Optimizing Bishop, Rook, and Queen Move Generation in a Chess Engine - Aryan Naraghi - C++Now 2026

https://www.cppnow.org​ --- Optimizing Bishop, Rook, and Queen Move Generation in a Chess Engine - Aryan Naraghi - C++Now 2026 --- A chess engine must search millions of positions per second. Move generation is often a bottleneck. Generating moves for knights, kings, and pawns are computationally cheap (~1 nanosecond). However, rooks, bishops, and queens (aka "sliding pieces") present a unique challenge: their movement depends on the placement of other pieces. This makes on-demand generation too slow (20+ nanoseconds) and naively-implemented lookup tables impractical (requiring zettabytes of RAM). We will start by reviewing the core data structures in a chess engine and the logic behind move generation. Then, we will explore "magic bitboards", a perfect hashing technique that enables sliding piece move generation in ~1 nanosecond. We will look at how to implement this in modern C++, comparing hardware-specific instructions like PEXT (Parallel Bits Extract) against a portable software approach. Finally, we will discuss the practical challenges of generating the data structures required for magic bitboards, including the limitations of consteval and how to integrate build-time table generation into the build process using Bazel. To ground these concepts, we will be referencing implementation details and code from my C++ chess engine, FollyChess. --- Slides: https://cppnow26.follychess.com/ think-cell develops one of the world’s leading PowerPoint applications, with C++ at the core of everything we build, from layout algorithms to deep integration with Microsoft Office. Interested in working on challenging C++ problems with real-world impact? Explore our open roles: https://www.think-cell.com/en/career/... --- Aryan Naraghi Aryan Naraghi is a Staff Software Engineer at Google specializing in distributed systems. Over the past 14 years, he has built critical infrastructure across Google (including BigQuery, Cloud Run, Compute Engine, and Vertex AI) and previously led data strategy as Head of Data Analytics at Restaurant Brands International. He holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Washington. A dedicated C++ practitioner, Aryan is the creator of FollyChess, a C++ chess engine focusing on low-latency search and modern C++ design patterns. --- C++Now is an annual onsite international C++ programming and coding conference held in Aspen, Colarado. For all C++ developers, C++ software engineers and those involved with the C++ language, CppNow provides an indepth and technical content provided by the best and brightest C++ experts of the C++ world. Annual CppNow Conference - https://www.cppnow.org   / cppnow​     / cppnow     / cppnow     / cppnow   https://mastodon.social/@cppnow Video Sponsors: Bloomberg --- Videos Filmed & Edited By Bash Films: https://bashfilms.com/ YouTube Channel Managed & Optimized By Digital Medium Ltd: https://events.digital-medium.co.uk --- #boost #cpp #cplusplus #programming #coding #softwareengineering #softwaredeveloper #code #cplusplusprogramming #cplusplustutorial #cplus #softwaredevelopment #coder #talk