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Using OpenCV to film a chessboard and convert it to a position in lichess?

#1

Hi,

I had an idea a few years ago to a) use NLP methods to play chess with only voice prompts. I see that is already in development which is fantastic, but my other idea was this:

Use Computer Vision technology to convert a photo of a chessboard to a valid position onto lichess.

This could be used in tournaments to check for illegal moves (which is very annoying when it happens during time trouble), and to not have to stop and write down each move.

I remember the first tournament I went to, after only having learnt chess online, it was extremely nerve wracking to have to get used to slamming the clock after each move and write down moves like Bxb5+ when I didn't know the squares or notation very well. The idea immediately came to me, surely if we can get a computer to keep track of the moves then players can focus on the actual chess?

By the way, why do top GM's in classical chess still write down moves manually? Surely because it's being filmed and captured onto software (the commentators have an equivalent digital board), they don't need to write down every move with a pen? Feels very archaic to me.

Hi, I had an idea a few years ago to a) use NLP methods to play chess with only voice prompts. I see that is already in development which is fantastic, but my other idea was this: Use Computer Vision technology to convert a photo of a chessboard to a valid position onto lichess. This could be used in tournaments to check for illegal moves (which is very annoying when it happens during time trouble), and to not have to stop and write down each move. I remember the first tournament I went to, after only having learnt chess online, it was extremely nerve wracking to have to get used to slamming the clock after each move and write down moves like Bxb5+ when I didn't know the squares or notation very well. The idea immediately came to me, surely if we can get a computer to keep track of the moves then players can focus on the actual chess? By the way, why do top GM's in classical chess still write down moves manually? Surely because it's being filmed and captured onto software (the commentators have an equivalent digital board), they don't need to write down every move with a pen? Feels very archaic to me.
#2

Right, so my actual question is, is there already software that does this or is under development? Please link to GitHub or the page if it already exists.

Right, so my actual question is, is there already software that does this or is under development? Please link to GitHub or the page if it already exists.
#3

@ellehooq said in #1:

Hi,

I had an idea a few years ago to a) use NLP methods to play chess with only voice prompts. I see that is already in development which is fantastic, but my other idea was this:

Use Computer Vision technology to convert a photo of a chessboard to a valid position onto lichess.

This could be used in tournaments to check for illegal moves (which is very annoying when it happens during time trouble), and to not have to stop and write down each move.

I remember the first tournament I went to, after only having learnt chess online, it was extremely nerve wracking to have to get used to slamming the clock after each move and write down moves like Bxb5+ when I didn't know the squares or notation very well. The idea immediately came to me, surely if we can get a computer to keep track of the moves then players can focus on the actual chess?

The players would still have to write down the moves, because the software would not be perfect. Writing moves is required in case of a conflict, but even if video were recorded of all the games, most players would still probably want to write down the moves so they have a copy of the game, which would put them at a disadvantage against players not writing down moves if it weren't required.

Writing down moves isn't a big deal, if it stops you from focusing on the game, maybe you should just practice your notation more.

By the way, why do top GM's in classical chess still write down moves manually? Surely because it's being filmed and captured onto software (the commentators have an equivalent digital board), they don't need to write down every move with a pen? Feels very archaic to me.

Yes, they are required to write down moves too. The digital boards fail (actually quite often), so it's important for the players to keep a written copy of the game, especially in case of conflict.

@ellehooq said in #1: > Hi, > > I had an idea a few years ago to a) use NLP methods to play chess with only voice prompts. I see that is already in development which is fantastic, but my other idea was this: > > Use Computer Vision technology to convert a photo of a chessboard to a valid position onto lichess. > > This could be used in tournaments to check for illegal moves (which is very annoying when it happens during time trouble), and to not have to stop and write down each move. > > I remember the first tournament I went to, after only having learnt chess online, it was extremely nerve wracking to have to get used to slamming the clock after each move and write down moves like Bxb5+ when I didn't know the squares or notation very well. The idea immediately came to me, surely if we can get a computer to keep track of the moves then players can focus on the actual chess? The players would still have to write down the moves, because the software would not be perfect. Writing moves is required in case of a conflict, but even if video were recorded of all the games, most players would still probably want to write down the moves so they have a copy of the game, which would put them at a disadvantage against players not writing down moves if it weren't required. Writing down moves isn't a big deal, if it stops you from focusing on the game, maybe you should just practice your notation more. > By the way, why do top GM's in classical chess still write down moves manually? Surely because it's being filmed and captured onto software (the commentators have an equivalent digital board), they don't need to write down every move with a pen? Feels very archaic to me. Yes, they are required to write down moves too. The digital boards fail (actually quite often), so it's important for the players to keep a written copy of the game, especially in case of conflict.

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