Quick start
Chess is a game that has been enjoyed for centuries and, with the recent boom of online gaming, has seen a resurgence in popularity. However, there is still space for a more relaxed, deeper study of the game.
SCID is like a personal trainer for your chess game, helping you level up and outplay your opponents. But it's not just about winning, it's also about keeping your brain in tip-top shape, boosting your concentration, and reducing stress.
So let's get started!
To open a database, click on the "File" menu, and select "Open" (the 5.0 package includes a database created from lichess brodacasts in the scid/bases folder).
Once a database is open, the game list window shows the games contained within it and the first game is loaded (with SCID databases it is also possible to select a different default game).
There are several ways to navigate through the moves of a game:
- with the buttons in the toolbar
- with the keyboard keys left arrow and right arrow
- with the mouse wheel
- clicking on a move in the pgn window
Let's move forward a couple of move and see which information is available:
- Player's names and elo (1)
- Remaining time for the game (2)
- Side to move (3)
- Last move (4)
- Time spent on the last move (may be negative if it is less than the move increment) (5)
- Opening name (6)
Chess openings are a crucial part of the game. Studying which moves were played in other games would help in avoiding potential traps and understanding key strategic ideas.
Let's click the two bottom buttons of the game list window to search the current position in the database and create the relative statistics:
The position occurred in 1259 games. In most cases (923) the same move (cxd5) of the Carlsen-Hou game was played.
Bg5 is interesting with the lowest winning rate for black. Let's click it and dig a little more.
We added a new move to the game!
There are various way to enter a new move:
- clicking the move tree
- dragging the piece you want to move
- typing the move on the keyboard
- moving the mouse over a piece or a square and clicking to accept the suggested move
Adding a new move automatically creates a new variation, as we can see in the toolbar under the chessboard. Going down the line we discover that it transpose to a known position that seems to lead to a draw. Let's open the comment window (Windows -> Comment Window) and write a comment.
Now let's go back to the main line:
Chess engines are powerful tools that can help you improve your chess. They can help you analyze your games, find errors and avoid opening traps. But it's important to remember that they should not be abused: always use your own mind first! To start an engine click on the evaluation bar and select the desired engine (adding new engines) is very easy). The chess engine's evaluation of the current position will be shown, and the best move arrow will indicate the engine's recommended move.
Saving your annotations and analysis is a great way to keep track of your progress and the first step in creating your own repertoire. You can replace the current game (Game -> Save: replace game) or add it in the current or a different database (Game -> Save: add new game).
When saving a game, you also have the option to change the information of the game, such as the players' names, the event, the date, the result, etc...
Congratulations on reaching the end of this quick start guide!
More advanced features are available and it may require some time to become proficient with all of them. It is also possible to customize various aspects of the software, such as the appearance of the board, the font and colors used, and more.
Take your time, experiment, and remember that the most important thing is to have fun playing and studying the game.