1997 Ultimate Game Collection and Essentia Database Collection,
1997 Chess For Less, Inc., PO Box 10714 Riviera Beach, FL
33419, [chess4less@earthlink.net] CD-R0M, $49; $69

Several weeks ago we came across a television show about the
evolving technology of computers and CD-ROMs. One of the
basic points that was made concerned the plunging prices of CDs
and whether or not this medium could survive in the face of the
rapid pace of computer science. In particular, new "DVD" CDs
were highlighted, apparently able to cram gigabytes of information
where only yesterday megabytes were the standard delivery. After
running through all the new bells and whistles for DVD, the
reporter finally had to admit that he questioned whether this new
technology was needed for the average computer-user. Most new
computers nowadays routinely ship with a CD-ROM drive that
will meet most if not all the CD-ROM requirements most of us will
ever need. And, of course, the prices of CDs have dropped and
continue to drop.

All of which leads us to this week's review, the second edition of
the Ultimate Game Collection. Last fall, the developer, Chess For
Less, released its first collection on CD-ROM. With over 900,000
games and a price well below $100, it was quite popular. The
drawbacks in this first release, however, were also evident; there
seemed to be many duplicate games and, most importantly, you
needed to already have one of the database systems such as
ChessBase or Chess Assistant. Without these independent database
programs, you could not access the collection.

The second edition of the Ultimate Game Collection has appeared,
and Chess For Less has taken some significant steps to improving.
By far the most important improvement has been the addition of a
fully operational search engine bundled into the CD-ROM. This
means that if you do not have ChessBase, NicBase, Chess
Assistant or any other database program, you will still be able to
use this CD, accessing the now more than one million games.

Before going much further, it should be pointed out that this CD
was reviewed using a 133mz 32-bit Pentium machine, 64 meg of
RAM on a Windows95 platform, with a 6x CD-ROM drive.
Although the data could have been copied directly to the hard disk,
several hundred meg of free
space were required, so all commands were run directly from the
CD-ROM in the drive. One further note: There are actually two
disks that are available: The first, basic version is called simply
"The Ultimate Game Collection II"; the second, with the
independent search engine and a master-level chessplaying
program, is called "Essentia."

A quick look at the data contained on both disks revealed a few
surprises. Perhaps the most unusual was a subdirectory containing
a rather extensive catalog from a chess dealer in Michigan. It
appears that space on the CD-ROM was sold, providing an
interesting new medium for the chess dealer and an interesting
source of income for the manufacturer. The disks also contained
rating lists of several countries and organizations, ECO codes,
demos of BookUp, Mentor and Knight Moves and databases
suitable for use by ChessBase 6.0, Tasc and Chess Assistant
software. The difference between the two disks is the presence, on
the Essentia disk, of a separate search engine and a version of a
master-strength chessplaying program "NOW." Other than that
(which translates into a $20 price difference), the disks are
identical. It is not our intention to review and discuss the
capabilities of ChessBase, Tasc or Chess Assistant. Owners of
these programs know full well what their capabilities are. With that
in mind, and realizing the appeal of a stand-alone search engine to
many players, this review, unless specifically stating otherwise,
refers to the Essentia disk.

When the disks were received, the first thing that was noticed was
the almost complete lack of support documentation. There were
brief instructions how to either install the disk data on the hard
drive, or to use it from the CD drive. But that was it. Overcoming
initial apprehension, we can confirm that the disk installed
smoothly and once it was accessed with a file utility, there were
several text files that assisted the user in using the program.

Opening the program, we decided to do a search, clicked on the
search button and were taken to a menu that allowed the entry of
players names as either white or black, with limiting fields for
ECO data, year(s) of games sought, results and even move order.
With one exception, although there were no clear instructions on
how to use this important menu, the good news is that it is fairly
intuitive. The confusion arises when one looks at a second field
that appears next to the entry of the name of the player being
searched; it is a mystery, and without any explanation, it is still not
clear what it is or how it is used.

The name "Staunton,Howard" was entered into the field under the
color white, and it took five seconds for the program to generate
147 Staunton games. Staunton had White in all 147. We loaded
one game (Staunton-Cochrane from 1841 ) and ran up the score for
a few moves; this is what the screen looked like:

Note that searches by name apparently can only generate games for
a specific player with a specific color. Thus, to find all the games
by Staunton in the database, two separate searches are required. An
annoyance, but a requirement. In addition, one has three choices as
to how the games are saved: (1) A mere list of the games can be
generated; (2) The full scores of the games in PGN format can
generated; and (3) A list and PGN scores can both be generated.

Producing a list is helpful when you wish to play through the
games on-screen. The major drawback of the list approach is that
only 250 games can be stored in any one list and although a second
list with the same search parameters can be added, it does not
appear to be very useful since there is no ability to save any lists.
Having the game scores is great, but if you want to look at the
games on-screen first, you are back to using a list. And, when you
have a list, there is no ability to edit the list. These functions, of
course, all exist when ChessBase, Tasc or Chess Assistant is the
search engine; when you use Essentia, the options are more
limited.

The inability to hold more than 250 games on a list becomes a
bigger problem when you search opening variations, not names.
With over one million games, most lines quickly exceed the 250-
game limit. To save everything, you must save in PGN format.

The inclusion of the chessplaying program NOW adds an
interesting dimension: At any point during a game that is being
played on-screen, you can ask NOW to analyze the position. Quite
a help, whether analyzing games or openings.

If you are already the owner of ChessBase, Tasc or Chess
Assistant, your disk will be the Ultimate Game Collection II. Chess
For Less states that there is less than one-half of one percent of all
games that are duplicates. At $49 for UGC II, it represents a
phenomenal bargain. There is no question that in certain respects,
Essentia needs improvement. Lists should be virtually unlimited in
length, able to be edited, printed and saved. Searches need to be
made simpler. And a few pages of instructions would be nice.
However, the breakthrough has been made: You no longer need
any other software to search this enormous database. It is very fast,
easy to use and, at $69, unbelievably affordable. Chess For Less
has just set the standard other databases have to meet.