Transcript
Manual DGT LiveChess version 2 (Tournament software)
Note: This manual may also be available in other languages at: www.digitalgametechology.com
MA_ENG_LC2_Manual LiveChess Tournament_Rev 1706B FJ BETA Note: This is a BETA manual. Sections in red are not yet, fully, implemented. © Copyright 2017 Digital Game Technology BV DGT Hengelosestraat 66 7514 AJ Enschede The Netherlands www.digitalgametechnology.com 1
CONTENTS: 1. LiveChess version 2 introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3 2. LiveChess manual introduction.................................................................................................................................... 4 3. Software and network requirements for BETA releases ............................................................................................. 5 Oracle Java 8 ................................................................................................................................................................ 5 MS Windows ................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Mac OS X ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Linux ............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Internet Connection ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 LiveChess software updates ........................................................................................................................................ 6 LiveChess installation ................................................................................................................................................... 7 4. Hardware set-up of your DGT e-Board(s) .................................................................................................................... 7 DGT e-Board versions .................................................................................................................................................. 8 DGT serial e-Board setup ............................................................................................................................................. 8 DGT USB e-Board setup ............................................................................................................................................... 9 DGT Bluetooth (BT) e-Board setup ............................................................................................................................ 10 DGT Wireless e-Board setup (DGT Caïssa system)..................................................................................................... 12 5. DGT LiveChess software............................................................................................................................................. 13 LiveChess tournament start-up for BETA releases .................................................................................................... 13 Preparing a tournament ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Main e-Board screen.................................................................................................................................................. 15 Serial Port management screen (COM ports) ............................................................................................................ 16 Prepare a new tournament ....................................................................................................................................... 18 Enter player information ........................................................................................................................................... 19 Set-up rounds and tables ........................................................................................................................................... 20 Table number versus e-Board serial number ............................................................................................................ 22 King-e4 e-Board selection method ............................................................................................................................ 23 Start recording games ................................................................................................................................................ 24 Manual managing and correcting games .................................................................................................................. 25 Individual games ........................................................................................................................................................ 26 DGT e-Board memory ................................................................................................................................................ 28 Marking the end of a game ........................................................................................................................................ 29 Creating Tournament Categories............................................................................................................................... 29 6. Broadcasting Games .................................................................................................................................................. 30 Create game data export folder(s)............................................................................................................................. 30 2
DGT cloud service ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 LiveChess internet broadcast..................................................................................................................................... 31 LiveChess local viewer broadcast .............................................................................................................................. 31 7. Troubleshooting ......................................................................................................................................................... 35 Ghost pieces............................................................................................................................................................... 35 Missing serial e-Boards .............................................................................................................................................. 36 Long serial connections (cables) ................................................................................................................................ 36 Power loss .................................................................................................................................................................. 36 USB connection issues ............................................................................................................................................... 36 Bluetooth connection issues ...................................................................................................................................... 37 Caïssa connection issues ............................................................................................................................................ 37 game data file issues .................................................................................................................................................. 37 8. Disclaimer .................................................................................................................................................................. 37 9. Appendices................................................................................................................................................................. 37
1. LIVECHESS VERSION 2 INTRODUCTION The DGT LiveChess software for tournament broadcasting and management is new and greatly improved. With plenty of new features and an innovative and simplified user interface LiveChess makes your tournament a great success. The BETA version is available for testing with most of the new features included. Read all about the new features and benefits LiveChess has to offer: Persistent Chronological Record (PCR) Tournament management is made easy because LiveChess now keeps a “Persistent Chronological Record” of all events occurring on the DGT e-Boards and clocks. Such a record is a great tool for arbiters as it gives precise insight into the timed history of all board activities, including player irregularities and clock actions. With these precise records, start-up times and recovery in case of power failure, are greatly reduced and no longer require operator intervention. With the new LiveChess games can easily be reconstructed move by move. The available game information is extended with information like: • clock times • elapsed time between moves • result information (regular result, arbiter sanction, forfeit, flag fallen) • support for illegal moves (useful for youth competitions) The “event list” within LiveChess is a tool that notifies operators during the tournament if, for example, a clock stopped running or when there appears to be a connection issue. Once the reported issue is solved the event notification will disappear from the ‘’event’’ list. This makes it easy for a single operator to monitor large numbers of e-Boards as they are now notified proactively when an issue needs attention. 3
In addition to standard the PGN’s, LiveChess now also produces extended PGN’s which include extra tournament and game information. These e-PGN’s contain clock times recorded with a move and in sync with the lever action by the player on turn. LiveChess will always record everything. It minimizes the need for operator intervention and supports the arbiters to make better decisions when intervention is needed. User Friendly Interface LiveChess comes with a completely new designed user interface. It runs more smoothly and simplifies the set up for any tournament. Making use of modern components and chess symbols instead of K, Q, B, N, R notations. You will have your tournament ready to go in no time. Your tournament broadcasted anytime, anywhere The LiveChess software is now built for Windows, Mac OS as well as Linux. The viewer is now fully compatible with HTML 5 for broadcasting your games in a local network or online with support of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge. The local viewer software can now also display games on mobile devices and tablets if local viewing rights are permitted. With the new LiveChess, chess enthusiasts will now be able to view your broadcasts anytime, anywhere. Cloud services available at release A major improvement in LiveChess is the cloud services option. This makes live broadcasting your chess tournament games or your games at home, easier than ever. Your own server to host your live broadcasting is no longer needed. DGT offers the option to use the cloud to host your broadcast of live games. Finished games will be saved on the cloud server and available for up to 2 weeks. The number of viewers is limited but this cloud service will definitely save you time and server space. The cloud services are not yet operational in the current BETA but will be with the definite version of LiveChess. Cloud service can be further extended for large tournaments and at a reasonable rate. Full support for Chess960 LiveChess now fully supports Chess960. Any valid Chess960 starting position can be used and recognized. Game reconstruction with Chess960 is operational and even the castling rights are recorded correctly. As such LiveChess can be used to set up your Chess960 tournament with ease. Available today, built for tomorrow The implemented technological enhancements of this new version of LiveChess opens many paths of potential improvements in the future. LiveChess will be updated regularly with more features. Please check www.digitalgametechnology.com frequently for the latest version of LiveChess software or register the LiveChess product at the Support page to receive update notifications.
2. LIVECHESS MANUAL INTRODUCTION The purpose of this manual is to explain the use of the DGT LiveChess version 2 tournament software. It consists of four main sections: 1. Description of the software, hardware and network requirements. 2. Description how to setup the various DGT e-Boards configurations. 3. Description how to use the LiveChess software. 4. Description how to publish games (local or via the internet). 4
The current LiveChess software version consists of a complete program package managing the following: Detecting the serial- , USB- or Bluetooth ports with a connected DGT e-Board. Detecting the various e-Board versions (Serial, USB, Caïssa or Bluetooth). Detecting the e-Pieces on the connected e-Boards. Entry of tournament information (tournament and player details, e-Boards to use etc.). Setting up the round and table information. Monitoring and managing game information. Creating (e) PGN files or editing PCR game data received from the e-Boards. Monitoring the upload to the viewer screens. Broadcasting tournament and game information via a pre-defined export folder. Broadcasting tournaments via the DGT cloud server. REMARK: This document may not yet be complete as the LiveChess software is still evolving. DGT will update the documentation when new software becomes available. The current manual describes LiveChess BETA version 2. This manual can also be downloaded from the support section of the DGT web site: http://www.digitalgametechnology.com/index.php/support1/dgt-software/dgt-livechess Manuals in other languages will be made available in due course.
