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ChessBase

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ChessBaseis a German company that develops and sellschesssoftware, maintains a chess news site, and operates aninternet chess serverfor online chess. Founded in 1986, it maintains and sells large-scaledatabasescontaining the moves of recorded chess games.[1][2]The databases contain data from prior games and provide engine analyses of games.Endgame tablebasesare also provided by the company.[3]

ChessBase's Indian YouTube channelChessBase Indiahas amassed more than 1.2 million YouTube subscribers and more than 1 billion total views as of August 2023.[4]

History

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Starting in 1983,Frederic Friedeland his colleagues put out a magazineComputer-schach und Spielecovering the emerging hobby of computer chess. In 1985, Friedel invited then world chess championGarry Kasparovto his house. Kasparov mused about how a chess database would make it easier for him to prepare for specific opponents. Friedel began working with Bonn physicist Matthias Wüllenweber who created the first such database, ChessBase 1.0, as software for theAtari ST.The February 1987 issue ofComputer-schach und Spieleintroduced the database program as well as the ChessBase magazine, a floppy disk containing chess games edited by chessgrandmasterJohn Nunn.

The August 1991 issue ofComputer-schach und Spieleannounced that Dutch programmer Frans Morsch'sFritzprogram would soon be available for purchase as software forPCs.This method of software sale was unlike all the dedicated chess computers which at the time dominated the ratings lists. This program was marketed initially as Knightstalker in the U.S., while it was marketed asFritzin the rest of the world.Mathias Feistjoined ChessBase, and ported Fritz toDOSand thenMicrosoft Windows.

In 1994, German chess grandmasterRainer Knaakjoined ChessBase as a full-time employee, annotating games for the ChessBase magazine, and soon authoring game databaseCD-ROMson topics such as theTrompowsky Attackor Mating Attacks against 0-0. British grandmasterDaniel Kingwas another early author of such CD-ROMs which eventually grew into the Fritztrainer series of multimediaDVDs.

In the mid-1990s, R&D Publishing in the U.S. released a series of print books in the ChessBase University Opening Series, includingKarpovandAlexander Beliavsky'sThe Caro-Kann in Black and White.

In December 1996, ChessBase added Mark Uniacke'sHiarcs6chess engineto its product line up, selling it inside the existing Fritzgraphical user interface(GUI).[5]In March 1998, ChessBase addedJunior4.6 and Dr. Christian Donninger's Nimzo99.[6]Also that year, ChessBase released Fritz 5 including a 'friend mode' which would automatically scale its strength of play down to the level that it assessed the player was playing.[7]This remains a feature of all of ChessBase's Graphical User Interfaces.

In 1998, ChessBase took their database of chess games online.[8]In November, ChessBase started offering trainer CD-ROMs by such grandmasters asRobert Hübner,Rainer KnaakandDaniel King.[9]

In 1999,Stefan Meyer-Kahlen'sShredderhad won the world computer chess championship. In April, Meyer-Kahlen and Huber released theUniversal Chess Interface(UCI) protocol for engines to communicate with GUIs, to compete with Winboard and ChessBase. Meyer-Kahlen's contract with Millennium 2000 expired in June, and ChessBase hired him shortly after, adding Shredder to their product line under a Fritz style GUI, and giving their new GUIs the ability to import UCI engines.[10]

In April 2000, ChessBase released a Young Talents CD featuring the engines Anmon, Goliath Light, Gromit, Ikarus, Patzer, Phalanx and Rudolf Huber's SOS. Christophe Theron's engines Chess Tiger and Gambit Tiger were also released as ChessBase engines that month.[10]

In the early 2000s matches were held pitting world championsGarry KasparovandVladimir Kramnikagainst versions of theFritzorJuniorengines.

In 2003, ChessBase introduced the Chess Media System, allowing players to produce videos with them playing out moves that can be seen on the user's chessboard within a ChessBase program. Eventually, ChessBase commissioned world championsGarry Kasparov,Viswanathan Anand,Vladimir KramnikandRustam Kasimdzhanovto produce DVDs using the new format. ChessBase also produced Fritztrainer Opening DVDs by the likes of grandmastersAlexei ShirovandViktor Bologanand a Power Play series by British grandmasterDaniel Kingfor lower level players.

In April 2006, following its victory at theWorld Computer Chess Championship,Anthony Cozzie'sZappachess engine was published by ChessBase asZap!Chess.

In 2008,Vasik Rajlich'sRybkaengine was added to the ChessBase product line, followed by Robert Houdart'sHoudiniandDon DaileyandLarry Kaufman'sKomodoengines.

