ChessBase (Database)

Home * User Interface * GUI * ChessBase Home * Software * Databases * ChessBase



ChessBase, a chess database front and back end developed by Matthias Wüllenweber for the Atari ST which led to the foundation of the ChessBase company in 1986 along with Frederic Friedel - the product name eponym of the company. ChessBase 1.0 was first released in January 1987 for the Atari ST running under GEM. Mathias Feist joined ChessBase in the late 80s, and was responsible to port the database and interface from Atari ST into the x86 DOS/Windows world, and further integrated first chess engines into the ChessBase interface, turning this into Fritz in 1991. Subsequent ChessBase versions evolved to a sophisticated multiple purpose GUI for database management, database queries and mining, interactive multimedia and video tutorials, analyzing or playing games and automatic engine tournaments with various native, UCI or WinBoard compliant engines on a single computer, inside a network or cloud, online play via the Playchess chess server, and Web- and desktop publishing of chess related documents.

=GUI= The ChessBase 12 GUI is based on the fluent design as introduced by Microsoft Office 2007, featuring a ribbon, which is a set of toolbars placed on tabs. Beside the ribbon, the main window features various workspace layouts, either tiled by a navigation folder window, a database list view and database game-list and preview window, or game-lists for query results and game windows with board- and tabbed windows for game notation, annotations, references, score sheet, opening book tree, etc., to play, replay or analyze a game.

=Database= A chess database is an organized collection of hundreds, thousands, or nowadays even millions of chess games. The proprietary ChessBase format manages those games with indices and classifiers for data mining and fast access. Queries for games can consider a variety of items, such as player names, date of games, ECO code, thematic keys and fragments of positions. PGN is supported as interchange format.

Formats
The ChessBase 3 database format (CBF) used two kind of files, data (*.cbf) and indices (*.cbi). The move encoding was based on a deterministic move generator, storing the generation number of a move. Along with ChessBase 6 in 1996, a new format was established, dubbed CBH, which was able to handle nested variations with annotations, multimedia files, and more sophisticated indices. One CBH database consists of more than ten files with various extensions, which can be archived inside a single file (*.cbv) format. Apparently, the CBH file format was reverse engineered for interoperability purposes like import into other databases.

File Extensions

 * cbh - Game Data (Header)
 * cbg - Game Moves and Variations (Game)
 * cba - Annotations
 * cbp - Player Index
 * cbt - Tournament Index
 * cbc - Commentators Index
 * cbs - Source Index
 * cko - Opening Key (Names)
 * cpo - Positions, Openings
 * ckn - General Theme Key (Names)
 * cpn - Positions General Key
 * ck1 ck2 ck3 - Tactical, Strategical and Endgame key (Names)
 * cp1 cp2 cp3 - Positions Key
 * cbv - Compressed and Archived Database
 * cbz - Encrypted Archive
 * cbb - Search Booster
 * cbo - Extra Search Booster for Opening Positions
 * cbd - Double hash tables, hashed info on the games, speeding up search
 * cbi - Old Index File
 * cbf - Old CB-Database
 * ctg - Opening Tree of Games (Opening Book)

=Version History= =Chess Engines= ChessBase and Fritz GUI compatible native chess engines.
 * ChessBase 1, January 1987, Atari ST - GEM
 * ChessBase 2, July 1988, PC - DOS, Atari ST - GEM
 * ChessBase 3, 1991, PC - DOS, Atari ST - GEM
 * ChessBase 4, 1993, PC - DOS, Atari ST - GEM
 * ChessBase for Windows, 1994, PC - Windows 3.x
 * ChessBase 6.0, 1996, PC - Windows 95
 * ChessBase 7.0, August 1998, PC - Windows 95, 98, NT
 * ChessBase 8.0, September 2000, PC - Windows 2000
 * ChessBase 9, October 2004, PC - Windows XP
 * ChessBase 10, October 2008, PC - Windows Vista
 * ChessBase 11, October 2010, PC - Windows 7
 * ChessBase 12, December 2012, PC - Windows 8
 * ChessBase 13, November 2013, PC - Windows 8
 * ChessBase 14, November 2016, PC - Windows 10
 * ChessBase 15, November 2018, PC - Windows 10
 * ChessBase 16, November 2020, PC - Windows 10
 * AnMon
 * Chess Tiger
 * Comet
 * Crafty
 * Doctor?
 * Fritz
 * Goliath
 * Gromit
 * HIARCS
 * Houdini
 * Ikarus
 * Junior
 * Komodo
 * Nimzo
 * Patzer
 * Phalanx
 * Rybka
 * Shredder
 * SOS
 * Zappa

