Contacting David for copies of 5,231 GM Classic Game Database

[revisions extensive II, Tuesday 29 Apr 2008] Again, no time to elaborate in detail, but the database is now substantially done. Since I have six years on this, with many accretions and improvements and some suggestions that have all been used and assymilated by now, it is time to write a new post, instead of adding 'one more fact here, one more fact there.

For now, I only note the addition of the 500 Master Games by Tartakower, and the 500 games from AngelFire, then another 825 from AngelFire. These last two collections while often having handsome if not salutory annotations, now unique to this database and none the worse for wear, it must be duly noted that the two latter have lots and lots of significant errors. So it was discovered by me rather quickly that while very useful and again, thank you to IvanW of Getting to 2000 for directing me to them, they also could be dependably be found to be error ridden, and all had to be checked. All of them.

But in the end, chess, chess study, chess history, chess analysis is an evolutionary process, and no blame but appreciation and, in the end, becomes the better for it. Thanks again also to Takchess who had several very valuable suggestions. These two notable chess bloggers deserve my most solemn thanks. Thank you Ivan and Jim.

[revisions extensive, 21 Jan 2008] No time right this second to elaborate in detail, but added a few hundred more games from Fine, Alekhine's book, and Tartakowers book. Updated link is here, supercedes below googlespeadsheet.doc, here: update. Self explanatory. These is the full list of the sets of games, mostly books but some by category in lieu of books.

DO NOT FORGET, WHEN WRITING ME AT THE EMAIL INDICATED, TO post a comment here, telling me to read the yahoo email. I do not read that email daily, so this is a lot faster, and clues me to check there. I do not intentionally ignore that email, but my main email is of course private, and you simply need to do three things:

tell me format (cbv or pgn)
email me at the indicated email, and finally, be sure to :
tell me in comment below you messaged me privately with your email.

I am more than glad to send this to you and share my hard earned effort, but please help me to help you. I do not ask for much, but most do not follow those steps. Odd.

I get emails from total strangers, one liners, hello goodbye, no mention on format, no comment below?? Please!

Warmest, dk

dk_experiment a t ya hoo usual business suffix dot communistic, Kom, comedy, but remove the last three letters from comedy :) May god protect me from robbots reading that text!

[revisions extensive, winter of 2007 and 2008. Here, at Friday 11Jan2008, I have added the Krabbe's 110 Most Fantastic Moves Ever Played, his 250 Chess Curiosities, his Endgame Studies and Problems download; I have added ALL the chessCafe Informant games, from 2002 to 2008. And, a true labor of love, I have added 162 games not caught within all this effort, among previously 2,600 games, those few Informant games from The marvelous book, 640 Golden Games NOT already in the database.

For example, I had many of the top games from each issue if not nearly every single one of them with very, very few exceptions, but time to time didn't have game two in the selection. Now I have all the games from 1966 to 1995 in the top five, or six, or seven of ten as voted by that jury of nine, and/or all games recieving any vote by six of the nine judges. This ensures that no great games are missed.

When this revised book in published in 2008, here at the 100th jubalie issue at Informant, I will have opportunity to add those select few of game from 1997 to mid 2002 that I might have missed.

I added all the top games viewed by me in 2004-2007, and there were hundreds of those. I also added games cited by Dennis Monokroussos at chess, and anything else mentioned as significant. By virtue of that, some stuff is now getting added maybe too soon to call classic--a disadvantage--but little is getting missed that way, adding significant breadth or scope. More discusion at my most recent post, here, called Gigantic II and Gigantic.

Lastly, in the next week, I am adding the Rubin Fine games from his classic The Worlds Greatest Chess Games, some 150 to 175 but, assuredly, I must already have 2/3rd's of them already in my collection. Thus, if I add 138 games, this will put the file solidly at 2,900 games. Many ask, what is in this collection, and now I ask, what is not in this collection?! More latter. Well deserved rest, here. dk]

[revision Fri 02Nov2007: added 71 games from Reti's Masters of the ChessBoard] For copies of my database (chessbase, pgn format), with 1,775 classic games from most of the major classic game collection books, please email me here:

dk_experiment at yahoo usual business suffix

While I love to advise, share, and comment, this email is not a general email for private comments or correspondence, but to request the database only, please, if you don't mind. Thank you. Comments of course responded to at current or recent blog posts.

Please appropriately mention the database in the subject line, as otherwise I cannot open unknown or unrecognizable emails, as can be appreciated.

Let me know if you can use chessBase format (the better form of my database, recommended), or need pgn.

And finally, comment below simply alerting me of your interest, so I know to go to THAT yahoo email, as I rarely go there, and don't use it except for matters such as this.

Thank you, and appreciate your interest, Regards, David K Seattle

Direct link, here.