Questions about adding AI to chessvariantsoftware

[El Kitch]

Hey everyone!

I just typed a long message and thought I submitted, but appearantly it didn't First of all I'd like to say that I have much admiration for you. Not only the programming of the engine, but also to come up with a way to analyze the game and to decide what move the engine should do is just mindboggling to me.

Anyway, this post is because I am planning to do an update for Economy Chess. This is a chessvariant that I have created. In the summer of 2011 an idea for the variant popped into my mind, and even though I am not really chessnut I loved the idea so much that I wanted to play it. The variant is not easy to play on the board, so it had to be programmed. To do so I posted a project on http://www.scriptlance.com and I hired a programmer to make it.

You can download the game here: http://www.chess.com/download/view/economy-chess
Also I made a youtubevideo that explains the rules: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebxqeLWwTNA

In May this year I posted the game online and to my happy surprise people where excited about it and wanted to play it. However, the game only supports local play and these days no one sits together behind the computer. So I want to do an update that increases the playability. One addition will be the saving and loading of games, so people can play correspondence style. But my dream is to also add an AI so people can give the game a try by playing against the computer.

So sometime soon I will open a new project on Scriptlance. It will mainly be about glitches that have been discovered and to add/take away other small issues + saving/loading. I am in doubt to also ask for an AI. The game is a funproject and as a student my funds are limited. From what Ive learned it is hard and expensive to build AI, so I am hesitant to add it to the project.

The AI doesnt have to be very advanced, it buying random pieces and not take into account where the opponent can buy new pieces -if it moves pieces around then the AI already is infinitely better than it is now

So my questions are:
- is there an open source free engine available that I can recommend to the programmer to use?
- will it be very difficult and costly to implement?

Also if you have an idea to make this game easier for people to play (against other people) then please let me know!

Thanks for reading!

If interested: a player with an online rating of ~2000 loved the game and wrote a blog: http://blog.chess.com/Boletus_CZ/econom ... ll-love-it

Screenshot:

[El Kitch]

Still hoping that some one could help me out with a bit of information about how big and costly an AI for software like this will be.

If you got some valueable info.. let me know!

[El Kitch]

Still hoping someone can help me out getting on the road a bit (but maybe this is not the right place for it, or I am doing something wrong?).

If I want to add an AI that has at least bad/mediocre play, what would such an AI cost to create and implement?

Well, and any other information regarding chess AI would be great. Thanks in advance!

[Greg Simpson]

Fruit 2.1 would be my choice for a basis for writing an AI for Economy Chess. It is GPL though, which means you have to give the source away with every copy, and you can't stop others from distributing it. In any case, paying someone to write it sounds expensive.

You might have better luck posting on TalkChess.com.

[El Kitch]

Thanks for the comment!

I'll post on talkchess as well. Personally I wouldnt mind giving away the source code. I dont plan to make money with the game, I just want people to play the game. If people want to use it to develop Economy Chess variants... I'd say: do your worst!