Chess Database

Dear Chess.com Community, 

I am a tournament player who is improving rapidly, and recently, I have considered getting some sort of chess database software that can store my OTB games for future reference. However, since I have a Mac, many chess programs don't work on my computer, as they are only for Windows computers. Does anyone know of a chess database software for Mac that has the ability to store games, has a game database, and that can also run an engine?

Thanks, 

mocl125

SCID vs MAC 

You'll have to create your own databases. I use the Windows version.

Thanks @Martin_Stahl! Would I also have to create a reference database, or does it come with the download?

No databases are included. 

You can get a million game reference database at:

http://katar.weebly.com/blog/millbase-for-scid-update2

I use SCID (for Windows - can't vouch for Mac) on an almost daily based to look up games, play through games from books, analyze my games etc.

@TheTexan, does SCID also allow you to annotate your games as well? Does it also save files as PGN? Thanks!

SCID, and its variants, can use PGN files but it has its own DB format and everything works best with that. You can annotate games easily.

Thanks! 

@Gyrkin why do you think that it is the best? Are there any features in particular that you like a lot?

I would make the investment and get Chessbase. Scid vs. Mac is a free alternative to chessbase, but the interface is simply much worse and harder to use. Also, with chessbase, you can buy the "big database" which includes over 7 million games (super useful for opening prep as it is by far the biggest database available on the market). Chessbase has a ton of features, but to sum it up it is gold-standard of chess-storage software.

However, for most players SCID variants are very cost-effective and useful for basic game management and analysis. Chessbase is more powerful and can do some additional things but if all you need is a place to store your games, do analysis, and cross-reference other games, SCID works.

I have a DB I downloaded that has 3.5 million games an have the TWIC games for another half a million (might have some duplicates). I have some other databases I have grabbed in the past but don't use many. Still need to grab a pre-computer correspondence DB.

Plus, I think you can buy an equivalent DB to the Chessbase one if you need something with more games or better curated (both of the ones I have some junk and incorrect games).

If you prefer a gentle interface, try ChessX or the commercial Hiarcs. I'm of course recommending to stick with ChessX :-) 

If you are addicted to a lot of features and do not really care for the interface, try one of the SCID family (Mac vs. SCID, SCID, ChessDB...).

If you have a very powerful Mac, you could try Chessbase with Wine - but Chessbase has a lot of bugs which come up under Wine especially annoying. I am simply not using Chessbase therefor anymore. :-(  (Good for ChessX and its users though).

Thanks everyone for your feedback! Chessbase is very expensive and I think I will stick to one of the free alternatives. Would you guys recommend SCID or SCID vs. PC or Mac? Thanks! 

@jens-chessx, can you tell me more about ChessX? I have never heard about it. 

Since they are free, download and test to see if they meet your requirements. Often it is just a subjective answer, if each will do what you want.

Take a look at http://chessx.sourceforge.net

It's free and features are added in regular intervals (about twice a year).

ChessX was used as a base for the commercial Hiarcs Explorer. So the behaviour is still somewhat similar even though the differences are increasing (hopefully).

Thanks for the info @jens-chessx! I am considering getting it, it seems really interesting!