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Version 11.17: update of Honey and Stockfish

This update mainly contains the upgrade of two of the main engines:
  • Honey formerly McCain, which is the default tutor used by the program, now updated to version XI. The author is Michael Byrne (link)
  • Stockfish, version 11 (link)
There are some bugs fixed thanks to LinuxOnTheDesktop and others....

Downloads : 
  • Update, from Information menu, Search for updates

Comments

  1. Thanks Lucas, much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello, just wanted to let you know that I created a tutorial on lucas chess game analysis. http://hub.me/anitJ, thought you might want to list it under the docs on the other website. https://lucaschess.pythonanywhere.com/docs
    Thanks for everything you've done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Done.
      Thank you very much, very good article.
      The link I have included: https://hubpages.com/games-hobbies/Chess-Game-analysis

      Delete
    2. Thank you very much! I hope that people can learn a lot from this article.

      Delete
  3. Thank you Lucas! Does this version include the upgraded Python?
    I was thinking of using the analyzed game files(.pks) for training. So after analysis you click train and you go through the moves and Lucas tells you to try again until you get the move from the analysis. You can also ask for hint or solution if you can't get it. This reduces the overhead and time because you don't have to invoke an engine every time you train (done during the analysis).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The change to version 3.7 involves major changes in code, also makes the program incompatible with Windows XP.
      I am working on a new version, incompatible with this one with python 3.7 and also jumping to the new version of the graphics library (QT5). In GitHub a portable version can be downloaded but only for tests as it has many errors.

      I take into account your suggestion. I have been thinking for some time about creating a database of analyzed positions, usable in these cases.

      Delete
    2. That's what I was thinking about also. So I have created a database called training and when I analyze games (.pks) I save them to the database. In the database you have Play Against A Game and I use that but then a default engine re-evaluates the positions live. This is where we can just use some simple code to compare your move to the best move from the original analysis. You already my the structure setup. Your App is really a help to me and I'm sure to others as well. Thank you very much Lucas!

      Delete
  4. Thank you, the article is interesting. I will give links to it to friends and subscribers of chess sites.
    How to Analyze Your Chess Game Using Lucas Chess
    Link: https://hubpages.com/games-hobbies/Chess-Game-analysis

    ReplyDelete
  5. Is it compatible with Android?? This version?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Please support Millennium Chessgenius board...please, I'm still hoping. Thanks, Harry

    ReplyDelete
  7. Replies
    1. And can you launch lc0 CUDA on the command line ?

      Delete
    2. I have enabled engine logs (options-Configuration-Engines.Save...) and in the logs (UsrData/EngineLogs) :

      error No CUDA driver, or one older than the CUDA library

      Delete
  8. Hi, does this still works with linux (debian)? I have problems installing it with the provided sh files.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At some point I have managed to install it on Ubuntu, I have never tried it on Debian.

      Delete
  9. just a sugestion, but being able to add picture as general backgrounds seems like an easy and neat ideas

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes and really, thank you so much for it. seems like most chess app neglected this feature and honestly I enjoyed it

      Delete
  10. thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooo much man

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello, and thank you for this wonderful program!

    I'm a little confused when trying to use "Play against an engine of your choice" and have two questions:

    1. I would like to play as in "Compete -> Lucas Elo-> Bikjump 1 Elo 1101". However, if I select "Opponent -> Lucas Elo -> 1000 - 1250", then the selection is "1101 - Bikjump 2.01 (32-bit)(depth 1)" This setting always plays instantly which would make sense if always moving at depth 1. But I would like the engine to think like in Compete / Lucas Elo mode. How do I achieve this?

    2) There is a "set strength" setting with options like "Similar to the player", "somewhat better/worse", etc. How does the program determine player strength for this option? Is it tied to the player's "Compete / Lucas Elo" rating, or a different rating, or something else entirely?

    Thanks in advance for your help!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,
      1) In Lucas Elo, the engine decides the move very quickly and the GUI stops for a while to give it a more human appearance. And this is not supported in Play against ....
      2) For the engines (not all) that allow the score to be known once for the different moves in one position (MultiPV), the program, depending on the option chosen and the score given by the motor for each move, decides which one is best adjusted to that option (similar = +-0, lower= less than -0.3, ....)

      Delete
    2. 1) I see, thanks.
      2) So assuming I'm using an engine that supports MultiPV and I select "Similar to the player", then the moves are selected based on the strengths of my moves during that particular game only? And then there's an average rating of my moves that's updated during that game and then reset for a new game?

