The Opening Table mode

The Opening Table mode in Chess Assistant presents many useful features of other modes brought together to facilitate the study of opening theory.

You can find here all the attractive features of the encyclopedic opening table together with options of replaying the table variations, analyzing them, setting marks for interesting positions that you may find in variations and annotating them with the aid of Chess Assistant’s friendly user-oriented interface. Many of the necessary operations, such as positional search, are performed with a single mouse click.

Further than that you can navigate between several positions while continuing your work in this mode. At any time you can start the analytical engine. When moving along a Path line or inside the opening table, the New table function allows you to reconstruct the opening table. The positions for which you have created the opening tables are stored in global trees and you can easily navigate between them. This is an especially useful feature of the Opening table mode, since it helps you to examine different opening variations, positions and plans of play by examining master’s evaluations and/or supplying the evaluations of your own.

A very important feature of the Opening Table mode is its link to classifiers. Chess Assistant’s classifiers are a powerful means of working with the chess databases, they help you to maintain the structure of large arrays of games, positions and other chess data. Classifiers will save you time and effort, being a tool that facilitates access to the games within the database, since the folders of the classifiers contain the results of previously performed searches, sometimes very complicated ones. You can export a classifier from one database and import it to another, which makes it easier for you to manage the databases’ content. At the same time, the classifiers are rather abstract sets of classes and when working with classifiers, you have to undertake several additional steps to get directly to the chess games and chess positions. Meanwhile, the Opening Table mode is directly linked to the Chess Openings Encyclopedia 2006 database’s classifier. It allows instant browsing of the content of this classifier. You can launch the Opening Table mode immediately from this classifier’s window by clicking the Tree button’s drop-down list in Chess Assistant’s main toolbar and then selecting the Tree Tables menu item. Using the Opening table mode, you can instantly add a variation to the classifier, thus enriching its content.

As you can see in Figure 1, the main working area of Chess Assistant’s window in the Opening Table mode includes several components. We will briefly describe them here together with their functionality.

Path window

You can launch the Opening Table mode from any of Chess Assistant’s window where the chessboard presents itself, for example, the View Mode. When you are examining a game, make some moves from the game notation to proceed to a position and select the Advanced | Opening tables menu item in the main menu. A special button is also added to Chess Assistant’s main toolbar; when you move the mouse pointer to it a pop-up label “Create Opening Table” appears. This button can also be used to launch the Opening Table mode. These are two ways of launching the Opening table mode. When you do so the Opening table mode is launched and the initial moves of the game leading to the selected position are displayed in the Path window. We interpret this line as a path that connects the initial position and the selected position.

Here in the figure above a screenshot fragment is given with the Path window’s local menu. Using this menu you can perform the following operations:

New table – this command allows you to build the opening table for any position that occurred in the path variation. You can move forward or backward along the path variation and construct several opening tables. This is a very useful function; implement it to select an opening table with an optimal number of variations that you can easily perceive and/or memorize.

History… – this command is equivalent to pressing the History button on the toolbar (see description below). It allows you to browse the positions from which you created the opening tables.

Key positions… – using this option you can browse through positions that you marked as the key positions. When you click the dark triangle to the right of the History button, its local menu opens allowing you to browse either all of the opening tables or just the key positions.

Open game – this command automatically creates a subset of games from the Hugebase (Guru), which has in common the current position on the path line – or the point, from which you call this command. Then it launches the View mode for the first game in this subset.

Open list – this command is similar to the previous one but instead it opens the list of a new subset, not the View. When you practice a little with the Opening Table mode, you will appreciate its facility to improve the access to the large databases.

Analyze – starts the analytical engine for the current position. The analysis is displayed in the Engine tab below the Tree window.

Chessboard

The chessboard is simply a visual representation of the chess notation in the Path window and the Table window. At the same time as you move forward or back in the Path line or in the Table with the arrow keys the position on the chessboard changes.

