Hi all
I'm starting an undergraduate dissertation in which I write a reinforcement learning algorithm which learns to play Backgammon. I need a decent opponent to train it against, and it's looking like gnubg is the best (and open source, which is great). Unfortunately I have no idea how to go about interfacing with gnubg - I need some way of sending it a board state and receiving an optimal move in reply (or a state evaluation). I'm pressed for time and the source looks pretty expansive, so I'm asking you for pointers - where should I start, is there an API that I can use, how difficult should it be, or is there another backgammon engine which would be easier to talk to?
Many thanks,
Phil