Sorry if this post is considered a necro, but, considering the thread title, this seems to be the logical place to make it. And maybe @stevenaaus himself can help me

Following a guide on Reddit, I've spent the last couple of days trying to set up a chess toolbase, and the last 24 hours, minus sleep and other needs, have been largely fruitless.

In a nutshell, my toolbase consists of Scid vs PC plus Stockfish 10 and Caissabase. So far, so good. However, I also want to use a 5-piece Syzygy tablebase (I don't want to use as much drive space as the 6-piece set requires), and it is this that is giving me the trouble.

When in Scid vs PC, I click Options -> Tablebase Directory, and in the window that pops up I use the browse button to select the folder where I keep the tablebase files. However, when I then click OK, I get a popup, titled Scid: Tablebase Results, which reads "No tablebases found." And, when I enter the Stockfish configuration menu (via the Scid vs PC Tools menu), and enter the path to the tablebase directory, as instructed on the Stockfish website, Stockfish ceases to function at all. This happens with both the bundled v9, and the v10 which I add myself. When I go back into the Stockfish configuration menu and delete the tablebase path, it starts to function again, though without the tablebases. And, as far as I can tell, the bundled (with Scid vs PC) Toga engine runs without using the tablebase files, also.

I really have no idea what is wrong, and my GoogleFu is weak, or so it seems. I've tried a few searches with key phrases which may be gleaned from this post, but no luck. I suspect that the problem with Stockfish not working when configured with the tablebase path may have something to do with Scid vs PC not recognising my directory.

Please help, and TIA

PS, I'm on Windows 10 

Well, I'm only using the previous version (4.18), but that version only supports Nalimov tablebases, not Syzygy tablebases. So unless the latest version now supports Syzygy tablebases, that's your problem.

Thanks for your reply. I did notice in the relevant help page for Scid vs PC that only Nalimov tablebases were mentioned, but, having read this Reddit post , I was certain that Syzygy should work......but, having read that post again, the process described is for Scid vs MAC. So, I guess you're right, unless someone else knows better.

Thanks once again for your reply o7

Oh, OK, I read the Reddit post - I think, in theory, it ought to work. The difference is that he has Stockfish directly accessing the Syzygy files via the Stockfish config file, and Scid is out of the loop. Maybe I'll try to install Stockfish 10 into my copy of Scid vs PC and see if I can get it to work.

Let me know how you get on, good luck o7

OK, I was able to get Stockfish 10 to use the Syzygy bases - It evaluated the Li**** position as 0.00, and showed 11 tablebase hits. Of course, Scid vs PC wasn't able to find the Syzygy tablebase files, just as you experienced. (I also got the "No tablebases found" error message when I tried to point Scid to the Syzygy folder.)

Interesting. How did you configure it in this instance? In Scid vs PC, or via a command line option or some such? I've tried Google searches on how to configure separately from the GUI, and the most visible link is https://support.stockfishchess.org/kb/advanced-topics/engine-parameters

Trouble is, even though the link AND its contents are displayed in the Google search list, when clicking on the link - in all 3 of my browsers - I just get

This site can’t be reached

Thanks once again o7

Regarding the advanced topics link, there wasn't really much useful info there. Here's a link to the archived page on the Wayback Machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20180317181332/https://support.stockfishchess.org/kb/advanced-topics/engine-parameters

Regarding how I configured the Stockfish engine - the way I normally configure any engine I add to Scid vs PC.   From the menu, "Tools --> Analysis Engines --> New". Then I fill in the Name, Command, and Directory fields, then I click on the "Configure" button, which then brings up the "UCI Configure Stockfish 10" window. That window is where you add the Syzygy path. Here's some screen shots of the setup: (right-click on any of the images and "View image" to get an enlarged view of the image.)

De Man's online 7-piece tablebases are now free to use, and another tool (namely ChessX) uses online 6-piece tablebases by default- so there is no need to install anything locally.

The pictures are great, and I now have everything up and running. I too got 11 tablebase hits, so it all seems to agree. Thankyou, Sir, for all your help o7

pfren, many thanks for your suggestion o7

So, after tinkering with my setup for a couple of days, I have more to report.

With the 5-piece syzygy tablebases, everything is working fine, as described above. But I changed my mind and decided I would try the 6-piece set after all. Thing is, when I test the 6-piece setup with the Li***** board linked in the Reddit post I mentioned higher up in the thread, I don't get a draw assessment, I get one of a fraction above +7. As I've said, with the 5-piece set I get a draw. I can't for the life of me figure out why this would be, I've downloaded the 6-piece sets from 2 different sources but the "issue" persists. Thoughts and suggestions, anyone?

TIA o7

I hate to bail out on further help, but downloading 150 GB of files isn't anything I'd look forward to doing. I guess someone else will have to step up. The only suggestion that comes to mind is to ask if you verified the md5 checksums for the 6-piece downloads so that you know that none of the files are corrupted.

EDIT - Eh, I might change my mind and download the 6-piece syzygys, but it'll take dayszzzzz to accomplish...

Heh, no worries, I wasn't expecting that level of dedication tbh   I was just wondering if it could be something someone might know off the top of their head. The md5 check, though, would be a good place to start, thanks for the suggestion o7

I guess I CAN bring up one potential gotcha - The 6-piece syzygy set is ONLY for 6 pieces. In other words, once you download the 6-piece set, you also need to add the 3-4-5 piece set to the same folder as the 6-piece set, otherwise I don't think Stockfish would see that position as a draw (since the position only consists of 5 pieces).

And that's exactly what the problem was XD I was only linking the 6-piece files. I've just linked the 3-4-5-piece set also, and everything is now working fine.

Thanks once again for all your help o7

Is there an option to not show the PGN filename (in red) as shown in the image? There doesn't seem to be a toolbar or other appearance option that controls this. Am I missing something?

You seem to be in  undocked mode, so right click the main board and unselect show-statusbar.

Or if in docked mode , right click the Board tab and unselect the same.

That was it. Thanks.

Hello,
Introducing the 100-games TCEC 2019 superfinal 14 database for Scid vs PC: STOCKFISH 10 vs Leela chess 9.

Caution: large games (draw in 300+ moves) could slow down the GUI.
Would the Scid vs PC developers investigate the performance issue maybe about the curve of the score?

Does anyone know how to apply custom boards and pieces in SCIDvsMac? I'm on OS 10.11.

I can only find these instructions for SCIDvsPC http://scidvspc.sourceforge.net/doc/Board.htm

 but the file structures aren't the same and I can't find the /textures and /pieces folders even after enabling hidden folders view.

I wanted to install pieces from

http://gorgonian.weebly.com/scid-vs-pc.html

and here http://caissabase.co.uk/

Thanks