Importing Data into Chess Forge - czbar/ChessForge GitHub Wiki

You can import the following into Chess Forge:

  • Chapters
  • Games
  • Exercises

Importing Chapters

You can add a chapter to your workbook from another Chess Forge workbook by using the right-click context menu (red below) and selecting Import Chapter (green below):

 

In the Open dialog, select the Chess Forge Workbook (green below) from which you want to import a chapter and press the OK button (red below):

 

In the Chapters dialog, use the checkboxes to select the chapters you want to import (green below) and press the OK button (red below):

 

In our example, we had a workbook Unconventional Openings with Chapter 1 about Fried Liver Attack (blue above and below) and we imported four chapters from the Kangaroo Defense workbook (green above). Our chapter list now shows the four newly imported chapters (green below):

 

Importing Games

You can add games to Chess Forge from external sources by:

  • importing games from an external PGN file
  • downloading games from the Lichess Top Master Games list
  • downloading games of a specific player from Lichess or Chess.com

Importing Games from an External PGN File

Go to Chapters list (dark green below), select the Games line of the relevant chapter (red below), and from the right-click context menu, choose Import Games from PGN (dark blue below). Alternatively, open the Games view (light green below), right-click anywhere in the view (orange below), and select Game > Import Games from PGN (light blue below):

 

In the dialog, select the PGN file containing your games (green below) and click Open (red below):

 

Select the games to import using the checkboxes on the left side of the window (green below), then click OK (red below):

 

Select the Chapter to import the selected games into (blue below) or choose Create New Chapter (green below), then click OK (red below). By default, the system suggests the current chapter from which the Import Games from PGN function was run, but this can be modified if required here.

 

In our example, we selected Chapter 2 (blue above). All selected games are imported (green below):

Downloading Games from the Lichess Top Master Games List

To use this option, ensure that Explorers are enabled (red below), which makes the Top Games box visible (orange below):

 

Click the game you want to download (green above) to open the Game Preview dialog. The program automatically retrieves the top games and starts replaying the selected one (yellow below). By default, the replay speed is Medium, however you can adjust it if desired (green below). You can pause the replay and navigate through the game at your own pace using the arrows below the chessboard (blue below). You can use the Top Games list (purple below) to select any of the 15 games provided by Lichess. Once the desired game is selected, click the Import into Chapter button (red below) to import it into your Chess Forge workbook. You can then either view the downloaded game in the Game view or return to the Study from which you opened the Game Preview window (orange below):

 

The game is downloaded into the chapter from which you opened the Game Preview window (green below) and a reference to that game is added to the Study at the move from which you opened the Game Preview window (red below):

 

Downloading Games of a player from Lichess or Chess.com

From the Tools menu (green below), select Download Games from Web Site (red below):

 

Specify the filter options and click the Download button (purple below):

 

  • Site - drop-down list to select the platform: lichess.org or chess.com (green above)
  • User - the user name of the player on the selected platform (red above)
  • Max Games - the maximum number of games Chess Forge will return, maybe fewer if fewer games meet the criteria (blue above)
  • Most Recent Games - if checked, the system downloads the most recent games (yellow above), regardless of the dates they were played
  • Date Range - editable only if Most Recent Games is not checked; specifies the date range of the games to download (dark purple above)
  • Dates in UTC - if checked, the Start Date and End Date are treated as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) dates rather than your local time (light purple above)

In the Downloaded Games window, deselect any games you do not want to download (green below) and press OK (red below):

 

In the Save Downloaded Games dialog choose how you want to save your games:

 

  • Save to a New Workbook - select this option to create a new workbook and save the games there. If unchecked, the games will be added to the currently open workbook (green above).
  • Select one of the radio buttons:
    • Create Repertoire Chapters - divides downloaded games into those played with White and those played with Black by the player. Two new chapters will be created: one for the White games and one for the Black games. In addition to saving the games, each chapter includes a Study Tree populated with the combined games and displays the moves as a branching tree, up to the move specified in the Trim Study Tree after Move box (red above). This is particularly useful for analyzing a player's opening repertoire.
    • Save Games to a new Chapter - creates a new chapter and saves the downloaded games there.
    • Append Games to the current Chapter - adds the downloaded games to the current chapter.

Importing Exercises

You can add exercises to Chess Forge from external sources by importing them from an external PGN file. To do this go to Chapters list (dark green below), select the Exercises line of the relevant chapter (red below), and from the right-click context menu choose Import Exercises from PGN (dark blue below). Alternatively, open the Exercises view (light green below), right-click anywhere in the view (orange below), and select Exercise > Import Exercises from PGN (light blue below):

 

In the dialog, select the PGN file containing your exercises (green below) and click Open (red below):

 

Select the exercises to import using the checkboxes on the left side of the window (green below), then click OK (red below):

 

Select the Chapter to import the selected exercises into or choose Create New Chapter (green below), then click OK (red below). By default, the system suggests the current chapter from which the Import Exercises from PGN function was run (blue below), but this can be modified if required here.

 

In our example, we selected Chapter 2 (blue above). All three selected exercises are imported (green below):

 

Note that if solutions are included in the exercises file, they will also be imported. In our example:

  • Exercise 1 (dark blue below): in Show Solution mode (indicated by the availability of the Hide Solution option, dark green below), the solution is visible (red below).
  • Exercise 2 (light blue below): in Show Solution mode (again indicated by the availability of the Hide Solution option, light green below), no solution is available (orange below).