Troubleshooting



Bot unable to recognize chessboards / Bot doesn't work properly / Program doesn't work at all.

First of all -
add program to the whitelist of your antivirus and firewall
. Secondly, unzip the entire folder with the program to the desktop. Do not run program directly from the archive.


Follow these setup guide: detailed setup manual.

And here is the short version of it. Please follow these steps:

1. Make sure that board and pieces look like shown on screenshots: http://chess-bot.com/websites/SupportedWebsites.html
    a) use exactly these settings for chess.com
    b) use exactly these settings for lichess.org
    c) use exactly these settings for chess24.com

2. Use
Chrome
browser only. ChessBotX will not work with other browsers properly.
3. Make sure that your display configuration is default: how to check it?
4. Make sure that your
browser's zoom (scaling) is set to default (100%)
on the page with the game: how to check it?
5. On Windows - right click on desktop -> Display settings ->
set the size of text, apps and other items back to 100%
. Restart Windows after that. See screenshot.

6. Turn OFF "Windows HD Color" option (on the newest versions of Windows 10).
7. Hide bookmarks panel on Google Chrome, if it is visible (press Ctrl+Shift+B).
8. Please try to
change the size of the chessboard significantly
(try different sizes). It is often helps for chess.com and lichess.org.
9. If you have 2 monitors, please try to use bot on another screen or turn off one of the displays at all (restart PC after that).

10. If nothing helps, please contact support and
send screenshots
of the chessboard (whole screen is preferred) in PNG or BMP format. Please see step №7 here on how to make a good screenshot.

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I can't register the program. HTTP error.

Please carefully follow these instructions: https://chess-bot.com/how-to-register-chessbot.html

Also, follow these recommendations:

First of all, make sure to unzip the entire folder to the desktop. Do not run program directly from the archive. It is strongly recommended to run program as administrator.

Secondly, please make sure that your antivirus / firewall / provider / other software is not blocking the program and the chess engine. Add program / chess engine to the whitelist. Also add 2 websites: chess-bot.com and chess-advisor.com to the whitelist of your antivirus and firewall.

Please make sure that nothing is blocking the program or licensing server (chess-advisor.com). It is strongly recommended to add both the program (ChessBot.exe) and licensing server to the whitelist of your antivirus and firewall, even if you disabled antivirus / firewall entirely.

Also, please check your internet connection. Especially connection to the licensing server (chess-advisor.com). Make sure that website opens fast and correctly. You can also try to ping chess-advisor.com to test your connection speed: https://www.howtogeek.com/355664/how-to-use-ping-to-test-your-network/
The good result is below 200 ms.


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Chess bot doesn't work properly on chess.com

1. Use exactly these settings for chess.com: https://chess-bot.com/blog/how-to-use-bot-at-chesscom.html
2. When using bot against a computer at chess.com, please try to use "Challenge mode" (without any additional tools on the screen).
3. Try to disable "Smart board recognition". For that - go to "Advanced" tab -> press "System settings" button at the bottom -> turn off the first checkbox -> press OK.
4. Try to change the size of the chessboard significantly. For that - place cursor near the top-right or bottom-right corner of the chessboard. The resize button should appear. Change the size (usually it is better to make the board smaller, but try different sizes). And try to start the chessbot again.
5. Follow these steps. If nothing helps, then send us screenshots (step №7).

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Error 193: %1 is not a valid Win32 application.


Please try to create folder on disk C:\ (name of the folder must be in english, it is important - something like this
C:\Engine\
), put stockfish_32.exe into this folder and load it with the chessbot.

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Error %% is not a valid integer value. / Error %% is not a valid floating point value.

Please try to change the decimal separator (from dot to comma or vice versa) using this instruction: https://resrequest.helpspot.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=279


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Bot makes / shows first move only and stops.


Maybe you have "Play by key" feature enabled.  "Play by key" feature allows bot to play automatically, but it will make each move only after you pressing the key on keyboard (button
"9"
by default).

At chess.com and lichess.org, please also try to change size of the chessboard. It also may help to solve the problem.

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Chess bot suggests very strange moves in Advisor mode.


1. Disable animations at website settings.
2. Change the size of the chessboard. Try different sizes. It is often helps to solve issues at chess.com and lichess.org
3. Try to increase "Engine depth" parameter. Higher the depth = stronger the bot = slower the moves.
4. Try to use the default chess engine. Stockfish is the recommended engine to use with the ChessBot.

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Program stop responding sometimes.


1. Try to download a fresh copy of the bot and use it with the default settings and the default chess engine.
2. Try to lower engine depth / calculation time.
3. Try to use another opening book. If book is too big, then it will take a lot of time to load it into the memory.
4. Do not set the "Hash size" parameter too high. Hash=128 is enough for bullet, 256 - for blitz.
5. Please make sure to press Alt+X (by default) after end of every game to unload engine from the memory.
6. Make sure that your antivirus / firewall / provider / other software is not blocking the program (ChessBot.exe) and licensing server (www.chess-advisor.com). Add both ChessBot.exe and www.chess-advisor.com website to the whitelist of your antivirus / firewall.

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Advisor mode doesn't work at the new Lichess v2 interface.


First of all, please make sure to use ChessBotX 1.5.1 or higher.

Secondly, try to resize board. Usually - standard 85% size is fine. However, if it doesn't work with this size, try to use 84% size or 100%. You can also try other sizes. After resize, press
Ctrl+Alt+G
, red grid should appear on the screen. Make sure that grid is completely fit to the chess board. If it doesn't fit, try another size of the board.

You can also try to change screen resolution: 1366x768, 1440x900, 1600x900, 1920x1080 are recommended.

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Bot is very slow. I've lost on time in automatic mode. Advisor show suggestions with a big delay.

1. Try to disable the "Simulate human moves" option.
2. Try to lower "Engine depth" or calculation time on the "Main" tab. Higher the depth / time = stronger the bot = slower the moves. And vice versa.
3. Try to use the "Play by depth" method for small time controls (like ultrabullet). Static depth will work faster.
4. Try to turn off the "Permanent brain" option, if you're using the "play by time" method for small time controls.
5. Use "battle mode" or minimize the program during the game - this will make bot a little bit faster.
6. Try to lower click and recognition delays. If bot became unstable revert values to initial state.
7. Use good big opening book and endgame tablebases. See this article.
8. Make sure to turn off moves animation at website settings. 
9. Try to change screen resolution. Recommended: 1366x768, 1440x900, 1600x900, 1920x1080. Bot will be faster on a smaller screen.
10. Try to disable Windows Aero or any other heavy graphic effects.
11. At lichess.org and chess.com - try to lower the size of the chessboard. ChessBot will be faster on a smaller board (however, if chessboard will be too small, program can become unstable).
12. Use fast chess engine. Try Brainfish engine with the Cerebellum opening book, for example.
13. If you have modern CPU, try to use bmi2 / avx / popcnt / other special versions of the engine. It will calculate moves faster.
14. Set Threads parameter as <Number_of_cpu_cores> - 1. Leave one core for the bot and it will recognize positions and make moves faster.


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Bot is not solving puzzles at chess.com / lichess.org

Please use the "Continue from position" mode for solving puzzles.

By default,

press CTRL+Q to play position as white
press CTRL+W to play position as black
press ALT+X to stop the bot

You need to press Ctrl+Q or Ctrl+W every time the new position appears on the screen.
You can change hotkeys at the "Advanced" tab.

If you're referring to the youtube video, where the bot plays Puzzle Rush in fully automatic mode, please note that it was a special (custom) version of the program. It is not available for public.

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