chess software reviews
Eric Schiller
Chess Software Reviews by Eric Schiller, National Master.
This file is one in a series of reviews of software which will be of
interest to chessplayers. I am posting these in response to queries posted on
USENET. Most have appeared elsewhere, but are being revised here.
DISCLAIMER: As an author of books and databases on chess I use most of these
items in my work, which gives me considerable expertise. At the same time, I
also produce commercially available databases in the formats supported by these
products. Since my data is available in ASCII as well as proprietary formats, I
do not feel there is any dangerous conflict of interest here, but wish the
reader to know that I can benefit indirectly from the sales of many of the items
discussed. Regular readers of my reviews know that I am a harsh critic of the
drawbacks of the programs, and maintain an objective attitude.
The first set of reviews will discuss the three leading database managers:
ChessBase, NICbase and BOOKUP7. NICbase 3.0 was supposed to ship in late
August, but I have yet to receive my copy. A review will appear as soon as
I have evaluated it.
ChessBase 3.0
Reviewed by National Master Eric Schiller (schi...@sapir.uchicago.edu)
Revised September, 1991
ChessBase is the premiere chess database management program. It can
comfortably manage more than 100,000 games allowing searching by almost any
conceivable parameter, including names, players, events, dates, length,
openings and, with a new utility called Motive (to be reviewed separately),
even by positional factors.
A ChessBase file consists of a collection of games which can be created by
the user or purchased from a number of sources. Putting games into the
database is a very simple task. The manual is a vast improvement upon
previous versions, and is now very user friendly. Instead of a separate
tutorial, there are built-in Rpractice sessionsS
Moves are entered using a mouse (or via the keyboard). The program will
automatically correct the format of the moves and
maker certain that all the moves conform to the laws of chess. And the
program has a wonderful ability to predict moves, so that instead of clicking
the mouse on a piece and dragging it to the appropriate square, one need only
click the mouse on a piece and the program will guess the desired target
square, and then releasing the mouse button moves the piece to that square.
Or one can click on a target square, and the program will guess which piece
is to be moved there. After a little practice, the move entry process is
considerably facilitated by this feature.
Variations (nested to any depth) and comments can be added, and the program
is particularly adept at juggling the variations, promoting and demoting
lines according to the wishes of the user. The annotation window is small,
but the use of international symbols, accessible from the keyboard or from a
palette, are sufficient for light annotations, keeping in mind that the moves
themselves should be entered as variations, so only the prose goes into the
annotation window.
When all the moves have been entered, the game may be added to the database
by selecting SAVE. A window is provided for entry of such information as the
names and ratings of the players, event, date, and result. Games can be
serached by any or all of these criteria, and wildcard matching is supported.
If the game is unfinished, it can be saved with an evaluation, chosen from a
palette. This information can be edited later. The program will then assign
the game to the appropriate opening key.
An opening key is a classificatory system for games. ChessBase does not force
the user to adopt a single system, but allows two keys for openings and also
keys for middlegames and endgames. Many users will adopt the opening key of
the Chess Informant or New In Chess series, but others will want to key their
games to such books as BCO or MCO, or even invent their own. Key construction
is very simple. Just set up the position on the board (or take it from a game
in the database), and use the Keys menu. There are no longer any limitations
on the number of games in a classification, and keys can be deleted, linked,
and merged. The key structure is the heart of the database, and ChessBase 3.0
has a nifty new feature which automatically constructs and refines keys. When
managing a large database (mine is over 100,000 games), one frequently
refines keys so that within each key, the entire list of games in that
variation can be viewed on a single screen, though excellent scrolling is
available. Keys can be used to select games for viewing, or exporting to text
or ChessBase files, or to set up the statistics function, which not only
displays information on the number of games in the key, and their results,
but breaks down this information by date, so that gaps in one's data are
easily spotted.
Viewing games is easier and more functional than any other program.
