Java Chess Engine

A fully functional chess application written in Java. This project features a graphical user interface (GUI) built with Java Swing, a comprehensive chess rules engine, and a Minimax-based AI opponent.

Features

• Graphical User Interface: A clean, interactive chess board built using Java Swing (ui.ChessUI). Features include moving pieces via drag-and-drop or click-to-move, and a move history panel.
• Chess Rules Engine: Complete implementation of chess rules including valid piece movements, checkmate, stalemate, and special moves like castling and en passant (logic.MoveGenerator).
• AI Opponent: Play against the computer! The engine includes an AI bot using the Minimax algorithm (bot.Minimax).
• Move History: Tracks and displays game moves using standard algebraic notation (logic.MoveHistory, logic.ChessNotation).
• Object-Oriented Design: Cleanly separated architecture:
  • model: Data structures representing the Board, Piece, and Move.
  • logic: Core game mechanics, move generation, and state management (GameManager).
  • bot: AI logic.
  • ui: The graphical presentation layer.

Project Structure

chessBot/
├── Main.java              # Application entry point
├── bot/                   # AI logic (Minimax algorithm)
│   ├── Bot.java
│   └── Minimax.java
├── logic/                 # Game rules and state management
│   ├── ChessNotation.java
│   ├── GameManager.java
│   ├── MoveGenerator.java
│   └── MoveHistory.java
├── model/                 # Chess data models
│   ├── Board.java
│   ├── Move.java
│   └── Piece.java
└── ui/                    # Graphical user interface
    └── ChessUI.java

Running the Game

Prerequisites

• Java Development Kit (JDK) 8 or higher.

Compilation & Execution

1. Navigate to the chessBot project root directory.
2. Compile the Java files:

   javac Main.java bot/*.java logic/*.java model/*.java ui/*.java

3. Run the application:

   java Main

Development History

This project has been developed iteratively, starting from basic move validation and progressing towards a fully playable game with high-quality Unicode chess symbols, robust checkmate/stalemate detection, and a functional API/bot integration.