Chesster

Purpose

The purpose of the project is to build a physical alternative to online chess programs such as chess com. This provides a fun and unique experience to chess players that cannot be experienced on a computer. While playing, Chesster assists players by using AI to predict the next-best move, and lighting up the respective square. This square will flash green light until a chesspiece is moved on top; if the player moves the piece to a different position, the square will flash red until this error is fixed.

About The Design

Software: The Game

• We pulled a pre-coded chess engine from online and adjusted its functions so it would light up the LEDs to display moves
• Utilized a recursive minimax algorithm that worked for the arduino
• Utilized alpha-beta pruning method to “cut” moves in which better possible moves have already been found
• The board evaluates scores with a heuristic that checks the Most-Valuable-Victim/ Least-Valuable-Aggressor scoring system

Electrical: Below the Board

• Used the Arduino Mega to store our chess engine
• Reed sensors below the board sense the magnets underneath chesspieces and send the signal to the multiplexers
• Multiple multiplexers connect the sensors to the arduino, allowing signals to be passed back and forth in order to make the LED display light up

Mechanical: The Chessboard

• Chesster's plywood 'board' is a 89.5cm x 60cm x 9cm box-like structure
• The painted, checkered top sheet of wood is the chessboard itself
• Underneath this top, there lies a grid of 4-sided cubicles, each one corresponding to a square on the chessboard
• These cubicles hold the electrical and software components of Chesster
• The chesspieces were purchased from an online retailer and were modified with magnets