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    3. 2) It is very simple, the program asks at every move. If the user lost the queen, the program uses various moves to land.

      Delete
  12. I see a small UI bug with the latest version (just installed). Can you write me to ibobak at gmail dot com? I will send you some screenshots.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Replies
    1. Existing LiChess, Chess.com, Chess24, I would not add anything to improve these.

      Delete
  14. It's a shame that there is no apk version for Android...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry but I do not know the Android world, I have never programmed in this system, and adapting to such small windows scares me. I am working on the new version and this will require 100% of the time that I can dedicate to this project for a long time.

      Delete
  15. Hi Lucas, thanks a lot for this wonderful software.

    The "Competition with tutor" is a particularly cool module. I think it would be very helpful if external engines can be added and default ones can be removed within this module. As a use case, I want to have only Leela Chess Zero networks as opponents from beginner to grandmaster level.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi, when picking up a chess piece is it possible to make it so that you can click anywhere within the square to pick up the piece and not just parts of the square that contains the piece to drag it? I will say this works fine if I click an empty part of the square a rook is on for example and then click again when placing the piece on a new square. But when it comes to dragging, I can't drag from that same spot. I have to mouse over the rook to begin the dragging animation whereas most websites allow you to drag no matter what part of the square you select.

    I am aware of the mouse shortcut settings but even predictive mode will run into the same problem occasionally if two pieces can go on the destination square. I prefer to just drag all the time. It would make piece movement so much smoother especially for people who play fast time controls or do a lot of simple tactics training.

    Anyway thanks for the great work you do. I find this software incredibly useful nonetheless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://github.com/lukasmonk/lucaschessR/releases/tag/R0.17
      This is only a prerelease. The area now is all the square. It has a primitive premove when playin against any engine option.

      Delete
    2. Wow thanks, tested the premoves as well and it's very nice.
      The only thing I would add is the ability to hover over a move while waiting for the opponent. For example if I play 1.b3 then before black makes a move, I can pick up and drag the bishop over b2 then, when black makes a move I release the left mouse button and place the bishop on b2. This can also work with clicking the bishop during the opponents turn and then after black makes a move just click on b2 to place the bishop there.

      Also right click to cancel any premoves or hover/intention to move would work well with this.

      I think this might be more complex to implement than the earlier thing you helped with so don't worry if you have other priorities to get to first. But again, I think this addition would be extremely valuable for fast chess players and people who train simple tactics like with the woodpecker method.

      Lichess and chess.com implement these idea I think. But on chesstempo while you can hover while opponent makes a move (even in tactics) you can't right click to cancel that hover which is a drawback. When it comes to offline programs, I haven't been able to do any of this in Arena. Fritz has most of this but like chesstempo you can't right click to cancel a hover. So I think if this was implemented it would give the best offline experience that rivals lichess and chess.com in terms of smoothness even at the fastest of time controls. This is particularly useful for playing leela, since you can already just go on lichess to play stockfish. But leela has so many networks and settings that having these extra mouse controls (hover and right click to cancel) available in an offline program would be amazing.

      Keep up the good work it's greatly appreciated. I plan to do reviews on chess software on my youtube and this is definitely going to be one of the highly recommended ones. Will also make tutorials in the future as well.

      Delete
    3. I have published a new prerelease, now with a better premove.
      https://github.com/lukasmonk/lucaschessR/releases/tag/R0.18

      Delete
    4. Just checked it out on the later releases. Thanks again, much closer to what I was hoping for. One bug though is when trying to premove instantly it doesn't work. There is like a half second delay after making a move before it will let you click and drag and register a premove. To see what I mean try moving a pawn one space and then immediately premove to the next square.
      Other than that the ability to hover over a move during the opponent's time is amazing. I can't wait until I am able to load my own .fns to train using it.

      Delete
    5. I cannot replicate to find that half a second. Current version is R0.23

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    6. I made a video demonstrating the difference here https://youtu.be/n1P2wV8pwOs

      I figured out that it's mainly about the speed that you can pick up another piece right after letting go for your move. I demonstrated that when dropping a pawn you can't quickly pick it up instantly by clicking again immediately but this extends to moving one piece and trying to pick up a different piece too fast as well.

      Delete
    7. Thank you very much.
      I have improved (v. R0.24) a little this option, perhaps not enough.

