NAME

pfathom - Syzygy endgame table base probe tool

SYNOPSIS

pfathom [OPTIONS] FEN
pfathom --path=/path/to/tables 8/8/8/8/8/8/8/QK1k4 w - - 0 1

The FEN argument may be quoted but this is not necessary. All non-option arguments are automatically concatenated to a FEN.

Mandatory arguments to long options, are mandatory to short options, too.

Valid options are:

-p, --path=PATH

Specify the PATH to the endgame table base. This is the directory that contains the .rtbw and .rtbz files.

If this option is not used, the environment variable TB_PATH is checked.

-h, --help

Display a short help page and exit.

-V, --version

Display version information and exit.

DESCRIPTION

This program is a drop-in replacement for the Syzygy probe tool Fathom, see https://github.com/jdart1/Fathom and https://github.com/basil00/Fathom written in Perl

It creates a PGN representation of the probe result received for the specified input position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN).

PGN tags that may need additional explanation are:

WDL

The Win-Draw-Loss (WDL) value for the first move, which is one of "Win", "Draw", "Loss", or "CursedWin" for a position that can only be one after the other side to claim a draw according to the 50-move rule. Likewise, a "BlessedLoss" is a loss that can be prevented by claiming a draw according to the 50-move rule.

DTZ

The Distance-To-Zero (DTZ) value in plies.

WinningMoves

All (next) moves that win, if any.

LosingMoves

All (next) moves that lose, if any.

DrawingMoves

All (next) moves that draw, if any.

The movetext of the pgn is a sequence of moves that forces the WDL value. This is not necessarily the shortest mate sequence.

SEE ALSO

fathom(1), Chess::Plisco(3pm), perl(1)