[GreenKeys] TELETYPE Chess Anyone??

[David Tumey via GreenKeys]

When I was a kid, one of my dad's High School students - Tom King -  went to work for DEC up in Maynard MA and invited us up one weekend for an open house.  I got to play a game of Chess on a Model 33/PDP-?? and it totally blew my mind.  I knew that I wanted that to be part of my current teletype experience so I contacted a fellow named Don Cross - who has written an excellent C++ Windows-based chess program - available for free (donations accepted) on-line.  I explained to Don that I would really LOVE to be able to play Chess on a teletype and asked him if he could create a text-based TTY game that he would be willing to make available to the Greenkeys community - and he did (see 2 attached photos) - I provided a couple of development donations on behalf of the group.  Well, this thing plays a fantastic game of chess and after test-losing 20-25 games to it, I wanted to share the link to this awesome software with the list:  http://cosinekitty.com/chenard/ttychess.zip.  We spent a few weeks back and forth in order to optimize it for a teletype - the last revision including a user-adjustable delay to permit the carriage to fully 'home' before the next line began typing.
To use this game with your TTY, you will need a Windows-based PC with an RS-232 port (I use an Edgeport USB-4xRS-232 made by Digi that I found on eBay).  You will also need a current loop converter (I use the Telebyte model 65A).  The Telebyte connects to the Edgeport via a 9-25 pin F/F adapter (Startech.com model AT925FF).  The Telebyte needs to be configured for "DCE" when connected to the Edgeport.
Next, go to the website link above and download the "ttychess.zip" file to your hard drive.  Unzip the files into a folder (I use "TTY Chess") and open the "ttychess.ini" file (text editor).  It will look like this:

 
##    ttychess.ini  -  Configuration file for ttychess.exe.#SERIAL=1     # set to 1 to enable serial I/O, 0 to disablePORT=COM6BAUD=110ECHO=1             # 1 if you need characters echoed back to TTY, 0 if not.UPCASE=1        # 1 to force all output to upper case, 0 to allow mixed caseBYTESIZE=7    # number of bits in a byte: 4..8PARITY=0         # 0=none, 1=odd, 2=even, 3=mark, 4=spaceSTOPBITS=2     # number of stop bits to send: 0 for 1 bit, 1 for 1.5, 2 for 2CRDELAY=250    # how many milliseconds to delay after sending a carriage return
Set the PORT = whatever com port you are using for the RS-232, my port is COM6.  Set BAUD=110, ECHO=1, UPCASE=1, BYTESIZE=7 (make sure this is not set to 8), PARITY=0, STOPBITS=2, CRDELAY=250 (I found that worked best with my terminal); then SAVE the file.
Finally, plug the teletype into the telebyte loop converter, turn it on to LINE mode, and click on "ttychess.exe", then click "RUN".  If everything is set up correctly, your game should start printing on the computer screen and the teletype.  I recommend after selecting your piece color you type the "HELP" command which explains how the game works, then the "SHOW" command that reprints the board after each move.  Simple as that - ENJOY.
If you like the game and want to help out Don, you can find his "DONATE" key on his home page:  http://cosinekitty.com/chenard.
This thing has brought back some incredible memories for me and I hope it does for you as well!
Thanks.--daveW5DT

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