When the blinking cursor is placed inside the Path window and you make a move on the board, then the path line is continued or a sub-variation is added to it. However, making moves on the board in this mode does not achieve anything meainingful; use it when you need to create a new opening table. You can also make moves with the mouse on the board when the blinking cursor is inside the Variation window; in this case a move that you make is added as a new variation.

The chessboard also has its local menu but that menu contains specific commands referring to the chessboard settings; we won’t dwell on them here.

Table window

This is the main component of the new mode. Here you can find all the relevant information concerning the selected position, displayed in a form of an encyclopedic opening table. Generally, this is a set of variations supplied with the final evaluations. At the same time, the Table window combines the advantages of the encyclopedic opening table and those of Chess Assistant’s View mode.

You can replay the lines and move between them either by pressing the arrow keys on your keyboard, or by clicking with the mouse directly in the table. Some moves in the table are displayed in bold typeface. When you move the mouse pointer to a move marked with the bold font, the floating pop-up label appears with the text “Highlight comment: move has variations.” These are the sideline variations not presented in the table; you can also find them displayed in the Variations window. They represent the continuations considered worse than the ones given in the table. The green triangle marker at the end of the main lines represents the end of each variation. The last move of the variation is available for display in the table, when you click it or transpose to it with the arrow keys you will find yourself actually in the position immediately before the last move. To proceed to the position after the last move in the variation, click the green triangle symbol or press the right arrow key.

Clicking with the right mouse button in the Table window calls up the opening table’s local menu which contains its specific commands. The picture above represents a screenshot fragment of this local menu.

New table – this command rebuilds the opening table. You can navigate to some position in the opening table and then choose this option to examine the arising position in detail. It is also possible to use the keyboard shortcut [Ctrl] + [U] to construct the new table. All the tables that you have built are stored and you may later return to some previously built table using the toolbar (see description below).

Add to classifier – this is a core function of the new mode. You can also call it by clicking the button on the toolbar. This operation can insert a folder corresponding to the selected variation into the Chess Openings Encyclopedia 2004 database’s classifier. Note that this feature can be used to develop the structure of the classifier by adding new sub-folders to it.

Add to report – this function automatically creates a new game, an entry into the Reports database that is stored in Bases\Temporary subfolder. This game contains a variation from the opening table, which you chose to be placed into the report. When working in the Opening table mode you can select several variations and transfer them into the report; moreover, you can create several opening reports. Remember that you will have to save the report game after you have finished your work. This is yet another way of obtaining some stable results of your work in the Opening table mode, which can later be reproduced and used in your other activities such as annotating your games, etc.

Set evaluation to variation – this opens the Evaluation editor window that allows you to set the desired evaluation. Another way to call the Evaluation editor is to press the shortcut keys [Ctrl] + [E] on your keyboard.

Various levels of the evaluation can be set with the option buttons. You may also wish to use the slider bar in this window to set a quantitative evaluation.

Mark as key position for White, Mark as key position for Black – these commands are used to change the position’s status. The key positions are also stored by Chess Assistant and you can navigate between them with the aid of the History button on the toolbar (see the description below). This option is very useful when managing a large number of opening variations; you can mark some positions that you want to memorize as key positions and later return to them.

Open list, Open game – these commands are used to transpose to other modes of Chess Assistant. When you right-click anywhere in the table and select the Open list command, the List mode is started and a window is displayed with the list of games where the current position occurred. The Open game command launches the View mode, opening a window with the first game from that subset (list). Note that you can also click the Open list and View game buttons in Chess Assistant’s main toolbar, which will start either the List mode or the View mode. This option is available when you position the mouse pointer in any place of the Opening Table window where the chess notation is presented such as in the Path window, Table window and Variation window. Chess Assistant will automatically perform the positional search operation and present the results in a separate window. The position used for this operation is indicated by the mouse pointer in the Opening Table mode or it is the last position in your current working session in this mode.

Analyze – use this command to call the analytical program. After you have chosen it the infinite mode of analysis is started and variations suggested by the engine are displayed in the Analysis window together with evaluations, the depth of calculation and time spent by the engine.

This window properties – selecting this command is equivalent to clicking the Properties button on the toolbar (see below).

