StartChess ♟️️

Introduction 📖

Welcome to StartChess! This player-versus-player chess game combines Vaadin's engaging UI with Spring Boot's powerful backend, offering an immersive experience for chess fans and learners alike. It's more than just a game; it's a showcase of modern web technologies in a classic, strategic context.

Overview 🌐

At the heart of StartChess is a commitment to simplicity and clean object-oriented programming principles. The game engine, developed in Java, utilizes a traditional 8x8 matrix to represent the chessboard, and games are managed using the FEN notation notation. This setup is perfect for those looking to understand the intersection of classic game theory and modern programming practices.

Application Architecture

The architecture diagram above illustrates the modular design of StartChess.

Prerequisites 🛠️

Before diving into StartChess, ensure you have:

• Java (preferably JDK 11 or newer) installed.
• Maven for managing project dependencies and builds.
• An IDE of your choice (optional) for editing and running the application.

Testing and Validation 🧪

Tehre are a series of unit tests to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the game mechanics:

• Figure Move Validation: Tests each chess piece's movement according to the rules.
• Board State Validation: Ensures the board accurately reflects the current game state.
• Game Rules Validation: Verifies that standard chess rules are enforced throughout gameplay.

To run tests, use mvn test.

Preparing for Production 🚀

• Enable Production Mode: Set vaadin.productionMode to true in pom.xml.
• Build Frontend: Execute `mvn vaadin:build-frontend`` to prepare the front-end assets.
• Create Executable Jar: Generate chess-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar with mvn clean package -Pproduction

Running the Application:

• Locate the application jar at ./target/chess-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar.
• Launch it using java -jar chess-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar.

For enhanced execution and logging:

 #!/bin/bash
nohup java -jar chess-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar > chess.log 2>&1 & echo $! > save_pid.txt

Contributing and Further Development 💡

Contributions are warmly welcomed! Feel free to submit PRs for bug fixes, feature enhancements, or aesthetic improvements.

Current TODOs:

• Implement additional endgame scenarios.
• Refine UI/UX for an enhanced gameplay experience.

Have Fun and Good Luck! 🎉

Dive in, explore the game, and contribute. Your insights and improvements are vital in evolving this educational tool!

GLHF!