
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.
I see the question pop up all the time on Interrant message boards: "I have multiple databases. Can I search all of them at one go using ChessBase 9?"
The answer is a resounding "YES!" It's pretty easy, too. Fire up CB9 and click on "My Databases" in the left-hand pane. This will show all of your databases as icons in the right-hand pane. Hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard. While holding down this key, single-click one at a time each of the databases you want ChessBase to search. You'll see each of these databases highlighted as displayed below:
Then just use the method of your choice for calling up ChessBase's Search mask (like going to the Edit menu, selecting "Find games in..." and then "Search" from the submenu). Specify your search parameters and then click "OK" to let 'er rip. ChessBase will search all of the databases you've selected and provide a scrolling game list containing the results. Now is that easy or what?
(And before I get piles of screaming e-mails asking for clarifications, let me mention a couple of things about the above graphic. No, the database "Bozo-Indian" isn't a joke or a typo -- it's an actual e-book written by my friend Sid Pickard of Chess Central. And the "All games from Playchess" is NOT a database of everything ever played on ChessBase's online server. It's a database of everything ever played [as of January 2001] on the OTHER "Playchess" site, an online correspondence chess website).
Until next week, have fun!