♟️ React Chess AI

A feature-rich Chess AI game built with React.js and Vite. This project implements a powerful chess engine using the minimax algorithm with alpha-beta pruning for intelligent move-making. Play against the AI, or connect with another player for a multiplayer match.

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📜 Table of Contents

• ✨ Features
• 🧠 How It Works
  • The AI Engine
  • Frontend with React
• 🛠️ Tech Stack
• 🚀 Installation & Setup
• 📁 Project Structure
• 🔮 Future Enhancements
• 🤝 Contributing
• 📝 License

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✨ Features

• Intelligent AI Opponent: Play against a challenging AI that uses the minimax algorithm.
• Alpha-Beta Pruning: The AI's decision-making is optimized for performance and speed.
• Move Validation: All moves are validated according to the official rules of chess.
• Interactive UI: A clean, responsive, and user-friendly interface built with React.
• Real-time Multiplayer: (If applicable) Connect and play against another person over the internet using Socket.io.
• Undo Moves: Take back your last move.
• Captured Pieces Display: See all the pieces captured by each player.
• Pawn Promotion: Promote your pawns to any piece when they reach the end of the board.

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🧠 How It Works

The project is divided into two main parts: the AI chess engine that decides the computer's moves, and the React frontend that provides the user interface.

The AI Engine

The core of the AI is the Minimax algorithm, a decision-making algorithm used in two-player games. It explores a tree of possible future moves to find the optimal one.

1. Minimax Algorithm: The algorithm simulates games several moves deep. It assumes the opponent will always play their best move (minimizing the AI's score) and tries to find a move that leads to the best possible outcome for itself (maximizing its score).

2. Alpha-Beta Pruning: To make the search faster, we use alpha-beta pruning. This technique safely cuts off branches of the search tree that won't lead to a better result, drastically reducing the number of calculations needed. http://googleusercontent.com/image_generation_content/1

3. Evaluation Function: To score a board position, the AI uses a sophisticated heuristic evaluation function. This function assigns a numerical value to a position based on several factors:

   • Material Advantage: The total value of pieces on the board (Queen = 9, Rook = 5, etc.).
   • Piece-Square Tables (PSTs): Pieces are more valuable on certain squares. For example, a knight in the center of the board is more powerful than one in a corner. The AI uses tables to reward good piece placement. http://googleusercontent.com/image_generation_content/2

Frontend with React

The user interface is built as a modern single-page application using React.js and bundled with Vite for a fast development experience.

• Component-Based Architecture: The UI is broken down into reusable components like ChessBoard, Tile, and CapturedPieces, making the code clean and maintainable.
• State Management: React's Context API and custom hooks (useBoard) are used to manage the game's state, such as the board position, current turn, and game history.
• Interactive Board: The chessboard is rendered dynamically. Clicking on a piece highlights its legal moves, and pieces can be moved with a simple click interface.

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🛠️ Tech Stack

• Frontend: React.js, Tailwind CSS
• Build Tool: Vite
• Real-time Communication: Websocket API (Client & Server)
• Backend: Node.js, Express (for the socket server)

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🚀 Installation & Setup

Follow these steps to get the project running on your local machine.

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone [https://github.com/your-username/chess-ai.git](https://github.com/your-username/chess-ai.git)
   cd chess-ai

2. Install frontend dependencies:

   npm install

3. Navigate to the server directory and install its dependencies:

   cd src/server
   npm install

4. Start the backend server: (only for multiplayer)

   • From the src/server directory, run:

   node server.js

   • The server will start, typically on http://localhost:3001.

5. Start the frontend development server:

   • Go back to the root directory (cd ../..).
   • Run the Vite development server:

   npm run dev

   • Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:5173 (or the URL provided in your terminal).

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🔮 Future Enhancements

• Transposition Tables: Cache previously calculated board positions to speed up AI calculations.
• Opening Book: Use a database of standard openings for faster and more standard initial moves.
• More Game Modes: Implement different time controls (Blitz, Rapid) and puzzle modes.
• UI/UX Improvements: Add animations for moves, better visual feedback, and sound effects.
• AI Algorithms: Explore different alternatives for the minimax algorithm such as Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) opimised with neural networks.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are always welcome! If you have suggestions or want to add a new feature, please:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature').
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature).
5. Open a Pull Request.

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