3. SOFTWARE AND NETWORK REQUIREMENTS FOR BETA RELEASES ORACLE JAVA 8 LiveChess requires the software package Oracle Java 8, update 131 as a minimum. Please make sure this is software is installed on the computer before installing LiveChess. If the Java version is not according the required version, the LiveChess installer will report this via a pop-up screen and ask to install the required Java version or cancel the installation of LiveChess. Actual Java versions can be downloaded manual at: http://java.com. In a future LiveChess version, a LiveChess installer package will be included and contain the required Java software as well.
MS WINDOWS LiveChess is a Java based application and runs on Microsoft Windows 7, 8 and 10. Installation requires about 200 MByte disk space to store the software and data. LiveChess runs under a 32 and 64 bit version of MS Windows. We strongly advise to install the Java package with same bit version as your installed Windows version. Please check via the Windows ‘’control panel’’ and section ‘’system’’ to see if you have a 32 bit Windows or a 64 bit Windows version installed.
MAC OS X LiveChess runs also on Apple Mac OS based computers when the Java package is installed. Installation of the software requires about 200 MByte disk space.
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LiveChess runs on Linux as well. Installation of the software requires about 200 MByte disk space.
INTERNET CONNECTION The previous LiveChess versions were only able to broadcast via an FTP server which needed to be set-up by the tournament webmaster. To increase reliability and secure a stable and most of all fast broadcast, this new LiveChess version 2 ONLY places the tournament data into one or more pre-selected export folder(s). The transfer to this export folder is organized by LiveChess. From this export folder the data can be processed by a third party program like, for example, ‘’Winscp’’ which allows further processing by your own webserver. Placing all game data into a free to access folder gives maximum flexibility how and when you want to publish the games scheduled for broadcasting. LiveChess can export it to a local folder, a network folder or even a Dropbox or Cloud folder. From this export folder, broadcasting via internet should be further arranged by the tournament webmaster. A detailed explanation how to set-up a webserver and how to collect the game data from the export location is beyond the scope of this document. Please be aware that the local network should be stable as it is primary used for the LiveChess local viewer functionality within the tournament hall. Also WiFi viewing access can be allowed for viewers with access to this tournament Wi-Fi network. To secure a stable transmission and reliable local presentation of the LiveChess data, DGT defined below minimum browser requirements. If you do not have one of these listed browsers the LiveChess viewer function may not work correctly. Do make sure you to use only one of the below listed browser versions or higher if available. Other browser versions are, not yet, supported. • • • •
IE 12 / Microsoft Edge browser Chrome 25 or higher Firefox 31 or higher Safari 8 or higher
The local viewer option which only requires a local network will be explained in section 6 of this manual. NOTE: Local network security issues may occur however are beyond the scope of this document. For live broadcasting via the local network, we advise to have an experienced network specialist within reach.
LIVECHESS SOFTWARE UPDATES The latest version of LiveChess will always be made available free of charge at the download section of the DGT web site: http://www.digitalgametechnology.com. The LiveChess software itself will also check on a regular basis if a LiveChess software update is available on the DGT web site. If an new version is found, the LiveChess operator will see a pop-up message. After the update is confirmed by the LiveChess operator the program automatically redirects to the download section of the DGT web site and will update your LiveChess software package automatically when no games are currently running. You can also find the latest English manual version on the DGT website at the support, manual download section. Other manual language translations will be made available in the near future. The LiveChess software packaged however will be released in English only. As such the screen pictures used in other manual languages will be presented in English only. 6
Remark: The game information of any previous LiveChess version 1 installation cannot be converted and used in combination with this LiveChess version 2. The folder structure and files used for a tournament are completely different in this new LiveChess version. For future LiveChess versions, DGT will spend serious effort to secure backwards compatibility with all the released LiveChess 2 versions. It is however recommended to regularly back-up the data files generated by your current LiveChess 2 version. A LiveChess software update will normally be executed in the current LiveChess folder where also the folders with tournament and game information are located. Updating within the same folder allows a newer LiveChess version to use the previously defined tournament set-ups and access the already generated tournament data if available. When you prefer to start with a clean and fresh LiveChess environment, it is recommended to create a new folder path and install LiveChess again in this path. It is not recommended to copy only parts of an older LiveChess set-up to such new folder location.
LIVECHESS INSTALLATION The LiveChess installer is included on the installation CD that came with your DGT e-Board or can be found in the LiveChess documentation set included with your DGT tournament equipment. If you do not have a CD or CD reader or if you are using a non-Windows environment, please download the latest LiveChess software from: http://www.digitalgametechnology.com/index.php/support1/dgt-software/dgt-livechess We will now continue explaining the installation from the CD placed in a Windows PC drive. Other platforms may have a slightly different installation procedure. Place the CD into your computer CD drive. The main menu will automatically start and show the contents of the CD. Find the LiveChess section and double click the LiveChess installer button. When no CD is used, find the folder where you downloaded LiveChess and start the LiveChess installer manually. The installer will also install the latest Java version, if needed, and install all additional software required for LiveChess. If you prefer you can add a start icon on your desktop to quick launch LiveChess. In the next section we will briefly explain how to connect the various DGT e-Board versions. More specific installation details for eBoards are described in the installation manual that came with your DGT e-Board version.
4. HARDWARE SET-UP OF YOUR DGT E-BOARD(S) LiveChess operates with almost all DGT e-Boards produced over the last 20 years. However due to improvements and changes within the DGT e-Board communication protocol and hardware, very old DGT e-Boards are not supported by LiveChess. Be aware that only the firmware of Bluetooth e-Boards can be updated manually to a newer firmware version. If you have an older and unsupported USB e-Board or serial e-Board firmware version, the internal electronics requires replacement. Instructions how to upgrade your e-Board and pricing of upgrade parts can be obtained via DGT support. Do take note of below overview and check if the firmware version of your e-Board is supported by LiveChess: DGT e-Board Supported by LiveChess Serial version Firmware version 1.5 and up USB version Firmware version 1.8 and up Bluetooth version Firmware version 3.01 and up
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REMARK: The DGT Bluetooth e-Boards now do work with LiveChess if they have the firmware version 3.01 or higher installed. If you have a firmware version lower than 3.01, you should download the latest firmware version and instructions from the DGT support section of our website and update your Bluetooth e-Board before connecting it to a LiveChess tournament network. Important: The Bluetooth function is based on connecting the two devices: LiveChess PC and DGT e-Board. The current DGT Bluetooth e-Boards are designed according the Bluetooth 2.0 specifications. A wireless connection will be set-up according the Bluetooth 2.0 specification which allows you to connect 7 DGT eBoards to a single Bluetooth COM port. Such COM port can be visible in Windows as an external Bluetooth dongle device connected to one of the USB ports or maybe your PC has already a build-in Bluetooth device which is not always visible within the Windows control panel. In some cases, especially when the distance between PC and e-Board exceeds 10 meters, the reliability of the Bluetooth communication cannot be guaranteed. A wireless Bluetooth transmission could be disturbed, or even fail, by wall or metal building construction, other Bluetooth devices or strong local Wi-Fi networks. If issues occur like loss of communication or if you are unable to set-up a Bluetooth connection, please do place the Bluetooth e-Board closer to the PC it is expected to connect to. Alternatively you can use the Bluetooth e-Board as a USB e-Board by connecting the USB cable that came with your e-Board to the LiveChess PC. In critical environments as described above we advise NOT to use the Bluetooth wireless connection and use the USB cable connection instead.
