TAKEN FROM: github.com/Team-Ludo/SCA/blob/main/README.md
Welcome to SOME CHESS APP {SCA} beta. Please note that this version is available until 1 April 2023.
This app allows you to create a PGN for purpose of preparing against an opponent or even against a database. Simply put you tell the APP your opponent's Lichess handle and yours. You chose your settings and the App gives you a PGN of what are the best lines to play against him.
TL/DR: Just download and install using the installation instructions below. Then change Hero Lichess username to your own username and Villian Lichess Username to the player you wish to prepare against. Then press run and wait for the pgn.
HOW IT WORKS: SCA starts from a user-defined position and then retrieves candidate move(s) for the villain from the database(s) as defined by the user. The number of moves so retrieved is included or limited by (i) which database(s) are used; (ii) how many branches are defined; (iii) the minimum games and popularity settings {these features can be seen below in the description of the settings}.
Thereafter, and for each of the included villain moves, the app will search for a Hero move. We can set where to source our candidate moves from ie. Our database, the Master database, the Online Database, or simply just the best engine move. Thereafter we can set which move to choose based on statistics. Ie. The best-performing move for us is calculated from our stats, the villain’s stats, or the general online database stats. Even here we can set how we want to approach draws. Ie. include draws as wins or exclude draws. Please note that if the App was unable to find any moves by way of the selected database, then it will automatically default to the top engine move.
INSTALLATION:
PLEASE NOTE THAT DURING THE DOWNLOAD OR YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT TO RUN THE APP YOUR PC MAY GIVE YOU A WARNING BECAUSE THIS IS AN. EXE FILE FROM AN UNPUBLISHED SOURCE. PLEASE SELECT "RUN ANYWAY".
Download the contents, ie. config.txt, readme, and SCA_xxxx__.exe from here and extract it to a folder on your pc.
You may need to download 7-zip to extract these files. If you need to do this you can go to www.7-zip.org/download.html and download the version compatible with your operating system.
Download your engine of choice. I suggest Stockfish which can be downloaded from: stockfishchess.org/download/. Please make sure to download the version that is compatible with your PC and operating system. If you are unsure just double-click the binary that you downloaded. It should open a black or terminal window and it should not close by itself. If it does close by itself download an older version. Place the engine in the same folder as the other two files. RENAME THE ENGINE TO: "Engine.exe"
Double-click the SCAxxx___.exe file. This will launch a GUI {graphical user interface} where you can change the settings. If you receive some error relating to Java then you need to install Java JDK. To do so please follow this guide: phoenixnap.com/kb/install-java-windows. Make sure to install the java “JDK”.
After you have changed the settings just press run and read the output as it performs its work.
After the App has finished you will see 2 new files. The first file is the _log text.txt file that gives more detail of what lines SCA considered etc. The second file is the PGN that you can import to Lichess as a study.
SETTINGS:
You have full control over what and how many different lines will be looked at. These settings may be changed in the GUI.
Pgn_Name= -> Simply type the desired name for your PGN. Please note that the log file for this run will also be named accordingly.
Starting_Pgn= -> Simply type the starting position from where you want SCA to start. Please note that you must always END THE LINE WITH YOUR MOVE. Therefore, if you leave it blank it will believe we are black and start with the villain to make the first move. Eg. if you leave it after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 will start with the villain making move 2 for black.
Engine_Enable= -> This is to enable stockfish evaluations for blunder checks. Please note that engine evaluations will occur automatically if no Hero move was found by any other means.
Cpu_Cores = -> This value is how many CPU cores you want to assign to the engine. It is the same setting that you will find on Lichess as CPUs. Please make sure that you do not set more than you have because then your PC will become unresponsive. The GUI will automatically detect and suggest a value.
Engine_Memory = -> This is the value of how much memory you want to allocate to the engine in MB. It is the same setting as the “Memory” setting for the engine on lichess except it is not capped. Please make sure that you do not set more than you have because then your PC will become unresponsive. Please note the GUI will automatically detect and suggest a value.
