Sometimes castling works and sometimes it doesn't. Why? It was always the case on 'Live' that to castle you needed to move the King first, then wait for it to register, then move the Rook. Failure to follow this procedure resulted in embarrassing Rook only moves! On 'Play' you would expect this would also work but it is now all a bit random if it does. It looks like the reason for this is the way smart boards work on the page. Every time the physical board changes the new board position is sent to CDC as a FEN string. CDC then works out what to do with it and either makes the move or it ignores the string. The reason a new FEN may be ignored is because when a game is being played lifting a piece off the board to move it to a new square will generate a new FEN string. That position is obviously illegal within the context of the game. The solution. Lift up the King and move it to the castling square VERY, VERY, FAST! If you catch it at the right millisecond castling will work. If not put the King back and do it again. NEVER move your Rook until castling has happened on CDC. Castling is hardly an edge case and I would say that this needs to be fixed by CDC. I think (and this is just a guess) they need to ignore all FENs without 2 kings on the board.
Hyper-Dragon Nov 19, 2022
Hello, I don't know why but LiveChess doesn't recognize my chessboard. serial port scan doesn't see my chessboard, even if it is correctly connected to the mac via bluetooth. How can I create the virtual serial port? Thanks
DaniFound Sep 4, 2022
Short tour of how you can access the DGT Picochess application using OpenSSH on Windows. By default OpenSSH is not installed on Windows. However, it can be selected in Windows by choosing, Apps & Features, then select Optional Features. First time accessing the Pi it will as for the username: pi and password: picochess. Change the password in the Linux terminal by typing: passwd. Use an RJ45 Ethernet cable between your DGT Pi and Router. Afterward, you can set up your wireless connection with raspi-config -> system. To access Linux from PowerShell, enter: pi@192.168.1.17 password picochess, however use the IP address of your DGT Pi. The IP address can be found in your routers list of attached devices. Here, I'm viewing version 3 of Picochess Pico Tour
Hamilton53 Jul 16, 2022
As a thanks for all the great comments I thought that I would share a preview version of the next step...Winged Horse mode. This will be built into the next release of the Cherub client when I have fixed the things I haven't fixed because I was working on this! You can play with it now . Things you will need A very cheap and light projector (about £30/$40 should do it). I went for this one in part because it has a tripod mount built in. Ignore the bad reviews from people with inflated expectations, we are projecting on a chess board, not watching a movie. Ideally a Chromecast. Not strictly required but a lot neater since it avoids the trailing HDMI cable. Some way to point the projector at the board. Mine is on a light stand for now but I accept that this doesn't look great in the living room. I have in my head the idea of cannibalising a floor standing cantilever lamp but that is for another day. Usage Run DGT Angel as you normally would (no software updates required). On the PC running the Cherub client open Chrome and go to this link (available until the next client release). Cast the tab of your Chromecast or for HDMI drag it onto your second screen and hit F11. Notes The projector does not need to be directly over the board or on a specific side - you can adjust the projection angle on screen (make sure you match the A1/H8 squares on the board) Make sure the projector is set to 16:9 Known Issues The 'Mismatch' message does not always clear until the next move even is the board is in sync (this needs to be fixed in Cherub) The web page errors on Safari/IOS (you need to go to the page from the PC running Cherub - just adding as a note) Irritatingly there is a typo in the gif above (it's already fixed) All feedback, questions and projector mounting designs welcome.
Hyper-Dragon Jun 6, 2022
Getting ready to install a low-profile fan and large heat sink in my DGT Pi, so I identified the GPIO connections just in case I need to reconnect one of them. Raspberry is a 3b+ but connections are the same for a 3b model. Red = 1; Blue = 3; White = 5; Black = 9; Green = 12; Yellow = 35 Fan uses GPIO Red = 4 (5v) and Black = 6 (gnd). Note: I had to remove the existing heat sinks. Using dental floss (to "saw" through the paste) made it easy. Clean remaining residue with Q-tip and alcohol. Six screws need removed from the underside of the Pi to disassemble. All locations visible in first image. The bottom line after installing the fan - The fan produces a lot of airflow at the cost of a constant hum. Probably typical for a 5-volt fan, but it's always there. I wish it would throttle. I played a match against the Rodent 4 bot and the CPU temperature never exceeded 43.5 C (110 F). The CPU would not be uncomfortable to touch. The DGT Pi has a 3b+ Raspberry, a fan, and is running version 3 of Picochess. Certainly no longer "stock". I like to try a 3.3-volt fan, but the DGT Pi is already using GPIO 1, so that's not an option. The only issue I ran into with this upgrade was popping that black ground wire loose and having to re-solder it :-} Here's a video with the fan running in the DGT Pi Fan Bottom Line - With fan: 43.5 C; with heat sinks only: 53 C Is it worth the constant drone of the fan? I think not...
