Analyzing long narde games from MAT files

If you’ve reviewed your long-narde games with a desktop program, chances are they’re sitting on your disk as MAT files — plain-text match records. Those records don’t disappear along with the program: the format is text, and it’s readable by more than just the program that wrote it. Below is what we know about LogasAI, why its site may not load over https, and how to import your saved MAT files into Nardex to get a game review in the browser.

What is LogasAI

LogasAI is a long-narde project living at logasai.ru. The site’s metadata credits Alexander Shashkov as the author, and the footer reads ”© 2015–2024 LogasAI”.

The project ships two programs from its site:

  • LogasAI Game — a program for playing long narde;
  • LogasAI Analysis — a program for analyzing long-narde games saved in MAT format. The download page lists version 1.3.4, Windows XP / 7 / 10, and a Freeware license.

Besides the download pages, the site has sections on the rules (traditional, Nardegammon, Classic), a piece on program strength, and one on doubling.

Worth saying plainly: software built specifically for long narde, rather than short backgammon, has always been scarce — almost all of the strong desktop classics (GNU Backgammon, XG) grew up around backgammon. LogasAI is one of the few that took long narde seriously and gave the result away for free. We are not affiliated with this project and write about it as outside observers.

If https://logasai.ru doesn’t load

Observed fact as of July 31, 2026: opening https://logasai.ru shows a certificate warning in the browser. The server presents a hosting certificate issued for *.hosting.reg.ru, which does not cover the logasai.ru domain, so the browser correctly flags a name mismatch. Over plain http://logasai.ru the site opens normally and serves its pages.

Modern browsers increasingly try https first, so “the site won’t load” is a common way to run into this. What’s behind it and what happens next, we don’t know — it’s someone else’s site, and we’re not drawing any conclusions about the project’s status from its certificate setup.

What the analysis gives you

Nardex is a neural-network engine for long narde and backgammon, with play and review running in the browser. For an imported game you get:

  • an equity timeline across the whole game — where win probability was actually lost;
  • move-quality labels — best / ok / doubtful / error / blunder, derived from equity loss against the best move;
  • a PR (Performance Rating) — cumulative equity loss normalized by the number of non-forced moves;
  • best-alternative arrows shown next to the move you actually played;
  • doubling-cube flags — missed double, premature double, bad take, bad pass.

The metrics themselves are covered in how to analyze a long-narde game.

Long narde position with a five-point prime for white on points 2–6 — a typical moment worth reviewing with the engine.
A five-point prime on 2–6 (id QNz9QCBvt4EQAA): white locks down black's movement. Nardex's read: win=0.75 — strategically won position.

Importing a MAT file

  1. Locate the game file in MAT format — a text file, normally with a .mat extension.
  2. Open the analytics page. Import requires a signed-in account, so log in or register first.
  3. Switch to the Imported tab.
  4. Drag the file onto the drop zone, or click to pick it manually.
  5. On success the game replay opens; move-by-move analysis is computed in the background.

Worth knowing up front:

  • accepted formats are .mat and .sgf, up to 256 KiB; binary .xg and .jf are not supported;
  • the game type is detected from the ;Game type: header inside the MAT file — labels containing «длинные» / «long» / «narde» map to long narde, «короткие» / «short» / «backgammon» map to backgammon. A file with no such header is imported as long narde;
  • the MAT format that LogasAI Analysis works with is supported by Nardex’s import — but we haven’t specifically verified it on files exported by LogasAI itself. If a file is rejected, send a sample to support@nardex.ai.

FAQ

What’s the current status of the LogasAI site? As of July 31, 2026, logasai.ru responds and serves pages over plain http. Over https the browser shows a certificate warning — the server presents a hosting certificate issued for *.hosting.reg.ru, which does not cover the logasai.ru domain. That’s all we can say as outside observers — we’re not affiliated with the LogasAI project, have no relation to its site, and don’t know its plans.

Can I open LogasAI’s MAT files in Nardex? LogasAI Analysis, going by its own site’s description, works with long-narde games in MAT format. Nardex’s import accepts .mat (and .sgf) files and can parse them as long narde. Both facts are verified independently, but we haven’t specifically tested import on files saved by LogasAI itself. If your file is rejected, send a sample to support@nardex.ai and we’ll look into it.

Is importing and analyzing games in Nardex free? Uploading a match and getting it analyzed is available to any registered account — no separate payment or premium status is required right now, just being signed in. The technical limits on import are a file size of up to 256 KiB and the text formats .mat or .sgf; binary .xg and .jf files are not supported.

How is Nardex’s review different from a desktop program? Nardex runs in the browser, so it isn’t tied to Windows and needs no install, and the analysis of an uploaded game is computed on our side. Beyond per-move evaluation you get an equity timeline for the whole game, best/ok/doubtful/error/blunder labels, a PR score, and separate flags for doubling-cube mistakes.

Try it

Upload your saved games on the analytics page, or play a game against the AI first — that one lands in the same review pipeline.