Engine_Depth= -> This is how deep you want the engine to search for your moves. The smaller the quicker results but the less reliable. The suggested value is between 30 and 40 depending on your hardware and your time.
Villain_Database_Enabled= -> This simply asks whether you wish to use a specific player’s database to prepare against. If enabled the App will search your opponent’s moves according to the settings below.
Villain_DB_Branches = -> This is how many moves should be considered on each turn. The MAX is 10. This is like when you have opened the database and it gives all the different moves that were played in the particular position ie. 1. e4, 1. d4,1. c4, 1. Nf3.... etc. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SETTING DETERMINES HOW BIG THE PGN WILL BE AND IS CUMULATIVE BETWEEN ALL THE DATABASES.
Villain_Lichess_Username = -> this is the username of the person we want to prepare against.
Villain_DB_Move_Total_Games= -> This setting will allow us to exclude positions that have not been played much. Ie. if we working from the starting position and the villain has played 1. d4 500 times and 1. d3 only 1 time and no other moves then that d3 line will not be included even if the Branches set was 2 or more. This will exclude mouse slips.
Villain_DB_Move_Popularity= - > this is the % time that a move was played. Ie. if in a specific sharp position, the villain has played only Bxf7+ {95% of the time) and Nxf7 (4% of the time} and some other moves. SCA will not consider Nxf7 even if the branch setting was 2 or more and even if it was played more that the setting above.
Villain_DB_Time_Control = -> This setting is obvious. However please note that all the letters are lowercase except the “B” in ultraBullet. Please make sure to formulate this setting properly it is the cause of many crashes.
Online_Database_Enabled = -> This will include lines from the normal lichess online database. We can use this if we want to “create a repertoire” against our online opponents or if we want to widen our preparation against an opponent to include popular moves outside of their normal repertoire.
Online_DB_Branches = -> See notes to the Villain DB
Online_DB_Move_Popularity= -> See notes to the Villain DB
Online_DB_Move_Total_Games= -> See notes to the Villain DB
Online_DB_Ratings = -> This is the same setting as on lichess. Please note that the options changed in January 2023.
Online_DB_Time_Control = -> See notes to the Villain DB
Villian_Master_Database_Enabled= -> If set to true then the app will include moves from the master database of lichess as the candidate moves for Villain.
Master_DB_Branches = -> This is how many moves out of the master database base will be included on every move as the candidate moves for Villain.
Source for Hero Candidate: This setting determines which moves are considered possible moves for Hero. You can use (i) moves from the Master database in which case the most popular master move will be used as the Hero move; (ii) Hero Database in which case only moves we have played in the past will be considered as possible Hero moves. Please note the number of candidates will be determined by the Hero Database Branches setting; (iii) Lichess Online Database in which case only the moves found in the online database will be considered as possible Hero moves. Please note the number of candidates will be determined by the online database settings; (iv) the villain database in which case only moves played by the villain himself will be considered. Please note the number of candidates will be determined by the villain database settings; (v) Engine in which case the top engine move will be considered.
Statistical source for Hero move -> This setting determines how the candidate moves retrieved as described above will be weighed. Specifically which stats will be used to determine our most desirable move.
Hero_Lichess_Username = -> Our username on lichess.
Cloud_Engine_Enable = -> This is a performance enhancement feature. It will allow the user to use the cloud evaluations instead of the engine evaluation to save time. This feature will make SCA substantially faster for the first couple of moves. The benefit decreases the deeper the lines go for obvious reasons.
Cloud_Engine_Depth= -> This is the lowest depth for our cloud evaluation to be used.
Line_Depth = -> This is the maximum depth we want to prepare.
Need_To_Win = -> This setting will be used to determine which moves to use as Hero moves based on statistics. If set to true then only the win rate will be taken into account. If set to false then draws will be included as “wins”. Ie. if a move has 33% wins, 33% draws and 33% loses then a setting of true will give a “win rate” of 33%, and a set of false will give a “win rate” of 66%.
Blunder_Stop= 80 -> This is the maximum amount of centipawn we are willing to lose to prefer a database move, based on statistics, above the engine top move. This test will always be run if the engine is enabled. Please note that this feature substantially increases the time used to complete any run.
