Alternate Solutions

When I get something wrong, I must know why. Many of my tactics training resources offer limited explanation, which helps force me to study the problem in more detail. If I am stumped after careful examination, I must set up the problem in ChessBase 11 (or in a similar resource that enables engine analysis). With the Anthology of Chess Combinations, that process is made easier because the disc containing the electronic version and "solver's kit" also contained a PGN file of the anthology.

Black to move

A queen sacrifice was the obvious place to begin with problem number 192 in the Anthology. After the second check, the position becomes more complicated if the White king steps towards the center. I found the pawn sacrifice and dance of my knights.

As I executed my solution, the software told me that one move was incorrect. I quickly found an alternate move that covered the same two critical squares. Try as I might, I could not discover what was wrong with my solution. Opening the problem in ChessBase allowed Stockfish to clarify that my move, as well as the published solution, lead to checkmate in the same number of moves.

CBase Chess iPad/iPhone App: Review

CBase Chess for the iPad/iPhone and compatible iOS devices shines in support of variations. There are a small number of mobile apps that support study of games with variations, but no other app that I have used handles them as well as CBase Chess. When a point is reached in the game where there is a variation in the annotations, a pop-up appears beside the board. This unobtrusive notification is as it should be. It is possible to continue studying the position, and considering each of the candidate moves, before selecting one for further exploration.

Strangely, most mobile apps place the pop-up over the board.

The app is quite limited in features. It is designed for one purpose: a PGN viewer. The user uploads PGN (portable game notation) files to the program, where it is possible to play through the games, and through the variations. The app supports both text commentary and variations, including layers of sub-variations.

I seek a chess app that will permit me to view the exceptional annotated games published in Chess Informant. CBase Chess is the best that I have found. Unfortunately, it does not appear to support Informant codes. Loading Karpov's Golden Games from the Best of Chess Informant CD, made it possible to play through Karpov's games with Grandmaster commentary in the form of variations, but did not leave in place the commentary embedded in Informant's codes (see "A Fingerprint"). To be fair, some of these codes do not translate well in PGN format, but require Informant's proprietary format.

CBase Chess rotates easily between landscape and portrait.

There are features that would be desirable: user choice of chess set and colors, a built in engine, and a feature for adding commentary. I suspect that developer NM Austen Green has these on his to-do list. The app reveals the signature of a developer who seeks tools for chess improvement, rather than someone driven by commercial ambitions. The app is free and does not carry advertising.

I have more than thirty chess apps on my iPad. CBase Chess is one of a few that I use frequently.