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Subject: Re: Is Mega Database in danger of becoming FatBase?

Author: Norm Pollock

Date: 08:51:38 01/13/05

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On January 13, 2005 at 11:42:02, Pierre Bourget wrote:

>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

And what about 500bc - 1bc? Lot's of great games there too!

Actually I do not believe there was a 1 bc, 0 or 1ad. I think the sequence went:
2bc, 1, 2ad.



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