"readme" for "40H-PGN" Databases. Copyright (c) 2014-2025 by Norman Pollock. All Rights Reserved. These PGN database files are freeware. They consist of over-the-board games between human players ("gm" databases) and TCEC games between computer engines ("cc" databases), that are available in the Public Domain. They are edited by Norman Pollock. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made that the information provided in the databases or the readme-pgn-db.txt is accurate. This includes names of players, game moves and game results. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to the worthiness of these files for chess usage. The user bears full responsibility for any consequences from the use or misuse of these files. The editor is not responsible for any damages or losses of any kind. These database files can be freely distributed provided they are distributed "as is". The editor is not responsible for any changes made by others. "40H Chess Tools, Utilities and Databases" has 2 download sites: 40hchess.epizy.com nk-qy.info/40h (Thanks to Frank Quisinsky) Please bookmark. contact: rc1242(at)yahoo(dot)com ========================== "40H-PGN" "gm" databases ========================== The "40H-PGN" "gm" databases are high quality databases containing long time-control (LTC) over-the-board (OTB) games between high-level human players. Game inclusion is selective and is based on filters described below. The files are: gm1831-1930.pgn, gm1931-1980.pgn, and gm1981-2025.pgn. Each file covers the specified time period shown in their filename. To shorten the time period, use "minDate.exe" from "40H-PGN" tools. For example: mindate gm1931-1980.pgn 1961.01.01 1969.12.31 will extract games from the specified time period to "outA.pgn". Whenever the "Event" or "Site" tag indicates a short time-control, or other non-standard issue, the games are removed. But since many games do not state their time-control, many games with short time- control may be present. The following terms (plus variations) in either the "Event" or "Site" tags, are used to remove games with short time-control or other issues. Rapid (rap, rapidplay) Blitz (superblitz) Speed Bullet Express Armageddon Blindfold (blind) Consultation (consult) Correspondence (corr) Simultaneous (simul, sim) Exhibition (exhib, exh) Friendly Casual TB (tiebreak, tie-break) Chess960 (Fischer Random, Freestyle, 9LX) ------------ Events/Sites that are rapid/blitz/online but do not show that Amber (Event) BBC (Event) Keres (Event 1991-present) CCT (Event Champions Chess Tour) d'Agde (Site) INT (Site internet) TechM (Event) Julius Baer (Event) Gashimov (Event) Tata Steel India (Event) Chessable Masters / Champions Chess Tour (Event) Champions Showdown ----------- Only games with ply counts between 41 and 500 inclusive are included. Duplicate games (same moves as an existing game) and many twin games (near-duplicate games) were removed. Comments and variations were removed. Games were checked for technical errors using "joined" by Andreas Stable and "PGN-Extract" by David Barnes. Such games were fixed or removed. Games were scanned by "Game Analyser" by Thomas McBurney for early blunders (a change of 750+ centipawns) in the first 20 moves. Such games were removed. Games with a FEN tag were removed, including Chess960 games. "ECO" codes were recalculated using extended "SCID" ECO codes. Games were sorted by the following keys: ECO, White, Black, Result, and Date. Games have full-move formatting on each line. Due to the increased popularity of rapid and blitz games, the number of long time-control games has dramatically decreased in years post-Covid. --------------- Each file has its own additional filtering: (1) gm1831-1930.pgn Games from 1831 to 1930. Number of games = 21,546 Number of players = 546 Number of clusters = 1 Minimum # games each player = 10 Minimum player score percent = 20.0% Minimum plies each game = 41 Maximum plies each game = 500 Date Range = 1831.01.01 : 1930.12.31 Version = 2024.12.28 --------------- (2) gm1931-1980.pgn Games from 1931 to 1980. Number of games = 173,760 Number of players = 3,198 Number of clusters = 1 Minimum # games each player = 12 Minimum player score percent = 20.0% Minimum plies each game = 41 Maximum plies each game = 500 Date Range = 1931.01.01 : 1980.12.31 Version = 2024.12.28 --------------- (3) gm1981-2025.pgn Games from 1981 to 2025. Number of games = 559,632 Number of players = 4,179 Number of clusters = 1 Minimum Elo Rating each player = 2400 Minimum # games each player = 20 Minimum player score percent = 20.0% Minimum plies each game = 41 Maximum plies each game = 500 Date Range = 1981.01.01 : 2025.03.24 Version = 2025.03.28 ============================== "40H-PGN" "cc" databases ============================== cc-tcec.pgn "cc-tcec.pgn" is an edited collection of selected games from the TCEC chess competitions ( https://tcec-chess.com ). The games are listed in a readable format arranged by openings. TCEC is regarded by many chess enthusiasts as the "unofficial" world championship competition between chess engines. All games are played on high-end computers with long time-controls. Each TCEC season competition consists of a series of tournaments leading up to a SuperFinal tournament of 100 games between the 2 top engines. These selected games are from the "Season 11" (2018) to "Season 27" (2024-5) TCEC Season competitions. The selected games are from the "Division P" tournament through the "Superfinal" tournament, including any intervening tournaments. In TCEC the openings are selected by chess experts, NOT BY THE ENGINES NOR BY OPENING BOOKS. The selected openings are chosen to be BIASED. The tournament directors want to decrease the number of draws ("1/2-1/2"). To balance out any advantage for any engine, each opening is played from both sides of the board in consecutive games. The biased openings are chosen to be at the same level of bias for all games in a specific tournament. It is suggested that you DO NOT USE TCEC GAMES in making an OPENING BOOK because its openings are biased. For further information on the TCEC openings: https://tcec-chess.com/articles/TCEC_Openings_FAQ.html http://blogchess2016.blogspot.com/ The full unedited "pgn" of every game, with comments, is in the "Archive" section of "https://tcec-chess.com". A big "Thank You" to the TCEC organization, and its sponsor "Chessdom Arena", for organizing these competitions and for putting the games into the Public Domain. ---------- EDITING LOG: Removed version data from the chess engine names. Users should be aware that chess engines were updated each new season. Removed comments and variations. Removed some Tags. Rearranged the order of the Tags. Replaced ECO codes with "Scid vs PC" extended ECO codes. Sorted the games by ECO codes. Re-formatted the "Move" section of each game (full moves are on the same line). Removed games with unusual terminations. Checked games for technical problems and any problem was either fixed or the game was removed. Links in old "Site" tags were updated because the site containing the archive has moved: "http://tcec.chessdom.com" replaced by "https://tcec-chess.com". ---------- Number of games = 5,697 Number of players = 25 Number of clusters = 1 Minimum plies each game = 41 Maximum plies each game = 500 Date Range = 2018.02.13 : 2025.01.03 Seasons = 11 : 27 Version = 2025.01.04 ============================== ==============================