Kirin Chess Engine

Kirin Chess Engine is a lightweight chess program implemented in C. It uses the Universal Chess Interface (UCI) protocol to interact with chess GUIs like Arena, Stockfish-compatible engines, or online platforms such as Lichess. Currently, the engine has an approximate rating of 1800 on Lichess.

Features

• Implements the UCI protocol for compatibility with GUI chess interfaces.
• Supports chessboard representation via bitboards for efficient computation.
• Allows position loading and initialization using FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) strings.
• Capable of move generation, position evaluation, and basic gameplay logic.
• Designed for educational purposes with clean, modular code.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

To compile and run the engine, you need:

• A C compiler (e.g., GCC or Clang)
• A chess GUI that supports the UCI protocol (e.g., Arena, ChessBase, or Lichess bots)

Compilation

Use the following command to compile the program:

cd kirin-ce
make

Running the Engine

Once compiled, you can run the engine from the command line:

./kirin

The engine will initialize and await commands from a UCI-compatible GUI.

Using with a Chess GUI

1. Open your preferred UCI-compatible chess GUI.
2. Add the compiled kirin binary as a new UCI engine.
3. Start playing games, analyzing positions, or testing the engine's strength.

Code Structure

The source code is structured for clarity and modularity:

• Bitboards: Efficient representation of the chessboard for computations.
• FEN Strings: Predefined starting positions and utilities for custom positions.
• UCI Protocol: Core implementation to interact with chess GUIs and platforms.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the following resources and contributors for their guidance and inspiration:

• Maxim Korzh
• ChessProgramming.org
• TalkChess (Computer Chess Club)
• Glaurung Chess - Late Move Reduction
• Bruce Moreland - Principal Variation Search

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.