Navigation using pop-up menus for variations is a simple task, and there are
a number of ways of jumping around. One can now view a game with all its
subvariations on the screen, and simply clicking on a move will display the
relevant position. This is very useful for capturing at a glance all of the
information in subvariations and annotations. In fact, a major hypertext
facility has been implemented (see separate article posted concurrently),
and now it is possible to link all sorts of
information into the display. For example, one can compile a set of games by
a player, linking them by openings, and include scanned portraits,
crosstables of events and biographical information! No other program can do
this!
It would be reasonable to think that all this power comes at the cost of
speed, but that is not the case. ChessBase 3.0 is even faster than previous
versions, with classification of 100,000 games taking between 20 minutes and
2 hours, depending on the depth of the opening key (mine is extremely
detailed.)
Such a powerful program creates a need for special utilities, and John Nunn
has come to the rescue with a program that helps maintain the database by
purging duplicate entries and physically deleting games. ChessBase has
created its own cleanup utility as well, though it is not as elaborate.
Utilities for editing keys are in development, and in general one expects
that like any market-dominant program (e.g. WordPerfect, Lotus), ingenious
programmers both within and outside of ChessBase will be creating more
goodies. But even as it stands, without purchasing a single add-on, this
program is way ahead of all the competition.
ChessBase is not perfect, and it could still use a few refinements. Perhaps
the single greatest need is a macro program for those long projects involving
reshuffling a lot of data. One should be able to give a set of instructions
such as: "IMPORT and ASSIGN all games from the database of 1988 games plus
all the games from the files Ghastlings 1989, Doormouse 1989, Wink And Pee
1989, Buenos Noches 1989, and then EXPORT all of the Sicilians and IMPORT
and ASSIGN them into my Sicilian database". This program is just so powerful
that macros would actually be a significant enhancement, while in most
database programs they would be a minor luxury. There are a few minor bugs, and
some VGA display systems are known to cover the board with a blue mask. I have
also noticed some screen corruption when displaying lists of games in a key,
using the option of viewing moves rather than headers. The Alpha module, which
creates player and event keys, does not work well, and some of the additional
utilities also show a few minor problems.
What about importing data? There are programs in circulation which translate
data from other formats, though at present only the main lines, and not
subvcariations, are supported. John Nunn has written an ASCII import routine
which is in beta testing.
Finally, the program is copy protected, betraying its European origins. But
it can be installed to a hard disk, after which it boots without any further
work on the part of the user.
At $295 this program is a bargain. It should list for much more. But for
those reluctant to part with that much money without hands-on experience, a
free demo disk is available. But there is a better option for those who wish to
sample the program. A read-only version, called Access, is available for just
$39.95, and ChessBaseUSA will credit this amount toward your purchase of the
full version. They also offer a rebate to NICbase owners.
ChessBase is presently available for MS-DOS (HGA,CGA,EGA,VGA), and the Atari
ST (Monochrome only). A Macintosh version is under development. 512K
required, 640 recommended. A fast hard disk, and a 386 system are strongly
advisable, though 286 performance is adequate. A mouse is very helpful.Saitek
sensor boards are supported.
There is a tremendous amount of data available for purchase, or via exchanges
with other users. My own collection is now over 130,000 games. Grandmaster
annotations, mostly in Informant style, are included in Chess Base Magazine,
available by subscription. Instructional and tutorial disks will be available
shortly.
ChessBase 3.0 : $295 (includes 1000 games). 10,000 additional games add $100.
Chess Informant Key $24. All of the preceding: $395. Alpha Module for keying
by players, events and endgames: $55. ChessBase Magazine subsription (10,000
games): $115.
Tournament disks range from $14 to $85 for an Olympiad. Opening disks $14-29.
Disks with openings analyzed by Grandmasters: $24-29.Tournaments: $19-29.
ChessBase USA, 1933 Hwy 35, Suite 305 (CN 1907), Wall, NJ 07719
Telephone 908-974-9085
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Eric Schiller