Finding Positions - czbar/ChessForge GitHub Wiki

It is often useful to check whether a given position already exists in the Workbook. Chess Forge provides two search options:

  • Exact Match Position
  • Partial Match Position

Identical Positions

Select the position (red below) and press F3 or right-click on a move and select Find Identical Positions from the menu (green below). You can also manually set up the position using Find Positions function described in the Partial Match Positions section section below.

 

If any identical positions are found, Chess Forge opens a window showing the statistics (red below) and a list of those duplicates (pink below):

 

In our example, a position was analysed with multiple continuations in Chapter 8, and in Chapter 13 (purple above) the play transposes into the same position. Instead of redoing the analysis, you can use the Find Identical Positions function to locate that position in Chapter 8 (green above) and then choose to:

 

Copy Main Line

This option (orange above) will insert main line from the identical position in Chapter 8 into Chapter 13 (orange below):

 

Copy Variation Tree

This option (yellow above) will insert all lines from the identical position from in Chapter 8 into Chapter 13 (yellow below):

 

Open View

This option (brown above) will open the identical position in Chapter 8 (brown below):

 

Insert Annotation with Chapter Reference

Open the Annotation editor and populate it as below. For more information on using Annotations see Chapter References:

 

The system will annotate the move with a link to the identical position in Chapter 8

 

Option to Copy or Move Items to a Selected Chapter

From the Identical Positions list, you can copy or move selected games or exercises to an existing chapter or to a new chapter. For more details see Copying Items from Identical Positions and Moving Items from Identical Positions

Partial Match Positions

This function can be accessed either from the Edit menu by selecting Find Positions (red below), or from the Study, Games, and Exercises view (dark green below) by selecting the desired position (blue below) and choosing Find Positions from the right-click context menu (light green below):”

 

In the dialog, set up the required position using the available parameters and press the Search button (yellow below). If the function was run from a specific position in the Study, Game, or Exercise, that position will already be displayed. You can adjust it as needed using the following tools:

  • Chess pieces outside the board - drag them onto the board to place them on the required (red below)
  • Chess pieces on the board - drag them off if they should not occupy their current square (red below)
  • Empty circle - drag it onto a square to indicate that that square must be empty (purple below)
  • Starting Position button - sets the board to the beginning chess position (dark green below) which maybe useful if the board position differs significantly from the position you want to search for
  • Clear Board button - sets the board as empty (light green below) which maybe useful if the board position differs significantly from the position you want to search for
  • Partial Match tickbox - when unticked, the system searches for identical position. When ticked, it searches for any position containing the specified pieces on the specified square while allowing any pieces on other squares (blue below)
  • FEN - if you have a specific position FEN, you can paste it here and the corresponding position will be automatically set up on the board (pink below)

 

In our example, we will search the Caro-Kann Workbook for a position with the following characteristics:

  • A closed center, with Black challenging it with the push c5
  • Both sides have completed castling
  • White’s rook, following kingside castling, is developed on one of the central files

In the Set up Position to Search for dialog perform the following steps:

  • Press the Clear Board button, as only limited number of pieces will be placed on the search board (light green below)
  • Drag White pawns to e5 and d4, and Black pawns e6 and d5 to set up closed centre (red below). Then drag the Black pawn to c5 to represent the c5 push
  • Drag the White king to g1 and the Black king to g8 to indicate castling (orange below)
  • Drag the empty circle to f1 to indicate that the White rook has moved after kingside castling (purple below)
  • Tick the Partial Match checkbox (blue below)
  • Press the OK button

 

The system found two positions meeting our criteria: one in Chapter 6 Study and another in Chapter 10 Game (red below). The last bold move indicates when the position occurs: after Black move 14...0-0 in the study (dark green below) and after Black move 14...0-0 in the game. You can hover over the moves to see a thumbnail of each position (light green below). In the thumbnail, you can see the pawn structure (purple below), castled kings (brown below), and the empty kingside rook square (pink below).