=See also=
 * Chess Assistant
 * Chess Query Language
 * Endgame Tablebases
 * Nalimov Tablebases
 * Syzygy Bases


 * Fritz
 * jose
 * NICBase
 * Portable Game Notation
 * SCID
 * ChessDB
 * ChessX
 * Scid vs. PC
 * Scidb


 * TascBase

=Publications=
 * John Nunn (1988). Life with ChessBase. ICCA Journal, Vol. 11, Nos. 2/3
 * Christopher Chabris (1988). ChessBase - A Centuries-old Pastime Comes of Age. STart Vol. 3 No. 2 - Special Issue #4
 * Frederic Friedel (1990). Chessbase. ICCA Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3
 * Schach: Lückenlose Fahndung Der Spiegel 4/1992, January 20, 1992 (German), pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis
 * Christian Liebert (1998). Vorsprung durch Technik - Chessbase 7.0 im Test. Computerschach und Spiele, August 1998 (German)

=Forum Posts=

1990 ...

 * Chess Combination and ChessBase by Mike Valvo, rgc, January 08, 1990
 * ChessBase (or NIC-Base) - any users? by John Richards, rgc, June 20, 1990 » NICBase
 * ChessBase by Asbjoern Stoeen, rgc, January 25, 1991
 * Re: ChessBase by Mike Valvo, rgc, January 30, 1991


 * Schiller reviews "Chessbase" by Eric Schiller, rgc, May 04, 1991
 * chess software reviews by Eric Schiller, rgc, September 13, 1991
 * More Chess Software Reviews by Eric Schiller, rgc, September 13, 1991
 * ChessBase or NICBase? by Amarnath Mukherjee, rgc, July 06, 1992 » NICBase
 * ChessBase vs. NICbase by Edward M. Hummel, rgc, December 07, 1992
 * ChessBase review by Jon Edwards, rgc, February 11, 1993
 * CHESS ASSISTANT vs ChessBase, NicBase? by CCHB, rgc, September 27, 1993 » Chess Assistant
 * NIC2CB ... by Carsten Hansen, rgc, January 31, 1994 » NICBase
 * NIC-format by Carsten Hansen, rgc, January 31, 1994
 * ChessBase for Windows and/or Fritz 3 Review by Johannes Fürnkranz, rgc, September 06, 1994 » Fritz
 * ChessBase for Windows by Johannes Fürnkranz, rgc, November 01, 1994

1995 ...

 * Open letter to ChessBase by Ed Schröder, rgcc, January 09, 1997
 * What are the best benefits given by ChessBase or TascBase? by Eran, CCC, May 31, 1998 » TascBase
 * Where can I find a definition for the .cbf/.cbi files format by Ari E, CCC, October 20, 1998
 * ChessBase 6 Search by Ted Wriston, CCC, December 29, 1998
 * Pgn vs Cbh or CBF? by Charles Unruh, CCC, March 07, 1999
 * Chessbase? by James Robertson, CCC, March 09, 1999

2000 ...

 * ChessBase 8.0 experiences by Jürgen Hartmann, CCC, September 28, 2000
 * Pipe-Server on "new" Chessbase GUI?? by Ingo Bauer, CCC, November 18, 2000
 * OT: chessbase by Peter Berger, CCC, March 25, 2001
 * does chessbase care about wb engines by ERIQ, CCC, July 16, 2001
 * ChessBase winboard compatability by Charles Smith, CCC, June 04, 2003
 * Chessbase engine interface protocol by Peter Stayne, CCC, June 08, 2003
 * Open letter to Chessbase 8 Programmers by Bob Durrett, CCC, September 11, 2003
 * 'Convenient' ChessBase bug handicapping UCI engines by Gian-Carlo Pascutto, CCC, September 29, 2003 » UCI
 * Rebel 12 under ChessBase by Ed Schröder, CCC, October 14, 2003
 * Chessbase chess databases by Russell Reagan, CCC, November 24, 2003
 * scid vs chessbase by David Kirkby, rgcc, January 01, 2004 » SCID
 * Using Chessbase GUI to play in CCT6 by Vasik Rajlich, CCC, January 23, 2004 » CCT6
 * Request for someone with ChessBase by Anthony Cozzie, CCC, September 04, 2004
 * Chessbase 9 (protection) by Odd Gunnar Malin, CCC, November 18, 2004
 * Chessbase Database missing game? by Rafael Vásquez, CCC, December 26, 2004

2005 ...