Annotation window

This window displays the text and symbolical annotations to the moves and variations in the Opening table. You can open it either by calling a corresponding command from the local menu, or by clicking the annotation editor button on the toolbar. This operation calls the annotation editor dialog, here you enter the desired commentary.

As you can see it is possible to either set or delete an annotation to a move or a position. When you select annotate move the Position\move comment dialog opens:

Enter your comment in the text line as it is shown in the picture. You can also enter chess symbols by clicking on their icons above.

Here below you can see an example of annotations to a move and to a position displayed in the annotation window:

As you can see annotations to a move and to a position are displayed on different lines of the Annotation window. The move to which the annotation is given is also automatically inserted there. Notice the move in question is highlighted with blue color in the Table window above. Use this option to supply some short comments to the chosen moves and positions when working with an opening variation; you can easily remove them later by right-clicking in the Annotation window.

Variation window

Here the variations to the moves from the Table are displayed. When you move in the Table to the highlighted move the variations appear in this window. These are continuations considered inferior to the Table move; another type of variation is the lines continuing after the last move of the variation in the table.

The image above represents a screenshot fragment with the Variation window’s local menu. Using this menu you can perform the following operations:

New table – when you click with the mouse inside the Variation window containing some variation, the blinking cursor appears here indicating the current position. This position immediately is displayed on the chessboard. Suppose that this position interests you in some way, in which case you can quickly create a new opening table for it using this command.

Set evaluation to variation – this opens the Evaluation editor window (see above) that allows you to set the desired evaluation. In this case, the evaluation refers to the entire variation rather than to some particular move. The evaluations are displayed highlighted with blue to the left of the variation in the Variation window as is shown in the figure below.

Delete variation – removes the selected variation.

Make the variation a table line – inserts the selected variation into the table

Change evaluation for table line – when you have selected some variation to be transferred into the table, you can set an evaluation for it using this command. The familiar dialog of the Evaluation editor opens.

Open list, Open game – these commands are used to transpose to other modes of Chess Assistant. If you right-click anywhere in the table and select the Open list command, the List mode is started and a window with the list of games is displayed, where the current position occurred. The Open game command launches the View mode, opening a window with the first game from that subset (list). Note that you can also click the Open list and View game buttons in Chess Assistant’s main toolbar, which will start either the List mode or the View mode. This option is available when you position the mouse pointer in any place of the Opening Table window where the chess notation is present such as in the Path window, Table window and Variation window. Chess Assistant will automatically perform the positional search operation and present the results of it in a separate window. The position used as a criterion in this operation is indicated by the mouse pointer in the Opening Table mode or it is the last position in your current working session in this mode.

Analyze – this command starts the analytical program; the engine variations are displayed in the Engine window to the left of the Variation window.

Tree window

The Tree window is already familiar to us from the other Chess Assistant modes. It displays complete tree information concerning the position on the chessboard – the moves played in this position, the quantity of games and where they occurred, percentage and success diagram and evaluations from the various trees. There is nothing special to be said about the Tree window except that it really is the main component of the Opening Table mode. You can think of the entire mode as an advanced viewer\editor for the tree. The information that is stored in the tree in compact quantitative form can be explicitly displayed in the Opening

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Table mode. Here you can find a detailed grounded explanation of the tree evaluations together with variations and plans of play involved. The quantitative evaluations of the tree is replaced with symbolical chess evaluations and variations in the Opening Tree mode; at the same time any of your comments, annotations and evaluations that you make while working in the Opening Tree mode are stored in global trees (Userbook, etc.).

The Tree window displays all the possible continuations in any position together with an evaluation and success bar. Use it to rectify your positional judgments while working with the opening tables.

Right-clicking in the Tree window calls the local menu shown in the figure below. The following operations are available in this menu:

New table – this command builds the opening table for the position that occurs after the move selected in the Tree window.

Add move to variations – adds the move from the Tree window to the Variation window. Note that later you may wish to add this move to the opening table as a line, then add this new line as a sub-folder to the classifier or add this variation to the report.