Hamilton53 Jun 5, 2022
Ok so i've seen this post so many times, i thought i'd share with you guys how i solved my issues with both the DGT boards and also the software you need to use it correctly in conjunction with chrome extension. Ok, so firstly, as far as i'm aware you can use any DGT board apart from the serial boards on chess.com. Secondly, in order for you to use your DGT board on chess.com you must download and install the software from: https://www.livechesscloud.com/ next you will also need the Chrome extension for chess.com from: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chesscom-voice-commentary/kampphbbbggcjlepmgfogpkpembcaphk Once you have done the above: you now need to follow the steps below in order to make it all work together: 1) connect your board to your computer. 2) open the livechess cloud software that you just installed, then check if your board is already connected by clicking on the e-boards option in the list below the menu. if you dont see your board connected, then click on serial ports - manage serial ports and this will show you what port your board is operating on, now simply go back to serial ports and enable the correct COM port, once done your can re-confirm your board is connected by checking the e-boards option, it should show the serial number of the board, the board type ie smart board, and confirm the connection under status. if your are using a DGT bluetooth board check your bluetooth on your computer is switched on ! please note that your DGT board will only work with the livechess cloud software open. please also note that Rabbit connect WILL NOT work with chess.com 3) on your chess.com profile page, please make sure that your language is set to english otherwise the chrome extension will not understand the moves. 4) on chess.com - live chess, goto settings - under the board tab scroll to the bottom, and switch on the DGT board option and then click save ! ( please note you must be in Beta testing to do this i believe ) 5) in settings please also make sure that under the board options that Piece notation is set to text, (this is very important if you want the chrome extension to announce the moves correctly.) if you leave this set to figurines it will not announce the pieces such as Knight, Bishop etc... 6) Finally please make sure you enable the Chrome extension and set to either default or Danny and obviously make sure the volume is set to your desired level. (please note that the extension is currently only available to use on the google chrome browser) 7) On chess.com, once you start a new game, under the games tab in live chess, you should now see a message telling you your board is synced and any moves you play on the board will now be recognised, if it shows as failed, then give the page a quick refresh, and this usually solves most problems, if the problem persists make sure to check your board is enabled on the livechess cloud software and that the programme is open. and secondly check to make sure you have the DGT board option highlighted in your chess.com settings on live chess. I hope this long post will help and solve a lot of issues for people who have been struggling with this. However if you run into any problems, please feel free to leave me a message on here, and i'll try and arrange to talk with you privately via messenger or facebook, so i can talk you through any possible solutions i know of. GOOD LUCK GUYS !! majorspuds
x-8565307611 Jun 2, 2022
