ChessBase
Encyclopedia
ChessBase GmbH is a German
company that markets chess
software, maintains a chess news site, and operates a server for online chess. Set up in 1998, it maintains and sells massive database
s, containing most historic games, that permit analysis that had not been possible prior to computing. Databases organise data from prior games; engines show possibilities in new ones (and errors in human play), permitting, for example, definitive answers to certain endgame problems.
, Germany
. ChessBaseUSA markets their products in the United States
, and some products are released in partnership with Viva Media
(USA).
The company hosts an extensive online database. , this contained 5.2 million games. This online database can be accessed directly through their database programs.
It used to be possible to utilise the functionality of this database from Chessbase's Pocket Fritz
2, which runs on PDA
s, but some of this functionality was reduced in early 2006. ChessBase is also the name of a popular commercial database program produced by the company for storing and searching records of games of chess which runs under Microsoft Windows
. ChessBase uses a proprietary format for storing games, but can also handle games in portable game notation
(PGN). The proprietary format uses less hard drive space and manages information that is not possible in PGN. The software converts files from PGN to ChessBase format, or from ChessBase to PGN.
The program permits searches for games, and positions in games, based on player names, openings
, some tactical and strategic motifs, material imbalance, and features of the position. The ChessBase database software integrates chess analysis engines, such as Fritz
, Junior
, Shredder
(all Chessbase products), and several non-commercial engines, including Crafty
written by Professor Robert Hyatt
, Comet, and Anaconda.
The current version of the ChessBase program is ChessBase 11, which was released in 2010. ChessBase also has a free version called ChessBase Light 2009. The free version is a pared down version of ChessBase 9 that has a limit of 32,000 games per database. Chessbase Light includes Fritz 6 for analysis.
, Shredder
, Junior
, Chess Tiger
, NIMZO, and Zap!Chess) along with their integrated graphic user interfaces (standard across the family). Some of these are sold (apart from ChessBase) in versions designed for Mac OS X
. (See, for example, Rybka site.) Evgeny Bareev
said, "I find the ideas? No. Fritz finds the ideas."
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
company that markets chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
software, maintains a chess news site, and operates a server for online chess. Set up in 1998, it maintains and sells massive database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s, containing most historic games, that permit analysis that had not been possible prior to computing. Databases organise data from prior games; engines show possibilities in new ones (and errors in human play), permitting, for example, definitive answers to certain endgame problems.
The company
The company is located in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. ChessBaseUSA markets their products in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and some products are released in partnership with Viva Media
Viva Media
Viva Media, LLC is a privately owned New York company dedicated to publishing a wide array of interactive content in family entertainment and educational software....
(USA).
The database
It used to be possible to utilise the functionality of this database from Chessbase's Pocket Fritz
Pocket Fritz
Pocket Fritz, which is currently at version 4, is a chess playing program for Pocket PC personal digital assistants . Pocket Fritz 4 uses HIARCS as the chess engine. Pocket Fritz 2 used a port of the Shredder chess engine....
2, which runs on PDA
PDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
s, but some of this functionality was reduced in early 2006. ChessBase is also the name of a popular commercial database program produced by the company for storing and searching records of games of chess which runs under Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. ChessBase uses a proprietary format for storing games, but can also handle games in portable game notation
Portable Game Notation
Portable Game Notation is a computer-processible format for recording chess games ; many chess programs recognize this extremely popular format due to its being stored in plain text.-History:...
(PGN). The proprietary format uses less hard drive space and manages information that is not possible in PGN. The software converts files from PGN to ChessBase format, or from ChessBase to PGN.
The program permits searches for games, and positions in games, based on player names, openings
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
, some tactical and strategic motifs, material imbalance, and features of the position. The ChessBase database software integrates chess analysis engines, such as Fritz
Fritz (chess)
Fritz is a German chess program developed by Frans Morsch and Mathias Feist and published by ChessBase. There is also a version called Deep Fritz that is designed for multiprocessing....
, Junior
Junior (chess)
Junior is a computer chess program authored by the Israeli programmers Amir Ban and Shay Bushinsky. Grandmaster Boris Alterman assisted, in particular with the opening book...
