Sorry for opening a new thread, but I felt this might be important for possible future tournaments and shouldn't get lost inside a large thread.
While playing my first games in the RB chess tournament#1, I noticed that several player obviously lack the software tools which are very common among correspondence chess players. So allow me to point out a few tools, which will even the playing field should you so desire.
What do you need ?
1. A database software which allows you move pieces around on the screen before logging them in. This is a huge advantage compared to calculating everything in your head.
2. A good software will give certain optional hints i.e. mark attacked pieces. To me it's no great fun if I win or lose a game by move 50 because of a simple oversight.
3. A basic opening book so you won't get slaughtered by move 5.
4. An engine kiebitz which helps you check your game afterwards for mistakes or alternative variations.
Downloads:
a) ChessBase Light 2009
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5700
b) Hiarcs Opening Book
http://www.hiarcs.com/book-downloads/H12Book.zip
The only disadvantage is that you can't save your games with the Light version unless you upgrade for 49 Euros. However, chess.com allows to download your games in PGN format which ChessBase can read - so that's not really a huge disadvantage since you can import your games at any time without having to enter all the moves again.
Setup:
1. Install ChessBase.
2. Unzip the Opening Book.
3. Open ChessBase.
4. Click on "File"->"New"->"Open" or "File"->"Open"->"Open Database" to open a new game or import a PGN.
5. On the board screen, make sure that "Help"->"Threat as Arrow" and optionally "Create Threat as Arrow" are checked.
6. On the right click on the "Opening Books" tab. You should have the option to point the software to the Hiarcs book you downloaded earlier.
7. If the game is finished and you want some computer advise, click at the top on "Engine"->"Add Kibitzer: Fritz 6 Light".
8. On the bottom right you should see the strongest next move. With "+" on your keyboard you can display the second strongest move as well (or the 3rd, 4th) "-" displays one move less. I usually use the two strongest moves.
9. Fritz 6 Light has an Elo of about 2533. Modern engines are stronger, but hey, it's free!
10. If everything worked fine, your screen should look like this:
![[Image: chessbaselight.jpg]](http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/7085/chessbaselight.jpg)
While playing my first games in the RB chess tournament#1, I noticed that several player obviously lack the software tools which are very common among correspondence chess players. So allow me to point out a few tools, which will even the playing field should you so desire.
What do you need ?
1. A database software which allows you move pieces around on the screen before logging them in. This is a huge advantage compared to calculating everything in your head.
2. A good software will give certain optional hints i.e. mark attacked pieces. To me it's no great fun if I win or lose a game by move 50 because of a simple oversight.
3. A basic opening book so you won't get slaughtered by move 5.
4. An engine kiebitz which helps you check your game afterwards for mistakes or alternative variations.
Downloads:
a) ChessBase Light 2009
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5700
b) Hiarcs Opening Book
http://www.hiarcs.com/book-downloads/H12Book.zip
The only disadvantage is that you can't save your games with the Light version unless you upgrade for 49 Euros. However, chess.com allows to download your games in PGN format which ChessBase can read - so that's not really a huge disadvantage since you can import your games at any time without having to enter all the moves again.
Setup:
1. Install ChessBase.
2. Unzip the Opening Book.
3. Open ChessBase.
4. Click on "File"->"New"->"Open" or "File"->"Open"->"Open Database" to open a new game or import a PGN.
5. On the board screen, make sure that "Help"->"Threat as Arrow" and optionally "Create Threat as Arrow" are checked.
6. On the right click on the "Opening Books" tab. You should have the option to point the software to the Hiarcs book you downloaded earlier.
7. If the game is finished and you want some computer advise, click at the top on "Engine"->"Add Kibitzer: Fritz 6 Light".
8. On the bottom right you should see the strongest next move. With "+" on your keyboard you can display the second strongest move as well (or the 3rd, 4th) "-" displays one move less. I usually use the two strongest moves.
9. Fritz 6 Light has an Elo of about 2533. Modern engines are stronger, but hey, it's free!
10. If everything worked fine, your screen should look like this:
![[Image: chessbaselight.jpg]](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/713/chessbaselight.jpg/)