Stockfish 15.0 was released 4-18-22; Here's a flash image for the DGT Pi. Credit goes to Scally (Al Cooper) for compiling the SF 15 engine and making it available for the DGT Pi. This image also has the latest Texel 1.08a18 engine and is running Raspian 11 (Bullseye). Also, note the DGT Pi version 3 has about 40 engines on it including Rodent IV. As always, use at your own risk and I suggest flashing a separate Micro SD Card and keeping your current image safe. - Read the "Readme.txt" file before flashing. Additionally, the only official release of Picochess is .9l available from the DGT Website. I call this my "personal image" for the following reasons 1) I removed the /Manuals folder from the picochess directory to give me more space on the 8GB card. The manuals were taking about 1GB of it. Also removed the /Test folder. 2) It contains the latest Texel 1.08a18 engine (July 2020)3) It contains the latest Stockfish 15 and Stockfish 15 Neural Network (NNUE) engines4) It has the Samba App installed, so you can access the Linux system from your Windows network by typing in the IP address. User: pi; Password: picochessIP address should be in your list of attached devices on your router info. (5) Uses the latest release of Raspberry Pi OS (Bullseye/Raspian 11) I'm running this on a Raspberry Pi 3b+, most DGT Pi's have a Raspberry Pi 3 installed. Untested on that device, but you should be okay. It will NOT run on a Raspberry Pi 4b. PicoLiteV3_SF15_02.zip Here's my YouTube video on how to flash a new image: https://youtu.be/TvWe5PEj-0o Here's a link to a YouTube video of me playing the new Stockfish 15 engine on my DGT Pi: https://youtu.be/d9jwO_jOY10
Hamilton53 May 28, 2022
I was having issues with black king(s) reading on squares g2 and g3 of my DGT Bluetooth board. I was able to fix this issue by making an adjustment on the circuit board. This adjustment was suggested by the DGT support personnel. 1) Remove the sticker from the long panel access (states it will void your warranty). 2) Remove the two 2.5 mm Allen screws. 3) Lift the cover (a small screw driver place in a screw hole will help lift it out). (Now's a good time to ground yourself :-) 4) Turn the circuit board over 5) Facing up is a small, cream-colored adjustment screw (See picture below). This screw adjustment is so sensitive, that will will go to ghosting every square, even though no pieces are on the board, to not reading at all (with all the pieces on the board) in 1/4 turn (i.e., an eighth turn either direction). 6) To increase the sensitivity turn it counterclockwise (I suggest initially trying 5-10°). After making the adjustment place your pawns on the board and move a pawn toward the each corner of the square. If it ghosts to the adjacent square, you set the sensitivity too high. When everything is just right, you will get a really snappy move response and no ghosting issues. However, DGT is aware there can be ghosting issues and that is why they place a colored dot on the bottom base of the chess piece indicating a slightly different frequency (i.e., if you experience ghosting don't place two pawns of the same dot color together). Note: If you right-click image and choose "Open image in new tab" it will display larger. Sensitivity adjustment screw; You can also see the MAC address on the Bluetooth module Battery 2000 mAh, 3.7V Underlying electronics imprinted in a polymer sheet
www_ChessLocal_com May 20, 2022
Short video of the start of a match where I had two pieces out of position and DGT Angel notified me of the error, before the issue cost me material in the game; ...which has happened too many times in the past... DGT Angel Note: I'm not affiliated with this product, just an enthusiastic user.
Hamilton68 Apr 29, 2022
The DGT board provides the feature to display the remaining time on a connected DGT clock. For example, the Acid Ape Chess App or Lucas Chess make use of this feature. When playing on chess.com, a connected DGT clock does not show the remaining time. It would be of great value if this feature would also be supported for playing on chess.com.
