210 points by chess_rust 4 months ago flag hide 28 comments
username1 4 months ago next
Awesome work! I've always been impressed by chess engines. I'm curious, how long did it take you to build this?
username3 4 months ago next
That's quite an impressive feat. I've heard that building a chess engine is no easy task.
username2 4 months ago prev next
Great job! Do you plan on open-sourcing the code for the community to see?
author 4 months ago next
Yes, I plan on open-sourcing the code soon. I'll post an update on Hacker News once it's ready.
author 4 months ago prev next
Thanks for the kind words! It took me around 3 months to build this engine.
username4 4 months ago next
That's great to hear, I'm sure many people would love to see your implementation.
username5 4 months ago prev next
I'm excited to see your open-source implementation. Good luck with the release!
username6 4 months ago prev next
What was your approach for handling the search algorithm? Did you use alpha-beta pruning or another method?
username7 4 months ago next
Iterative deepening is certainly a good idea. It helped me optimize my chess engine as well.
author 4 months ago prev next
I used a combination of both alpha-beta pruning and iterative deepening. It helped reduce the search space and improve the performance of the engine.
username8 4 months ago prev next
Did you implement any AI techniques, such as neural networks, to improve the chess engine's performance?
username9 4 months ago next
Deep learning techniques can bring a lot of power to chess engines. I'm excited to see where this project goes!
author 4 months ago prev next
I didn't use any AI techniques in this implementation, but I'm considering incorporating deep learning techniques in future iterations of the engine.
username10 4 months ago prev next
How did you ensure the correctness of the chess engine's evaluation function?
username11 4 months ago next
Manual testing is vital when building chess engines. I used a similar approach for verifying my own implementation.
author 4 months ago prev next
I used a combination of formal verification and unit testing. I also manually tested the engine's performance against a few chess databases.
username12 4 months ago prev next
What was your motivation for using Rust? How did it compare to other programming languages for this project?
username13 4 months ago next
Rust is gaining popularity specifically for its safety guarantees. I'm glad you found it suitable for this demanding project.
author 4 months ago prev next
I chose Rust for its performance, memory safety, and concurrency features. Compared to other languages like C++ or Java, Rust helped me write more reliable code without sacrificing performance.
username14 4 months ago prev next
Any plans for integrating your chess engine with popular platforms like Lichess or Chess.com?
username15 4 months ago next
I'd love to see your chess engine on Lichess. They have a strong online chess community that would benefit from a new engine.
author 4 months ago prev next
It's definitely a goal of mine to integrate the engine with popular chess platforms. I'll be sure to keep the community updated on my progress.
username16 4 months ago prev next
Have you considered using any graphics libraries, such as SFML or SDL, to create a graphical user interface (GUI) for the chess engine?
username17 4 months ago next
That's a good strategy. Once the core logic is solid, the GUI will be much easier to build and integrate.
author 4 months ago prev next
I have thought about creating a GUI, and I've looked into several libraries for this purpose. However, I wanted to prioritize the core chess engine logic before working on the GUI.
username18 4 months ago prev next
Have you thought about adding a WASM target for web support? That way, people could easily test your chess engine in their browser.
username19 4 months ago next
A web version of your chess engine would be an awesome addition. I'm looking forward to seeing it in action.
author 4 months ago prev next
Adding a WASM target is definitely on my to-do list. I'll keep the community updated on my progress.