FreeRepublic wrote Today at 12:49:10:

What was the problem?

We are planning to roll out some material to help users get familiar with the database functionality - news items, videos etc.

FreeRepublic - yes, the new site does have some nice features. As a beta tester, I had a good idea of what was coming. 

Regarding the comment you made in the French Classical section about the position search, I had bookmarked that page from the old site since it was so useful. However, like you, I can't find it anymore. My bookmark goes to the Check Your Games page on the new site, which isn't quite the same thing. One can still search by position with this new page, but as you discovered, the position of interest has to be entered via PGN. The old position search allowed the entry to be made more easily and quickly via a board or by clicking on the appropriate option from a list of moves displayed to the right of the board. A significant drawback of the new Check Your Games page is that the PGN input disappears once a search is made because a new page is created to display the search results. One can't go back and check an alternate move without having to enter the whole PGN string again. With the old position search, the search occurred in parallel with the entry of moves on the board, and the results were shown in a simple list without creating a new page. As I recall, one could look at each game by clicking on it in the list, but the original position remained in place so that additional moves could be added. (One could also backtrack and check an alternate move simply by using the left arrow). In addition, the search results obtained with the Check Your Games page are cluttered with statistics and games related to moves leading up to the position of interest. This information may not be that helpful if the user is focused just on the position that he or she entered.

I mistakenly assumed that the old position search feature would be carried forward to the new site with little modification since it seemed to work so well. Regrettably I failed to try this portion of the new site since "Check Your Games" didn't register as a position search to me. I took this phrase literally, and my own games are of much less interest than positions I encounter in books or recent theoretical developments. At any rate, I hope there's a way for Tony to bring back the position search, or at least to tweak the Check Your Games page to add a board for entering the position.

Nernstian59 wrote on 03/20/26 at 02:08:51:

Apparently this was temporarily disabled because it was buggy but it's on the list to reinstate.

Tony - I viewed some of the videos for the French update: the first two for the Guimard and then the first one for the Winawer. The videos are definitely useful since Simon Williams presents information that supplements John Watson's notes. Simon seems to provide a bit of an explanatory introduction to the variations as well, while John often plunges right in and cuts to the chase. The preferred approach can be a matter of taste, depending on one's familiarity with the variation under discussion. I did like Simon's personal insights, such as his comment that the h-pawn push in the Winawer has been worrying him as of late. 

Given the utility of the videos, I hoped there might be a record of Simon's comments and variations available in PGN form, but I haven't found any. I would definitely prefer not to have to watch the videos every time I wanted to refresh my memory on something I had a vague recollection of seeing. Being able to search and review a collection of PGN files seems faster and more efficient.

Although not related to the videos, I should note that the hyperlinks that open a new tab to display a game now produce an empty board with no pieces.  There's no game score in the new tab either. Has the need for a new tab with the game been rendered unnecessary since the game with its related functions has now been integrated into the update page? I noticed that in playing through these games, there's no longer a popup that allows the viewer to go through a side line. The board just goes to the next move in the main game. It's not as desirable to have to hunt through the notes to see if any sidelines are covered, especially when one's reason for examining the game was to see what the analyst said about a particular side line.

We need another two or three beta testers for the new site, preferably ex or current subscribers, but any Forum member who knows the current chesspublishing site would be fine.

Yes, grandfathered in . . . but I'm asking about paying for additional years in advance, so I'm a Grandfather for a lot longer than I currently am slated to be.

What is the link for adding a couple of years to an existing account?