ChessBase 15: Replay Training (part 1)
11/15/2018 – In this tutorial, learn all about "replay training", a new feature of ChessBase 15 that invites you to guess the moves in games — a well-known and powerful way to improve. Correct proposals are rewarded with points which allows you to measure your progress. "Replay training" is a nice feature that you can use for light-hearted fun and playful challenges but also for some serious training. Give it a try! | Drawing: ChessBase
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ChessBase is a personal, stand-alone chess database that has become the standard throughout the world. Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
Replay training in action
Let's first have a look at the "Replay Training" in action. In a later tutorial, we will have a look at the settings and how to save our training results.
Start the "Replay training" by clicking on the tab "Replay training" above the notation.
Our sample game is Anand vs Carlsen, Linares 2007.
Note: The replay training can begin with the very first move but you can also begin at any other point of the game.
The opening
What to do in the opening is often a question of taste and repertoire. However, the "Radar Board" in "Replay training" tells you which position will later arise in the game you play through and you are asked to find out how the position that will occur was actually reached.
You enter your moves with the mouse and the program gives feedback.
The diagram above shows the position that arose in the Anand vs Carlsen game after Black's move 12...Nb6.
The radar board shows the position after three more moves were played. Your task is to find out how this position was reached. During the opening phase, opening hints do not appear automatically but only after asking for them by clicking on the life preserver icon. After clicking the icon in this position (which costs no points) a hint would appear.
You also get feedback about the move you wanted to play (12.d5) and how many points you currently have (24 out of 24).
Not every proposal hits the mark. The proposal in the position above was 13.b4, but the move in the game was 13.Nbd2.
The program evaluates your proposal (here "Your move is ok"). After a small delay, the program retracts the move you wanted to play and continues with the move played in the game. The replay training continues.
After the opening
When the opening is over, the radar board vanishes. But you can reactivate it by clicking the radar screen (on the right).
Now you get verbal hints. Here it is "Move a rook". If you are not satisfied with this hint, you can ask for more help by clicking the life preserver icon. The same happens in case of "inactivity". New hints appear and the piece that should move is highlighted in green.
Not proposing the best move
The game move is not the best move!
The game move is not always the best (engine) move. However, when the difference between the moves is not serious the game move will get full points.
The move proposed is not accurate!
Sooner or later you will propose a bad move.
Here:
- The program indicates the error and shows what the opponent might play
- You do have a second try
- The bad move is taken back
- Only a few or no points will be awarded
The move proposed is a mistake
The program calls a mistake a mistake.
The engine is brutally honest!
- Colours (up to deep red) highlight the gravity of the error
- The error is taken back
- You do have a second try
- No points are awarded, but the move is entered into the list of errors (in the example given it is the third error)
Combination alert!
If the position in the game allows a forced tactical win no hints for a particular move are given. instead, the message "No hints — check the tactics" appears.
You're on your own!
The message "Finished: 1-0" indicates the end of the game.
Clicking the disk icon (right) saves your proposals as variations to help you to save and analyse them later.
The function "Replay training" also offers a tool for analysis, calculation training, and various possibilities to adjust hints and help. The next tutorial will explain these functions.
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ChessBase is a personal, stand-alone chess database that has become the standard throughout the world. Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
I'd like to propose an idea for a future version : to train the vizualisation : you define a number 2 but could be 4 or 5 : and when you look at the game, the position on the screen is 2 or 4 or 5 moves behind and you have to vizualise in your mind the present position. Really, would be great.