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Chess opening book (computers)
open-in-new
<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>By 1977, 14 of 16 entries in the second <a href="/facts/World_Computer_Chess_Championship/zTIr2lGu">World Computer Chess Championship</a> used opening books. One of the entries without a book, DARK HORSE, defeated opponent CHAOS in part by using a <a href="/facts/Irregular_chess_opening/9Alo8jaU">nonstandard</a> N-F3 opening.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="design">Design</h2> <p>Modern chess engines are designed to be controlled by a graphical user interface such as <a href="/facts/Winboard/sHuDcR98">Winboard</a>, <a href="/facts/ChessBase/atkGcfEC">ChessBase</a> or Arena through the <a href="/facts/Universal_Chess_Interface/wR6mFve2">Universal Chess Interface</a> protocol or <a href="/facts/Chess_Engine_Communication_Protocol/Co4uBTsS">Chess Engine Communication Protocol</a>. In this case the opening book may often be specified in the GUI and then the GUI makes the moves from the opening book on behalf of the engine when the occasion arises.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="format">Format</h2> <p>Opening books used by computers are often in a undocumented binary or PGN format. Examples are ChessBase's .ctg format or Pgn Format and Arena's .abk format. One notable exception is the Polyglot book format which is fully documented and which is being implemented in an increasing number of programs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Chess_opening/lhWnwAd6">Chess opening</a></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Modern_Chess_Openings/66VoUPCd">Modern Chess Openings</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Encyclopaedia_of_Chess_Openings/gSfweVe1">Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings</a></i></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_chess_books/YTsL4Tad">List of chess books</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_chess_openings/3a8KKf58">List of chess openings</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Chess_engine/Co4uBTsS">Chess engine</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Computer_chess/2wE8AU5d">Computer chess</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Computer_shogi/Kl8opHKz">Computer shogi</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Shogi_opening/QTkNrx5c">Shogi opening</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Endgame_tablebase/PSeEbcYT">Endgame tablebase</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Chess_endgame_literature/IBTXl5hL">Chess endgame literature</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Jennings, Peter (January 1978). "The Second World Computer Chess Championships". BYTE. p. 108. Retrieved 17 October 2013. <a href="/wiki/Peter_R_Jennings" target="_blank">/wiki/Peter_R_Jennings</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"A Beginner's Guide to building an opening book". www.horizonchess.com. Retrieved 16 June 2012. <a href="http://www.horizonchess.com/FAQ/Winboard/openingbook.html" target="_blank">http://www.horizonchess.com/FAQ/Winboard/openingbook.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Chess::Opening::Book::Polyglot - Read polyglot opening books - metacpan.org". metacpan.org. Retrieved 14 March 2023. <a href="https://metacpan.org/dist/Chess-Opening/view/lib/Chess/Opening/Book/Polyglot.pod#:~:text=A%20polyglot%20opening%20book%20consists,particular%20move%20has%20been%20made." target="_blank">https://metacpan.org/dist/Chess-Opening/view/lib/Chess/Opening/Book/Polyglot.pod#:~:text=A%20polyglot%20opening%20book%20consists,particular%20move%20has%20been%20made.</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>