DGT E-BOARD VERSIONS DGT has released different e-Board versions for different user groups. All currently produced e-Board versions are supported by LiveChess version 2. Check previous above overview to make sure your e-Board is supported.
DGT SERIAL E-BOARD SETUP Serial e-Boards can be setup in a bus/star network with a maximum of 12 e-Boards per serial COM port of the LiveChess PC. The power adapter (included with the first tournament kit) supports up to 12 serial eBoards. Serial e-Boards are normally not used for home use but only for tournaments. Do note that the transmission between the serial e-Board string and the LiveChess computer is organized via a serial bus communication protocol. If you do not have a serial COM port on your computer and want to connect serial e-Boards, use only the DGT serial to USB converter supplied with your first tournament cable kit. Other brands of serial to USB converters may not work reliable. To play a tournament with a large number of e-Boards it is recommended to use only serial e-Boards. With serial e-Boards a distance of up to 100 meters between the last e-Board and the LiveChess computer can be reached. Note: Serial e-Boards can also be connected via the wireless DGT Caïssa solution which is described further in this manual. For a stable wireless solution on important tournaments we recommend to use the DGT Caïssa wireless system above the Bluetooth wireless sollution.
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In following picture you see the wiring lay-out between 8 serial e-Boards and the PC running LiveChess. Each serial e-Board has a board-to-bus cable which goes into a connection box. From the PC to the bus there is a PC-to-bus cable which also connects to a connection box. Between the connection boxes normal cat 5 or 6 UTP Ethernet network cables of various lengths can be used. The transmission between the eBoards and the LiveChess computer is executed by the DGT serial data protocol. Same time the power for the serial e-Boards is provided via this UTP cable string. Important: To avoid hardware failures DO NOT connect a DGT serial e-Board string to a normal LAN connection of your computer. If you do not have a serial port on your LiveChess pc, the serial e-Boards are connected via a PC-to-bus cable to a serial-to-USB convertor which allows you to use a USB COM port instead. A DGT qualified serialto-USB convertor is included in the tournament cable set delivered with the first connection cable kit. For every following 12 serial e-Board groups you need to create a new string. See below a wiring diagram of one string with 8 serial e-Boards connected to the LiveChess PC.
DGT USB E-BOARD SETUP You can also set-up a LiveChess tournament with USB e-Boards. USB e-Boards can be connected via a star network by using one or more active USB 4 or 8 port hubs. The hub used should be minimal a USB-2 hub version. Older hub versions are not supported by LiveChess. To connect USB e-Boards, see following picture:
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Do make sure that only active-powered and qualified hubs are used as the USB e-Boards are powered by the hubs. Verify that, with a maximum of 8 DGT e-Boards per hub, the total hub power is sufficient to feed all connected USB e-Boards. Each USB e-Board has an average power consumption of 60 mA. To avoid critical voltage or signal levels, the total length of each USB cable should not exceed 5 meters. A wired USB e-Board connection string can only reach, via 2 hubs, a maximum of 15 meter in total and only when a good quality of USB cables is used. We recommend, for 5 meter USB cables, only to use USB cables with copper core wiring.
DGT BLUETOOTH (BT) E-BOARD SETUP With the release of LiveChess version 2, Bluetooth e-Boards are now supported as well. Important: Please be aware that a BT connection is only stable within a range of 1 to 10 meters and may be limited by walls, furniture or strong local Wi-Fi networks. As such it is not possible to specify in this manual a maximum transmission distance. In the DGT lab we have built up secure and stable BT connections between 1 and 8 meters and with 4 BT e-Boards connected. In theory Windows should be able to handle 8 BT e-Boards per BT (dongle or internal) COM port device. Be aware that the maximum number of e-Boards may be limited by your hardware. Using BT range extenders or external BT antennas is at own risk and may not be supported by the BT connection you have set-up and may cause loss of the BT connection under LiveChess. When LiveChess is running on a Windows PC, it is important that all BT e-Boards required for the tournament are connected initially via the Windows control panel. If the Bluetooth connection is not setup in Windows, LiveChess will not be able to connect to these BT e-Boards. See for detailed Windows installation details the Bluetooth installation manual that came with your BT e-Board. Updated BT e-Board 10
manual versions can be downloaded from our website. Be aware that for LiveChess it is NOT required to install the Rabbit software as described in the second section of the BT installation manual. Setting up a BT e-Board connection in Windows as presented in following picture is primary before LiveChess is started:
Red bullet points: 1. This is the external Bluetooth dongle device. Internal Bluetooth dongles may not always be visible within this window. To set-up a Bluetooth connection a Bluetooth device (BT e-Board) is required. 2. Here the first BT e-Board with serial number 20616 has already a BT connection set-up. 3. The second BT e-Board with serial 21513 has already a BT connection set-up. If you have more BT eBoards that need connection, do make sure that a for all BT e-Board a Windows BT connection is in place before starting LiveChess. 4. A USB to serial converter device to connect a string of serial e-Boards. In this screen you can NOT see how many serial e-Boards are already connected. See the LiveChess ‘’e-Boards’’ screen how many serial e-Boards are currently found and connected. 5. A USB e-Board is detected. Multiple USB e-Boards can be connected via a powered hub and will be shown in this Windows screen as separate USB devices. 6. A USB e-Board is detected. In above set-up both USB e-Boards are wired via a powered hub. A reliable brand of hubs cannot be specified by DGT. We recommend to use A-brand hubs only. If a USB e-Board which is wired via a hub is not detected, please remove the hub and test a direct USB connection first. Note: DGT BT e-Boards can be connected via USB cables or via a wireless Bluetooth solution. When a wireless BT connection is set-up, do make sure that the BT e-Board internal battery is charged sufficiently 11
or the BT e-Board is powered via a USB cable via a power adapter connected to an AC wall outlet. Below is the schematic drawing of a 4 BT e-Board connection set-up:
DGT WIRELESS E-BOARD SETUP (DGT CAÏSSA SYSTEM) The DGT Caïssa System is a specially developed mid-range wireless system for reliable transmission of game data between serial e-Boards and LiveChess. For the technical details please read the separate Caïssa manual which is included in your LiveChess documentation kit. Of course you can always download the latest manual version from the support section on the DGT web site. Below is a schematic drawing of a 4 eBoard Caïssa connection set-up:
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5. DGT LIVECHESS SOFTWARE LiveChess is a tournament software package especially developed by DGT to manage the DGT e-Boards, games, players and broadcasting chess tournaments via the internet. It is the central command software for managing and administrating small and large chess tournaments. LiveChess makes it easy to setup a local wide screen and present the games currently playing to the audience. With LiveChess you can set-up fast live internet game broadcasting which can be used for a club tournament with only one e-Board or for large international chess tournaments with hundreds or e-Boards. LiveChess is a free to download software package designed for DGT e-Boards only. This LiveChess version runs on three OS platform versions: Windows, Mac OS and Linux. This manual will solely describe the installation and use of LiveChess on a Windows computer. Linux and Mac users will need to convert the instructions given for Windows to their environment. In general we can state that LiveChess runs identical on all three platforms however there are minor differences caused by the OS look and feel. LiveChess comes in a self-executing installation file which is available on the DGT software CD that came with your e-Board. It is also included in the LiveChess documentation set that came with a first cable set four tournaments or included with each Caïssa set. If you do not have a DGT e-Board yet, feel free to download the LiveChess software from the DGT website for free and play with it. LiveChess demonstration videos will be made available on our website and YouTube in due course.
