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WOW!

Why so many of my old games can't be accessed anymore?

The ones I wanted deleted were the ones still showing as active ongoing games which I couldn't reach anymore.

Fergus,

I did notice some of my games couldn't be replayed after the last major upgrade of the site (I think it was moving to a new server).

I wouldn't want my old completed games to be deleted, if possible.

Can they be fixed?

If not, can I get the moves played in the games so that I keep the logs? Thanks.

That makes sense.

I take it the initial position setup was not originally saved as part of the log, nor was the seed.

Is this the case still? or just for the older logs?

Is there any way to recover these old logs?

If you email me the log moves, I can attemp to reverse recover the initial positions.

Jose,

If you will figure out the starting positions of the broken random chess games, I can handle the programming end of modifying Game Courier and the presets to work with this information. I am thinking of adding logged constants to Game Courier, which could be used by a preset to keep track of randomly generated results between moves. Their values would be stored in the log, and as constants, they would be protected from being overwritten. I may also give GAME Code access to the $code variable used for the initial FEN code.

I have added logged constants to Game Courier's GAME Code language, and I have modified Fischer Random Chess to use them. The setconst command gives a value to a named constant. The value may be any polish notation expression the set command can also evaluate. If the constant is already defined, it will silently fail to change its value, because a constant value, once set, is supposed to remain constant. The unsetconst command, still untested, will unset a constant, just in case you have some good reason for changing the value of a constant. The const operator will return the value of a constant. The isconst operator will return whether there is a constant by the name given after it. A constant name may also be preceded by #, just as variable names can be. Constants take precedence over variables. So if a constant and a variable have the same name, such as name, #name will return the value of the constant.

Fischer Random Chess has been modified to save a game's random ordering of White's pieces to a constant called firstrank. If firstrank is already set, it will skip the randomization of the piece order and copy the order given in firstrank to rank one. It will then proceed as usual, setting up the last rank to mirror the first rank, etc. Look at the Pre-Game code in the preset for further details.

Also, I used a sample game of Fischer Random Chess to test the ability to take back moves. IT IS NOT WORKING YET. But it is too late for me to work on it tonight. Maybe I will get to it tomorrow.

OK Fergus.

I'll do my best. Let's get started!

Can you email me the logs to these two Fischer Random Chess games?

Or somehow, can you give me access to the game logs?

Jose

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=carlos-j_carrillo_vii-2004-130-156

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=fergus-j_carrillo_vii-2004-138-730

Jose,

I have modified the Delete form to display the movelist. This will give you access to the moves in the games.

Thank you so much for your efforts. I'm already recovering the moves of my broken logs of Cetina Random Chess, Cetran Chess 2 and Universal Chess.

Thanks Fergus.

Here we go:

Fischer Random Chess:

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=carlos-j_carrillo_vii-2004-130-156
BNQRNBKR - bnqrnbkr

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=fergus-j_carrillo_vii-2004-138-730
RQNBBNKR - rqnbbnkr

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=j_carrillo_vii-fergus-2004-138-495
RQNKNRBB - rqnknrbb

Contemporary Random Chess:

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Contemporary+Random+Chess&log=j_carrillo_vii-deep_thinker-2008-146-176
NRNQBKRB - brkbqnrn

Modern Random Chess:

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Modern+Random+Chess&log=j_carrillo_vii-sissa-2008-125-050
RKBNNQBRA // arbqnnbkr

José,

How did you get the starting setups?
I can access only to the list of moves, but not to the setups.

Carlos,

Just played out the moves on a blank board (only with pawns), so trial an error, and got the right board positions.

I love random positions, so I was the one player punished the most...

No big deal... At least I'm going to get the links restored! ;-)

Jose,

I have added a way to add constants by editing the URL to a log. For example:

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=fergus-j_carrillo_vii-2004-138-730&constants_firstrank=RQNBBNKR

I have learned that people other than myself have created their own presets for Fischer Random Chess, perhaps by copying mine with some modifications, and these presets have not inherited the changes I made to mine. This can be addressed by editing the URL to use mine by adding '&settings=Abstract'. For example:

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=carlos-j_carrillo_vii-2004-130-156&constants_firstrank=BNQRNBKR&settings=Abstract

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=j_carrillo_vii-fergus-2004-138-495&constants_firstrank=RQNKNRBB&settings=Abstract

Note that the last one gets past its initial illegal message but then has a problem with a castling move written in two parts. That might have to be fixed manually.

What I still need to do is program a way to save the changes made through the URL into the log when the game is finished. But not tonight, since it is late now.

>> BANNED INPUT: d8-c8;a8-d8 on turn 18:

>> MOVE: a8-d8 and other moves from one space to another are banned here.


http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=j_carrillo_vii-fergus-2004-138-495&constants_firstrank=RQNKNRBB&settings=Abstract

>>Note that the last one gets past its initial illegal message but then has a 
>>problem with a castling move written in two parts. That might have to be 
>>fixed manually.

Fergus,

The reason that castling was a double move was that the King move by itself 
(k d8-c8) was a legal move, even without castling.

You should allow multiple moves for situations like this one.

Unless, the preset would have understood the rook move (r a8-d8) to be castling. Would this rook move had not given an error about not been able to capture one's own pieces?

>>I have added a way to add constants by editing the URL to a log. For example:

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=fergus-j_carrillo_vii-2004-138-730&constants_firstrank=RQNBBNKR

Another comment Fergus.

This constant may work for direct symetrical setups, like Fischer Random Chess.

But how about reverse symmetrical setups like Contemporary Random Chess and Modern Random Chess? or independently random setups like English Random Chess?

Perhaps the constant in the link should include but white and black setups.

Maybe something like: RQNBBNKR-rqnbbnkr

Only Fischer Random Chess has been programmed to use constants so far. The creators of other random Chess presets should follow the example of what I have done in Fischer Random Chess but modify it to the demands of the particular game. Whatever constant is needed is expected to vary on a game-by-game basis depending upon what constant it was programmed to use. Go here and look at the Pre-Game code to see how I modified Fischer Random Chess.

Thank you very much, José. Unfortunately, some broken logs of mine are of games that were still in progress and not all the pieces had been moved, so I have not way to return them to theirs starting squares. Anyway some logs yes will be saved.

I also love random positions, so I was the SECOND player punished the most...!!!

I have now come up with a way to fix a log. You do it by editing an URL to a log. Use this one as an example:

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=carlos-j_carrillo_vii-2004-130-156

Start by adding what needs to be changed:

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Fischer+Random+Chess&log=carlos-j_carrillo_vii-2004-130-156&constants_firstrank=BNQRNBKR&settings=Abstract

Then add your userid, your password, and submit=Fix. The userid and password are required so that only the players or the ADMIN (me) can make any changes to the log.