Picochess on Orange pi 5 max

[Jonathan Colledge]

Hi all,

So if I understand correctly, Randy creates images for Raspberry Pi, but I'm unsure where everything else is. Ghislaine compiles engines, Dirk has a repository, Johan is updating py-chess? Randy then brings these all together? Apologies if names wrong and people are missed off and responsibilities confused. 

How hard would it be for me to make an image for, or install on an Orange Pi? The Orange Pi is different to the Raspberry and I haven't received it yet. I'm OK with Linux, but I get the feeling it is rather complicated and I certainly have no idea about the inner workings of picochess. I suspect I am being overly hopeful that I am in any way able to do this. 

Bw, 

Jonathan 

[Johan Sjöblom]

Hi Jonathan.

I just joined this community this autumn. There is a lot of work and different software's on the image that Randy puts together with a lot of other people here contributing as well as you mentioned.

I can just speak for myself that I wanted to have a version of Picochess that runs on the latest python version, and is using the latest chess python library (and in extension using the latest version of all involved python libraries, not only chess). So I am trying to secure that the program can be used on long term. I also wanted to be able to run it on any Debian based computer. Currently I am testing on Pi3/Pi4 and on Debian laptops and desktops. My repository is still quite in beta state. I am trying my best to modernize it without destroying Dirks improvements in the main logic. That is: I try to keep them as same as I possibly can when replacing the UCI communication logic and doing other necessary updates. I have an installer shell script that should do everything on a clean Raspbian Pi or Debian install. But its far from as stable as Randys ready made Pi image and its missing a lot of features and goodies,  like for instance the ability to play against older MAME chess computers. Note that no image has been made based on my repo yet as I am still in alpha or beta stage. I make all my installations using my own installation script, I am not using any other image than a standard Pi image or a Debian download. What you can do with my repo is to play Stockfish and LeelaChessZero, or add your own chess engines (without coding, but would have to compile them and place them in the engine folder and update the engine list file).

The first thing you need to check when you get your Orange Pi is to run "uname -m" so that we know if its an aarch64 or x86_64. I support both. If its an aarch64 then you should be able to use Randys current image which is much more mature and stable. If its an x86_64 you probably need to test my repo?! Not 100% sure though as I am new in this forum.

to install my version on any Pi or Debian you only need to do the following commands on the command line. So install a generic Pi 64bit or Debian 64 first and then go:

wget -L https://raw.github.com/JohanSjoblom/picochess/master/install-picochess.sh

chmod a+x install-picochess.sh

sudo ./install-picochess.sh

Then reboot and open any browser and go to localhost:8080 and start playing chess against Stockfish 17 or switch to latest LeelaChessZero engine using the menu. On a good day that is all you need to do.

Explanations: The first line gets the installation script from my repo, the second one gives it execution rights and the third one executes it. As a result you get the entire repository in /opt/picochess and it also installs picochess as a service. The installation script assumes that there is a normal user "pi", so I always create a "pi" user also on Debian installations.

So check the uname -m on your new hardware and you can then decide what could work!

BR, Johan

[Jonathan Colledge]

Thanks Johan.
It's an arm based processor and there is a Debian based operating system for it, but as far as I can tell there are some compatibility issues with Raspberry Pi OS (I didn't order it for use with Picochess, but now I really want to use it for that!). So I think your version will be ideal from the sounds of it! And if what you are doing is what it takes to get it running on other oses, then that's definitely beyond me, but it's not beyond me to be very thankful for you and everyone else for making it possible and I will certainty use your script and have a go on what you have so far.
Best wishes,
Jonathan

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[RandyR]

Hi Jonathan,

This post may be of use, just disregard the renaming portion at the top. I would stick with a Debian based OS but I did have PicoChess running on Manjaro a few years back. Start by copying the /opt/picochess folder to your OrangePi. It's a fairly simple process to get it working on any Linux platform (but I've done it so many times so there might be an initial learning curve).

Randy

[Jonathan Colledge]

So, I have finally got around to trying Johan's script on my OrangePi 5 Max.

Firstly, I don't think I'd recommend anyone buying anything other than a Raspberry Pi. The Orange Pi board is incompatible with most images due to the specific combination of the Rockchip and other components. The only available OSes are Armbian minimal; official OrangePi images, which are limited in upgradability due to custom alterations; and Rockchip for Ubuntu. The latter is the only viable distribution and it is up to date (Noble Numbat) and working perfectly, but the developer may not be continuing support as he has stepped away for a time - it will be good till 2029, at least, I suspect.

Secondly, Johan's script runs without errors, but on reboot, Picochess does not run. I get:
pi@jonathan-orangepi:~$ sudo systemctl status picochess
[sudo] password for pi:
○ picochess.service - PicoChess Chess Program
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/picochess.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: inactive (dead)

There are no log files (the opt/picochess/logs folder is empty), and no error messages.

Does anyone have any ideas please?

Thanks,

Jonathan

[Jonathan Colledge]

Oh hang on! I need to install X, I think!

[Jonathan Colledge]

My sincere apologies for multiple messages - I will not do again.

I logged in using X instead of Wayland and it makes no difference. Back to a request for ideas please?
BW,

Jonathan

[Randy Reade]

I'm not familiar with the Orange Pi but you might need to install everything manually (clone the repo, install required packages, compile binary files for the Orange Pi - if necessary, etc.). Have a look at the install script to see what's needed. 

In the meantime, you can check /var/log/picochess-update.log to see if there are any problems. Also, try running PicoChess from the command line (/opt/picochess/venv/bin/python3 /opt/picochess/picochess.py) and see what error shows. If there is nothing in the picochess.log that says PicoChess is failing to run.

Randy

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[Jonathan Colledge]

Thanks Randy, 

Running from the terminal results in failure to find the books file and some others when that is corrected (by, as a test, copying it to the cwd) even though correct permissions are set. And if I CD into opt/picochess, it just hangs with no useful errors. 

I think what I'll do, is keep the rp4 for picochess and revert to the original plan for the orange pi. 

One day I might run through the full installation and see where the orange pi is not happy, but for now I'll keep the rp4, 

Best wishes, 

Jonathan