LIVECHESS TOURNAMENT START-UP FOR BETA RELEASES Once you have installed the LiveChess software as described in the section ‘LiveChess installation’, there are three options to start the LiveChess application. 1. Go to the LiveChess directory and double click on the LiveChessxxx.jar file. (Do note that the XX.jar file name changes as it relates to the LiveChess version number). 2. Start LiveChess by double clicking the ‘’LiveChess’’ icon on your desktop. 3. Start LiveChess via the command line: Enter “java -jar livechess.jar” to start the main application. This picture shows the main LiveChess screen:
Red bullet points: 1. Current LiveChess version running. 2. Menu to quit LiveChess, add or remove tournaments.
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3. List of COM ports found that may have one e-Board (or serial string of e-Boards) connected. Select the COM ports you require for your tournament. For a first impression we advise to select all COM ports. 4. Displays a list of all e-Boards found. 5. Game data available in one of the connected e-Boards. When no game data is available, this option ‘Games’ will not be visible. After start-up LiveChess will automatically investigate which e-Boards are connected to the LiveChess PC. LiveChess determines the current position of all chess pieces which are placed on the connected e-Board. It will also read out the e-Board memory and as such the game data stored in the past in the memory of the connected e-Board.
PREPARING A TOURNAMENT This section describes step by step how to install the hardware and how to enter all tournament information like players, locations etc. before starting a tournament. The broadcast of already played games or live games to the in-house wide screens, the internet or your tournament website, will be explained in the section 6: Broadcasting Games. When you start a new tournament, the following basic steps need to be done. The hardware should be setup as described in one of the previously explained wiring schematics. Detailed explanation of the steps listed in below overview will be given in the sections hereafter. This is just a quick summary of the steps to be taken for setting up a tournament: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Connect all e-Boards and wiring required for the tournament to the LiveChess PC. Create one, or more, new tournament(s). Select all serial ports you need for your tournament within the ‘’Serial Port’’ screen. Select ‘’e-Board’’ and you will see all e-Boards that are found by LiveChess. Select in LiveChess the required e-Boards for this tournament. Normally select all e-Boards found. Make sure all E-pieces are placed on the selected e-Boards and are in the starting position. You can check this by moving the cursor over the Connection field. Make corrections on the position if needed or replace chess E-pieces that are not detected. 7. For the Chess960 option make sure the pieces are set according the agreed Chess960 position. Different e-Boards may have a different Chess960 position. Normally a tournament round has a same Chess960 position for all e-Boards. 8. Do note that only valid Chess960 starting positions, as specified in the FIDE laws of chess (Appendix F, article F.2) are recognized by LiveChess. 9. Select via the ‘File” menu ‘’New tournament’’. 10. Enter the tournament name and tournament details within the tournament TAB fields. 11. Enter the player data within the players TAB fields. 12. Enter the round TAB and the round number (The tournament TAB should include at least one round). 13. Enter the date when this round will be played. 14. Now select the players for this round by selecting previously entered players within the ‘’Add new pairing for’’ and “against’’ field located at the bottom of the ‘’Rounds’’ TAB. 14
15. Within the created pairing list, you can move (swap) the players from one e-Board (table) to another just by a drag and drop action with your mouse. Any adjustment can be made even when recording has started and you identify that a player is seated at another table than initially planned. 16. Select the ‘’e-Board’’ TAB and add the e-Boards scheduled for this round at the bottom of this ‘’eBoard’’ TAB. The active e-Boards and the clock details show up as soon as they are selected. 17. Check if all E-pieces and all clocks are set correctly. If needed make changes or corrections now. 18. On the ‘’Output’’ TAB’ you can define a path, or more, were to upload the game date to. The location can be a local directory, a network directory or even a (shared) Dropbox location. 19. Start the live registration of the e-Boards by starting the recording for each e-Board in the ‘’Rounds’’ TAB. A game does not need to be started yet. 20. Monitor the game by pressing ‘’recording’’ in the ‘’Rounds’’ TAB and, if needed, correct any moves. Normally manual move corrections by the operator are not required. 21. After a game is completed set the last move point and enter the game result. Players may start analyzing the finished game so be aware that the last move(s) recorded may NOT be the last move(s) of a game. Normally the game is finished when the clock was manually stopped. 22. During a running recording, monitor and manage the ‘’event’’ section which will identify possible user- or hardware events on one of the e-Boards. Once an event is corrected the event message will disappear as it does not require operator attention. In a next manual version we are planning to add a list of event messages that may show up. 23. Verify the local or internet broadcasting process of the games selected for publication and as described further in this manual. 24. Verify if the viewer option work on your local network. Mobile devices who have the latest OS installed and logged onto this local network are also able to watch the live games which are selected for viewing by the operator. Mobile devices are able to log on to this network and view as well. 25. In following sections we will explain each screen by a screen picture and a detailed explanation of the various buttons, options and text fields. Important: The majority of the entered and collected data is persistent, meaning that information you enter in the various information fields will be secured on your hard drive. If you quit LiveChess and restart it again, all information will be recovered from your hard drive or from the e-Boards connected. LiveChess has the ability to secure a stable tournament registration, even if part of the hardware fails during a live game. Recovery of game information and continuing the tournament is a strong feature of LiveChess. Even if an e-Board fails temporary the reconstruction software will be able to calculate the moves done during a breakdown period. Note that for restarting the live broadcast after a down period, some manual steps within the broadcast settings must be taken after a required LiveChess restart. Details will be explained in section 6.
MAIN E-BOARD SCREEN Below is a detailed description of the various screens which will help you to understand the LiveChess functions. LiveChess will automatically investigate which e-Boards are connected to the LiveChess PC. The next picture shows the main LiveChess screen and the e-Boards already connected and found. 15
Red bullet points: 1. ‘’e-Boards’’ selection BAR. 2. Select or deselect the e-Board(s) you want to ‘’remove’’ via the button in the below right corner. eBoard(s) that are in use for a recording (game) cannot be removed. 3. Presentation of the serial number and model of the connected e-Board. 4. Connection status of the e-Board. The options are: (connected) (disconnected) or (unstable connection). If the symbol is red or broken, there is something wrong with the hardware connection to that e-Board. 5. COM port number where the e-Board is connected to. If you have serial e-Boards in a string, all eBoards in that string will have the same COM port number (See COM 3 containing 2 serial eBoards). 6. Optional comment field for operator use. For example you can enter: ”main stage” or “gym room”. 7. Move the cursor over the Connection fields to see the actual board lay-outs. You can see here on a board window that e-Board 10010-SER shows empty locations. E-pieces are set-up according normal FIDE starting position. Please correct before continuing the preparation of a tournament.
