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tchess

Chess with friends in the terminal [wip]

Usage

  -ip [server ip]
        If client, enter server IP to connect to
  -large
        Use large board
  -pieces [outline | filled | letter]
        Set pieces style to "outline", "filled", or "letter" (default "outline")
  -port [port number]
        Enter port to connect over (default "8282")

The concept is simple: to facilitate a game of chess in the terminal, trading moves over a TCP connection.

If you want to try tchess out, build the binary (go build), open up a server in one terminal window (./tchess -port 8888), and then connect with the client from a different terminal window (./tchess -ip <server ip> -port 8888). Moves can be entered in a very basic/explicit algebraic notation, structured thusly: <piece> + <current square> + <destination square>. E.g. Pc2c4 (move Pawn from C2 to C4)

Here's a quick step-by-step demo you can do yourself:

  1. open a terminal window, clone this repository, and navigate to the root of the newly cloned tchess repository
  2. build the tchess binary using the go compiler (go build)
  3. run tchess in server mode (./tchess -port 8888)
  4. open a new terminal window (separate instance) and navigate to the cloned tchess repository
  5. run tchess in client mode, targeting the ip and port of the server tchess process in the other terminal window (./tchess -ip 127.0.0.1 -port 8888)
  6. switch to the first terminal window and enter a move (try Pd2d4, a solid opening in the London System)
  7. switch to the second terminal window, observe that Pd2d4 has been communicated across the connection, and respond with the Kings Indian Defense (Ng8f6)
  8. continue playing tchess!

Functionality

Castling, en passant captures, and other complex moves aren't supported yet and move validation is only implemented for non-pawn pieces. Eventually I'll add these things, but at this point a full, simple game can be played over the network with strictly one-piece moves.

For machine-to-machine connections, the machine running tchess in server mode will need to have a public IP address so that a client machine can connect to it. Normally, a central public server would be used to facilitate connections with all participating machines acting as clients. Seeing as I'm not currently planning on running a 24/7 server to support remote tchess games, public IPs and connecting over LAN will have to suffice for now.

Please let me know if you like it or have any questions, suggestions, or insights.