Feature Request: Lichess Opening Explorer access

[codernwo]

I think that access to Lichess Opening Explorer using the API key provided by the user would be a Killer feature to add. Would require something like:

1. Accepting the API key from the user and storing it
2. An additional button (Say next to the Tablebase button)
3. On clicking the button, the lichess explorer for the current board position is retrieved : statistics along with headers of relevant games.(Masters/Lichess/Player)
4. Full game should be retrieved and shown in clipbase only on double clicking the game header

Is it possible to add such a feature?.

[whelanh]

Yes it should be very possible to do this as Lichess provides an excellent API.

Are you imagining that:

1. When you press the new button, you first get a pop-up dialog that asks for all the filter choices (API key, game speed, variants, dates, which database from Masters/Lichess/Player, etc.). All of these choices can be saved by choosing "Options/Save Options".

2. When you hit the "go" button from the pop-up, another window appears with W/D/L statistics by move (say on the top) and clickable game headers below the statistics? I think a new window like this would be easier than trying to use the existing Tree View and Game List windows because the data sources and user interaction will be different.

Thank you for the idea. Let me know your thoughts on 1 and 2.

[codernwo]

Thank you for the rapid response.

1. Regarding point 1, I would suggest a new submenu item under the "Options" main menu to collect information which will not be changed frequently such as the API key. I think the only option that needs to be part of the new button is the choice of database(masters/lichess/player) .
2. Point 2 looks fine

[whelanh]

@codernwo I have done an implementation of your idea in v5.1.3.29 with a new "Lichess OpenExplore" button. Let me know if it meets your expectations. In the first pop-up, I did preserve all the choices you can make on Lichess. If you use the "Options/Save Options" menu choice, all of your choices (and API key) will be stored on your local machine in the normal ~/.scid5.1/config/options.dat file. Below are some illustrations of the new windows and the button.

Double clicking on a game will load it into clipbase.

I've done some testing, but more testing is always good!

[codernwo]

That was quick !. Started testing the feature. Looks great so far.

1. As you have already observed, the Player retrieval is slow (possibly API reasons?)
2. When a game is loaded into the clipbase, it is not saved. As a result, attempting to load another game results in a dialog to either overwrite the first game or discard . Ideally we need to be able to load multiple games without this dialog box. I would also suggest at the beginning of the first game load, the clipbase game list window be opened and activated
3. Functionality to sort on Rating and date columns in the top/recent games list would be useful

A great enhancement would be to enable double-click on a move row in the retrieved move list. This should result in the move being made in the current board and the Explorer popup being refreshed with the new details corresponding to the selected move.

[whelanh]

Thank you for your testing and thoughts. Those are nice ideas. I will see if I can implement them and will keep you updated.

[whelanh]

@codernwo , v5.1.3.30 has the changes you requested (except for sorting on Rating and Date columns). Changes made include being able to double click on a move row.

Your suggestions certainly improve usability. Feel free to provide more feedback as you use the new features.

[codernwo]

A quick feedback based on a first look of 5.1.3.30:

1. Multiple game loading and save works fine now. However a new clipbase gamelist window is opened for every game loaded. This results in multiple clipbase windows being opened when you load multiple games. Possible solution: When a game is loaded, existing open clipbase gamelist window (if any) should be closed and a new clipbase gamelist window should be opened listing all games in the clipbase including the latest loaded game
2. The double-click functionality works well.
3. To enhance user experience, I would recommend an intermediate status screen when the go button is clicked (saying something like "Retrieving from Lichess") and then the populated popup being shown. This will eliminate the blank popup which appears during retrieval (prior to its full population) especially during retrieval from player database and retrieval using double-click functionality

[whelanh]

Thank you. I will fix the multiple clipbase window issue in the next release. I also updated v5.1.30 releases to enable sorting the columns of "Top Games" and "Recent Games" by clicking the column header. What form of scidCommunity are you using (AUR, COPR, Windows, etc.)? I will try to keep that version up to date for your testing.

[codernwo]

Thank you. I am using the scidCommunity windows desktop version on windows 11