Need Help With PGN

I tried to analyze a game and got it to play back.

Then I tried to download PGN and got error messages.  How do I use the PGN feature?

Maybe I don't need PGN, but I would  like to get an explanation of what it does and try it.

I am in contact with Customer Support, but maybe I did not state the problem properly.

The pgn is a record of the game in ASCII.  You can open it in Word for example or with your favorite editor.  Usually chess engines let you copy-paste a pgn of a game so that you can see the moves and do analysis if you like.  That is pretty much it.  Cheers.

Thanks, LikeThelake.

The problem is that I can't get to do anything when I press PGN.  I only get error messages.  If possible, I would like to get the game in Word.

I guess you are talking about pgn here at chess.com.  So the way I use it is as this.  I go to my games archive and select Standard from the drop box.  Then each Standard game I have played shows up with an empty box on the right side.  I proceed to tick mark each box (game) I want.  Finally at the to of the list there is a line that says "Download PGN" which is where I click on.  Then I receive the games in ASCII in my email acount and do whatever I want with them.  Word is something definitely you can use for looking at your PGNs.  Cheers.

When I go to games archive, I click on "view."  I don't see any place labeled "Standard."  I only play online standard games.

When I click on "view" I see a place to click on "get PGN."  I click on "get PGN" and get error messages.  I just loaded Adobe reader and that did not help.

Any ideas on what I am missing here?

I think you have adobe reader as a default application to load PGN files. Download Scid (a free chess GUI) and then open the PGN file with Scid.

I understand your procedure and something is not working right.  Try my procedure which should work.  It will help us debug your problem.

Btw.  It is not "any place labeled 'Standard'" it is a dropbox on left side right above the first game on the list.  What temp_ddg suggested sound also reasonable to me.  Cheers.

Thank everyone for all the help.  I am pretty much burned out ont this problem.  Maybe in a few days, after I review your suggestions, I will work on this again.

What is Scid?  I could not find it on chess.com.  It's on the Internet.

Fortunately, I had a good day playing chess today.  For now, a few adult beverages seem to be in order.  

Good solution pizzapier.  Also, I was thinking if you try to open any pgn you already have in your computer do the following.  Right click on a excistent pgn file --- I am assuming you have Windows 7--- then a box will show asking you with which program you want to open it for this you select Word.  From then on all pgns you click on will open in Word.  And that is a Windows 7 solution not a chess.com thing.  Cheers.

I did manage to get a different reaction a few minutes ago.

I went to Game Archive and selected from the drop-down box, Live Chess (Standard).  A new screen appeared and I checked the empty box next to a game.  I clicked (or double clicked) on Get PGN and a notice appeared that the PGN is being generated and will be mailed to me.

When I get the PGN email, I may have more questions.

Hey pizzapier.  Your solution is fantastic.  One comment though; you did exactly what I told you to do.  Your welcome!

Thanks LikeTheLake!  I value your messages of help.

i got back a few minutes ago and found the PGN file in my email.  I converted it to a Word document.  I then went to Scid, but could not do anything with the file.

Once I have the word file, how do I  load it into a place where I can analyze it by moving pieces?

Didn't you say you were going for some adult drinks?

PGN files are simple text files. You can view them using any simple text viewer such as Notepad, Wordpad, etc. on Windows operating systems.

Do not convert a PGN to a Word document before loading into SCID as Word will (probably) save the simple text PGN file in Word's own binary format which SCID will not understand.

SCID is a chess database program. Help is available within the program, online and in Chess.com's SCID group.

To load a PGN file in SCID go to Tools -> Import File of PGN games.

 You are correct LiketheLake.  I had some adult beverages, but I'm taking proper precautions by not playing chess.    Thank you for asking!

Okay MCBeaker, I'll work on your suggestion tomorrow.  I did look at Scid Help, but found no help there for what I wanted to do.  Looks like an interesting website.  Thanks!

temp_ddg, I tried what you suggested...nothing.  Scid is beyond my computer knowledge.  

I'll stick with chess.com and whatever analysis I can get out of that.

Thanks for your response and your patience.

You can simply import a pgn to scid by simply openening the file. Menu File > open or shortcut CTRl+O, like in Word, Notepad etc. Then chose the path and the file and you've got it! 

All the advice above is good pizzapier but maybe over-complicated for your needs?  I'd recommend you try out Game Editor on this site - it's a perfectly good PGN viewer/editor & I think it'll do everything you need without having to download any more software. I use it several times each day & while it has one or two shortcomings it's really good for viewing & playing around with positions, games & puzzles.

This is the way I use it to view one of my games: Once I've downloaded the PGN file into a folder on my PC, I open Notepad (any text editor will do) & then open the PGN file from within Notepad (remember to set file-type to 'All Files' else you won't see a listing of your .pgn files!). If you try to open a PGN file directly, your PC will try to find an application suitable for opening it & that can cause a few problems!

You should then see several lines of text in your text-editor - copy all of these to the clipboard (Ctrl+C in Windows), then open Game Editor in a new tab or window. Game Editor is to be found on the 'More' drop-down menu but here's a link...

http://www.chess.com/analysis-board-editor

When you have it open in your window, click on the Game Editor tab (next to Position Setup) & then click on the 'Paste PGN' button - paste your copied PGN text into the pane (Ctrl+V in Windows) & confirm.

If you've done that right then you should be able to see your game set up on the virtual board & you can step through the moves using the various buttons. The list of moves should be visible in a separate pane to the right of the board - click on any move to go straight to it.

You can add additional moves (as variations if you wish) at any point in the game, with your own annotation. You can also delete any moves you want. I think with practice you'll see how useful it is.

That's about it but this may also be of help...

http://support.chess.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/148/2/how-do-i-use-the-analysis-board--editor

That's a pretty good guide if you decide to use it. If you have any questions, just post them here & I'll do my best to answer them.