 * Windows x64 and Chessbase by Ryan Peters, CCC, July 28, 2005
 * Chessbase 9 help by Peter Skinner, CCC, January 02, 2006
 * Rybka and Fruit on Chessbase by Walter Faxon, CCC, January 14, 2006
 * Chessbase 9 search by Mike van Rooyen, CCC, January 22, 2006
 * Chessbase releases 9 dvds on Nalimov 6-piece database 43 gb by Daneil Johnson, CCC, February 23, 2006 » Nalimov Tablebases
 * ChessBase GmbH: online chess database by Norbert Raimund Leisner, CCC, July 28, 2009
 * CBH file format by Yarin, CCC, August 19, 2009

2010 ...

 * ChessBase... by Michael Diosi, CCC, December 28, 2010
 * New app for Android: chessbase by Aloisio Ponti, CCC, December 09, 2011 » Android
 * Re: La Máquina Preservadora. Programas de Ajedrez by Luis a, Meca Foro, May 13, 2013 (Spanish)
 * Chessbase compatible engines by Aart Bik, CCC, July 04, 2013
 * Publish your engine for ChessBase on Android by Albert Silver, CCC, July 06, 2013
 * ChessBase annoyances by Jon Dart, CCC, July 23, 2013
 * ChessBase native engines (freeware) by Norbert Raimund Leisner, CCC, March 13, 2014
 * For ChessBase 12 x64 users! by Norbert Raimund Leisner, CCC, March 30, 2014
 * move frequency in chessbase by John Fishburn, CCC, June 10, 2016

=External Links=
 * ChessBase - The database from Wikipedia
 * Kasparov and the start of ChessBase by Sagar Shah, ChessBase News, November 23, 2020

Reviews

 * ChessBase Reviews by Bernard Milligan

ChessBase

 * ChessBase - Chess News
 * ChessBase is 25 – everything 25% off in our shop, ChessBase News, May 19, 2011
 * 25 questions for Matthias Wüllenweber in ACM #12 by American Chess Magazine, ChessBase News, August 02, 2019 » Matthias Wüllenweber

ChessBase 8

 * Database Basics - Part 1 by Steve Lopez, ChessBase News, August 24, 2004
 * Database Basics - Part 2 by Steve Lopez, ChessBase News, August 30, 2004
 * Database Basics - Part 4 by Steve Lopez, ChessBase News, September 20, 2004
 * Database Basics - Part 5 by Steve Lopez, ChessBase News, September 25, 2004
 * Database Basics - Part 6 by Steve Lopez, ChessBase News, October 01, 2004
 * Database Basics - Part 7 by Steve Lopez, ChessBase News, October 08, 2004
 * Database Basics - Part 8 by Steve Lopez, ChessBase News, October 13, 2004

ChessBase 9

 * ChessBase 9 tips by Steve Lopez, ChessBase News, January 26, 2005

ChessBase 10

 * ChessBase 10 trees - part 1, ChessBase News, October 01, 2008
 * ChessBase 10 trees - part 2, ChessBase News, October 08, 2008
 * ChessBase 10's Reference tab - part 1, ChessBase News, October 23, 2008
 * ChessBase 10's Reference tab - part 2, ChessBase News, October 30, 2008
 * ChessBase 10's Reference tab - part 3, ChessBase News, November 03, 2008
 * ChessBase 10's explorer view, ChessBase News, March 29, 2009
 * ChessBase 10's database pane, ChessBase News, April 07, 2009

ChessBase 11

 * Twelve minutes for the new ChessBase 11, ChessBase News, October 16, 2010
 * Organizing your ChessBase 11 search results by Steve Lopez, USCFSales, April 12, 2011
 * ChessBase 11: finding top theoretical novelty, ChessBase News, March 13, 2012