Hyper-Dragon Apr 24, 2022
Al (Cooper) and I worked on getting this engine menu option (Replay_pgn) working today in version 3 of Picochess. It allows the DGT Pi to replay any PGN data you feed it. Here is an example video from a 1993 match where Al, as part of a team of four, played against Garry Kasparov. https://youtu.be/ayBi3FWTDrs
Hamilton68 Apr 22, 2022
Here's YouTube link to my channel where I play online matches on lichess, chess.com and against the DGT Pi and Fat Fritz 2. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHUEzo475jhE5crIbJI8Mbg
Hamilton68 Apr 21, 2022
This is the response I received from chess.com after repeatedly telling them the DGT functionality did not port well to "Play". Thank you for all the valuable feedback 😎 Currently the developers are working to get the issue solved since it does seem to be quite a general and annoying, but for the moment the workaround is to use Live Chess (which is back on the site for the moment) Once I get some good news from the Devs I'll let you know Let me know if you need anything else and I will be more than happy to help. Thanks for reaching Chess.com, have a great rest of your day! Additionally, I finally got help desk to admit that the Goggle Chrome chess.com voice commentary extension was no longer working in "Live Chess" . They broke it about 3-6-22. They are not going to fix the issue, since "Live Chess" is no longer being supported. Reponse from the helpdesk: Hmmm... it doesn't seem to be working for me either. After talking to our product team about this though, it seems we are starting to scale down the support for Live chess. I have sent a request to have this looked into, but I am not sure if it will be addressed since we are starting to forward with archiving this part of the site. More
Hamilton68 Apr 19, 2022
Just in case "Live Chess" disappears without the disconnect issues in "Play" being resolved, My personal work-a-round is to play on lichess.org, until at such time the connection issues are fixed. I've found they match my skill level up quite closely in matches. Additionally, they make you keep your board synchronized to the game. On chess.com it's basically just a peripheral (like a mouse) and you are actually playing the screen. Your board can be totally out of synch with the game (yeah, we've all had it happen). Personally, I'd rather play my online matches here, since I think chess.com offers a lot of options beyond DGT integration. However, I have a "fall back" option is I can no longer use my DGT board here. I'm optimistic, that chess.com will successfully integrate the DGT functionality in "Play" to the same level I am currently experiencing in "Live Chess". Here's my video on connecting your DGT e-Board to lichess.org, if for no other reason than it gives you another option for playing online. https://youtu.be/AwboO7LY87Q Make sure you look in the description for timestamps on corrections. Summary of the video Instructions:1) Download DGT LiveChess App from DGT LiveChess2) Create an account on lichess.org3) Create an *Access Token (click on your name, choose "Preferences")*might be best to use "Configure" tab on DGT board page to do this (after step #4).4) Select DGT Board from "Play" menu option5) Duplicate the displayed (DGT) page tab6) Select "Play" at bottom of page and verify the software sees your e-Board7) Select the OTHER duplicated tab and then select Lichess.Org to get back to the main menu8) You are now ready to create a game and play against either a computer or online participants with your e-Board
Hamilton68 Apr 18, 2022
In my case, DGT Pegasus doesn't work with android chess.com app. I tried to connect the Pegasus to a total of four different Android devices considering the possibility that there is something wrong with the Bluetooth function of my phone or tablet, but none of them were able to connect. Besides, DGT doesn't even provide a proper how-to guide. I've tried a few DGT products in the past, but DGT Pegasus is really disappointing. DGT should have released the Pegasus when product development was fully completed. Has anyone successfully connected Pegasus to the Android Chess.com app?
Hi there, In the recent Chess.com update it mentions the below as an update to the Android app :- Android users can now connect DGT boards to their apps (check compatibility) How do I find out more about this please? How do I actually make that connection and play with my board using just the phone app?
There are problems sometimes with the voice extension. There are general problems, it seems. For this, I know no solution. But I found that the voice extension sometimes works before the game, but it does not work when I start the game. The following workaround sometimes did the trick, so I wanted to share it to put to the test. Before starting a game, I check that the voice extension works Under Today / Playing Now, opening a game playing now Only proceeding if the voice extension work Then Starting the game When the voice extension does not work Reloading the page does not work (attention looks like in some cases this aborts the game) Under Today / Playing Now, click on a game playing now (not guaranteed to work, maybe game aborts) Game opens in a new tab The voice extension works again Thanks for any feedback.
HiI am not a native English speaker, so please take this into account. For me, it's tough to use the voice extension to distinguish between the a-, d- and e-file. For example, a3 and e3 or d3 and e3 are hard to distinguish. In my understanding, this is on the one side per the language. On the other side, pronouncing the differences more clearly would help. How do others experience this? Can you distinguish easily between the files? Is this is a common problem, or affects me only? Just to mention - maybe the following link is of some general help regarding the voice extension. It shows how it is possible to replace the speaker voice with custom voice.
BaronVonChickenpants Nov 16, 2021
Hey folks, it's Raphael with Chess House. I just spent 15 minutes learning how to do this. It's working great on my Windows 10 system with Chrome. It's announcing the moves with the Chrome plug in for chess.com also. I'm really happy with the setup and how smoothly this worked once I figured out what settings it needs. Would you like me to record and share a video on the steps to do this? What questions do you have? I'll shoot and share something.
fred900122 Aug 19, 2021