ChessWeb is a web-based chess application that allows users to play against a powerful chess engine, analyze positions, and explore game variations. It features a clean, modern interface built with React and a Node.js backend for seamless communication with UCI-compatible chess engines.

• Interactive Chessboard: Play moves, undo/redo, and reset games.
• Engine Integration: Connects to UCI-compatible chess engines (e.g., Stockfish) for analysis and opponent moves.
• Engine Selection: Easily switch between different chess engines located in the chessengines directory.
• Configurable Engine Settings: Adjust parameters like analysis depth, movetime, CPU threads, and hash size.
• Syzygy Tablebase Support: Utilizes Syzygy tablebases for accurate endgame analysis (requires tablebases to be present).
• FEN/PGN Support: Import and export game positions using FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) and PGN (Portable Game Notation).
• Auto-Move Opponent: Enable the engine to automatically make moves for the opponent.
• Board Orientation: Flip the board to view from white's or black's perspective.
• Real-time Evaluation Bar: Visual representation of the engine's evaluation.

• Frontend: React.js, HTML, CSS
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js, Socket.IO
• Chess Logic: chess.js library
• Chess Engine Communication: child_process (Node.js)
• Styling: Custom CSS

Follow these steps to get ChessWeb up and running on your local machine.

• Node.js (LTS version recommended)
• npm (Node Package Manager)

git clone https://github.com/niiell/chessweb.git
cd chessweb

Install dependencies for both the frontend and backend:

# Install frontend dependencies
npm install

# Install backend dependencies
cd backend
npm install
cd ..

Place your UCI-compatible chess engine executables (e.g., .exe files for Windows) into the chessengines/ directory. The application is configured to look for engines in this folder.

If you wish to use Syzygy tablebases for enhanced endgame analysis, download them and place them in the syzygy_tablebases/ directory. The current configuration expects them in syzygy_tablebases/3-4-5 2022.

Navigate to the project root and start the backend server:

cd backend
node server.js &
cd ..

Note: The & at the end runs the server in the background. On Windows, you might need to use start node server.js or run it in a separate terminal window.

From the project root, start the React development server:

npm start

This will open the application in your browser, usually at http://localhost:3000.

• Playing Moves: Click on a piece and then click on the target square to make a move.
• Engine Selection: Use the dropdown menu in the controls panel to select your preferred chess engine.
• Engine Settings: Adjust the engine's analysis parameters (movetime, depth, threads, hash size) using the controls.
• FEN/PGN: Use the FEN and PGN buttons to import or export game data.
• Auto-Move: Toggle the "Auto-move Opponent" checkbox to have the engine play for the opposing side.

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

[Specify your license here, e.g., MIT License]