What is a chess database?
This is a regular question many chess players do, and it’s an interesting one, a database is important for a chess player. It provides you with relevant information about chess and gives you material to study and improve their play.
A chess database consists of a large number of chess games organized for people to review. Databases usually are divided into categories, for example, a database with chess games of the Sicilian opening only.
The databases can also be prepared to focus on a player, for example, Magnus Carlsen’s games chess database. A chess database can be read in any chess interfaces or programs, the most popular is ChessBase in Fritz.
The chess databases result in an important element for the players to improve, as we know, analyzing chess games is key to improve. If you are preparing the Catalan opening for a tournament, analyzing a Catalan opening database may be useful.
There are millions of chess databases online, some of them are free. But you can also get databases including more than just chess games in PGN format. Some databases come with grandmasters’ commentary and training features, which is an awesome way to learn.
There is no doubt they can be useful, let’s learn more about the chess databases. Keep reading!
How to seize chess databases online?
Many chess websites offer free databases you can use, but most of the players don’t know how to use them. You need to analyze the games to take the lesson out of them, and learn patterns, by analyzing we mean:
Recognizing mistakes: Consists in judging every move without engines’ help and conclude. Why it is bad or not, and then reviewing your answer with a chess engine. But the key is thinking by yourself. This will help you develop your critical thinking and other chess skills.
Here you will learn a process in easy steps on how to improve in chess using chess databases:
- Review the games: Come to conclusions, which moves are mistakes? What was the mistake? What were the best moves?
- Understanding the position: Most of the time we see the chess game but we don’t understand it, try to follow the logical course of the chess game.
- Improve the game: Remember, everything is about improving, investigate interesting variations, see which moves you think are best.
- Check our answers with an engine: Time to see if your results are correct, surely, the engine will improve one or two of your suggestions.
This way you can compare your moves to the engines’ and start playing as the engine does. You will learn how to avoid mistakes over time, and improve your technique without even realizing it.
What is the best chess database?
AS we mentioned, there are many different types of chess databases, but we will go with the most practical ones. We recommend the ChessBase database.
This is the most popular chess database, and it comes included in the powerful Fritz, program destined for chess improvement, used by the world champion. You can buy this program on their official web, is practical and easy to use, either way here are many tutorials.
It’s incredible how many things you can do with this, and the price isn’t high. It’s practical because it comes with chess engines included, an analysis board, and you can filter the games by openings, players, and more. It has more than 8.000.000 chess games in the database.
If you want a free chess database, pretty much any chess website will offer you one, and to access you just need to create an account. In the users’ opinion, one of the best is the chesstempo.com database. It allows you to download the chess games, or analyze them on the digital board, and even training sessions!
How do I make a chess database?
Creating a database is an easy step pretty much anyone can do, chess players need to have a database. This is a good way to review your progression in chess, comparing your old games with the new ones.
This is as easy as storing your chess games in a folder, you can do it in electronic format (PGN) or physical paper. This is the folder of your games, that you can store, add comments, variations, and more.
This database can have your chess games, you can organize them, or do whatever you want with them.
You can also use programs and PC software to help you create a chess database, of your games. For example, using the ChessBase program you can modify your PGN files, add comments, and most of the functions.
You can also do it online, chess websites give you the option to create your own chess database and upload it to the cloud. You can even share games with the people to analyze them and give you their opinion if you want.
Why chess databases are important?
Chess databases allow us to review different games. Thanks to them we can have an organized register of all the chess games that have been played. This serves as a scientific base to improve chess variations and openings.
They are a fundamental part of organized chess classes, and they help give a good foundation to chess books. Many chess masters have organized chess databases by different chess topics and lessons.
For example, a chess database of games that can be used to teach the usage of the pair of bishops is used in lectures. Also, tactical motives and strategical concepts. Chess databases are the basis of serious chess improvement.
It doesn’t mean you can’t improve if you don’t have a database, is not like a requisite. But unconsciously, as a chess player, you have used a chess database, even if you don’t know it.
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