ChessBase 12

 * ChessBase 12 has arrived!, ChessBase News, December 02, 2012
 * Solving endgames with ChessBase 12 and Houdini, ChessBase News, December 23, 2012 » Houdini
 * ChessBase 12 – primer on installation and new functions, ChessBase News, February 04, 2013
 * ChessBase 12 – from a club/county player's perspective by Carl Portman, ChessBase News, August 01, 2013
 * Web publishing with ChessBase 12 (part 1/3) by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, December 22, 2013
 * Web publishing with ChessBase 12 (part 2/3) by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, December 26, 2013
 * Web publishing with ChessBase 12 (part 3/3) by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, December 29, 2013

ChessBase 13

 * ChessBase 13 is here!, ChessBase News, November 21, 2014
 * ChessBase 13: everything you wanted to know by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, November 22, 2014
 * The future is here: Cloud Databases (1) by Sagar Shah, ChessBase News, December 18, 2014
 * The future is here: Cloud Databases (2) by Sagar Shah, ChessBase News, December 22, 2014
 * MyGames: free Cloud Database on the web (1/2) by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, February 15, 2015
 * MyGames: free Cloud Database on the web (2/2) by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, February 18, 2015
 * Cloud Database: saving and updating your games by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, February 21, 2015
 * Online Database: preparing against a player by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, September 01, 2015
 * ChessBase: larger text and bigger board by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, September 06, 2015

ChessBase 14

 * We proudly announce: ChessBase 14 is now available, ChessBase News, November 26, 2016
 * ChessBase 14: It helps you to play better!, ChessBase News, December 07, 2016
 * Features of ChessBase 14 with Matthias Wüllenweber, ChessBase News, December 13, 2016 » ChessBase 14 Q&A Video

ChessBase 15

 * ChessBase 15 now released, ChessBase News, November 15, 2018
 * Getting the most out of ChessBase 15: a step-by-step guide by Nick Murphy, ChessBase News, May 11, 2020
 * Getting the most out of ChessBase 15: a step-by-step guide #2 by Nick Murphy, ChessBase News, May 13, 2020
 * Getting the most out of ChessBase 15: a step-by-step guide #3 – Layout by Nick Murphy, ChessBase News, May 23, 2020
 * Getting the most out of ChessBase 15: a step-by-step guide #4 – The Board by Nick Murphy, ChessBase News, June 03, 2020
 * Getting the most out of ChessBase 15: a step-by-step guide #5 – Local Engines by Nick Murphy, ChessBase News, June 09, 2020
 * Getting the most out of ChessBase 15: a step-by-step guide #6 – UCI Engines by Nick Murphy, ChessBase News, June 23, 2020

ChessBase 16

 * ChessBase 16 - The new features (Part 1) by Arne Kaehler, ChessBase News, November 10, 2020
 * ChessBase 16 - The new features (Part 2) by Arne Kaehler, ChessBase News, November 11, 2020
 * ChessBase 16 - The new features (Part 3) by Arne Kaehler, ChessBase News, November 12, 2020 » ChessBase 16 Novelties Video
 * ChessBase 16 - The new features (Part 4) by Arne Kaehler, ChessBase News, November 13, 2020
 * ChessBase 16 - The new features (Part 5) by Arne Kaehler, ChessBase News, November 16, 2020

Android

 * ChessBase Online for Android – Creating a specific book by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, July 18, 2012
 * CB for Android: How to download and review games, ChessBase News, July 05, 2013
 * CB for Android: Analyzing your games by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, July 10, 2013
 * Deep Fritz 14 now with ChessBase for Android by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, February 23, 2015 » Fritz

Online

 * Introducing the online ChessBase database by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, January 17, 2014
 * ChessBase Online: 3D boards and Fritz 14 by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, February 01, 2015
 * Using your home chess engine anytime, anywhere by Albert Silver, ChessBase News, May 09, 2017

Shop

 * ChessBase, ChessBase Shop
 * ChessBase 16 - Mega package Edition 2021, ChessBase Shop

Videos

 * ChessBase 11 from ChessCentral with Steve Lopez, September 17, 2010, YouTube Video


 * ChessBase 14 Q&A - with Matthias Wüllenweber, December 2016, YouTube Video


 * ChessBase 16 - The novelties (Matthias Wüllenweber) Part 3, November 2020, YouTube Video

=References= Up one Level