Just like a regular database that provides sorting capabilities, so too a chess database provides a lot of material that is sortable. With this database you can sort information on chess players, their games, and more. If you would like to know about all the games played by a particular grandmaster in a specific period of time, using a specific opening, a chess database will provide that information for you. You can zero in on your special interest and save your sorted information for review over and over.

Serious chess players use these powerful chess databases to keep track of different games so they can drill themselves. Casual chess players and serious chess players alike can enter their own games into these databases and keep track of them.

CDs

Most computer programs these days come resident on a CD that you insert into your computer from which you upload the information. CDs are a big advantage over floppy disks that hold only a certain amount of information. CDs allow the programmer to provide you with all of the source code (which you generally cannot get at) that's required to operate the software. You must of course, have a computer that accepts CDs and that has enough memory on your hard drive to accept the program, and enough RAM (random access memory) to allow the program to work well.

You can also download, for a fee, software directly from the manufacturer or programmer through the Internet. Some companies will allow you to download a modified version of their software as a demo so you can test it out before you plunk down your hard-earned money. This is an effective way of deciding which program is really right for you. Usually you can test the software for thirty days before it “disappears” or is no longer available for your use.

Handheld computers like the Palm Pilot allow you, with enough resident memory, to play chess in the palm of your hand. You will play chess against the device (the computer) or against another person, using the PDA as your chess set. As an alternative, you can purchase any number and types of chess games that can be loaded onto your desktop computer.

ChessBase

Perhaps the top chess database is ChessBase, which also offers a version for the Macintosh. But ChessBase has something else. It comes with analysis engines, such as Fritz, Junior, and Hiarcs. These are some of the top analysis engines available. There is also ChessBase magazine, which is available either from the Internet or via CD. This magazine allows users to be aware of the latest upgrades of the software package, the latest additions of other software, and the latest games being played around the world.

Upgrading capability via CD or the Internet is becoming common in software of all types. Chess players of today thus have a big advantage over their counterparts of yesterday in the tremendous availability of material on the game—that is, if you have the time and money needed to peruse it all.