Chess Databases and Books on CD

What is a Chess CD

Basically, chess books on CD are just much larger E-books. They are like regular paper books...only better! Employing the latest in ChessBase technology, these books are a far cry from the simple databases of old. Now opening manuals, tournament books, even past classics can be presented with fully integrated text and graphics. No more fumbling to find a page or setting up the board - everything's a click away! 

Do I Need Anything Extra to Use a Chess CD?

Like a file that can't be read without a word processor, the CDs need other software in order to be read. You can use the free Chessbase Reader as the reader for the CDs. But, to get your money's worth (especially if the database is over 8,000 games) you should consider having ChessBase 6 (a database management software program) or higher or Fritz 5 or higher (a chess playing software program). Click here to see information on ChessBase.  Click here to see information on Fritz.

How Do I Install a Chess CD?

The best way is to make a folder on your hard drive  (C:/ChessCentral) and then copy the contents of the CD into that folder on your hard drive. The Tree databases should be placed in a separate folder within the ChessCentral folder (C:/ChessCentral/Tree)

Next, make sure you have your "reader" (Chessbase light, ChessBase, Fritz, etc) installed. To download the ChessBase Reader click here..

Using the "copy & paste" function in My Computer, you first browse over to the CD-drive. Highlight all the files on the CD & press "Copy". Using My Computer, then browse to the C-drive "ChessCentral" folder & press "Paste".

All the files will copy themselves into the "ChessCentral" folder. Now, highlight them again, after they're on your C-drive, and right-click with your mouse. At the bottom of that menu choose "properties" & de-select the "read-only" attribute. Click OK.

Whew! Now open your "reader" and browse to the "ChessCentral" Folder and open it it. There is your information ready to read. Click on a file to open it in the reader and enjoy!

All CDs come with specific ReadMe instructions pertaining to the CD. Make sure you do read the ReadMe file. It will save you much time and energy.