Two similar tips this week, both on color-coded variations...

In Fritz: http://www.youtube.com/user/USCFSalesVideos

In ChessBase: http://uscfsales.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/color-coding-chess-variations-in-chessbase-11/

-- Steve
uscfsales.com

New Fritz video:

http://www.youtube.com/user/USCFSalesVideos

and a new blog post in my series on chess engines:

http://uscfsales.wordpress.com/

-- Steve Lopez

uscfsales.com

New video: Fritz/Rybka finds tactics for you as you play against it

http://www.youtube.com/user/USCFSalesVideos

-- Steve Lopez

uscfsales.com

New today - Generating post-game evaluation profiles in Fritz & Rybka:

http://wp.me/p1hSow-90

-- Steve Lopez

uscfsales.com

  Steve - I must say since I am getting Chessbase 11 today after my girlfriend drops it off, hopefully what I have seen and listened to in the videos will help. I bookmarked the channel and I look forward to more of the videos. Thanks 

  -Mark

PS: I just started color coding my variations thanks to your vidoes when I'm using the "Reference DB" function 

CMtS -- please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

New today - adding UCI engines to Fritz/Rybka:

http://www.youtube.com/user/USCFSalesVideos

Added yesterday - the importance of endgame tablebases:

http://uscfsales.wordpress.com/

-- Steve Lopez
uscfsales.com

Hey Steve, I have a question for you. Do you happen to know if it's possible to set up illegal positions in Chessbase 10 or 11 in any way? This would help me for educating purposes. I know it can be done in Fritz by setting up a giveaway chess game, but it seems impossible to do this in Chessbase. Is there any way to do it?

Not in CB10 or 11 AFAIK (unless somebody's devised some clever way to circumvent it that I haven't heard about yet). But, as you note, it can be done in Fritz.

-- Steve Lopez

uscfsales.com

Allright, thanks for the reply.

Sorry, Chuck, no. I have Win7 set to automatic updates and CB11 is running fine. However, you should make sure your CB11 is up to date (the command is in the "Activation" part of the Application menu in CB11) -- it's certainly possible that a newer MS update might be interfering with a non-updated CB11.

-- Steve

Today's video - Setting up positions in Fritz/Rybka for practice or analysis:

http://www.youtube.com/user/USCFSalesVideos

-- Steve Lopez

uscfsales.com

New today - testing a chess engine's tablebase access in Fritz/Rybka/etc.:

http://www.youtube.com/user/USCFSalesVideos

-- Steve Lopez

uscfsales.com

Latest blog post on "Threshold" settings in chess engine analysis:

http://uscfsales.wordpress.com/

and a new video on practicng endgames:

http://www.youtube.com/user/USCFSalesVideos

-- Steve

uscfsales.com

This week:

Interpreting a chess engine's post-game analysis, and what it means for your personal study program:

http://uscfsales.wordpress.com/

Adjusting the chess engine's "draw" and "resignation" tendencies in Fritz/Rybka/etc.:

http://www.youtube.com/user/USCFSalesVideos

-- Steve Lopez
uscfsales.com

For anyone who hasn't seen Steve's video, I highly recommend them. The Chessbase family of products are like an iceberg: What you see on the surface is a fraction of what lies within. The videos provide an easy way to navigate these programs.

Chessbase 11 offers a great system for studying games. Every chess player, especially beginners should study quality games. As a chess instructor, I walk my students through Master level games, analyzing each move and discussing their merits. What's nice about Chessbase 11 is the ability to search out games based on a wide variety of criteria. I usually lecture for 30 minutes so I need short informative games. No problem, I can search the massive database for games that end after 18 to 24 moves. The fact that you can narrow the search down so easily makes the system a must.

Fritz is great because you can really adjust the playing level in a plethora of ways. I can literally match Fritz's game play to each student. You can also use it as an interface for the Chessbase training software. I really favor the Andrew Martin and Daniel King Fritz Trainers because both men provide clear, easy to understand explanations that even the newest player can understand.

Lastly, you have to watch the videos to get the most out of the software. I also encourage you to explore the many options both programs have to offer. You have to explore both programs because there are so many wonderful options hidden just below the surface. Thanks Steve.

If you're wondering about the new Fritz13 "Let's Check" features and how to use them, my last several videos have described and demonstrated them. So please have a look!

http://www.youtube.com/user/USCFSalesVideos

Happy holidays!

-- Steve Lopez

uscfsales.com

Hi,  Thanks for the articles and videos.

I've had CB8 and Fritz 7 for years now, and was recently bought Fritz 12.

Seems really nice so far, but scrolling through games is driving me nuts!

The mouse-wheel will only scroll 1 full move at a time (both sides) instead of 1 ply at a time like in CB8 and F7.

I've looked through every menu I can, and the ini file, even digging into the registry and can't find how to change this.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance. :)

I just checked this and my copy of Fritz12 advances 1 ply when I turn the wheel 1 notch.

So I have two semi-educated guesses as to how to correct your software's problem:

1) Update your Fritz software by going to the Application menu (the green button in the upper left-hand corner), selecting "Activation", and "Update program" (in case this was a Fritz issue which was later adjusted by the programmers).

2) Go to the Options for your mouse in Windows (usually Control Panel/Hardware/Mouse) and reduce the number of lines each wheel click will advance the cursor (mine's set to "10").

My gut hunch is that the first option will fix it, because increasing the lines in option 2 didn't have an effect on my Fritz12.

-- Steve Lopez

uscfsales.com

[Insert Facepalm smiley]

Update....

Its not like I work in IT or anything....   oh.. wait....

(I'm blaming the weather for this one)

Thanks!