Again, we start with the notation from the last tutorial episodes, which you know from the first episodes.

In part 3, you learnt how to add references. So you can now get a game from the database that matches our demo moves. The last move of the main line is 4...Bg7. There are more than 10.000 games with this position in the database. As an example, let's take a random game from the amateur section. To incorporate the game between Haupt and Rodriguez from 2016, right-click on the line from the game and then on ‘Copy to notation’. We'll also use this method to insert the detailed and bilingual annotated game between Moussard and Valsecchi (2022):

Pro tip

If you want to see the whole game but it is too long and runs off the notation window, you can zoom the notation to the desired size using CTRL+mouse wheel (see screenshot above).

If you look at the game as a whole, you will see that the texts are displayed in pink, which is how we set this up in the last tutorial. The annotated game differs from the unannotated game that was initially inserted after Black's 5th move and is therefore listed in brackets at this point. The reference data is always at the end of the respective game or analysis.

Insert symbols into the notation

There are several ways to insert the given abbreviations for commenting into the notation. One way is to go through the tabs of the main menu. There, the ‘Insert’ tab instead of ‘File’ (see next screenshot) must be activated. If, for example, you wanted to comment on the first move of the deviating variations (5...d5/5...Nf6) in the notation, you would simply have to select 5...d5 or 5...Nf6 in the notation, then click on the arrow next to ‘Set Evaluation’ and then on ‘?!’ or the arrow next to ‘Prefix’ on ‘better is’:

In the third selection field in between – ‘Set Mark’ – you will find further symbols for insertion. All symbols from these two windows can also be displayed in a menu window using the ‘Annotations’ field (see next screenshot):

So if you consider the move 5...d5 to be questionable (!), as suggested above, and also think that 5...Nf6 is better (better than), then click these buttons. You can see the result on the right:

Alternatively, you can also right-click on the move you want to comment on, and this window will open:

Pro tip

- The ‘Set Mark’ menu can also be opened simply by entering ‘!’ or ‘?’ on the keyboard. The arrow keys and ENTER can be used to select the desired evaluation.

- The ‘Set Evaluation’ menu can also be opened by entering ‘=’ on the keyboard. The desired evaluation can be accepted using the arrow keys and ENTER.

- In the last screenshot, you can see two check marks next to ‘Show Material’ and ‘Show Evaluation Profile’. These check marks show the following display:  

The pawn shows that Black has an extra pawn on the board after 3...cxd4, the bar chart shows the evaluation of the position in the rating profile. In addition, comments can also be added to the notation using this quick bar.

Insert text comments into the notation

But you can do more with ChessBase than just insert symbols; you can also insert comments in text form. These can be placed before and/or after the moves to be annotated. The screenshots in the chapter above already show the fields that you have to click on: ‘Text Before Move’ and ‘Text After Move’ can therefore be inserted via all the submenus described. For example, you could add a comment to the move 5...Nf6:

If you then also enter a text afterwards, the following image appears:

Delete symbols and annotations

To delete symbols and comments, you can either use the quick bar and click the corresponding symbol there or use the eraser (but this also removes all variations and comments).

As a reminder, you can use CTRL+Z to undo the last command...

You can delete more specifically if you right-click on the move to open the menu again. In the following example, clicking on ‘(none)’ would delete the ‘=’ in front of the move:

You can also easily remove unwanted comments by opening the comment window in one of the ways described above or by double-clicking the left mouse button on the comment in question. You can then simply delete (or change) the text in the field that opens.

... and now again: Have fun analysing your games, with the reference games and the engine variations!

------

ChessBase has developed over decades to become what it is now in its 18th version. The program has countless options, which we will present here in small portions – so you can design your interface for pleasant daily use and keep learning about new options and how to use them to get the most out of ChessBase 18 and save time. 

We hope that this tip will help you to have more fun and be more successful when using ChessBase 18. You can find more tips and hints on our support pages and FAQ pages.

Links

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4