Grandmaster Chess UI

A professional, high-performance Chess interface powered by Go, WebAssembly, and Stockfish. This project provides a sleek, modern experience for playing chess against an engine or other humans, featuring real-time move analysis and multiple visual themes.

🚀 Features

🧠 Advanced Engine Integration

• Real-time Evaluation: Integrated Stockfish engine providing instant centipawn evaluation.
• Move Ratings: Automatic detection of Blunders (🔴), Inaccuracies (🟠), and Excellent Moves (🟢).
• Adaptive Strength: Choose your challenge with bot levels ranging from ELO 100 to 2700+.

🎮 Game Modes

• Play vs Bot: Test your skills against a configurable Stockfish engine.
• Multiplayer: Host or join games using unique session IDs for head-to-head play.
• Setup Mode: Create custom board positions for analysis or specialized training.

🎨 Modern Interface

• Dynamic Themes: Toggle between Standard, Classic (Wood/Gold), and Modern (Dark/Neon) styles.
• Interactive Evaluation Bar: Visual feedback on who has the advantage.
• Captured Pieces: Real-time tracking of material advantage and captured pieces.
• PGN Export: Easily copy your games in standard PGN format for analysis elsewhere.

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🛠️ Technology Stack

• Logic: Go compiled to WebAssembly (WASM) for near-native performance in the browser.
• Backend: High-concurrency Go server managing WebSocket communication and Stockfish process isolation.
• Frontend: Vanilla HTML5/CSS3 with a responsive Canvas-based board renderer.
• Protocol: UCI (Universal Chess Interface) over WebSockets.

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📦 Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

• Go (1.21+)
• Stockfish installed and available in your PATH.

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/chess-ui.git
cd chess-ui

2. Configure the Engine

Edit config.json or create one at /usr/local/etc/chess-server/config.json. You can also specify a custom path using the -config flag.

{
    "stockfish_path": "stockfish",
    "threads": 8,
    "port": 8081
}

3. Build & Run

You can use the provided Makefile for a streamlined setup:

# Build both WASM logic and Server
make all

# Start the server (using default config paths)
./chess-server

# Start the server with a custom config
./chess-server -config ./my-config.json -web ./web

The application will be available at http://localhost:8081.

🐳 Deployment (FreeBSD/Jail)

The project includes a specialized install.sh script for deploying into FreeBSD jail (set default to id 2 as this was intended as just a home project):

./install.sh jail

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📂 Project Structure

• cmd/server/: Backend Go server entry point.
• cmd/wasm/: Frontend logic written in Go (compiled to main.wasm).
• internal/uci/: UCI protocol parser and engine communication logic.
• web/: Static assets, CSS, and the HTML entry point.
• assets/pieces/: high-quality piece sets for different themes.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Whether it's bug fixes, new themes, or feature requests, feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request.

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Designed with precision for the modern chess enthusiast.