DraughtsBase 2

What is DraughtsBase?
Some of you will have heard of the very popular 'ChessBase' program. Well this is the Draughts/Checkers equivalent! A database program containing thousands of top class games for your perusal and interrogation.

Why DraughtsBase?
Interested in studying a particular opening? Just enter the first few moves and ask DraughtsBase to show you how the Masters have played it in the past. Preparing for a tournament? Worried about facing a particular opponent? Just ask DraughtsBase to call up all his games to see what lines he plays and to find his weaknesses. Played (or playing!) a game but can't find it in the books? Ask DraughtsBase to see if it has transposed into any other pp games! If so, it will tell you the events, who played who, the results and when they were played. And all without even opening a book! A Godsend for annotators and postal players!
Interested in statistics? DraughtsBase has them all! What was the longest world championship match game ever? Tinsley-Oldbury '58 game 5? Right? Wrong! What was the shortest WCM game ever? Oldbury-Tinsley game 18? Right? Wrong! Who has played the most WCM games? Tinsley? Right? Wrong! How often does a decisive game occur in a WCM? Every 10 games or so? Right? Way off! Which opening has proved the most decisive in WCM's? The Octopus? Skullcracker? Double-Cross? Right? Wrong, none of them! Ask DraughtsBase!!!

What's New in Version 2?
Multiple windows allows several games/games-lists to be displayed at the same time. Variations and annotations can be added and games exported to a word processor for printing. Enhanced searching allows not only the standard 'position' and 'run-up' searches but also searching for a particular 'pattern' of pieces or 'similar' positions. Enhanced filtering and sorting of games lists. Players database containing pictures and information on many of the worlds best players. Easier summary of move possibilities with the 'From This Position...' feature. Easier recognition of transpositions with the 'To This Position...' feature. More and enhanced statistics with graphs. More detailed game information. PGN import/export.

System Requirements
Any IBM PC compatible with a 386 or above processor, 8MB RAM, 10 MB hard-disc space, Windows 3.1 or higher.

Starter Pack
Contains the main program, with an initial database containing all the games from all the 3-move World Championship Matches from Long-Banks '34 right up to Tinsley-Chinook '92. A total of 715 of the best games ever played!

DraughtsBase can only be ordered from Martin Bryant , 71 Hunstanton Drive, Brandlesholme, Bury, Lancashire, BL8 1XH, England.

Additional Games Packs
Further games can be added to your database by purchasing additional 'Games Packs' either at a later date or with your Starter Pack order. See the list below for details.

Shareware Version
A shareware version (3MB) is downloadable by clicking this link. After you have downloaded the compressed file, uncompress it to a temporary directory and run the file SETUP.EXE. You will also need the file VB40016.DLL in the \windows\system directory on your computer. If you do not already have it then you can download it (450KB) by clicking this link .
UPDATE! - Many thanks to a couple of users who reported a bug when saving games on some computers! A fixed version of the file DRBASE2.EXE is available in zipped format (98K) by clicking this link. After downloading the .ZIP file just uncompress it in your existing DraughtsBase 2 installation directory.

Screenshots...
The following links show screenshots of the new DraughtsBase...

The Players Database

Multiple games windows

Filtering a games list

Administration windows

'From this position' function

'To this position' function

Searching for a 'mask' position

Searching for 'similar' positions

Exporting a game to a word processor

Statistics - General

Statistics - Games

Statistics - Openings

Statistics - Players

Statistics - Results

Statistics - Placement

DraughtsBase Games Packs

Further games can be added to your database by purchasing any or all of the additional 'Games Packs' either at a later date or with your Starter Pack order. These are an important addition to your database as the more games you have on-line the more powerful DraughtsBase becomes.
(Note that games packs purchased for the first version of DraughtsBase are not directly compatible with DraughtsBase 2. However existing users will be sent updated games packs of any they have previously purchased, with their DraughtsBase 2 order.)

1) Colossus Compilation - over 250 games by the British GM program, including several previously unpublished practice games against Derek Oldbury (prior to his 1992 match with Ron King) and Chinook (prior to its 1992 match with Marion Tinsley)

2) Payne Cup 1993 - all 96 games of the recent USA-UK postal tourney.

3) Freestyle World Championship Matches 1976-1992 - the modern era from Oldbury-Levitt '76 to King-Oldbury '92. 180 of the best freestyle games ever played.

4) British Bonanza '93/'94 - 270 games from the Masters Sections of the English Open 1993 (won by Ron King over Tom Watson) and the British Open 1994 (won by Bill Edwards over Tom Watson and Pat McCarthy).

5) Chinook Match Compilation - 178 of the Canadian programs match games, from its first encounter with Marion Tinsley in 1990 through its other GM encounters with Asa Long, Don Lafferty, Colossus and Derek Oldbury and including its latest battle with Tinsley in Boston 1994!

6) Bryant Postal Compilation - 176 top class postal tournament games played by the author of the Colossus program, including the Welsh Open 1990 (1st=), Team Home International 1992 (winner top board), Payne Cup '93 (board 3) and British Masters 1992 (1st), 1993 (1st) & 1994 (1st again!).

7) Miscellaneous Matches #1 - 197 top class match games including Levy-Cohen '37, Grover-Hanson '44, Tinsley-Banks '52, Fortman-Cayton '90, Oldbury-Pask '90, McCarthy-Edwards '93, Breen-Caws '93 and King-Edwards '94.

8) Chinook Tournament Compilation - 172 of the Canadian programs tournament games, from its first outing in the 1989 Computer Olympiad to its latest success in the 1994 US National.

9) 3rd International Match - all 200 games from the 1973 USA-GB encounter.

10) 5th International Match - all 200 games from the 1989 USA-GB encounter.

11) English Extravaganza 1995 - 144 games from (a) English Open Masters section, (b) English Match Championship (Pask-Miller), (c) English Ladies Match Championship (Caws-Hall).

12) Computer Compilation #1 - 204 games by the elite of modern computer programs including Chinook, Colossus, Checkers 3, Nexus, Sage and WCC.

13) Miscellaneous Matches #2 - 184 top class match games including Childers-Fortman '94, King-Lafferty '96, King-Lowder '95, King-Morrison '96, Pask-Miller '96, Wiswell-Fraser '56, Wiswell-Fraser '59 and Ryan-Banks '37.

Each games pack is priced as follows...

DraughtsBase and its Games Packs can only be ordered from Martin Bryant, 71 Hunstanton Drive, Brandlesholme, Bury, Lancashire, BL8 1XH, England.