Learning how to use ChessBase

[Paul Habershon]

Perhaps there has been a thread about this before, but I wonder if there is a market for chess professionals/IT experts to run courses on using ChessBase. I know you can access lots of online tutorials, but I would prefer sitting in a small group, laptops plugged in, receiving instruction and being able to ask questions.

I am sure there must be many players like me, who can use ChessBase's simple functions (e.g. preparing for an opponent) but are fairly clueless about most of it. We need to be told what's most useful for an amateur and how to do it. There should be no assumption that all of us understand database paths, browsing, filtering, downloading, copying, cbh files and all the other features which are probably so simple for those in the know.

Such a course might work well at a 4NCL weekend where the venue has Training Suites set up with terminals and screens for this sort of teaching.

[MJMcCready]

Or even the London Classic could have a few sessions as there are surely many others who barely know how to use it and many who would sign up for it.

[John Upham]

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpFJ1uT ... 76A6924E99

and

https://www.youtube.com/user/ChessbaseGeek

and

http://www.chesscentral.com/chess_video ... ssbase.htm

[MJMcCready]

You might find this useful Paul:

http://en.chessbase.com/post/review-of- ... e-complete

[Niall Doran]

I haven't been able to find a review, other than the link above which may be biased as it's on the Chessbase website. Has any here read this book yet? Or found a review other than the one above?

[MJMcCready]

Well that's a good point Niall and in all probability the write up -not review as it is uncritical- is probably/only there to help sell the book.

[Arshad Ali]

I haven't been able to find a review, other than the link above which may be biased as it's on the Chessbase website. Has any here read this book yet? Or found a review other than the one above?

I have the book. It's good if you're an utter novice to the package. But the title's a misnomer -- it's not a comprehensive reference manual. There are features Edwards either elides over or covers in perfunctory form. Unfortunately, as far as I know, it's the only book on ChessBase. One would think the Chessbase people could come out with a reference manual.

[Roger de Coverly]

One would think the Chessbase people could come out with a reference manual.

The days seem long gone when for the price of packaged software, you also expected user manuals both telling you what the software could do and how you might use it for common tasks.

[Michael Farthing]

Yeah, well it's all explained in the online help in 'it?

[We really do need a smiley for sarcasm].

[Arshad Ali]

One would think the Chessbase people could come out with a reference manual.

The days seem long gone when for the price of packaged software, you also expected user manuals both telling you what the software could do and how you might use it for common tasks.

What I've been noticing. If Spengler were to come out with a revised edition of his magnum opus, Decline of the West, maybe one further symptom he could point to would be the paucity of technical documentation for software.

[Niall Doran]

Chessbase are pretty much the reference for chess software and databases, so anyone doing any serious work has to buy their software. Knowing this, they're not going to waste time sitting down and writing a manual for next to zero return.

[Arshad Ali]

Chessbase are pretty much the reference for chess software and databases, so anyone doing any serious work has to buy their software. Knowing this, they're not going to waste time sitting down and writing a manual for next to zero return.

Dunno. They'd probably win over more people if they explained some of the fancy things you can do with CB. For example, I was unaware of the "similar structures" and "similar endgames" feature until Edwards mentioned them. Edwards wrote his phenomenal book, Sacking the Citadel," using CB12's search features.

[Martyn Harris]

I haven't been able to find a review, other than the link above which may be biased as it's on the Chessbase website. Has any here read this book yet? Or found a review other than the one above?

If you count customer reviews on Amazon, there are five on .com.

[Philip Adams]

This criticism of Chessbase is very odd: CB12 comes with a 300+ page manual in pdf.

[Niall Doran]

Apologies for, unbeknownst to myself, talking nonsense.

I'd be interested in buying Chessbase, but was always put off by all the talk of it being hard to get to grips with and there being no proper manual to help out.

I'm curious now, though. If there's a 300-page manual, what the difference between that and the book that's been reviewed on the Chessbase website?