Introduction
Intelinvest is going to release a new
version of its Database and Tutorial program Chess Academy'99. (The
program is available for shipping since 7 April 1999 - Editorial
commentary). I'm writing here a (p)review since I've been in the beta
program. I would like to make clear that I have had a marginal
collaboration with the company, having translated its interface into
Italian. So take my words as you like, and stop reading now if you think
my opinion is biased. I'll try to do my best to be fair. Above all I'll
avoid making a feature per feature, comparison of it respect to other
programs.
First a short description of the program
for those which don't know it yet. If you want to skip this (long)
section, go directly to the description of the
new features.
The program embodies two main tools in a single unit. In the past the
Intelinvest was producing 2 programs: a database and a tutorial program.
After some years the two dos programs were merged in one single product,
which became "Chess Academy'98 Deluxe" for Windows. Now we have a new
release, which brings various improvements respect to the previous
edition, especially in the database capability and the interface.
Database
As a database the program handles
collections of games. This are stored in a proprietary file format which
permits a lot of freedom: each game has a header, with plenty of space for
various info beyond the names, site and the result. One can fit, e.g.,
nationality, team, titles, elos, kind of player, kind of the event, play
mode, address of the player, user defined keys, full date, "medals",
category, annotator, and free textual info. The file format permits
multimedia extensions (audio and video), comments (textual and figurine),
variations, and a nice categorization scheme based on more than hundred
strategy themes. Finally the database can import CBF and PGN files (with
variations and comments) and export to PGN and EPD.
Later one can retrieve games on the basis of such information (search on
header). Moreover the program can perform searches on other criteria,
like: specific position patterns, specific routes followed by pieces,
specific correlations among the (number of) pieces, and combinations of
these.
The games are presented in a list and when a selection is done, the
selected games can be grouped in a dataset (like a clipboard) for easy
handling. Multiple datasets can coexist at any time. On datasets one can
perform usual "set operations": joint, intersection, subtraction.
The selected games can also, obviously, be reproduced. This happens in a
board window which shows mainly 3 things: the board with the position (2D
or 3D pieces), a short info on the game (some data from the header) and
the move list. For a more advanced use, one can open a special window with
extra info: here one can create and modify commentaries to the game, or
read them when present. It is possible also to add subvariation, browse
them, add graphic items (arrows on the board, key
squares) and multimedia commentaries.
For advanced study there are more tools: there is an analysis board (a la
Nimzowitsch), which permits to attempt for new subvariations (without
storing them), and permits also to highlight threatened pieces, controlled
squares, and material imbalances, and permits to study the route followed
by a piece. There are two "training" functionalities, which require: the
first to guess the next moves (hiding the scoresheet), and the second to
reproduce the position on the board.
The database has also various keys for specific searches: ECO opening key
(500), fine grain opening key (> 20.000 keys), hundreds of middlegame
(pawn structures, motives, and sacrifices) and endgame keys. The user can
also set up new keys.
It is also possible to extract various statistical information on the
games in a dataset, or to build a tree of variations with all the moves
from this games.
Finally one can join databases, name spellings (players and tournaments)
can be fixed, and double games can be removed.
Tutorial
The Tutorial functionality of the program
is a very powerful one. Tutorial libraries are files similar to the
databases, but where the user cannot modify the given examples (commented
game fragments), one can only create new tutorial examples.
The examples are organized in collections
(libraries) on a given subject (like "The exchange sacrifice", "Rook
endings", "The isolated pawn", etc...) and with further indices with
subtopics. The student is supposed to watch the game and once in a while
find a particularly smart move. After completion of each example the
student is awarded with a score which measures the number of correct moves
found.
The tutorial available are many, and they
cover subjects which range from middlegame strategy to endgame, and to
solution of compositions and combinations. With the standard package one
receives two modules for free, and other modules can be bought separately.
It is also possible to get all the modules at a discounted price.
New features
The previous version was a bit "rough" in
some aspects of the interface and of the database management. If you want
to know more about "critics" which were made, you can read the review made
by Komputer Korner, still in the collection of
CCC.
Interface
In general the interface was improved quite a lot.