, Shredder
Shredder (chess)
Shredder is a commercial chess program developed in Germany by Stefan Meyer-Kahlen in 1993. Shredder won the World Microcomputer Chess Championship in 1996 and 2000, the World Computer Chess Championship in 1999 and 2003, the World Computer Speed Chess Championship in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and...
(all Chessbase products), and several non-commercial engines, including Crafty
Crafty
Crafty is a chess program written by UAB professor Dr. Robert Hyatt. It is directly derived from Cray Blitz, winner of the 1983 and 1986 World Computer Chess Championships....
written by Professor Robert Hyatt
Robert Hyatt
Dr. Robert Hyatt is an Associate Professor of Computer science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences . He is the author of the computer chess program Crafty and the co-author of Cray Blitz, a two-time winner of the World Computer Chess...
, Comet, and Anaconda.
The current version of the ChessBase program is ChessBase 11, which was released in 2010. ChessBase also has a free version called ChessBase Light 2009. The free version is a pared down version of ChessBase 9 that has a limit of 32,000 games per database. Chessbase Light includes Fritz 6 for analysis.
The engines
The ChessBase company produces or markets the Fritz family of chess engines (RybkaRybka
Rybka is a computer chess engine designed by International Master Vasik Rajlich. , Rybka is one of the top-rated engines on chess engine rating lists and has won many computer chess tournaments...
, Shredder
Shredder (chess)
Shredder is a commercial chess program developed in Germany by Stefan Meyer-Kahlen in 1993. Shredder won the World Microcomputer Chess Championship in 1996 and 2000, the World Computer Chess Championship in 1999 and 2003, the World Computer Speed Chess Championship in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and...
, Junior
Junior (chess)
Junior is a computer chess program authored by the Israeli programmers Amir Ban and Shay Bushinsky. Grandmaster Boris Alterman assisted, in particular with the opening book...
, Chess Tiger
Chess Tiger
Chess Tiger is a strong chess program developed by Christophe Théron.A shareware version of Chess Tiger was also made for the Palm OS. It is known for its high level of strength and a trainer engine to help beginners improve their chess techniques....
, NIMZO, and Zap!Chess) along with their integrated graphic user interfaces (standard across the family). Some of these are sold (apart from ChessBase) in versions designed for Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
. (See, for example, Rybka site.) Evgeny Bareev
Evgeny Bareev
Evgeny Bareev is a Russian chess Grandmaster and chess coach. In October 2003, he was in fourth place in the world rankings, with an Elo rating of 2739....
said, "I find the ideas? No. Fritz finds the ideas."
News site
Chessbase also maintains ChessBase News, a web site containing chess news, as well as information on their products. The site is available in English, German and Spanish.Other publications
ChessBase produces many CDs and DVDs, including monographs on famous players, tactical training exercises, and training for specific opening systems. They publish ChessBase Magazine six times per year, which comes as a thin printed text and accompanying CD with multimedia chess news, as well as how to donate to ChessBase, articles on opening novelties, database updates (including annotated games), and other articles. All these are designed for viewing within their database software, but many have a more up-to-date version of ChessBase Light than the free version available from their web-page.See also
- Chess engines
- Fritz (chess)Fritz (chess)Fritz is a German chess program developed by Frans Morsch and Mathias Feist and published by ChessBase. There is also a version called Deep Fritz that is designed for multiprocessing....
- Chess AssistantChess AssistantChess Assistant is a commercial database program produced by Convekta, Ltd. The company started in Russia, but also has offices in England and the United States. The software is a management tool for organising chess information , opening training, game analysis, playing against the computer, and...
- Chess InformantChess InformantChess Informant is a publishing company from Belgrade that periodically produces a book of the same name, as well as the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, Encyclopaedia of Chess Endings, Opening Monographs, other print publications, and software Chess Informant (Šahovski Informator) is a...
- PlaychessPlaychessPlaychess is a commercial Internet chess server edited by ChessBase devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. As of February 2011, Playchess has over 31,000 players online, including many internationally titled players who remain pseudo-anonymous and other masters whose...