Chess Game

A modern chess application built with React featuring local multiplayer, AI-powered gameplay, and shareable game sessions. The project includes a custom chess engine with complete move validation, special chess rules, and multiple AI difficulty levels powered by minimax search and evaluation algorithms.

Features

Game Modes

• Local Multiplayer (2 players on the same device)
• Play Against AI Bot
• Play with Friends via Shareable Game Links
• Online Match Interface (Coming Soon)

Chess Engine

• Complete Piece Movement Logic
• Check Detection
• Checkmate Detection
• Castling Support
• En Passant Support
• Automatic Pawn Promotion
• Move Validation
• Turn Management

AI Opponent

Easy

• Random legal move generation

Medium

• Position evaluation using weighted scoring

Hard

• Minimax Algorithm
• Alpha-Beta Pruning
• Quiescence Search
• Strategic Move Selection

Additional Features

• Interactive Chess Board
• Legal Move Highlighting
• Check Warning Indicators
• Turn-Based Timer System
• Game State Management
• Shareable Match Links

Technology Stack

• React.js
• JavaScript (ES6+)
• HTML5
• CSS3
• Custom Chess Engine
• Minimax Algorithm
• Alpha-Beta Pruning

Project Structure

.
├── public/
│   ├── index.html
│   └── favicon.ico
│
├── src/
│   ├── App.js
│   ├── ChessGame.js
│   ├── ChessBoard.js
│   ├── GameModeSelector.js
│   ├── App.css
│   ├── index.css
│   └── index.js
│
├── test_chess.js
├── test_edge_cases.js
├── package.json
└── README.md

How It Works

1. Game Initialization

• User selects a game mode.
• The chess board is initialized with standard piece placement.
• Game state and timers are created.

2. Move Validation

The custom chess engine:

• Validates piece movement
• Checks legal destinations
• Prevents illegal moves
• Ensures king safety
• Applies special chess rules

3. AI Decision Making

Depending on difficulty level:

• Easy: Random move selection
• Medium: Position evaluation and weighted scoring
• Hard: Minimax search with Alpha-Beta pruning

4. Game State Monitoring

The engine continuously checks:

• Check conditions
• Checkmate conditions
• Turn changes
• Timer expiration
• Special move availability

AI Architecture

Position Evaluation

The bot evaluates:

• Material advantage
• Piece activity
• Board control
• Tactical opportunities

Search Algorithm

Hard mode uses:

• Minimax Search
• Alpha-Beta Pruning
• Quiescence Search

to determine the strongest available move.

Installation

Clone Repository

git clone <repository-url>

Install Dependencies

npm install

Start Development Server

npm start

Run Tests

npm test

Run Engine Tests

node test_chess.js
node test_edge_cases.js

Screenshots

Home Screen

Chess Board

AI Gameplay

Friend Mode

Future Improvements

• Multiplayer Server Synchronization
• Real-Time Online Matches
• ELO Rating System
• Move History Analysis
• Game Replay System
• Chess Opening Database
• Stockfish Integration

Author

Anuj Srivastava

Aspiring Full-Stack Developer | React | Python | AI | Data Science