Because many chess software GUIs support UCI, I choose it for the development. Set them manually at the board or send an Init-String, if the GUI supports this. Arena is a free Graphical User Interface (GUI) for chess. Arena assists you in analyzing and playing games as well as in testing chess engines. It runs on Linux or Windows. Arena is compatible to Winboard protocol I, II and UCI protocol I, II. Furthermore, compatible to Chess960, DGT electronic chess board & DGT clocks and much more.

All this chess computers have a tournament size wooden chess board, a built-in program, the capability to add modules with different chess programs and a serial communication interface to computers, called OSA Link. From to the following program modules were launched, some with different software versions:,,. Special opening and endgame were available also. The serial computer interface was able to handle a printer and a home computer or PC with a standard terminal program. The DOS software INCHECK was sold a short time, but then Saitek stopped the development in this direction. The serial interface was placed under the board as 5-pin-connector: Several versions of communication cables were available for different computers, like the IBM PC: Special information can be found in the manual 'Connection Cable for Leonardo Chess Computer', published from Saitek in 1987.

It is available as download at www.zanchetta.net, look under Documentations and Saitek. The pictures above are taken from this specification.

The PC cable has an inbuilt electronic to convert the signals from the Saitek TTL-interface (5V) to the PCs RS232 (9V). To use all of this boards and the available modules under the well known software 'Arena' (www.playwitharena.com), I have developed the following software under GPL (GNU General Public License). Other UCI (Universal Chess Interface) compliant GUIs (Graphical User Interface) can be used also. UCI-Engine implementation UCI is a common protocol for chess software written by Rudolf Huber and Stefan Meyer-Kahlen. Because many chess software GUIs support UCI, I choose it for the development. The implementation is not complete, because the OSA-Boards have a specific behaviour and cannot simulate all of the possible UCI options.

Many UCI commands from the GUI to the engine will be ignored, but have no effect on the play. The development is KISS (Keep It Simple and Stupid) based and runs well in most cases, but some specifics may crash the engine or the board software. It is not possible to use opening books from a GUI, the OSA boards always use their own book (can be modified with OSA-Book). So please disable any book of the related GUI (like Arena, Fritz or Shredder). If a GUI uses consequent FEN strings, it may slow down the play, because the new settings must be configured on the board every move (needs several seconds). Disable time controls of the GUI, because the time information send to the engine are ignored and the result is a loss of the game in some cases.

Pondering is not possible at the interface, so please disable it (if send it will be ignored). The OSA boards/modules still do their own pondering (not visible to the UCI interface). Skulduggery pleasant book 11.

It is not possible to use an OSA engine for analysis. Playing levels from the GUI are ignored. Set them manually at the board or send an Init-String, if the GUI supports this.

Serial number sally s spa game. It may be useful to choose a similar level at the GUI for internal purposes or other engines. OSA2UCI This is a software UCI-engine for Arena, that establish a connection to the chess board and uses the chess program of the board or the module as engine in Arena. The board itself and the chess pieces are out of function and you will play on the PC monitor. You can launch tournaments of the board chess software against other Arena chess engines and protocol and save all moves It is also possible to setup any chess position with Arena and start the calculation from this point.

OSA-Board If you use this software as engine in Arena, you can use the chess board and the chess pieces to input your moves into Arena. The chess software of the board or module is out of function and you can play with the board against other Arena chess engines. You do not need keyboard, mouse and monitor any longer and can play chess match against a modern chess engine on a sophisticated wooden chess board. OSA-Book A stand-alone software to load your own opening book lines into a board. OSA-Save A stand-alone software to save the actual game in the board to a PGN file. OSA-Load A stand-alone software to reload saved PGN files with OSA format into the board. OSA-Monitor An UCI engine for monitoring all moves done on any board between a player and the inbuilt software (basic software or module).