ChessBot - Python Chess Engine

A complete chess engine with UCI interface and Lichess bot integration, built around your custom evaluation functions.

Features

🎯 Your Custom Evaluation Engine

• 25+ evaluation rules and heuristics
• Minimax with alpha-beta pruning
• Position-aware scoring system

🔍 Advanced Search

• Iterative deepening
• Transposition table
• Move ordering and killer moves
• Quiescence search

⏱️ Smart Time Management

• Adaptive time allocation
• Position-complexity aware
• Emergency time handling

🌐 Lichess Integration

• Automatic challenge handling
• Real-time game playing
• Chat integration

🖥️ UCI Compatible

• Works with Arena, ChessBase, etc.
• Standard UCI protocol
• Configurable engine options

Quick Start

1. Setup

python setup.py

2. Test UCI Engine

python uci_interface.py

3. Run Lichess Bot

# Set your token
export LICHESS_TOKEN=your_token_here

# Run the bot
python lichess_bot.py

4. Package as Executable

python package_exe.py

Configuration

Edit config.py to customize:

• Engine strength and search depth
• Lichess bot behavior
• Time management settings
• Evaluation parameters

Files Overview

• evaluation_engine.py - Your custom evaluation functions
• main_engine.py - Main engine controller with search
• uci_interface.py - UCI protocol implementation
• time_manager.py - Time control management
• lichess_bot.py - Lichess API integration
• config.py - Configuration settings

Lichess Setup

1. Create Lichess account (don't play any games)
2. Go to https://lichess.org/account/oauth/token
3. Create token with "Bot Play" scope
4. Upgrade to bot account:

   curl -d "" https://lichess.org/api/bot/account/upgrade \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

Deployment Options

Desktop Application

• Use PyInstaller to create .exe files
• Package with python package_exe.py
• Distribute executables to users

Cloud Hosting

• Deploy on Heroku, Railway, or DigitalOcean
• Use environment variables for tokens
• Run 24/7 for continuous bot operation

Local Testing

• Test with Arena or other UCI GUIs
• Challenge your bot on Lichess
• Analyze games to improve evaluation

Usage Examples

UCI Engine in Arena

1. Open Arena Chess GUI
2. Install new engine
3. Select ChessBot_UCI.exe
4. Start playing!

Lichess Bot

# Direct token
python lichess_bot.py your_token

# Environment variable
export LICHESS_TOKEN=your_token
python lichess_bot.py

Custom Time Control

time_control = {
    'wtime': 300000,  # 5 minutes
    'btime': 300000,
    'winc': 3000,     # 3 second increment
    'binc': 3000
}

Troubleshooting

Engine not responding?

• Check Python version (3.8+ required)
• Verify all dependencies installed
• Test with python uci_interface.py

Lichess bot not connecting?

• Verify API token is correct
• Check account is upgraded to bot
• Ensure no firewall blocking connections

Packaging issues?

• Install latest PyInstaller
• Check all files are present
• Use spec file for complex builds

Contributing

Feel free to improve the evaluation functions or add new features:

• Opening book integration
• Endgame tablebase support
• Neural network evaluation
• Multi-threading search
• Advanced pruning techniques

License

Open source - feel free to use and modify!