want freeware gui with separate analysis window(s)

[zug234zwang]

I am looking for a linux compatible chess freeware whose gui allows creating a 2nd variations window, similar to what the old Windows software called Chessbd provided (see image below). I would also like the gui to include an engine or allow connection to a separate engine (e.g. stockfish). Does anyone know of such a chess gui?

[hgm]

I am not ure what you want this variantion window to do, and what you expect to happen to it when youdo a move in the main window. Is this for editing a game, or merely for stepping through an existing PGN with recursive variations?

And what would be the differene with simply opening the game in two instances of the same GUI, and then use the second to step through the various variations, while leaving the first at the position where the variation branched off?

[zug234zwang]

Mostly, this is for manually stepping through an existing PGN (or PGN from a book), where I consider recursive variations, hopefully having an engine analyze as I step through. However, I would like to be able to record my work, so I would like to be able to save the analysis. A typical use would be when I am manually stepping through the solution of an endgame study from a book, and I try various alternatives to cook the solution, perhaps adding a comment at the end of the alternative variation.

"What would be the difference with simply opening the game in two instances of the same GUI...?" Good question; I actually didn't think of that. However, it is still preferable to have the mainline PGN together with all of the variations' PGN in the same gui. That way as I am scrolling through the mainline PGN, I can either scroll through a variation in the main gui, or have the main gui open a separate gui (automatically at the corresponding point), and step through the alternative variation in the "sub-window".

[Ovyron]

Even for commercial GUIs when I want to do something like that the best solution I've found is opening several instances of the GUI (I have 3 Shredder Classics opened right now.) When software doesn't allow multiple instances like Chess Openings Wizard I've had to copy the entire file so I can open it with several boards and mimic more than one GUI instance.

have the main gui open a separate gui (automatically at the corresponding point), and step through the alternative variation in the "sub-window".

I don't think there's any free or commercial GUI with this feature, though copying the game, opening a GUI, and pasting it to the new instance, and jumping to the relevant position seems to work fine (a feature like this would only save you 4 clicks.)

[zug234zwang]

"...though copying the game, opening a GUI, and pasting it to the new instance, and jumping to the relevant position, ..."

Then this is what I'll have to settle for. However, most of the time I will be examining a chess study, which begins with me setting up a position. This means that before I can copy the PGN, I have to copy the FEN, or whatever notation is used for the initial setup. In such freeware as Pychess, SCID, or SCIDVSPC, is this feasible?

That is, from the initial gui instance, can I copy both the FEN and the (in progress) PGN, and then either paste it
[both the pgn and the FEN] into a 2nd instance of the gui (preferred) or save it [both the pgn and the FEN] to a file and then load the file (containing both the FEN and the PGN) into a 2nd gui?

Alternatively, if no such gui available, what about handling the FEN and PGN separately? That is copy the FEN and then transfer it to the 2nd gui. Then repeat with the PGN.

[Ovyron]

This means that before I can copy the PGN, I have to copy the FEN, or whatever notation is used for the initial setup. In such freeware as Pychess, SCID, or SCIDVSPC, is this feasible?

When you copy a PGN from any GUI, the FEN of the position will come with it, so you don't need to copy the FEN itself. This is a feature of PGN tags that can be used to copy and paste positions. Like this one:

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.04.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/2pk4/p2p4/1P1nrN1p/6rP/1P3RP1/2PK4/5R2 b - -"]

1... Re2+ 2. Kxe2 Rf4 3. gxf4 Ne3 4. Rxe3 *

Alternatively, if no such gui available, what about handling the FEN and PGN separately? That is copy the FEN and then transfer it to the 2nd gui. Then repeat with the PGN.

The way PGN works you don't need to copy the FEN because the PGN includes the FEN. Just copy and paste the PGN to the second GUI.

[Fulvio]

The image you posted is awesome, those large scrollbars are so 90's!
Is it possible to download the software? Does it run under Wine?

Mostly, this is for manually stepping through an existing PGN (or PGN from a book), where I consider recursive variations, hopefully having an engine analyze as I step through. However, I would like to be able to record my work, so I would like to be able to save the analysis. A typical use would be when I am manually stepping through the solution of an endgame study from a book, and I try various alternatives to cook the solution, perhaps adding a comment at the end of the alternative variation.

Normally in SCID what you described is done on the main board. At the end you choose whether to save the analysis (possibly as a different game with save as), cancel the latest changes (undo) or discard all the changes (reload the current game).
It is possible to open other chessboards in separate windows but only to watch other games (browse game).

[hgm]

Yeah, in XBoard you would use the main board for the variation too. After you are done with the variation, you just hit 'Revert' to bring you back to the main line at the position from where the current variation branched of. (Or, when you made alterations in the variation, or added comments, use 'Annotate' instead of 'Revert' to add the altered variation to the PGN.)

This doesn't show you that latter position in the mean time, but at the moment it is hard for me to understand why you would want that position to just sit there, occupying part of the display without providing any new or changing information. As said, you could always copy that position to a second GUI instance; Edit -> Copy Position and the Edit -> Paste Position in the other would already do that, and make the position available to stare at while you are working in the other GUI on the variation. Even if a single GUI provided the dual-window thing, you would still have to do something to change the position in the main window.

[zug234zwang]

If you google : "Chessbd" you will see the following link: http://www.dfong.com/chessbd/index.html

I can verify that it runs under wine in (for example) Fedora 30. Certainly, after hearing my query's responses, I will have to compromise in order to submit variations to the analysis of an engine. I will settle for starting a separate instance of the gui and pasting the PGN (including FEN, if any) into the separate instance.

I feel however that it is not as handy as the functionality that Chessbd provides. Perhaps if developers try it, they may incorporate the features into a later version of existing linux-compatible chess freeware.

[hgm]

Unfortunately the binaries hosted at the link do not run on Windows 7. So I cannot check what they do.

Note that submitting variations (no matter how deeply nested they are) to engine analysis is never a problem. The compromise is needed solely for staring at the position from where the variation branched off during this analysis.

I am not sure why you describe the way I imagine it to work as 'handy'. Naturally I want to provide the easiest and most convenient way to analyze games with varations in them, as I am sure the SCID author also wants. But I think XBoard already comes pretty close to that goal, and I don't see how crowding the display with information that is not useful at the time would be handy for anything.