SERIAL PORT MANAGEMENT SCREEN (COM PORTS) The serial COM ports can be managed via the ‘’Serial Ports’’ TAB. Select in the pulldown menu all ports if you are not sure which COM ports are connected to the e-Boards. If e-Boards are not visible, or if too many e-Boards are visible and not used, you need to check which COM port numbers are already found and if they should be selected or not. See the next picture ‘’Serial Port Management’’ which shows the actual status of the present COM ports and which COM ports are connected to an e-Board (In use). NOTE: Be aware that some COM ports may be connected to other non e-Board devices and should not be selected in such case. In Windows BT e-Boards will show up by 2 COM port numbers; One incoming and one outgoing port while only one COM port is actually used. Check the e-Boards screen which COM port is actually used for the BT connection in LiveChess. The second one can be disabled however it does not interfere LiveChess if it remains enabled. 16
Red bullet points: 1. ‘’Serial Port Management’’ screen. 2. COM ports found but not yet all selected. Selected COM ports are marked with a ‘V’. 3. The COM ports found as present. Note: A string of serial ports is displayed as one COM port but may have up to 12 serial e-Boards connected. Any Caïssa e-Board, USB e-Board or a Bluetooth e-Board will show up with a unique COM port number. Every USB- or Bluetooth e-Board uses one COM port. USB e-Boards connected to a hub will all be displayed with their own unique USB COM port. 4. Here you can define a default COM port selection, by switching ports, at program start to ON or OFF. For the LiveChess operator it is easier to manage when only the e-Board COM ports required for a tournament or round are selected. The selected ports can only be used for further processing. 5. The ‘’Status’’ field will show the connection information when active. For example, how many boards are connected via this COM port. (May change in future releases). 6. The ‘’Name’’ field can be used by the operator to give a name to the COM ports, for example “string1” or ‘’table 1 to 12’’. 7. The right bottom menu contains only active options if COM ports in the first column are selected. Here you can ‘’Enable’’, ‘’Disable’’ or ‘’Remove’’ serial ports. Important: in Windows based systems, serial ports are called COM ports. They are used to connect external devices. Do note that every USB- and Bluetooth e-Board will show up as a COM port with a by Windows assigned COM port number. A string of serial e-Boards will show-up as only one COM port number as they all use the same COM port number. In Mac OS based systems, the connection ports are called TTY devices. The TTY devices can be found in the /dev directory of your Mac system. On Unix based systems, the connection ports are also called TTY devices. The TTY devices can be found in the /dev directory of your Linux system.
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LiveChess will not burden you with these differences and only use the COM port expression within the LiveChess screens. For the readability of this manual we only use the description “COM port”.
If a COM port is NOT de-selected, the status of the related e-Board will be identified with a symbol. If you re-select a COM port, the related e-Board(s) will identified with a symbol and display the actual eBoard chess position and clock status. If a COM port is selected and it has detected an e-Board in the past which is no longer present, it will only show the e-Board serial number but no clock or e-Board position details. Please note that within the tournament details there is no direct ‘one-on-one’ relation between an e-Board and COM port number displayed within the LiveChess windows. Managing COM ports is only relevant at the initial set-up stage when the e-Board hardware connections are to be set-up. Within the tournament section in LiveChess we are able to find e-Boards via the assigned table number or the e-Board serial number. We advise to initially select all COM ports that are shown in the ‘’Serial ports’’ TAB. Once you are more familiar with the hardware set-up, feel free to disable any non-used COM ports. Important: If Bluetooth e-Boards are connected (first connect via the Windows device manger) you will see 2 COM ports per BT e-board: one incoming and one outgoing COM port. We advise to select both COM ports while in the e-Board overview you will only see one COM port. Also if other Bluetooth devices are connected to your computer, more COM ports will show up within the Serial port overview. At this low communication level which is controlled by the Windows OS, LiveChess is unable to detect and remove such irrelevant COM ports.
PREPARE A NEW TOURNAMENT Once all e-Boards, which are scheduled to be used for the tournament, are up and running, the tournament setting must be prepared. To add a new tournament, click on the ‘’New tournament’’ TAB in the upper left window under ‘’File’’. See picture:
Enter first of all the tournament details, like tournament name, location etc. See below the screen picture with some entered example data for a new tournament with the tournament name: test 1:
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Red bullet points: 1. Name of the tournament (required). Information from the entry fields will be stored after ‘return’ is pressed or when you select another entry field. 2. Active ‘’Tournament’’ TAB. 3. The description of the tournament (optional). 4. Location of the tournament like city, address, building (optional). 5. Country selection via official FIDE list (optional). 6. Laws of chess regulation reference (optional). 7. Starting position pull down selection (optional) To be extended in future software releases 8. Time control information (picture needs to be updated) 9. Number of rounds (A number higher than zero is required for setting up the tournament in a later stage.
ENTER PLAYER INFORMATION The next step is to enter the player names and round details for the tournament you are setting-up. Go to your tournament by selecting the tournament name and select the ‘’Players’’ TAB. LiveChess has a manual entry option. There is not yet an automatic import of players available. See here the screen and explanation of the various fields:
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Red bullet points: 1. Active ‘’Players’’ TAB. 2. List of players already entered. 3. Enter or modify the first name of the player, name sub and last name (required). 4. Select gender: ‘’male’’ or ‘’female’’(from pre-defined list, optional). 5. Enter rating according defined tournament regulations (optional). 6. Enter FIDE title (from pre-defined list, optional). 7. Enter FIDE federation (from pre-defined list, optional). 8. Enter FIDE id number (optional). 9. Add or remove a player. If a player was already paired for a game a warning message will pop-up. 10. Search field to search for already entered players. Add (+) or remove (-) a selected player. If you want to add a new player you first need to press the + button and overwrite the default player details (for example Player 1). 11. Entered players may not be playing all rounds and can be selected for a number of rounds. NOTE: After the players are added, or even when a round is started, you are still able to edit the player details in above fields at any time during the tournament. The tournament player information which is broadcasted will be adjusted instantly.
SET-UP ROUNDS AND TABLES The number of rounds is already defined earlier in the ‘’Tournament’’ TAB. If you have previously defined 3 rounds, it is only possible to select round 1, 2 or 3. You can only add more rounds by changing the tournament round details in the TAB ‘’ Tournament’’. See for round details the following picture:
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Red bullet points: 1. Select the round number were you want pair players with a table number. 2. Select the date when this round will be played (Calendar selection field is on the right side). 3. Select or unselect a game (Used to remove a paring, start or stop a game recording at the right bottom corner). 4. Table number (Linked to the e-Board serial number by the operator. See next screen). 5. Selected pairing (Two players entered and assigned to a table number). 6. Player selection fields for white and black (Required for searching and adding more players to pair). 7. Button to add the selected pairing of the two selected players. 8. Menu to remove a selected pairing, start or stop the recording of the selected pairing (game). Following picture shows the player details entered and the change options you have.
Red bullet points: 1. Select the game(s) or pairing(s) to be removed or recorded. If players are positioned at the wrong table you can just drag and drop them to another table resulting in a player swap. 21
2. 3. 4. 5.
This pull down menu is only activated when games are selected in the left column. Start the recording of the selected game(s). Stop the recording of the selected game(s). Remove the recording of the selected game(s). Please be aware that IF a recording is removed, the game data cannot be recovered anymore. 6. Remove the selected game(s). Removal is not possible when the selected games(s) are still being recorded. Important: Please select the ‘’e-Boards’’ TAB first to enter which e-Boards are assigned to which table. Details how to do this are described in the next section. If an e-Board is assigned, select the table number where a game will start soon and select “Start recording”. The selected game(s) will be recorded. The ‘’Game’’ status field will move from “no game” to “recording”. The selected game is now actually being recorded even when the game may not have begun yet. The recording should not be stopped until the arbiter determines a ‘’game end’’ and a result of the game is entered in LiveChess. The actual live status of the game (board) can be accessed by double clicking on “recording”. A second screen will open which includes the player details and a result field with predefined options. These screen details will be explained in a next section.
