play-ch0 0.2.3

Blindfold chess CLI with built-in engines

ch0 - Blindfold Chess CLI

Minimal terminal game for playing blindfold chess against built-in engines.

Quick start

• Install deps with uv sync (Python 3.13+).
• Run the game: uv run ch0 and follow the prompts to pick an engine and color.
• Optional: place book.bin in the repo root to enable opening-book moves.

Gameplay

• Play blindfolded in the terminal: enter SAN moves (e4, Nf3, exd5, a8=Q) or commands like show, moves, fen, pgn, resign.
• Start from the lobby with start, choose engine and color; the bot moves automatically on its turn.
• Use help in the lobby or in-game to list commands; quit exits.
• Commands can be prefixed with : (e.g., :show).
• PGN is built as you play; you can print it when the game ends.

Dependencies

• Python 3.13+ with uv for managing the virtualenv (uv sync).
• Runtime: python-chess; optional colorama for Windows ANSI colors (auto-enabled if installed).
• Optional data: book.bin opening book in the repo root.

Engines

• Options: random, andoma, sunfish, or uci.
• UCI lets you provide a path/command to any UCI engine (e.g., Stockfish) and plays via python-chess.
• Includes the open-source Sunfish and Andoma engines under src/ch0/engines/; they are third-party projects I do not create or maintain.

Third-party licenses

• Sunfish is distributed under the GNU General Public License; see src/ch0/engines/sunfish/LICENSE.md.
• Andoma is distributed under the MIT License; see src/ch0/engines/andoma/LICENSE.

TODO

• Fix turn bookkeeping - Remove game.turn and rely on board.turn
• Update move numbering / PGN formatting using board.turn before pushing moves
• Sunfish: validate emitted UCI move is legal
• Make Polyglot book usage optional
• Show a subtle “(book)” indicator when a book move is used
• Add undo (at least one ply)
• Add status / check command that reports check-like info
• Decide and implement draw policy: claimable vs automatic handling of draws
• Add optional PGN autosave to a file (date/engine/color in file-name)
• Add "illegal moves" count (which will be printed at the end)
• Add Stockfish bundling or automatic UCI discovery