Annotate move…, Annotate position… – both these commands call the Position\move comment dialog box that allows you to add annotation to the selected move or to the position that occurs after this move.

Evaluate move… – calls the Evaluation editor dialog (see above).

Priority – Using this command you can change the status of the selected move, setting it to Important, Not important or to None.

Open game, Open list – both these commands automatically create a sub-set of games in which the selected move happened and then display either the list of games in this sub-set or the View window for the first game in this sub-set. These are equivalent to the corresponding buttons in Chess Assistant’s main toolbar. Analyze – Launches the analytical program for the position after the selected move from the tree. This window properties – equivalent to pressing the Properties button on the Opening Table toolbar (see below)

List (Games from statistics) window, Analysis (Engine) window

Below the Tree window you can find the List window (Games from statistics). The Opening Table mode is actually an advanced means of access to information stored in databases; it is a powerful extension of the Tree mode. When you replay the lines of the Table, you can see that the list of games from the opened database automatically appears in this window. If necessary, click the Show games button on the Opening Table toolbar to display the list. Here we find an example of the most important function of the chess tree realized, the accelerated access to databases. If you double-click any item in this list, this will open the View mode for the selected game. Use this option to observe how the game may evolve in a selected variation.

The Games from the statistics window also have their local menu, similar to the Table window local menu.

The Games from the statistics window is actually a docked window with several tabs; one of them is entitled Games from the statistics. Another tab appears when you click the button with the eye icon on Chess Assistant’s toolbar (or hit spacebar on your keyboard). This tab is called Engine; it is used to display the variations that the default analytical engine calculates for the position from the Table. There are two buttons in this tab; one of them allows you to insert the engine variation into the game and another one exits the analysis . The first button instantly adds the engine’s variation into the Variations window, the second stops the analysis. Both tabs of this window are shown in the picture below.

Both these tabs have their own local menus. While the local menu for the Games from statistics tab is the same as the local menu for the Table window, the local menu for the Engine tab includes two commands – Exit analysis and Add variation to my variations. These commands are equivalent to pressing the corresponding buttons of the Engine tab – the first one interrupts the analysis and the second one inserts the most recent engine variation into the Variations window.

Toolbar

When you are in the Opening Table mode you can see its toolbar over the Path window. It contains the buttons that allow you to execute the most frequently called operations in this mode.

New table – clicking on this button instantly updates the content of the opening table. Drop the mouse pointer in the Path window. When you navigate along the path variation, you can click the New table button at anytime. It is an especially useful function; it may happen that the Table window contains too much information for a single working session. In this case you may choose to move forward along the path line until you find a simpler position with fewer variations. Then click this button and the opening table will be re-constructed.

Back – this button allows you to return to a previous position for which the opening table has been built. If you have moved to and fro along the path variations and have built tables for several positions, this button helps you to navigate between these positions.

Forward – use this button to transpose to the next opening table; by default it is inactive but becomes activated when you have built several opening tables and are currently watching the first one of them.

Export current table – clicking this button allows you to export the table to a *.pdf, *.bmp or *.jpg file. The Save dialog box appears; indicate the export file name there and click the OK button to start exporting. You can use the export files for preparing publications.

History – usually this button is used together with the Back button to navigate between several positions. It has a dark triangle to the right of it; clicking here opens the local menu for this button:

Here Show history option opens the history dialog box:

This dialog box presents you with several fragments from the opening tables you have built, together with the control elements that help you to navigate between the positions. It is an extremely useful feature of the Opening table mode. If you make a few moves from some interesting opening and then build the opening table, it will contain an overwhelming number of variations and you may find yourself lost facing that bulk of information. It makes sense to make a few moves more along some particular line and update the opening table from that position, then you can more easily understand the development of the game in a fewer number of variations. Any time you want you can return to the previous position using the Show history option and this dialog box. Repeating this procedure several times greatly promotes the process of learning an opening that is unfamiliar to you and enhancing your understanding of its strategic patterns.

