not need to download the client software in this case. The network enabled version of Chess for Android . On the server, start the engine server software, and construct a new row for every engine you want to run remotely. Assign a name, port number, and select the full path to each engine binary (an executable that runs on the server). You can also supply command line options for starting the engine. Check the active checkboxes and click start when done. This yields something similar to the screenshots below. Here, I have s...
Read more

Connecting with the DGT Board

-
Image
After all the fun I had connecting Chess for Android with the Millennium  over Bluetooth, I was curious if I could provide similar support for the DGT electronic chess boards. Some of these have Bluetooth capabilities, most use USB connections, and some older models, like the one I have, still use the RS-232 connector. To my pleasant surprise, by combining the original serial cable of DGT with a USB-to-serial cable and a female-USB-to-USB-C cable, I was able to get an actually working connection between my DGT board and my tablet or phone. Next was implementing support in Chess for Android. Luckily, DGT kindly shared the protocol documentation with me, and after a fun weekend of hacking, Chess for Android now proudly supports DGT electronic chess boards as well.
Read more