Abbott Chess

A C++ chess game playable on Linux either:

• Solo vs the computer (AI mode)
• Against another human over network (server/client)
• With a graphical interface (SDL2) or terminal-based

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Features

• Playable against AI or another player
• Supports terminal and GUI with SDL2
• Network play: Run as server and client to play across devices
• Regulation chess moves, including:
  • Castling
  • En passant
  • Pawn promotion
  • Move validation
  • Board state history and move undo/recall
• Save and load games
• Unicode and bitmap chess pieces
• Simple user input interface in CLI or window

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Linux 64-bit (developed & tested)
• CMake (>=3.10 recommended)
• SDL2 development libraries (libsdl2-dev, libsdl2-ttf-dev)
• Standard C++ (tested with g++)

Building

Clone the repository and build:

git clone https://github.com/matthewJamesAbbott/Chess.git
cd Chess
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make

Binaries should appear in build/.

Running

Run the main program for GUI, or use command-line options for other modes.

Default GUI mode:

./Chess

Play vs AI (terminal):

./Chess -ai

Start as server:

./Chess -s

Connect as client:

./Chess -c [IP_ADDRESS]

For CLI-only (no SDL dependency), you may use mainCli.cpp to build a reduced terminal binary.

Controls

• Follow prompts to enter moves (e.g., number/letter for from/to squares)
• In GUI: click squares to move pieces
• Save/load/undo via menu or terminal options

File Layout (Partial)

• Engine.cpp/.h - Core AI and decision tree logic for computer move selection
• MoveCalculator.cpp/.h - Generates & evaluates possible moves, checks chess rules
• Game.cpp/.h - Game state management, player setup, networking modes, move execution
• Print.cpp/.h - Display board in terminal or SDL window
• main.cpp, mainCli.cpp - Entry points for graphical and pure CLI variants
• Board.* and MoveRecorder.* - Board representation and move history (see inline documentation)
• images/ - Piece bitmaps, etc.

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Notes on AI

The AI builds a decision tree of possible moves, rates possible captures, and selects the best-ranked move, with fallback if this puts it in check. It implements legal move logic, check/checkmate detection, and basic positional awareness.

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Known Issues

• Only tested on Linux x86_64, CMake builds.
• External assets (images/fonts) must be in expected relative paths.

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Authorship & License

This code is © Matthew James Abbott.
Published for educational, learning and non-commercial personal use.

Redistribution, re-use, or commercial exploitation is prohibited without explicit permission.
If you wish to modify or re-use components, contact me FIRST.

Please do not claim as your own or use for competitive coding submissions.
If you have questions, contact me via GitHub.

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Enjoy Abbott Chess!