TABLE NUMBER VERSUS E -BOARD SERIAL NUMBER We now have defined the players of each game and assigned a table number to each game. We now are able to verify if the actual e-Board (serial number) is positioned at the correct table number. To manage this, open the e-Board overview by selecting the ‘’e-Boards’’ TAB. See below picture with explanations how to add e-Board(s) for a game. The table set-up may change per round however for a clear and logic understanding we suggest to use same e-Board / table match for each round. In the next section we will explain the simple ‘’king-e4’’ e-Board selection method.
Red bullet points: 1. Select the ‘’e-Boards’’ TAB. 2. The table numbers with a connected e-Board. 22
3. Serial number and model the e-Board on that table. If a serial number is not matching the table number, you can easily drag and drop a e-Board serial number in this screen to match the table numbers and e-Board serial numbers. There is no need to disconnect e-Boards and move them physically from one table to another. At this point it is important to know which e-Board serial number is placed on which table. 4. Status of the e-Board: (connected) (disconnected) or (unstable). 5. The actual time, status and lever position of the clock connected to this e-Board. 6. Status of the piece position. All pieces are in starting ‘BEGIN” position here. For a valid 960 position, the 960 position number will be displayed. Be aware that the positions for white and black side need to be identical. If not it will NOT show ‘’BEGIN’’ or ‘’BEGIN xxx were xxx stands for a valid 960 position. Note: If you move the cursor over the position field the actual e-Board layout will be visible. This way you can easily verify if pieces are missing or placed incorrectly. In above layout, three pawns are missing, not placed at the center of a square or defective. This results in not showing a legal starting position. A new game cannot be started now as there is no legal starting position on the e-Board. 7. Field to add more available e-Boards. This field is now empty as all e-Boards are assigned to a game. 8. The + button adds the selected e-Board. The - button removes the selected e-Board from the table list. 9. This button is used for the ‘’King-e4’’ selection method as described in the next section.
KING-E4 E-BOARD SELECTION METHOD If you have a tournament with a large quantity of e-Boards the ‘’King-e4 selection method’’ offers an easy feature to match e-Boards with table numbers. Just select the magnifier icon in the right bottom corner and a detection window will open. Now just take a king (DGT E-piece) and move with your king from table one to table last and place the king on e4 of each e-Board. If the e-Board is connected, as shown in the eBoards screen, a confirmation beep will be given by the LiveChess computer and the e-Board will be added to the screen list of ‘’Detect boards’’. Make sure that the sound function of your computer is activated and loud enough. You can also ask a colleague operator to monitor and confirm the e-Board(s) popping up at the ‘’Detect boards’’ screen while you walk around and activate them with a king. See below the explanation of both screens:
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Red bullet points: 1. The ‘’Detect boards’’ screen. 2. The table numbers according the path the operator activated them. You can change (swap) the table order in both screens by drag and drop an e-Board serial number. 3. All e-Board serial numbers and their model which have been detected by the king. 4. ‘’Remove’’ button which removes only the e-Board activated and marked (10593-USB). 5. The clock status connected to this serial e-Board. This clock is running as displayed by the symbol. 6. The clock status connected to this USB e-Board. This clock is stopped and the black flag has fallen. 7. Piece position of the e-Boards. All e-Boards are in the official chess starting positon: “BEGIN”. 8. Status of the e-Boards. All e-Boards are connected and responding.
START RECORDING GAMES Once above settings have been verified and confirmed as being correct, the LiveChess operator can start the recording of the games on the selected tables. The e-Board (table) is ready for the players to start their game. The ‘Game’’ field of the ‘’Rounds’’ TAB will now change from “no game” to “recording” See following picture. Press ‘’recording’’ to open the related e-Board screen. We have opened table 3 and 4 here:
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Red bullet points: 1. Monitoring round 2, with two games finished, two games recording and recording for two games not yet started indicating a game status: ‘’no game’’. 2. Game table 1 finished with the result: ½ - ½ (draw). 3. Two games playing (table 3 and 4). 4. Two games not yet recording (table 5 and 6). 5. Board (game) details of table 3. Waiting for the players to start. You can start recording and LiveChess will wait for any action from the e-Board. 6. Game details of table 4 where the game seems to be completed as the clock has stopped. Enter the ‘’Result’’ and ‘’Comment’’ field in LiveChess after confirmation of the arbiter. 7. The ‘’Result’’ field which has a pull-down selection with pre-defined options. 8. Current move displayed with the arrow on the open board window. 9. ‘’Events’’ field pops –up which may require operator intervention. Check this menu. 10. Clock status (stopped) which indicates a possible end game. 11. Navigation arrows to go through the recorded move list. The last move is selected as default. If you press “recording”, a screen with the position according the official chess rules is shown. The official LiveChess game registration is in sync with the position on this e-Board screen. However it may vary from the e-Board screen you see on the ‘’e-Boards’’ TAB. In a nutshell: The ‘’e-Boards’’ TAB shows ‘the actual position. The ‘’Round’’ TAB shows the legal game position. Illegal moves will not be accepted by LiveChess and not be registered in the game data and not be visible in the ‘’Round’’ TAB. You will only see them in the e-Board screen of the ‘’e-Boards’’ TAB.
MANUAL MANAGING AND CORRECTING GAMES LiveChess has an option to reconstruct any missing moves. These reconstructed moves will show up in black and correct any missing moves in a game. There is also an option to do manual moves. This is useful 25
for demonstration purposes or when a total fail down of an e-Board occurs. In such case you are still able to manually continue the game. Following picture shows the options. The manually played moves are projected in green.
Red bullet points: 1. The BEGIN position on the e-Board. 2. The current position. Note that the clock has NOT been started in this picture which will cause an event report. 3. The last manual move done for black. It is shown inversed on the move window. 4. Operator ticks for white his knight (f3) and now LiveChess shows the field options to move to. If you select one of the highlighted fields the move to that field will be executed and logged.
INDIVIDUAL GAMES The option ‘’Games’’ will normally not show up if you start LiveChess for the first time and not have been able to run games in an earlier tournament. This is a special LiveChess option in the main menu and we prefer to explain it now even when it interrupts the main information flow for managing a tournament. Within this ‘’Imported Games’’ menu it is possible to export games that have been recorded on one of the connected e-Boards earlier and before the tournament. The option is designed as a reliable game read-out program which replaces the old DGT PGN reader program: Queen. It does not require the whole tournament set-up. Just connect your e-Board and if it contains information of any previously played game, it will show these games which are stored in that e-Board memory. See the next picture which contains 3 recorded games on 2 different e-Boards:
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Red bullet points: 1. The ‘’Imported Games’’ TAB appears ONLY when new move information is found on any of the connected e-Boards. 2. Select here, via the tick box, the game(s) to manage / import. 3. Select here to remove the imported / or recorded selected games from that e-Board. Please be aware that once a game is removed it cannot be retrieved. 4. This game is selected for the action as defined via the right bottom menu. The exported games are written into a PGN format and can be used to analyze the games or import games into a chess program. Further details how to use and modify PGN games are beyond the scope of this manual. There are several third party chess programs to modify PGN’s or convert them to another format. If you want to export a game the location path were to store your games needs to be entered. Please make sure that the filename you create is logical for yourself as tournament manager but also for others. We suggest to create a filename which contains for example: tournament, player, date and round. It is also possible to export multiple games into one PGN file. For storage this might be handy however be aware that not all chess programs are able to break-up such combined PGN file into separate PGN files. Following screen appears if you select one game by pressing the action “manage”. Here you can navigate ’ through an imported game and see every move and position. The red bullets below explain the interesting details.
