A program named Lxndr.exe
along with a readme.txt
suddenly appeared on my desktop. The readme reads
I think I show some symptoms. Do you think I suffer from it?
Well, while there's definitely something wrong with my computer, I have no idea what the executable is about.
Just like the sensible person I am, I played around with it by executing it. First off, calling lxndr.exe -?
in the command prompt yields the following output:
C:\users\me>lxndr.exe -?
lxndr [-p pos] [-d d] [-t time] [-b]
Options:
-p pos fenny position; default: random
-d d [redacted]
-t time max time (milliseconds)
-b !w; default: false
Then I executed it with some values for -d
and -t
:
C:\users\me>lxndr.exe -d 10 -t 500
Output: [redacted] - 100ms - !
C:\users\me>lxndr.exe -d 22 -t 100
Output: [redacted] - 100ms - ??
C:\users\me>lxndr.exe -d 15 -t 200
Output: [redacted] - 190ms - ?
C:\users\me>lxndr.exe -d 8 -t 7
Output: [redacted] - 7ms - ??
C:\users\me>lxndr.exe -d 25 -t 75000
Output: [redacted] - 5000ms - !!
C:\users\me>lxndr.exe -d 20 -t 800
Output: [redacted] - 700ms - ?!
C:\users\me>lxndr.exe -d 60 -t 8000
Output: [redacted] - 8000ms - ??
What does this program suffer from?
Notes:
- With the intended answer you can a) explain what this program might be used for, b) explain the output and certain parts of it more extensively c) derive the meaning of every option when calling
-?
and d) explain the name of the executable. - Don't focus too much on the exact numbers I in my "testing" inputs and outputs.
Hint #1:
Once you've figured out that this puzzle is related to chess, you must especially find out the meaning of the last output. Why would an engine "malfunction" in such a way? What "illness" must it have that fits with the executable's name?
The answer is not technical. The answer has more to do with knowledge about certain things surrounding chess (you could solve this only knowing the bare basics of the game!) and nothing with (chess) programming. The fact that this is a program is just the way I decided to present it. If you do not know the answer after reading this hint, it might take some googling.