The program is now a 32-bit code,
hence it should do a better job in Windows (the program was tested in
Windows 95, 98 and NT 4);
the toolbar are adjustable to best
fit the users need: the buttons are organized in several separated
toolbars which can stay "attached" at the top or bottom of the window,
floating or hidden;
the user can set the size of the toolbar
buttons;
the program can also use a 3D board
out of 18 available;
the interface of the program has been
translated to English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian and
Portuguese;
the installation was simplified so that
the tutorials are on a single CD with the program and one single floppy is
required for the first installation;
the games interface permits now
multimedia extensions (audio and video): avi and wav files can be
associated to the move we want;
the games interface permits graphical
annotations for: key squares, arrows of threat/intention.
it is possible to show the route
followed by a piece The number of steps in the route can be controlled
nicely with two buttons in the board window;
it is possible to show the material
imbalances both in a box under the board, and directly on the board
the games can have more than 100 different
medals assigned, and the list contains 6 different icons for describing
the kind of commentary;
the game window uses 10 icons to underline
the kind of commentary corresponding to each game;
key's are easier to use, and there is a
nice eco-tree to select the desired opening code;
the edit board (used to edit/watch
commentaries) now supports a list format which is very nice to read and
easy to configure;
in the game list with a single click one
can now sort ascending/descending (right click on the list header);
in the statistics window relative to a
group of games it is now possible to search on the basis of success rate;
the "window" main menu has some new
feature to better organize windows on the screen, and a dedicated toolbar
too;
the print/print preview were also enhanced
(you can print text only, text with diagrams, and diagrams only).
Database and Tutorials
The handling of databases was in general
greatly improved, respect to former version which was a bit "lagging"
respect to competition.
- some general limits were removed
totally or in part: the maximum number of moves in a game was raised to
250; the maximum number of games which can fit in datasets (kind of
multiple clipboards) is now ~524.000 (before it was 65.000), and the
maximum year which can be stored in the date is now 4096 (was 2003);
- the content was greatly enlarged, from
nearly 500,000 games (as in the biggest database of former version) to
nearly 1,600,000 games of this version, also the quality of the
spellings was further improved;
- the database format was improved to
include multimedia extensions;
- it is possible to join
databases;
- it is possible to delete and
undelete games;
- it is possible to physically remove
deleted games;
- it is possible to search and
possibly remove double games;
- player names and tournament sites can
be renamed/modified;
- all the comments can be removed from a
database;
- the program can export in EPD
format too (beside handling CBF/PGN in input and PGN in output already);
- the import/export functions now will
handle variations and commentaries from both CBF and PGN
properly;
- datasets can be converted in a database
in a single command now;
- there should be some new tutorials
available.
The datasets, obsolete or great
tool?
I'll conclude with a small digression
about datasets.
When KK made his review to Chess Academy he listed good and bad sides of
the program. Apart from some minor mistakes in his critics, due to the
"unfriendliness" of some of the features, he criticized one of the tools
which I believe is among the strongest feature of the database program:
the datasets. This is the main thing on which I really disagree out of
that review.
KK said that datasets are "obsolete" because he likes so much the
drag-n-drop features of CB software. I think that drag-n-drop is useful
but not the best/only solution for a database. Yes, it is good to be able
to pick few games and move them to another database, but to select large
quantities of games it is not the best way to work, so one uses some
"queries" to select games and copy them into the clipboard in CB.
Datasets are in some sense similar to the clipboard: but they are multiple
clipboards, so they work better. Ever made a search and repeated it in 10
minutes because you had only "one" clipboard? Well this is a problem you
will not face with the datasets. ...
With Datasets one can have separated
lists, created with different criteria, and use them as sets of games for
new searches, and also set operations (join / intersect / subtract). On
the other side datasets are the same as "query tables" in referential
databases, and the modern theory of databases wouldn't exist without them.
Another feature that datasets give is the ability to save a list of
pointers to the games list for further work. This is extremely useful, one
can make a list of all the games of say Karpov, an later look for subset
of that another day: you'll not repeat any more your searches, and you'll
use less disk space.
© 1999,
Francesco Di Tolla
Editorial comment: great thanks
to Dr. Francesco Di Tolla for this review of the program. This review has
been prepared on the free basis of cooperation.