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Red bullet points: 1. Press “manage” to open the ‘’Manage game’’ screen. 2. Field with game details (select to open). 3. Player white details(select to open). 4. Player black details(select to open). 5. Move from a game and also listed in grey in the bottom move list. 6. Arrows left and right to ‘navigate ’ trough the game move information.
DGT E-BOARD MEMORY DGT e-Boards have an internal memory to store the moves which prevents them from being lost when the e-Board power, temporary, is lost. At startup LiveChess reads the e-Board memory and compares this CR information with game data of the active game on that e-Board and within the tournament. It allows LiveChess to reconstruct an active game and secures a correct recording of active LiveChess games. With the use of this e-Board memory the data recovery is secured as long as the e-Boards are under power. If, during a game, you encounter a computer failure and you need to quit LiveChess for some time, no new moves on the e-Board are lost unless you remove the power from the e-Boards as well. The eBoard however will keep the game memory even without power, however no new game information (moves) will be stored when the e-Board power is down. If a total power failure occurs on the e-Board the tournament can be resumed after the power is up again. If there are no moves played during the power down time the tournament can normally be resumed without game data loss. If moves are done during the power down period LiveChess has a reconstruction mechanism and is able to reconstruct the ‘missing’ moves however not detected by the e-Board and as such not logged into the e-Board memory. To prevent any failure due to power loss, a preferred option would be to use an uninterruptable power supply unit (UPS) for all devices (PC and DGT e-Boards). 28
MARKING THE END OF A GAME If a game has ended and players agree on the result, the clock should be stopped by one of the players or the arbiter. LiveChess will detect this action and notify the operator to stop the recording. The tournament operator enters the result and, if needed, add a comment and will stop recording. This is the correct process to end a game and to close a game recording in LiveChess. In a number of cases, players start to analyze the game before the clock was stopped. At that point the arbiter will decide if and when a game was finished. See following picture for clarification:
Red bullet points: 1. Recording of all played legal moves. Green moves are manual moves, black moves are played moves. 2. Castling king side. Written in log as 0-0 3. Here you can navigate through the moves. 4. Select the last move of a game (to set a game end). 5. Set the last move were the clock was stopped (normal end game procedure). 6. Clear last moves of game (to actually remove moves from a recording which are played after game has ended). 7. Cancel any move correction (Removed moves from previous steps cannot be recovered).
CREATING TOURNAMENT CATEGORIES Sometimes there are tournaments with several groups called categories. LiveChess is able to manage multiple tournaments with their own group of e-Boards. To add a tournament, just prepare a second new tournament as described for the single tournament. In the left screen section a second tournament will show up which can be set-up with its own set of e-Boards or use the same e-Boards. Operating LiveChess for this new tournament is similar as described for the first tournament. Be aware not to use the same eBoards for rounds that are played the same time. For a new tournament player information needs to be added again. 29
LiveChess has no limitation on the number of tournaments, round, players of e-Boards that you can add. The only restrictions are technical and depend on the computer memory and the available free USB ports.
6. BROADCASTING GAMES Broadcasting your games live to the internet is one of the great features of LiveChess and important for most chess tournaments managed by LiveChess. LiveChess has a local viewer option which is already prepared within the software. No additional settings are required. Just read below section ‘’‘LIVECHESS LOCAL VIEWER BROADCAST”. LiveChess has a new option to broadcast chess games live to the internet via the easy to use cloud service offered by DGT. The older broadcast version based on an FTP server does no longer work as it has severe limitations on data transfer and viewing capacity. The most effective broadcasting option is by using the DGT cloud service which will be described further in this section. Alternatively you can set-up your own webserver and process the game data from the export folder as explained in section 2. This export folder will contain files in following formats: HTML, css, javascript , PGN and e-PGN. We will now describe how to create one or more export folder locations required for the cloud service and the webserver broadcasting.
CREATE GAME DATA EXPORT FOLDER(S) Besides managing a tournament and the DGT e-boards, LiveChess has a great feature to share game data with other programs, websites or even a cloud service. The transfer to the local screens is done instantly and moves will be displayed almost immediately when executed. For local broadcast, LiveChess has allocated storage space within the LiveChess data folders. There is no need to define extra folders if only local broadcasting will be used. Note: Do realize that a wireless connection, like used by the Caïssa system or a Bluetooth connection, may cause slight delay. For distribution to other locations, an export path or paths need to be set-up first. See following picture:
Red bullet points: 1. Select the ‘’Export’’ TAB. 30
2. Add a new path or remove an existing path by selecting options via the right below corner arrow. ‘’manage’’ a path to change options or directory details. 3. Select already defined paths for removal or modification. 4. Not in this version. 5. Directory path to define. You can browse on your local drive or network. 6. Select if you want to use a standard PGN or a e-PGN (extended with clock times and lever detections) 7. Confirm and update the export path(s) you just modified / created. Once you have created export locations you can allow third party programs or webserver applications to read this game data from these folders for further distribution. Do realize that these programs require read access to the export folders created.
DGT CLOUD SERVICE A serious improvement in LiveChess is the optional cloud service. This service makes live broadcasting of your chess tournament games or single games played at home, easier than ever. A private webserver to host your live broadcasting is no longer needed. DGT offers a cloud option to host live broadcasting of games. Completed games will be saved on the DGT cloud server and remain available for up to 2 weeks. The number of viewers is limited but for club use this cloud service will definitely save preparation time and server resources. The cloud services are not yet operational in the current BETA but will be released in the final version of LiveChess version 2. This, tournament, cloud service will be offered free of charge to support small (club)tournaments. It is very easy to set-up if you want to share your home played or club organized games. This service is free to use for a limited number (?) of e-Boards. Large tournaments can access via a licensed portal and use this service as well without player, e-Board or storage limitation. Detailed explanation will follow in the final LiveChess manual version.
LIVECHESS INTERNET BROADCAST Introduction and an example how to set-up the web connection and how to transfer the game data from the earlier defined export folder will be explained here in a next manual version.
LIVECHESS LOCAL VIEWER BROADCAST In the local play hall environment with audience, there is normally a requirement to display the games on a beamer or large LCD screens. LiveChess has a local network web browser based viewer which allows you to show the games that are selected for local broadcast. The LiveChess viewer can now show the games that are playing or games that have been completed. The LiveChess operator decides which games are displayed on the various screens. To secure a stable transmission and to secure access to the LiveChess data DGT defined below the minimum browser requirements. If you do not have one of these listed browsers the LiveChess viewer function will not work correctly. Do make sure you only use below listed versions of one of these browsers. Other browser versions are not supported by the LiveChess viewer software. 31
• • • •
IE 12 / Microsoft Edge browser. Chrome 25 or higher. Firefox 31 or higher. Safari 8 or higher.