Welcome to SOME CHESS APP {SCA} beta. Please note that this version is available until 1 April 2023.
This app allows you to create a PGN for purpose of preparing against an opponent or even against a database. Simply put you tell the APP your opponent's Lichess handle and yours. You chose your settings and the App gives you a PGN of what are the best lines to play against him.
TL/DR: Just download and install using the installation instructions below. Then change Hero Lichess username to your own username and Villian Lichess Username to the player you wish to prepare against. Then press run and wait for the pgn.
HOW IT WORKS: SCA starts from a user-defined position and then retrieves candidate move(s) for the villain from the database(s) as defined by the user. The number of moves so retrieved is included or limited by (i) which database(s) are used; (ii) how many branches are defined; (iii) the minimum games and popularity settings {these features can be seen below in the description of the settings}.
Thereafter, and for each of the included villain moves, the app will search for a Hero move. We can set where to source our candidate moves from ie. Our database, the Master database, the Online Database, or simply just the best engine move. Thereafter we can set which move to choose based on statistics. Ie. The best-performing move for us is calculated from our stats, the villain’s stats, or the general online database stats. Even here we can set how we want to approach draws. Ie. include draws as wins or exclude draws. Please note that if the App was unable to find any moves by way of the selected database, then it will automatically default to the top engine move.
INSTALLATION:
PLEASE NOTE THAT DURING THE DOWNLOAD OR YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT TO RUN THE APP YOUR PC MAY GIVE YOU A WARNING BECAUSE THIS IS AN. EXE FILE FROM AN UNPUBLISHED SOURCE. PLEASE SELECT "RUN ANYWAY".
Download the contents, ie. config.txt, readme, and SCA_xxxx__.exe from here and extract it to a folder on your pc.
You may need to download 7-zip to extract these files. If you need to do this you can go to www.7-zip.org/download.html and download the version compatible with your operating system.
Download your engine of choice. I suggest Stockfish which can be downloaded from: stockfishchess.org/download/. Please make sure to download the version that is compatible with your PC and operating system. If you are unsure just double-click the binary that you downloaded. It should open a black or terminal window and it should not close by itself. If it does close by itself download an older version. Place the engine in the same folder as the other two files. RENAME THE ENGINE TO: "Engine.exe"
Double-click the SCAxxx___.exe file. This will launch a GUI {graphical user interface} where you can change the settings. If you receive some error relating to Java then you need to install Java JDK. To do so please follow this guide: phoenixnap.com/kb/install-java-windows. Make sure to install the java “JDK”.
After you have changed the settings just press run and read the output as it performs its work.
After the App has finished you will see 2 new files. The first file is the _log text.txt file that gives more detail of what lines SCA considered etc. The second file is the PGN that you can import to Lichess as a study.
SETTINGS:
You have full control over what and how many different lines will be looked at. These settings may be changed in the GUI.
Pgn_Name= -> Simply type the desired name for your PGN. Please note that the log file for this run will also be named accordingly.
Starting_Pgn= -> Simply type the starting position from where you want SCA to start. Please note that you must always END THE LINE WITH YOUR MOVE. Therefore, if you leave it blank it will believe we are black and start with the villain to make the first move. Eg. if you leave it after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 will start with the villain making move 2 for black.
Engine_Enable= -> This is to enable stockfish evaluations for blunder checks. Please note that engine evaluations will occur automatically if no Hero move was found by any other means.
Cpu_Cores = -> This value is how many CPU cores you want to assign to the engine. It is the same setting that you will find on Lichess as CPUs. Please make sure that you do not set more than you have because then your PC will become unresponsive. The GUI will automatically detect and suggest a value.
Engine_Memory = -> This is the value of how much memory you want to allocate to the engine in MB. It is the same setting as the “Memory” setting for the engine on lichess except it is not capped. Please make sure that you do not set more than you have because then your PC will become unresponsive. Please note the GUI will automatically detect and suggest a value.
Engine_Depth= -> This is how deep you want the engine to search for your moves. The smaller the quicker results but the less reliable. The suggested value is between 30 and 40 depending on your hardware and your time.
