Using Chessbase files with Android and Scidonthego
Chessbase is the company behind Fritz, one of the chess programs I use. As well as making chess engines that Kasparov uses for training, they also compile whacking great databases of played games that can be analysed by pro chess players, huge great tutorial DVDs with databases of annotated games and video tuition, and they run an online server thing so you can play against people around the world.
I use Fritz and make use of the odd tutorial DVD, but not so much the huge databases or the 'play against real people online' thing. Their database system has however become the de facto standard for most chess players, and so there are a large number of Chessbase-format databases with tutorials and annotated games floating about. Everymanchess, for example, has released a whole raft of Chessbase-format eBooks on different topics.
Sadly Chessbase haven't yet ported their stuff to Android or iOS, and so if you want to rake through a stack of historical chess games and commentary on your mobile device you'll probably have to stick with the archaic .pgn text format. So, what to do if you only have Chessbase format?
These directions show you how to use Fritz to convert a Chessbase database to a .pgn file, and load it into a free bit of software called Scid On The Go.
Once done:
I use Fritz and make use of the odd tutorial DVD, but not so much the huge databases or the 'play against real people online' thing. Their database system has however become the de facto standard for most chess players, and so there are a large number of Chessbase-format databases with tutorials and annotated games floating about. Everymanchess, for example, has released a whole raft of Chessbase-format eBooks on different topics.
Sadly Chessbase haven't yet ported their stuff to Android or iOS, and so if you want to rake through a stack of historical chess games and commentary on your mobile device you'll probably have to stick with the archaic .pgn text format. So, what to do if you only have Chessbase format?
These directions show you how to use Fritz to convert a Chessbase database to a .pgn file, and load it into a free bit of software called Scid On The Go.
- Open Fritz
- Open the database managing screen (F12)
- Open your chosen database
- Select All games in the database (ctrl-A)
- Go to Menu -> Selection to text file
- In the popup window, select 'pgn' in the radio buttons
- Click 'OK' and find somewhere suitable to save it
Once done:
- Open Scid on the Go
- Go to Menu -> More -> Import .pgn file
- Select your .pgn file from the list (it will list whatever's in /scid/)
- Wunderbar, it automagically turns it into a Scid database that you can browse at your leisure...
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