To test this function you can use it on the LiveChess computer where you manage the registration of the eBoards and games. This means however that you are not always able to manage the registration as the same screen may be used for ‘’full screen’’ viewing purposes. A much better solution will be to view games via a web browser on a different computer which must be connected to a same local area network (LAN). This can be via a wired connection or a wireless Wi-Fi connection. Using more computers or mobile devices for viewing via Wi-Fi within the local network is also possible in LiveChess. Logon to the network and start the browser as described below. Just select the games of your choice in the main screen that you want to see. Be aware that the e-Board viewing option must of course be authorized and released by the tournament operator first. Some games may be blocked due to contractual obligations of the tournament organization. Remark: There may be local firewall restrictions within the local network. Please check network security with your network operator when connection issues or viewing issues are causing any issues. To start this viewing function you need first to identify the IP address of the main LiveChess computer running the LiveChess tournament software. Your IT team should be able to give you that information. In Windows you can find it yourself by opening the ‘’Command Prompt’’ screen. A black window with a Windows notification text will appear. Now enter: ‘’ipconfig”. A list of parameters will be displayed from which the first IP address called ‘’IPv4 Address’’ is the IP address of your computer. For example the IP address is: 10.0.0.150 Now open on your viewing device (computer, mobile device) and which is already connected and logged onto the local network via one of the browsers listed earlier. Enter in the browser line: http://“IP address LC PC”:1982. In our example it will be written as: http://10.0.0.150:1982 . The LiveChess local viewer channel will now open and following screen will pop-up:
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Red bullet points: 1. Webpage identification (may vary per network set-up). 2. The window shows that you are now connected to the local LiveChess viewer page and a LiveChess program is actively running on that network. If there is no LiveChess program active you will NOT see such screen. If you select the text square you will access the next page with available tournament games which are released for local viewing This web page allows you to select the round you are interested in and the game(s) from that selected round. Note that the screen may show an active playing game or a game which is already finished. See:
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Red bullet points: (Note: Broadcast options may be limited by the LiveChess operator) 1. Select which round you prefer to view. 2. Select or deselect the game you want to view (follow). 3. The numbers of the tables being played on. 4. The player pairing details of the game(s) you selected. 5. The final result if a game was already finished. 6. Check if you have selected the games you prefer and press “close” to enjoy viewing the game(s). Following picture will show an example of the four games you have selected for locale viewing:
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Red bullet points: 1. Tournament name. 2. Tournament table number. 3. Most recent played moves. 4. Result for this game already set to ½ - ½ (draw).
7. TROUBLESHOOTING The various issues causing LiveChess not to function as expected can have different reasons. Below is a list of issues with options to troubleshoot and solve them. DGT realizes that this list is not complete however it already contains a helpful list of known and regular causes:
GHOST PIECES These are pieces that popup at some location on the e-Board where no physical pieces are actually placed. Sometimes in the LiveChess screen pieces flash on and off or different pieces show up at the same field. These so called ‘’ghost pieces’’ are often caused by an electromagnetic field which is produced by an electrical device like a LCD - or plasma screen, computers, loudspeakers, LED lights or other magnetic sources jamming the e-Board piece detection. Switching off such interference source which is located in close range to the e-Board may solve the “ghost piece” issue. Another possible cause is the metal construction in or under the table on which the e-Board is placed. Metal parts in tables influences and sometimes disturbs also the electromagnetic fields used by the e-Board and resulting to show “ghost pieces”. 35
MISSING SERIAL E-BOARDS If LiveChess is unable to ‘see’ all or some of the e-Boards in a wired setup, there can be several causes. The main cause is that the serial connection with the computer has been disconnected or broken. This is normally caused by a faulty cable, connection box or just a cable not properly connected. Sometimes a faulty e-Board is the root cause. Another cause could be a faulty, or not connected, power supply which results in missing one or all serial e-Boards from a chain. Please take the following steps to resolve these issues: a. Check the power supply (1000 mA version, for a maximum of twelve e-Boards). b. Is it plugged into a AC power inlet and the 12 Volt connector into the PC-to-bus cable? c. Is the PC-to-bus cable connected to the computer? (Connected via a USB to serial converter) d. If no e-Boards are ‘seen’ disconnect all except the 1st e-Board and check if this connects properly. e. If it still does not work, change one by one the cable, connection box and the board-to-bus cable to resolve the issue. f. If all was replaced and the problem still persists, replace the 1st e-Board. g. Now add the next e-Board and check this the same way as the first e-Board. h. Extend your chain: e-Board by e-Board until all e-Boards are connected and are working properly.
LONG SERIAL CONNECTIONS (CABLES) The maximum length of the serial line from computer to the last e-Board in the chain is 100 meter maximum. However this cannot always be reached. The quality of long UTP cables, connection boxes and DGT e-Boards on the used power adapter could have the effect that, due to low power levels, there are still serial e-Boards not working correctly. This can be resolved by adding a second power supply at the end of the chain. To do this you do need an extra PC-to-bus cable and an extra power adapter.
POWER LOSS Unfortunately an unpredicted power loss in the middle of a tournament cannot be prevented. If it is only the computer that lost power, or just crashed, this is a problem that can easily be resolved. Just restart the computer, restart LiveChess, check the e-Board connections in LiveChess and resume the game recording from all active games. Any gaps in data will be recovered by the LiveChess reconstruction software. All moves are still registered inside the e-Boards as long as they are powered by the connected adapter during the whole game. However if an e-Board loses power, you need to restore the power to that e-Board. For short power interruptions, LiveChess is able to reconstruct missing moves. If players have played moves during this power down period, the LiveChess reconstruction software will add these lost moves. LiveChess is capable of reconstructing moves during power loss, however DGT strongly advises tournament operators to use an uninterruptable power supply for powering the e-Boards and the LiveChess computer. Please seriously consider this investment when reliable game information is crucial.
USB CONNECTION ISSUES When USB e-Boards are used, cable length is limited to 5 meters between an USB e-Board and a hub and the total length should not exceed 15 meters. Only a good quality of long cable should be used. More details will be added later on. 36
BLUETOOTH CONNECTION ISSUES Details will be added later on.
CAÏSSA CONNECTION ISSUES Details will be added later on. GAME DATA FILE ISSUES
The game data records are extracted as raw data which is called the PCR(Persistent Chronological Record). This raw date is used to generate PGN, files, e-PGN files, move and clock information. Also PCR records are used to reconstruct games when moves are lost by player errors, detection errors or network failures. In some cases manual intervention, move correction, is required which will not change the PCR however will make the necessary corrections to the displayed game and to the final (e)-PGN file created by LiveChess. PGN files are being created by LiveChess according the official English PGN and Extensions standard. Besides these PGN’s an additional e-PGN is created by LiveChess which contains the clock times recorded when a move is done or when the lever is pressed. Such data is also logged by LiveChess and can be used for arbitral decisions when incidents occur which require an arbiter decision. It is a known issue that Chessbase and other databases or computer chess programs automatically filter out this extra information when a file with e-PGN format is imported into the program. For your convenience LiveChess allows you to select and transmit a PGN file or a e-PGN file. The e-PGN file notation developed by DGT is expected to be the new standard for electronic chess game registration. In some programs there is already an option to import the clock information as available in a e-PGN file. Such programs will accept the e-PGN format while others only accept an official PGN format. Please take this into account when you log your games. The saves method is to store e-PGN AND PGN files on different locations. LiveChess offers such flexibility to export game data files.
8. DISCLAIMER We have spared no efforts to make sure that the information in this manual is correct and complete. However there shall be no liability for any errors or omissions. Digital Game Technology reserves the right to change the contents of this manual, the specifications of the hardware and the software version as described in this manual without prior notice. No part of this manual may be reproduced, transmitted or translated in any language in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of Digital Game Technology. If you have suggestions to improve the contents of the manual, the software or if you encounter any errors in this manual or LiveChess then we encourage you to send your feedback to:
[email protected]. It will allow us to further improve LiveChess and the applicable documentation. Now: Enjoy Chess!
9. APPENDICES T.B.D in a next manual version. =============================================================== 37
