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How to Install Chess Game Databases
ChessBase
The procedure for copying a database in ChessBase is a bit similar in some ways to what we looked at above, but it’s a lot easier because you do everything within the ChessBase program itself.
Put the Big Bird Powerbase CD in the drive and start ChessBase. In the left-hand pane, click the plus sign next to "Drives", and then click once on the BigBird entry (which, as above, will be followed by your CD drive letter in parentheses). You’ll see the right-hand pane change to show you the contents of the CD. Four of these will look like manila file folders, but the fifth will display a pawn and say "BigBird" below it. Click once on this icon to highlight it.
Next go to the File menu, select "Install", and then choose "Selected database to hard disk" from the submenu. You’ll see the following dialogue appear:
You’ll want to select "Copy as individual database to hard disk" (as I’ve done in the above illustration). ChessBase will also provide a default folder to which the files will be copied (under "Path"). Advanced users can click the "Browse" button to select a different database; otherwise just use the suggested default. Click "OK" and ChessBase will copy the files to your hard drive. Note that you won’t have to remove the "Read only" attribute (as described above); ChessBase will remove it automatically.
After the files have been copied (you’ll see another dialogue showing you the progress), click on "My Databases" in the left-hand pane. The right-hand pane will change to show you icons for your databases, and you’ll see the BigBird icon among them. Double-click on this icon to begin using your database.
Fritz (and Other ChessBase Playing Programs)
The procedure for installing databases in Fritz – which also applies to Shredder, Junior, Hiarcs, and Rybka – is a bit more involved than it is in ChessBase, but it’s still easier than using Windows Explorer.
Put the Big Bird CD in the drive and start Fritz. Click on "Play Fritz" in the splash screen. When you reach the chessboard screen, go to the File menu, select "Open", and then choose "Database" from the submenu. This will open the database (game list) window.
Now you’ll go to the "File" menu in this window, select "Open", and then "Database" from the submenu. You’ll see a dialogue appear which is standard to almost all Windows programs; it’s called the "file select dialogue". You can learn a lot about this dialogue from any basic Windows book, and we’ll cover just the basics here.
Click in the white window to the right of "Look in:" and you’ll see that this window is actually a pulldown menu:
Click once on the words "BigBird" and you’ll see the dialogue change:
Click once on the file "BigBird.cbh" and then click the "Open" button. The dialogue will disappear and your game list will change to show you the contents of the Big Bird database.
To install this database to your hard drive, go to the Tools menu, select "Database", and then choose "Install to hard disk" from the submenu. You’ll see the following dialogue displayed:
Make sure "Copy as individual database to hard disk" is selected (that’s if the program is offering you both choices, unlike in the above graphic). Advanced users can click the "Browse" button to select a different database; otherwise just use the suggested default. Click "OK" and Fritz will copy the database to your hard drive.
Now go to File/Open/Database to get the file select dialogue. Pull down the white window/menu (as described earlier) and select "My Documents". Then, in the large white window, double-click the ChessBase folder, then double-click the file BigBird.cbh – this will open the database that you copied to your hard drive.