Villain_Database_Enabled= -> This simply asks whether you wish to use a specific player’s database to prepare against. If enabled the App will search your opponent’s moves according to the settings below.
Villain_DB_Branches = -> This is how many moves should be considered on each turn. The MAX is 10. This is like when you have opened the database and it gives all the different moves that were played in the particular position ie. 1. e4, 1. d4,1. c4, 1. Nf3.... etc. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SETTING DETERMINES HOW BIG THE PGN WILL BE AND IS CUMULATIVE BETWEEN ALL THE DATABASES.
Villain_Lichess_Username = -> this is the username of the person we want to prepare against.
Villain_DB_Move_Total_Games= -> This setting will allow us to exclude positions that have not been played much. Ie. if we working from the starting position and the villain has played 1. d4 500 times and 1. d3 only 1 time and no other moves then that d3 line will not be included even if the Branches set was 2 or more. This will exclude mouse slips.
Villain_DB_Move_Popularity= - > this is the % time that a move was played. Ie. if in a specific sharp position, the villain has played only Bxf7+ {95% of the time) and Nxf7 (4% of the time} and some other moves. SCA will not consider Nxf7 even if the branch setting was 2 or more and even if it was played more that the setting above.
Villain_DB_Time_Control = -> This setting is obvious. However please note that all the letters are lowercase except the “B” in ultraBullet. Please make sure to formulate this setting properly it is the cause of many crashes.
Online_Database_Enabled = -> This will include lines from the normal lichess online database. We can use this if we want to “create a repertoire” against our online opponents or if we want to widen our preparation against an opponent to include popular moves outside of their normal repertoire.
Online_DB_Branches = -> See notes to the Villain DB
Online_DB_Move_Popularity= -> See notes to the Villain DB
Online_DB_Move_Total_Games= -> See notes to the Villain DB
Online_DB_Ratings = -> This is the same setting as on lichess. Please note that the options changed in January 2023.
Online_DB_Time_Control = -> See notes to the Villain DB
Villian_Master_Database_Enabled= -> If set to true then the app will include moves from the master database of lichess as the candidate moves for Villain.
Master_DB_Branches = -> This is how many moves out of the master database base will be included on every move as the candidate moves for Villain.
Source for Hero Candidate: This setting determines which moves are considered possible moves for Hero. You can use (i) moves from the Master database in which case the most popular master move will be used as the Hero move; (ii) Hero Database in which case only moves we have played in the past will be considered as possible Hero moves. Please note the number of candidates will be determined by the Hero Database Branches setting; (iii) Lichess Online Database in which case only the moves found in the online database will be considered as possible Hero moves. Please note the number of candidates will be determined by the online database settings; (iv) the villain database in which case only moves played by the villain himself will be considered. Please note the number of candidates will be determined by the villain database settings; (v) Engine in which case the top engine move will be considered.
Statistical source for Hero move -> This setting determines how the candidate moves retrieved as described above will be weighed. Specifically which stats will be used to determine our most desirable move.
Hero_Lichess_Username = -> Our username on lichess.
Cloud_Engine_Enable = -> This is a performance enhancement feature. It will allow the user to use the cloud evaluations instead of the engine evaluation to save time. This feature will make SCA substantially faster for the first couple of moves. The benefit decreases the deeper the lines go for obvious reasons.
Cloud_Engine_Depth= -> This is the lowest depth for our cloud evaluation to be used.
Line_Depth = -> This is the maximum depth we want to prepare.
Need_To_Win = -> This setting will be used to determine which moves to use as Hero moves based on statistics. If set to true then only the win rate will be taken into account. If set to false then draws will be included as “wins”. Ie. if a move has 33% wins, 33% draws and 33% loses then a setting of true will give a “win rate” of 33%, and a set of false will give a “win rate” of 66%.
Blunder_Stop= 80 -> This is the maximum amount of centipawn we are willing to lose to prefer a database move, based on statistics, above the engine top move. This test will always be run if the engine is enabled. Please note that this feature substantially increases the time used to complete any run.