      Delete
    8. I do see the improvement when I just go for premoves it is a lot less noticeable now. Although if I try the hover and click again right after dropping I consistently can't repick up the piece so I agree with your assessment that it is improved but not 100% there.

      Delete
    9. I do not understand what the problem is. I suppose it occurs when you change your mind in the premove, but I am not sure, this option I do not use, I do not play bullet mode, and if I ever use it in time trouble, I do it very simply, so I cannot understand what is missing for 100%. I would need an explanation in words (not sound) step by step, click after click, drag, ...

      Delete
    10. For 100% see this part of the video https://youtu.be/n1P2wV8pwOs?t=193
      When I make a move, there is a delay between when I let go of the piece and when I am able to repick up the same piece to move again. as for steps. it would be click and hold to pick up piece (pawn on c2) > drag and hover over the destination square (c3) > let go (dropping the pawn on c3) > immediately be able to click and pick up the same (or different) piece again and hover no matter how fast I click.

      The problem comes at the last step as there is a delay between dropping the piece and clicking that piece again to prepare for the next move. You can try this against stockfish on lichess to see that no matter how fast you click after dropping a piece there is no delay between picking the piece up. but in lucas there is.

      Delete
    11. I don't know a way to emulate LiChess.
      I can try a faster way, allowing dragging to the target square in the premove and deducing the intermediate move. But I guess this is not a solution in your case.

      Delete
    12. You don't have to worry too much about it. It would be nice to have but most people probably wouldn't notice or take advantage of it anyway. It was one of those things I didn't even know I was using so much until it didn't work. But the other fix of being able to pick up a piece on any part of the square already made things so much better for faster time controls so overall I'm ok even if this never extra functionality never makes it in.

      Delete
  17. My we analysis the game colouring the square like chess.come?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to work in a lot of aspects in the program, one can be this, but not in a short term.

      Delete
  18. shared my screen on zoom and played a friend.Brilliant and free.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I have made some nice piece if you want l can share your. -Shantanu Biswas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great.
      It is very important that this does not have a copyright problem if it is a derivative work.

      Delete
    2. Email me to lukasmonk at gmail.com

      Delete
  20. Have you received the chess places?

    ReplyDelete
  21. I send the pieces from SHANTANU BISWAS to lucasmonk@Gmail.Com at 12.11 P.M

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The problem is that the email is lukasmonk with k

      Delete
  22. Replies
    1. The problem is that the email is lukasmonk with k

      Delete
  23. If you not get the chess peaces from me stil now ,please write your full email address I will send you again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Run the program LucasChess, press in Information, option Contact, this is the email.

      Delete
  24. I have send you a rar folder SHANTANU BISWAS by name which includes a set of 12 pieces of chess for Lucas Chess.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Run the program LucasChess, press in Information, option Contact, this is the email you must use if you want to send me chess pieces.

      Delete
  25. Hi Lucas, the sounds is not working. Can you include default sounds? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You could configure from Options, Sound/Custom sounds

      Delete
  26. I have been following your project for years. I love the playability of Lucas Chess so much. But I have a question for you: Why did Orcodituapse close its YouTube channel? I hope you answer me. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  27. Lara, i didn't close my channel. They closed. I don't know why, likely for political reasons.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I think Stockfish or Lc0 Not showing there full Strength is there any way to increase engine strength ??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In stockfish, by example creating an external engine, and with more hash size and more threads = cores of your PC . Playing without limits like depth or time. If your system allows bmi2, using a stockfish version of this type, 64 bits bmi2. Surely there are more options to change.

      Delete
  29. Lo encuentro muy básico y en comparación a otras interfaces es muy limitado y además los motores de maestros son de un bajísimo nivel.
    ¡Saludos!.

    ReplyDelete
  30. If it was possible to undo the move after mat and draw in chess, it would be good only for educational purposes without saving the game.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have published a new release, when Takeback is activated in the game settings (Help tab), then it is possible even when the game has ended.

      Delete
  31. Unknown says: It would be nice to be able to get back the move after the game is over in educational matches. (I have deleted the comment without realizing it)

    I have coded it in the new version R. In September I will publish a new pre-release with that option.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hi Lucas. Great program thanks! Is it possible to use the simple 2D "cases" pieces? I can't seem to find them anymore in the newer versions, cheers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I no longer remember the reason why I have not included it, perhaps because some of the others are an evolution of it. Merida looks a lot like him.
      I've been rummaging through the old versions and haven't found it.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the response Lucas. To be honest I can't remember if I installed another program which had cases (Chess Assistant?) and LucasChess could use these in old its versions if they were fonts? Either way if you find a version with cases let me know. I prefer this very clean/simple font but can use another if necessary. Cheers! and thanks again for producing a great package.

