Can't Get There From Here

Continuing with Where to Go From Here?, I added 60 Memorable Fischer Moments to the page about Chess History. There are currently two versions of the Fischer saga. The first is a complete draft version from my notes. The second is an incomplete finished version from copies found in Archive.org.

The reason for the two versions is that I initially loaded a skeleton created offline (the draft version), then completed it using About.com's online content management tools. Those tools split the 60 Fischer bullets into six pages of ten bullets each (to generate more advertising revenue). Archive.org only picked up two of the six pages (the finished version). It was one of the few times I used the online tools to complete an article rather than write everything offline. I should have known better.

Rainbow Chess

'View of the chess boards in Place Émilie Gamelin'

Chess in the Park © Flickr user dle_wynpa under Creative Commons.

Place Émilie Gamelin, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Scid @ Mark's

As I mentioned in Diagram Testing, Testing, 1-2-3, I rely on two types of chess software: (1) to manage chess games and (2) to manage chess engines. While I appreciate that most good programs that do (1) also do (2), I like to keep the functions separate. This lets me work on the notes to a move without interfering with an engine that is calculating a different move.

I recently had good reason to evaluate Scid: A Free Chess Database App. I looked at it a few years ago without being convinced that it could do a better job than the software I was using at the time. This time I came to the conclusion that it was the best alternative.

My requirements are relatively simple. I need to enter moves, variations, and comments in PGN files. I prefer PGN files, which are formatted text files, over proprietary formats because the files can also be manipulated using software that understands text. This is useful for making summaries of PGN headers, for making bulk changes to comments, and for managing transpositions. I also need software that understands the concept of a null move, i.e. where one side skips a move. This is important for threat analysis and for managing games in progress.

Scid handles both PGN files and null moves without too many limitations. I was able to incorporate it into my preferred method of analyzing a chess game without making too many concessions. The package has a few quirks and booby traps that require constant vigilance, but none of these are so serious that I can't work.

Although Scid is marketed as a 'Chess Database App', I haven't yet needed to use it that way. Here I also have a preferred method of working and will try the database functions on a real game as soon as I get the opportunity.

Diagram Testing, Testing, 1-2-3

Continuing with How I Spent My Summer Vacation, any aspiring chess player and/or chess writer needs chess software. I rely on two programs: (1) to manage chess games and (2) to manage chess engines. Until my old laptop started coughing and wheezing, I was happy with (1) the first version of Chessbase Light (CB4?, 1998) and (2) Arena (see Adventures with Arena & Rybka for more about the engines). On my new laptop I quickly discovered that the old version of CBLight no longer worked under Windows 7, while Arena worked without problems. What to do about CBLight?

The most important functions I need to manage chess games are entering moves & variations, entering comments, and creating diagrams. I also have some need to manage databases of games, but as I become increasingly enchanted by chess960, this requirement is becoming less important. After trying a handful of packages, I settled on Scid. It handles chess moves, variations, and comments well enough (although with several annoying quirks), but what about diagrams?

I worked out an appropriate board size, piece style, and color, but what does it looks like in practice? Here is the first diagram I used on this blog, from a post titled C.J.S. Purdy's Correspondence Skullduggery:

Old Version

And here is the same position created using Scid:

New Version

It looks good on my draft HTML page, but how will it look on Blogspot.com?

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Later: The new image size is smaller by 10 pixels on each side, but the border for the notation coordinates is a bit too wide. The most important factor is whether the diagram interferes with grasping the position. In this respect, I think it's satisfactory. • One important difference: the old version is a GIF, while the new version is a JPG. GIFs usually look better with line art, but I couldn't get the image software to work correctly. More work needed...

***

Even later: Here are JPG and GIF versions...

JPG

GIF

...The JPG version shows distortions around the pieces, the Black Bishop in particular, and the file size is about 60% larger than the GIF. In the future I'll use the GIF version.

From Here to There

Getting started with Where to Go From Here?, I added Portable Game Notation (PGN) to Improve Your Chess Game.

Chess Wallpaper

There is a big collection of chess images here.

2010 Beautiful Chess Topics Wallpaper (9:58) • 'These are my favorite Wallpaper on Chess Topics.'

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First time for everything: After I created the post and played the embedded clip for the first time, I saw a message that appears at the beginning, also for the first time.

This video contains content from Sony Music Entertainment. It is restricted from playback on certain sites. Watch on YouTube.

It turns out that I only see it on my local copy of the post, before copying to Blogger.com.

Time Is on My Side

Not every item found in Top eBay Chess Items by Price is really about chess. Chess pieces and boards are used to embellish just about any item you can think of and many items you never would have dreamed of.

The auction for watch pictured on the left, titled 'Mens 1920 CHARLES TISSOT Vintage Watch w/ CHESS FIGURES' (pre-owned), received 25 bids and sold for US $900.00. Its description started

TISSOT • UNIQUE AND RARE EXAMPLE OF TIMEPIECE, VERY BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE WATCH CA 1920’s, VERY BEAUTIFUL MECHANICAL WORK • This auction is for vintage timepiece example ca 1920’s gents watch that features DIAL with CHESS FIGURES and CHESS FIELD and 2-x double signed HIGH GRADE MOVEMENT. It was made by the Watch Company of Charles-Félicien Tissot, made in Switzerland.

followed by a history of the Tissot company and a detailed description of the watch:

This timepiece features a DIAL with CHESS FIGURES and CHESS FIELD is in excellent condition. This dial features a 12 hour outer track border with red enameled Arabic numerals, black enameled main Arabic numerals with RED 12, steel Breguet-style hands and a seconds dial with 60 second outer chapter and “sweep” steel seconds hand. Signed TISSOT – ANTIMAGNETIQUE in black enameled lettering below the RED 12 and WHITE CHESS FIGURE. The new dial has been professionally updated, and now is in excellent condition. [...]

How much of the final price was for the Tissot name itself? An expert in watches could probably tell you.