Java Chess

Computerized chess has been a problem I have been interested in for a long time. So, for my final project in CS486 (Introduction to Artificial Intelligence) I decided to implement a computer chess "AI". I can't take all the credit for the chess game though. My group members Wil Chan, Cherith Tse and Michael Brown helped me code, test and document the game. After the assignment deadline had passed, I implemented some missing chess rules that we previously omitted, and I added a GUI to the chess game. (Originally the game had a CLI.)

Features:

• Alpha-Beta Search Algorithm
• Configurable Search Depth
• Configurable Evaluation Functions
• The game can produce reports of how much work the AI performs.
• Java Swing GUI
• "Programmer Art" courtesy of me :-)

Even though I know exactly how the game works, I find it very hard to beat. In fact, the game is normally able to beat me even when the AI is only looking a few moves ahead. Initially, I thought the game would be easy to beat. The AI looks almost idiotic at the beginning of the game, because it doesn't have a collection of opening book moves. However, as soon as it reaches mid game it is able to play admirably. I am certain a chess expert would easily defeat the AI, however for a amateur player like myself, it is a difficult opponent.