      Delete
    3. Lucas Chess uses svg files.
      I converted ttf files in svgs with fontforge.

      Delete
  33. I have previously had success installing it on Ubuntu, with little to no problem, being a Linux (and chess) noob. However, with this new version on my new setup, I'm at a loss. Previous versions had simple explanations for how to install it on Linux systems, but now a noob like me can't find anything. Any help at all would be appreciated, as I'm sure it's a real easy fix. And finally, thank you so much, Lucas. This is my favorite chess trainer!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mathias, I will need some months to start working on the Linux adaptation (version R)

      Delete
  34. I don't know where to submit suggestions, so I guess I'll do it here. If there is a better place to submit a suggestion, please let me know.

    I like the Find the Best Move that comes up when the program starts. It gives me 10 different positions to solve. But there may be an alternative line that could be better and I'd like to be able to play the computer from the current position by pressing a button "Play" and suggesting my own move. But I see no way to do this other than to take a screenshot of the board, and go and set up a board position manually. This is such a pain and often I don't even bother. Could this feature be added in a future version?
    TIA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can access all the moves you have played in Train/Training positions/Personal trainings/Challenge 101.
      And on the other hand you can press: Ctrl C and the fen is taken to the clipboard, then Tools / Create your own game and Ctrl V, ......
      Or Play/Game against an engine... Initial moves tab, Initial position and press the Paste button in this section.

      Delete
  35. It is the best chess program I've ever used, thank you very much Lucas!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Not sure if it's a bug: I have engine using an opening book and I set Initial Moves: Opening to King's pawn (1. e4). When I am black, engine plays King's pawn opening every time (correct), but when I am white, I am forced to play King's pawn (incorrect). Workaround is to play King's pawn, then take back and then I can play any first move.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can configure the option Opponents move with: Select by player.

      Delete
  37. Seems another bug: I changed engines from Stockfish 11 to 12 (I deleted 11). When I play a game with Stockfish 12, and try to Variants:'Append+engine' a move, I get an error: Stockfish 11 engine not found. The popup screen also shows opponent as Stockfish 11.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Prehaps, problem is "I changed engines from Stockfish 11 to 12", the exe you change must have the same name, as with exe name is called from program.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry for my wording - I mean I removed Stockfish 11 engine and added Stockfish 12 engine. But when I click that variants: append+engine button, it still tries to use the old file path for Stockfish 11

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    2. If you refer to external engines option (no other normal way), you must create a new external engine and select your local copy of stockfish 12.

      Delete
  39. Hi, Lucas,is it possible to implement a new feature for playing simultaneous games like Chessmaster?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This feature has been asked of me several times, I have it written down, perhaps I will develop it one day, but not in the short term.

      Delete
  40. excelente programa!!! o melhor!!! peço que corrijam nas próximas versões a janela de analises, porque ela não maximiza impossibilitando, assim, a visualização do gráfico do jogo analisado. mais uma vez parabéns pelo grande trabalho. (estou usando a versão 11.17

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can change the size of the board, clicking in the upper left corner,

      Delete
    2. Me refiro a janela de resultado da analise apos a partida terminada, não é possível manipular o tamanho e nem a posição da janela, o gráfico também não aprece, quer dizer, apenas parte dele pode ser vista. Lucas, mais uma vez te parabenizo pelo excelente trabalho. o melhor programa de xadrez que já vi.

      Delete
    3. I was referring to this:

      https://drive.google.com/file/d/103LUGowq4pUix16yWVtiWyZ1qx2cWy-T/view?usp=sharing

      If not this, please send me a picture

      Delete
  41. May I suggest that you look into the Maia Chess project (https://maiachess.com/)? It is neural nets for the Leela chess engine, but based on actual human games by players of 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900 Elo.

    I have tried it, and it plays entirely human-like! Way more interesting and intructive than typical chess engines.

    I think it fits very nicely into Lucas Chess and can be put to good use in countless ways.

    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good idea, I have asked permission, in a few days they will tell me if they grant it to me or they think it is better than not.

      Delete

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