The upper drop-down list in this dialog contains options that help you to filter the history of the positions. You can choose between the various tables built From the tables start position, From current position and From initial position. The last option indicates the widest possible choice since all the tables (or rather the paths), may be prolonged backwards to the initial position. The lower drop-down box contains options that allow filtering the tables by the time they have been built – Session, Today, Three days, Week, Month and Full. In this case too, the last option refers to the entire set of tables. Select the necessary option and click Go to position button.

If you have marked some positions in the opening tables as the key positions, then you may choose the Show key position option. This action opens the key positions dialog box that is similar to the one described above. The difference is that the key positions are more “time-persistent” – they are stored for a longer period of time than all the opening tables that you build. You can mark position as a key position for White or a key position for Black with the aid of the local menus.

Show games – this button toggles to and from the display of games in the List window (Games from statistics). If you work with a large database, it may take some time to find and display games on a slow computer.

Annotation editor – clicking this button displays the annotation editor window. This button also has its own menu; you can annotate a position or annotate a move, you can also delete annotations you have made.

Add variations to classifier – this button realizes a function that connects the opening table and the classifier of the Opening Encyclopedia 2004. Anytime you can add the variation from the table into the classifier by clicking this button. A corresponding folder appears in the classifier and all the necessary operations (finding the games and linking them to the folder) are performed automatically. If the button is inactive (colored grey), then this means that the variation is already presented in the classifier. Otherwise you can use the button to add any variations that you are currently studying.

Evaluate variations – this command opens the evaluation editor dialog. You can add your evaluation to some variation; in which case the evaluation you have entered is shifted towards the beginning of the variation in contrast to the evaluation you have added to some move. Your evaluations are stored in the Userbook together with your comments.

White and Black on different lines – this button toggles the way the opening table is presented. By default all the variations are given in one line, Black’s moves follow White’s. You may wish to change this. Click on this button and Black’s move will be displayed below White’s.

Properties – clicking this button displays the Properties dialog box (There also is Opening Table tab in the Options dialog box that may be called with Tools | Options item of the main menu.) This dialog box has two tabs – General and Displaying.

The General tab of the Properties dialog box lets you define the general parameters of the opening table, such as the maximum number of lines and the maximum depth of the variations displayed there. The default values are given in the figure above; you may try several values to select the appearance of the opening table that suits you the best. Note, the Main tree text line is left empty by default. This indicates that the evaluations to the moves and variations that you see in the opening table are taken from the Eval tree. If you change this parameter by clicking the button with the ellipsis to the right of it, then the evaluations may become unavailable to you; you must be an advanced user to indicate some other tree as a source of evaluation. We recommend leaving it as it is.

In the upper part of the Displaying tab, Properties dialog, you can find three option check-boxes.

White and black on different lines – this option toggles the way the variations are displayed in the table. You can set White’s and Black’s moves in the same variation to be displayed either on a single line of text or on two different lines, Black’s move under White’s.

Clicking the Table font… button allows you to define the attributes of the font used for displaying variations in the table. With the standard Windows Font dialog box you can select the size and other properties of the font. There is a label to the right of the button; it is used for displaying a text fragment with the font you have selected – you do not have to apply your changes to see the result.

You can also modify the color used to mark out the annotated move. Clicking the Annotated moves color button displays the palette drop-down list, where you can select a color for the highlight. Clicking the Other button there displays yet another dialog box, the standard Windows Color dialog.

Show marks rectangle – this option toggles the display on and off of the special rectangular field to the left of a move, where your marks are displayed as color markers. You can set or remove the mark by clicking with the mouse directly inside these rectangles. Use these markers during a single working session with the opening table to identify the positions that need your special attention.

In the picture above you can see a fragment of the opening table with the moves placed in different lines. There are marks rectangles to the left of the moves’ notation; clicking them results in the color markers appearing.

Show games from the Hugebase – this button forces the games from the Hugebase to be displayed in the list window below the tree. By default, the games are automatically displayed in the Games from statistics window. However, you may wish to alter this by un-pressing the button, and sometimes you may need to press it again to display the list of games there.