Author: Pierre Bourget
Date: 08:42:02 01/13/05
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On January 13, 2005 at 10:46:39, Louis Fagliano wrote: >The number of games each year in ChessBase’s “flagship database” (their term) >keeps whizzing rapidly upwards: > >Mega Database 1999 1.1 million games >Mega Database 2000 1.4 million games >Mega Database 2001 1.7 million games >Mega Database 2002 2.0 million games >Mega Database 2003 2.3 million games >Mega Database 2004 2.6 million games >Mega Database 2005 2.9 million games > >It’s just about 300,000 games per year. Yet if you were to collect all of the >new games compiled by Mark Crowler in TWIC for one year you would end up with >about 75,000 to 80,000 new games for that calendar year. Where are the extra >games coming from? > >To me it doesn’t look like they’re coming from any good sources. > >Case in point: Take the classic beginner’s opening 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5. Now I >would expect that in a quality or “flagship database”, there shouldn’t be any >more than 5 or 6 games with that silly opening by White. > >I did a search to find out how many games in Mega Database 2005 started out with >1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 and was shocked to find out there are 258 games!! Even worse, >White actually wins 94 of those games! > >Want more? Well after 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 there are a flabbergasting 80 games, yes >count ‘em 80, where Black replies 2... Nf6?? and loses a pawn instantly to 3. >Qxe5+. > >Is Mega Database in danger of becoming FatBase? At least in the FatBase product >they are honest enough to tell you that the games include a lot of garbage. >Just because all the headers and names are consistent doesn’t mean quality if >you have hundreds of games that start out with 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5. > >Even worse, in their search for more games regardless of how awful, they are >still leaving out some quality games. In a few opening treatise’s there is >occasionally a reference to a game that I cannot find in Mega Database. I have Big Database 2004 and I intend to get the new BD 2005.Since I am mostly interested by old games ,could you tell me if there is a substantial increase for the following period: 0-1900: 1901-1950: 1951-1980: Thanks. Pierre
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