Recent versions of ChessBase and the engine GUIs such as Fritz supports cloud engines. ChessBase/Playchessadded a web interface by 2013.[11]ChessBase added a tactics trainer web app in 2015.[12]In 2015, ChessBase released a play Fritz web app,[13]as well as My Games for storing one's games.[14]

The company

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The company is located inHamburg,Germany.ChessBaseUSA[15]markets their products in theUnited States,and some of their most popular programs are sold by licenseeViva Media,a division ofEncore, Inc.In 1998, the German companyData Beckerreleased the program 3D Schach Genie, containing theShredderengine andFritzinterface. ChessBase India markets their products in India and surrounding countries. ChessBase India is run by International Master(IM)Sagar Shahand his wife Amruta Mokal.[16]

The database

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ChessBase was originally designed for the Atari ST by Matthias Wüllenweber, the physicist/co-founder of the company. Mathias Feist helped port the program to DOS. In more recent years, Lutz Nebe, Wolfgang Haar and Jeroen van den Belt have also been involved in program development.

Image of ChessBase 8.0 running under Windows XP (year 2008).

ChessBase uses a proprietary format for storing games (CBH), but can also handle games inportable 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. ChessBase can import engines either those such as Fritz or Shredder in native ChessBase format orUniversal Chess Interface(UCI) engines such asStockfish.

As of 19 November 2020,ChessBase's database contained over 8.4 million games.[17]The online database can be accessed directly through their database programs.

Playchess server

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Main article:Playchess

Playchess is an internet chess service where players can play chess with other players and discuss about chess.[18]

News site

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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, Spanish and Hindi.[19]

Other publications

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ChessBase produces CDs and DVDs, including monographs on famous players, tactical training exercises, and training for specific opening systems. They publish theChessBase Magazinesix times per year, which comes on DVD with video clip interviews, articles on opening novelties, database updates (including annotated games), and other articles. All these are designed for viewing within their database software or the free ChessBase Reader.

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A database-only version of ChessBase for theBBC Micro,called "BBChessBase", was published by Peter Tate in 1991.[20]

Gerritt Reubold's Der Bringer chess program is a rare example of a ChessBase format engine not released by ChessBase itself.[21]

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ChessBase has faced criticism for allegedly using free software created by others without credit. The developers ofStockfish,an open-source chess engine, charged that Fat Fritz 2 is a modified copy of their software (that had originally been uncredited; since rectified) and that ChessBase claims "originality where there is none".[22]Lichessdescribed the same product as "a rip-off".[23]

ChessBase responded to this criticism by adding references but claiming the new engine differs from Stockfish due to added input from the original Fat Fritz neural network[24]—itself claimed by Lichess to be derived closely fromLeela Chess Zero,another open-source initiative.[23]

In July 2021, Stockfish sued ChessBase, alleging that ChessBase violated Stockfish'sGNU General Public License.[25]In November 2022, a settlement on that lawsuit was reached.[26][27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^John Watson,Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy: Advances Since Nimzowitsch(London: Gambit Publications, 1998), 8.
  2. ^Karsten Muller and Frank Lamprecht,Fundamental Chess Endings: A New Endgame Encyclopedia for the 21st Century(London: Gambit Publications, 2001), 9-10.
  3. ^Muller and Lamprecht, 400-406.
  4. ^"ChessBase India - YouTube".youtube.Retrieved2022-11-19.
  5. ^Computer-schach & Spiele. 1997#6
  6. ^Computer-schach & Spiele. 1998#1
  7. ^"Fritz5 Teaching functions".Archived fromthe originalon 1998-02-13.Retrieved2019-06-29.
  8. ^"Chessbase Online, Searching a high quality database of Chessgames. Free Chess Games.ChessBase-Online".May 11, 2000. Archived fromthe originalon 2000-05-11.
  9. ^Computer-schach & Spiele. 1998#5
  10. ^abComputer-schach & Spiele. April May 2000
  11. ^"Play Chess Online For Free".December 17, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-12-17.
  12. ^"ChessBase Training".May 4, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-05-04.
  13. ^"Fritz Chess Program Online".fritz.chessbase.
  14. ^"ChessBase MyGames".mygames.chessbase.
  15. ^"ChessBase USA".chessbaseusa.
  16. ^"Welcome to ChessBase India".Chess News.2015-11-23.Retrieved2020-09-05.
  17. ^"ChessBase, MegaBase".Retrieved2020-11-19.
  18. ^"Play Chess Online for free".
  19. ^"Chess News | ChessBase".en.chessbase.
  20. ^Bernard Hill (August–September 1991). "Chess for the BBC Micro".Beebug.10(4): 11.it is good to see appearing a BBC version of the PC-based product known as "ChessBase"
  21. ^"Der Bringer User's Guide Home Page".chess.kearman.
  22. ^"Stockfish's Statement on Fat Fritz 2".Retrieved2021-02-19.
  23. ^ab"Fat Fritz 2 is a rip off".18 February 2021.Retrieved2021-02-19.
  24. ^"Best of Both Worlds".11 February 2021. Archived fromthe originalon 2021-02-21.Retrieved2021-02-19.
  25. ^"Our lawsuit against ChessBase".2021-07-20.Retrieved2021-07-21.
  26. ^"ChessBase GmbH and the Stockfish team reach an agreement and end their legal dispute".2022-11-18.Retrieved2022-12-18.
  27. ^"Settlement Reached in Stockfish v ChessBase".2022-11-21.Retrieved2022-12-18.
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