Re: Bug#324677: ITP: fruit -- Fruit is an UCI-only chess engine.

[Neil Schemenauer <nas@arctrix.com>]

Steinar H. Gunderson <sgunderson@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> What does UCI-only mean?

UCI is a protocol for communication between the engine and a user
interface.  The other popular protocol is WinBoard.

> What sets it apart from other chess engines in Debian, such as gnuchess or
> phalanx? (Or crafty, for that matter, but crafty is in non-free.)

It's significantly stronger (it seems to be as strong as the top
commercial engines).  See http://www.utzingerk.com/fruit21_test.htm
for some test results.  Fruit would be a good addition to Debian.

Here's my try at a description:

  Description: a strong UCI-only chess engine

  Fruit is a program that plays chess (commonly known as a chess
  engine).  It does not include a friendly user interface but
  instead communicates using a protocol known as UCI.  You probably
  want to also install a friendly UCI-compatible interface like
  "knights".  Alternatively, you can use an interface that speaks
  the WinBoard protocol if you also install the "polyglot" package
  (a UCI to WinBoard adaptor).  This package includes an opening
  book of moves that the engine can use for the first few moves of
  the game.

Cheers,

  Neil