Chessbase Products

 

    The other day I was searching for something and stumbled across some excellent Youtube videos on Chessbase products which I consider the gold standard of chess software. 

    If you are thinking about purchasing one of them the videos listed below will be a big help in deciding which one you should purchase. Or, if you already have one of them the instructional videos show how to use most of the features. 

    I have a number of chess programs on my laptop: the ancient Master Chess 8000, SCID vs PC, Chess OK Aquarium, Aquarium 2020, Chess Assistant 18, Fritz 12, Ftitz 17 and Chessbase 16. 

    Back in the old days when I was a serious correspondence player and was seriously trying to top the 2200 barrier, had these programs been available Chessbase would have been my choice. But, those days are just a dim memory and so Fritz 17 fits my needs perfectly. 

    Should you buy Chessbase? Here is an honest analysis of the program. I do not use my Chessbase 16 simply because it has a lot more features than I am interested in. HERE 

    If pricing is an issue then a good alternative is Fritz. Although Fritz 19 is the current version, this video discusses Fritz 17 (the program I use), but it is still a good overview of the program HERE.

 

Sidebar... 

 

    While I am at it, you might be interested in downloading a free database of 5.5 million games at Caissabase. The game dates ranger from 1610 to 2024. Note: the download is fairly large, so give it some time. 

    There is one snag...the database can only be opened using SCID vs. PC format, so if you are not a SCID vs. PC user you will need to download that program which you can so HERE. These two downloads are an excellent choice if you are looking for free. 

 

NOTE: 

    Apparently there is a glitch in e-mailing me. I recently received an e-mail from a reader of this post who had a question, but it did not show up on the post itself.

    Basically the reader wanted to know about how modern correspondence players attempt to outsmart opponents who rely strictly on an engine. Unfortunately, I am not qualified to address that issue because I am not very knowledgeable about how engines work. Also, when I was active in correspondence play before engines my rating hovered around 2100...hardly championship level! 

    I was not implying that I would like to have used an engine in correspondence play, only that in those days programs like ChessBase and Fritz would have been great for organizing games and studying all phases of the game.