Chess database

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A chess database is used to store chess games , chess analyzes or chess compositions . A distinction must be made between the database itself and the software used to manage it.

Chess databases should enable the efficient search in real time for positions, partial positions, move orders in a number of several million games. Although this is a typical goal for databases, it has been found that using SQL -based relational databases as a base is not efficient. That is why successful programs rely on their own data formats and access algorithms, some of which are proprietary .

software

Integrated and external chess programs help with the analysis and evaluation of positions. Even so, chess databases are not intended to be used to play against a human or a chess program.

Free software

  • SCID - S hane's C hess I nformation D atabase is comparable in functionality to commercial programs and can be used under many operating systems thanks to portable programming. Later spin-offs from SCID are
    • Scid vs. PCs that focus on improving usability, and
    • ChessDB
  • Scidb - In 2011 the development of the chess database Scidb began, which was inspired by SCID, but is a completely new development.
  • ChessX - An implementation with Qt . No database format is supported yet. The games are saved in the portable game notation .
  • José - a database based on SQL, which is not suitable for large amounts of data and is not being further developed.

Proprietary software

  • ChessBase - In 1985 the Bonn physics student Matthias Wüllenweber developed the first chess database for the Atari ST , accompanied by the interest and advice of the then world chess champion Garri Kasparow . Together with the Hamburg chess journalist Frederic Friedel he founded the company ChessBase and in 1987 published ChessBase 1.0. The company is still the world market leader in this market segment today. The software can only be used under Windows.
  • Chess Assistant - This is a popular database program from Russia . Both databases are now delivered with over eight million lots. They are continuously updated. You can also create your own game collections. The software can only be used under Windows.
  • Nicbase - The Dutch publisher Willem Andriessen developed the Nicbase chess database in 1994 with his publishing house Interchess BV in Alkmaar. The database is based on its own opening key , the NIC key . In 1995 Nicbase data carriers were produced along with a series of small-format English-language chess opening books. The opening system of the NIC key was also implemented in the books. Interchess called them ElectroNIC Chessbooks. The chess database was not further developed.

Databases

Analyzes

As a rule, chess databases contain numerous played games, in some of which analyzes, examples of exercises or variants are stored. They support the study of openings and the special preparation for expected opponents, provided the database contains suitable games. In addition, opening libraries and dynamic evaluation functions for chess programs can be generated from the database .

Game collections

In 1995 Karl-Heinz Milaster developed an online chess database with around 37 million positions from around half a million chess games plus 700,000 computer analyzes with which one can comment on chess games and positions with reference games, sorted according to the skill level of the players. The search results are available within a few moments; the query is free of charge.

Chess composition

Chess compositions can also be saved and classified in a chess database. Often, material for such databases was compiled and collected before the computer age.

Harold van der Heijden manages the most extensive study collection . In July 2008 it consisted of more than 73,000 studies. It is very advanced in terms of the degree of completeness. Partial collections of several collectors are integrated into it. It is an example of a high degree of cooperation between many participants.

The chess database WinChloe by the French Christian Poisson (January 2009) contains over 300,000 problems of all kinds. The database can be purchased from the author and can be updated via the Internet. The solver program has automatic topic recognition, all types of boards and figures can be represented graphically.

Another example of good cooperation when completing collections is the PDB server, which can be queried via the Internet. The auxiliary matting collection of John Niemann was recorded decentrally on it by several chess friends. Further sub-collections from other areas of chess composition have been added. However, it is not based on a chess database, but on a general database with the possibility of a restricted SQL query for everyone. Your main problem is the unreliability of the data such as duplicates or inaccuracies. However, anyone can help improve the information through comments. The real problem lies in the continuous processing of the incoming comments, which so far has been partially done by hand by individuals.

Other collections (orthodox miniatures, self-mats , etc.) exist in the hands of individuals. There is no individual access from outside there. In return, the information they contain should be more reliable. Results from previous collectors (such as Albert Heinrich Kniest , later taken over by Peter Kniest ) are also integrated in them. A typical example of this was the Albrecht collection , named after the composer Hermann Albrecht . In 1933, he began to collect and classify double-moving items on index cards. When he died in 1982, this work contained around 80,000 problems. This collection has since been expanded and digitized. It is made available on the web by Udo Degener .

At the time of his death on November 15, 2007, the collection of orthodox miniatures by Klaus-Peter Zuncke from Erfurt consisted of 61,807 tasks with the challenge of Matt in n trains . He had transferred the data of his collection from a BASIC -based data collection specially developed by him for this purpose into a widely used chess database. Earlier collections are also integrated in it, such as the files of Gerhard Kaiser, Pehr Henrik Törngren and large parts of the Maßmann Collection . In the meantime the tasks of this collection have been transferred to the PDB and YACPDB Wiki.

See also

Web links