Working with Moves and Lines - czbar/ChessForge GitHub Wiki

Adding Moves

To add a move to the Study Tree, find the move that reaches the required position on the main board and play it. The system adds the move to the Study, and if another move already exists at that point, the new move becomes an alternative variation.

In our example, after 3.c3 we have branches for: 3...Nf6, 3...d3 and 3...d5 (blue below). We want to add an alternative variation 3...d6. Select 3.c3 (red below) and then play 3...d6 on the main board (green arrow below).

 

The system adds an alternative branch for 3...d6 (green below). When there are multiple branches, Chess Forge displays them in a table called Edytrix (purple above). In our example, the new alternative move is automatically visible in Edytrix (purple below):

 

Copying Moves

There are 3 options for copying the moves in Chess Forge

  • Copy Line function

Whenever you work with Chess Forge moves, clicking on a move (red below) makes the corresponding line current, which is then highlighted in yellow. To copy it, use the Copy Highlighted Line function from the Edit menu (green below):

 

When you open a new chapter and paste the clipboard content, the copied line appears in the new chapter (green below):

 

  • Copy Tree from current move

You can copy a move along with the entire tree that follows it using the Copy Tree from Selected Move function from the Edit menu (green below):

 

The system highlights the copied moves (blue below):

 

When you go to a specific Chess Forge position and paste the clipboard content, the system inserts valid moves and ignores invalid ones. In our example, we have an exercise with a similar position, except there is a small difference: Black’s knight is on d6 (red below) instead of c6, as it was in the study. When pasting the clipboard content, the system copies 1.h3 (green below) but does not copy subsequent moves because 1...Nd4 is not valid (Black’s knight is on d6, not c6)

 

  • Copy Selected move range

You can manually copy a range of moves in a specific variation:

  • Click on the first move you want to copy (in our example 12.Nd6+ (red below))
  • Press Shift key
  • Click on the last move you want to copy (in our example 16.Be5 (orange below))
  • Use the Windows Copy to Clipboard shortcut (Ctrl + C)

The system highlights the copied moves (blue below). You can then paste them at the desired position. As with the Copy Tree from current move function above, the system copies only legal moves and omits any illegal ones.

 

Deleting Moves

To delete a move, select it and use the right-click context menu Delete the Selected Move and All Moves that Follow.

In our example, after 11.Be3 there is a main line of 11... Bd7 (dark green below) and alternative lines 11... Qa5 and 11... b5 (light green below). We want to delete the alternative line 11... b5. Right-click on 11...b5 to open the context menu and choose Delete the Selected Move and All Moves that Follow (red below):

 

The system deletes the selected move and all moves following it. In our example, the only remaining alternative line is 11...Qa5 (light green below) and 11... b5 was deleted (red arrow below)

Duplicate Move as Variation

While variation branches are usually created for different moves, there may be situations where you want to create a subvariation for an already existing move, for example:

  • when a game ended on a specific move because one side resigned, and you want to add the winning moves that were never played.
  • when you use the Select Engine Lines to Paste function and the move already exists in your lines but the following moves differ, so you want to paste the engine line as an alternative variation with a note that it comes from the engine.

To use this functionality, open the relevant view, locate the move from which you want to duplicate the variation, and use the right-click context menu to select Duplicate Move as Variation. In our example, the game ended with a draw after the 42nd move. Select that move (red below) and, from the context menu, choose Duplicate Move as Variation (green below):

 

The system creates an alternative variation (dark green below) starting with the move that already exists in the game's main line (light green below):

 

You can now continue the duplicated variation (green below) to reach a clearly drawn position, making the draw more obvious than in the position where the players originally agreed to it:

Insert Null Move

In some cases, regardless of what move the opposing side plays, your plan remains the same. Instead of creating multiple variations for each possible opponent move, you can insert a null move and then continue with your specific plan.

To use this functionality, open the relevant view, locate the position, and use the right-click context menu to select Insert Null Move. In our example, the exercise solution ends after 6.f5 (red below) with a draw (blue below), even though White has two rooks and a bishop less. We can add a few additional moves to illustrate White’s plan regardless of Black's moves. Select the last move of the exercise (red below), and from the context menu, choose Insert Null Move (green below):

 

The system inserts a null move, represented by three dashes --- (red below)

 

We now illustrate that White can simply repeat two moves, and regardless of Black’s replies, nothing decisive can occur in the position. We insert White’s repeated moves Ke2 and Kd2 (green below), each followed by a null move for Black (red below). Finally, we insert an evaluation NAG for an equal position = (blue below):

Promoting Line

If you want to make a specific alternative move the main line, select that move, and use the right-click menu to choose the Promote Line option.

In our example, we want the alternative line 2...d5 to become the main line. Select 2...d5 to open the context menu and choose Promote Line (red below):

 

The system converts the sub-variation 2...d5 to the main line (red below) and demotes 2...d6 to an alternative line (green below):

 

Reordering Lines

If you want to rearrange multiple lines (e.g. move the 5th alternative to the 3rd position and the 2nd alternative to the 4th, etc.), navigate to the move where the lines branch out and use the Reorder Lines function.

In our example, after 11.Be3 (red below) we have 4 variations: 11...Bd7 (the main line), 11...Qa5, 11...b5, and 11...0-0 (green below):

 

We want to set the order of the lines as 11...0-0 (the main line), 11...Qa5, 11...Bd7, and 11...b5. Select any move that starts a branch (red below), and using the right-click context menu, choose the Reorder Lines option (green below).

 

The system opens the Reorder Lines dialog box. Select the line you want to move (green below) and use the ˄ and ˅ buttons (red below) to arrange the lines in the desired order (blue below). When ready press the OK button (purple below):

 

The system rearranges the lines in the requested order (green below):

 

Moving Line to another Chapter

If you want to move a specific line into a new Chapter, navigate to the relevant move and use the Create New Chapter from Line function.

In our example, there are 3 lines: 1.g3, 1.b3 and 1.b4. We want to move the line starting with 1.b4 (green below) into a new Chapter called Polish Opening. Select the move 1.b4 and using the right-click menu choose Create New Chapter from Line (red below):

 

In the Create New Chapter from Line dialog box, enter the Chapter Title (green below). Then select whether to delete or keep the line in the original chapter (blue below), and whether to open the newly created chapter (purple below):

The system creates a new Chapter (dark green below) with the 1.b4 line moved to the new chapter study (light green below) and removed from the original chapter (red arrow below):