New DGT driver and updated eBoard drivers (Windows/Linux)

[Krzysztof Grzelak]

I sincerely hope and have a request for this driver for Arena. I think you will make a new version of the driver so that the time works as in the program Shredder Classic. I also tested the original driver for Fritz 17/Fat Fritz 2 (DGT e-Board Driver RabbitPlugin 2.0.27 (64bit)). The program also shows moves and there is no time on the chess clock.

[Krzysztof Grzelak]

However, after testing the DGT board for a long time, I found that with the Fritz 17 / Fat Fritz 2 program and the Driver RabbitPlugin 2.0.27 (64bit) driver everything is fine.

[GONeill]

Hi Krzysztof,

I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to improve the Arena interface. Arena doesn't output the times so I am unable to show them on the clock!

I have never been able to get my driver working in Fritz and Chessbase won't help me. I think they might perform some validation of the DLL file or require a particular response from one of the commands. At least the Rabbit Plugin works.

Thanks.

[Krzysztof Grzelak]

I understand and thank you for your answer. I wonder why the Rabbit Plugin 2.0.27 (64bit) driver does not work with Shredder Classic 4 and Shredder Classic 5. And yours works.

[GONeill]

In Arena and Shredder my driver works by replacing a file (DGTEBDLL.dll) in the program directory. This works well if you only have one type of board but gets difficult if you have several boards that you want to use in these programs as you need to keep track of which driver is currently installed. So I have written a program to allow people with multiple boards to manage the DLL files:

https://goneill.co.nz/chess.php#dllmanager

This isn't a problem in LucasChess since that program has a menu to select the type of board you are using.

[wickedpotus]

Just got the spanking new 55mm Millenitum Tournament edition.. Amazing board,, build and pieces at top notch.. Just wanna thank Graham for the drivers.. works really well. (was a little bit cumbersome to find the USB to COM drivers though. Amazing work (I am on latest win10)...
I have not gotten aurond checking out bearchess yet. Just was happy to get Arena working.

[GONeill]

Thank you for the feedback!

Interesting comment about the USB to COM drivers though. Doesn't that board need the ChessLink module, and doesn't that automatically come with drivers for connecting to your computer? If not, it might be useful for others to know where you did get the required drivers.

[GONeill]

I have updated my drivers.

There was a bug in the DGT driver that stopped you from playing with the black pieces nearest you and that has been fixed. The Millennium connection code has been improved too so hopefully it will be more reliable.

The main changes relate to using the drivers with the Shredder GUI.

With the boards that have piece recognition (Certabo, DGT, Millennium) if the board is activated and you remove the last piece from the board then the driver will go into a Setup mode. Here you can create a new position by placing the pieces where you want them on the board. The last piece you place on the board should be the king of the colour to move. After that you can start playing (if playing against an engine) or moving the pieces (if analysing the position).

Also in Shredder I noticed that when you take back moves the clock doesn't get rewound. Since my DGT driver already handled the clocks in Shredder I copied some of the code from that into the other drivers so that the clocks automatically move back too. This is now different to using Shredder without a board where the take back move button leaves the clocks counting down without rewinding.