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Centipawns are the value of 1/100th of a pawn. It is a theoretical unit most chess engines use to
assess positions. The position score is the computer evaluation of the position on the chess board
and it is expressed in a number of centipawns. The unit is useful for expressing small advantages or
disadvantages between black and white. For example if white is one pawn ahead and black does
not have any compensation for the loss of his pawn (usually some positional advantage), an engine
will generally consider white to be 100 centipawns better. Often this would be expresses as +1.00
pawns though on DGT Pi it is currently expressed as +100 centipawns. If, on the other hand, black
had some compensation, an engine could calculate white to have an advantage of perhaps 29
centipawns (+0.29 pawns). Note that the position score will always be displayed in centipawns
from white’s perspective. For example, if DGT Pi displays a score of +33, then the white player is 33
centipawns (or 0.33 pawns) ahead. A negative score means that the black player is ahead.
Position menu
DGT Pi supports several position modes:
Switching sides: DGT Pi has an option to switch sides. You can select to play with white or let
DGT Pi start with white. During an active game, sides can be switched by pressing the lever on
top of DGT Pi. Doing so allows you to take over the game position from DGT Pi. This can be a
good teaching tool to improve your chess skills and learn to play with different, and perhaps,
challenging positions.
• Chess 960: This option, not supported by all installed engines, is used to set up a Chess 960
position. This is a special feature to play Chess 960 or Fischer Random Chess which is a great
alternative way to play chess. Chess 960 is the only other form of chess officially recognized by
the International Chess Federation FIDE and it is played by many chess lovers worldwide. In
Chess 960 the games do not start from the traditional starting position but instead start from
one of 960 random starting positions. It requires players to start thinking about their moves
right from the start thus bypassing any advantage a player may have from learned knowledge
about particular chess openings. Just give it a try once you are more familiar with the normal
play modes.
• Scan board: This option allows you to set up any position on the board that you wish to play
or analyse. Just set up a position and scan the e-Board. Make sure the position you set up
complies with the rules of chess. For example the kings should not be in “check mate” and
pawns that reached the opposite side should be promoted before scanning a board position.
Set up any position you want for play, analysis, train or problem solving.
Time Menu
DGT Pi supports following timing modes:
• Move Time: Select a fixed time per move for the engine between 1 and 90 seconds. DGT Pi
will make a move after the selected time has passed. After performing the computer move it
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