Hello,
I want to know if i can convert an OBK file create with chessmaster into an CTG file for Fritz?
Maybe the answer is still in this forum but i can't find where! there is too much posts!
Give me the link if you know.
Thanks.

Try looking at this page:

Winboard and Chess engines FAQ

Hope this helps!

It will be better and easier if you just use Fritz's book or create your own.

I have already make my own opening book in chessmaster but it represents a big job and i don't want to repeat it in fritz!!!
thanks for the link but it's too complex for me.I don't know how to use the FGCRNEW exe for the conversion, it does not working.

Then use this
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/npattins/ChessOpeningBookPage.html



It's much easier to make books in Fritz, since you can import games from pgn.

Thanks ebutaljib but i don't know how to run the OBK2PGN win32 file???
can you help me?

It's just an executable (.exe) file. The instructions on the page seemed simple (to me at least).

What problems are you having?

yes it seemed simple for me too but when i double click on the OBK2PGN exe a little black window appear and disappear immediatly, nothing happen...???

It's not a GUI application... you have to run it from the command line, complete with the two parameters, the CMX opening book file, and the name of the PGN file you want to create.

but what is "the command line" i'm french and i can't understand what it mean...!
is it the DOS line command?
if it's that, how to use it?

Okay...

Do you have an icon named 'Run' on your Start Menu? If so, click on it. You'll be prompted to enter the name of a program. Type 'cmd', and click OK. You'll then get a command window (it's like DOS).

From there, you'll have to switch to the correct folder (using CD) where OBK2PGN.exe and your CMX.OBK are located. Then, type the following:

obk2pgn.exe cmx.obk cmx.pgn

and hit enter.

thanks i found but it's not working, he says: "couldn't open cmx.obk" strange

Something could be using it... you don't have Chessmaster running, do you? If so, shut it down.

i reboot my computer but it's the same.
not cool.

Okay... you're in the wrong folder.

Try this:

obk2pgn.exe "C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Chessmaster 10th Edition\Data\Opening Books\CMX.obk" cmx.pgn

1. Copy the obk file in the same folder you have obk2pgn.exe

2. Run the DOS command line.

3. Go to the folder where obk and obk2pgn.exe are.
By typing cd.. and pressing enter you go one folder level up. If you want to go to speciffic folder you have to type cd NameOfTheFolder and press enter.
For example you want to go to Chessmaster installation folder. You type

cd.. [press enter] ---repeat this until you only see C:\

cd program files [press enter]

cd ubisoft [enter]

cd chessmaster grandmaster edition [enter]

and you are there. If you now type cd.. [enter] you will go one level up to ubisoft folder.



Yes kids, thats how computer operating system looked before Windows were invented
(god, am I so old to remember this )


4. When you are in the right folder, type

obk2pgn.exe NameOfYourBook.obk Whatever.pgn [press enter]


5. Close the DOS box and come back to the future

quote:

Close the DOS box and come back to the future

You know, I still have my first laptop (circa 1986) which uses DOS 2.2! It has 640 KB of RAM, which according to Mr. Gates at the time, was all the memory you'd ever need...

I guess that means I'm old, too.

It's working perfectly !
Thank you very much.

Hi,

Can someone help me please?

I'm looking for a long time for a quick way to create a durable and comprehensive opening repertoire in pgn format, based on the games of a gm player that fits my playing style.
I want it to be in pgn format to be able to train it with chess position trainer.

I just have one problem!
I have the latest version off chessmaster grandmaster edition with latest patch.
The tool OBK2PGN works with all opening book files included with chessmaster grandmaster edition a have tryed so far, except with the book of the grandmaster I'm most interested in namely IvanchukV.OBK
OBK2PGN does phase one but it doesn't doe phase two and there are no games in the pgn file created.

I have done the following, I created a pgn file from the book AnandV.obk with OBK2PGN.

When I wanted to use this pgn file with polyglot 1.4.7W I got some error messages.
To solve the problem I opened the pgn file with chessbase, I converted the format to cbh and than converted the database in cbh format back to pgn and replaced the original file, that solved the problem.

I created a bin book file from AnandV.pgn with polyglot.
Than I created a bin book file from mentor.pgn (created from the book mentor.obk)

When I had these two bin files I merged the two books with polyglot with the bin file Anand set as first. So that polyglot skips the entry where Anand has no interests in.

Than I extracted the bin file with SCID to pgn file, and used this pgn file in chessbase to create an openingsbook.
I used the function ad priority analyses to be able to force the engine to use the book moves.

Then to get finely my two repertoires in pgn format, one for white and on for black.
I did two engine matches from about 3000 blitz games.

For my white repertoire a set the engine that plays white to play only the top main lines while I set the other engine to play a wide variation of lines.
Visa verse for my black repertoire.

I'm very pleased with the results.
But I want my repertoires to be base on the game on the Book Ivanchuk.OBK


Do you have any Idea what could be the problem and how I can solve it?
So I can use the IvanchukV.OBK with OBK2PGN.

Sometimes you see obk and sometimes OBK, do you know the difference?


I hope you can help me.

Regards, Jonathan

When I ran obk2pgn.exe on IvanchukV.OBK, it didn't even finish the first phase -- there were 52,746 moves, and it stopped at 45,000.

I used Chessmaster's Opening Book Editor to look at various .obk files; there doesn't appear to be any differences that would cause obk2pgn.exe to malfunction. So obviously, the issue is with obk2pgn.exe, but I have no clue on how to solve the problem.

It doesn't matter what case the .obk extension is; the reason they differ is probably due to the personal preference of individual developers.

Hi, Khollister.

Thanks for the quick reply.
Do you know with what program theses book files are created.
I know chessmaster 8000 has a function to create an openingsbook from pgn files.
Maybe I can create an openingsbook for Ivanchuk this way?

Regards, Jonathan

Of course you can.

Gather all games where Ivanchuk played as white and put them all in the white.pgn file. Then gather all Ivanchuk's black games and put them in black.pgn file.

Open CM8000 and create a new opening book. Before importing set the maximum plies to 40 (thats 20 moves), and set that it should only weight moves for white. I think it's best if the moves are weighted according to frequency they were played. Import all games from the "white.pgn". After the process finishes SAVE the book as IvanchukV.obk and CLOSE it. Then load that same book and import all games from "black.pgn". Of course set all the parameters first (this time select that it should weight black's moves!!!)

That way you will get a book that simulates Ivanchuk's opening play - it will play what Ivanchuk normally plays as white, and it will play what Ivanchuk normally plays as black.