ECO Display Feature

[ChessKnight]

Would it be possible to include a NEW feature to display ECO somewhere in between White and Black Timer and |< < P > >| header area or at the bottom of the chess-board either by using eco(detailed).pgn or eco.txt ?

[H.G.Muller]

What exactly s ECO, and how should it be calculated from the game (and when)? Wouldn't it be better to display it in the title bar of the window, e.g. behind the names of the players?

I considered displaying the value of the 50-move counter (the value I miss most) between the white and black clock, but so far did not dare to do that, as I am afraid that it will make the display look very cluttered.

[ChessKnight]

1.e4 displays B00 King's Pawn [1.e4...]
...c5 displays B20 Sicilian defence [1. e4 c5]
2.Nf3 displays B27 Sicilian [1.e4 c5 2.Nf3...]
...Nc6 displays B30 Sicilian [1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6]
3.d4 displays B32 Sicilian [1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 3d4]
...cxd4 displays B32 Sicilian [1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 3d4 cxd4]
4.Nxd4 displays B32 Sicilian Open [1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 3d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4...]
...e6 displays B44 Sicilian Taimanov [[1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 3d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6]

it keep simply displaying by comparing each white and black moves to some reference file eco.pgn or eco.txt until it gets out of the particular variation.

Wouldn't it be better to display it in the title bar of the window, e.g. behind the names of the players?

-Definitely, it would be great, if possible.

By the way, eco.pgn at Dann's ftp web-site seems to be most complete one.

I have made a few suggestions here in particular board because I LUV Winboard and wanna contributing in making Winboard better n better.

Tks n regards

[H.G.Muller]

It seems the easiest way to do that would be to convert the PGN file to a Polyglot book that stores ECO codes rather than move weights, so that WinBoard can probe the file after every move (like it does for the GUI book), and display the listed code when there is a hit.

What should happen when there is an ECO-book miss? Should the display of this code cease altogheter, or should the code of the last hit be displayed forever?

It seems to me that by the time you are in a KRPPKRP ending it is not very relevant to know with what opening the game started. So I guess the code should disappear from the display. A good place to put it then is simply in the window where the moves (and thinking output, if enabled) would appear. E.g. if 1. e4 produces a book hit, display 1. e4 {ECO B00}, and if the opponent then replies with 1. ... c5, display 1... c5 {ECO B20}

[ChessKnight]

What should happen when there is an ECO-book miss? Should the display of this code cease altogheter, or should the code of the last hit be displayed forever?

The more practical approach would be keep displaying Last hit. Let us consider following situation:

A39 English, Symmetrical, Main line with d4
1 c4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 g3 g6 4 Bg2 Bg7 5 Nf3 Nf6 6 O-O O-O 7 d4

Suppose hit misses at move 6 should able to display
A38 English, Symmetrical
1 c4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 g3 g6 4 Bg2 Bg7 5 Nf3 Nf6

Suppose hit misses at move 5 should able to display
A26 English
1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 g3 g6 4 Bg2 Bg7

A good place to put it then is simply in the window where the moves (and thinking output, if enabled) would appear. E.g. if 1. e4 produces a book hit, display 1. e4 {ECO B00}, and if the opponent then replies with 1. ... c5, display 1... c5 {ECO B20}

display {ECO CODE: Name of an Opening}
1. e4 {ECO B00: King's Pawn Opening}, and if the opponent then replies with...
... c5, display 1... c5 {ECO B20: Sicilian}
would be perfect one. It will help beginner not look any further.

Tks n reg,

[H.G.Muller]

Hmm, if you want the full name to be displayed, the message field where normally the thinking output appears is not a good place. I understood from Michel that the full name can be rather long, and it does not seem wise to push constantly changing new info out of view for the benefit of printing something static.

In fact I doubt the wisdom of displaying something static in the first place; it just takes space and acts as a distraction. The less displayed, the better. The window title bar might than be a better place, as it is unavoidably there anyway, so people tend not to notice it. Normally the title bar contains the player names, the opening could be appended. Something like:

hgm vs. Fairy-Max {A38 English, symmetrical}

[ChessKnight]

H.G.Muller:

Thanks for initiative and interest.
I just gave an idea. The rest is up to you. You know the better place to display as well.
Because i do not know how to code. I wish I could.

Thanks n regards,