GMTonyKosten wrote on 09/08/26 at 09:20:35:

Tony - Adding the Opening Guides to the site is definitely helpful. I was initially stymied since a position search for the Guides didn't seem to be available. Perhaps it was just a lack of attentiveness on my part, but I didn't immediately notice that the board for performing the position search had to opened via the drop-down bar in the upper left corner.

The major improvement I noticed was the speed of the site's response. Previously, when performing a position search of the Chess Publishing Updates, I found that with "Auto" switched on, the site would be quite slow in responding each time I entered a move in the search. At least a couple minutes or more would be needed for the lists of games and updates to refresh with each new move I added to the search. Not knowing better, I chalked this up to having slow connection. However, the search updates much faster (within seconds) after the new version of the database page was launched. I received an email from Chess Publishing earlier this month stating that the page had been "rebuilt from the ground up", so this might be the reason instead. In any case, it's a most welcome change. The process was formerly so slow that it wasn't especially inviting to use.

Here is the original announcement post which explains the download windows: https://www.chesspublishing.com/news/the-new-chess-publishing-is-here

GMTonyKosten wrote on 09/08/26 at 09:20:35:


It seems to be working well with one exception for me.  I am not sure if it is something I am doing wrong, but now when I try to download a model game it gives me an error message?  Anyone else running into that?

Also if you open the game in a new tab, I don't see a download button or copy PGN button.

Hmmm - it looks like you changed the rules for downloads and now we can only download 12 months back?  I find that to be overly restrictive.  A large part of the value for me is identifying model games and then being able to bring those into my tools of choice.  It really limits my workflow if I can't actually copy the game I am interested in.

As an example, there is an annotated game that discusses a position I am currently exploring.  The game is from 2023 and it gives me an error message that it is outside my download window when I try to download/copy the PGN.  When I first saw the message, I kept looking at the various windows on the screen trying to figure out what it was talking about until I understood the error message was saying it was older than 12 months and I could not copy the game.

This is exactly the kind of feedback that shapes the new database UI, so thank you, and don't hesitate to mention any more likes or dislikes, possible improvements, etc.

GMTonyKosten wrote on 08/17/26 at 09:34:17:


Auto on keeps the game search up-to-date with the position as I adjust the position on the board. It's exactly what I want. Why would I not?!   

Bibs wrote on 08/15/26 at 23:38:42:


I asked the developer and he feels that: Quote:

What do others think?

Thanks Tony. I am finding my way around better now.

Overall verdict - huge improvement. Good job.

One serious issue remains, but not of the website. That is lateness. Not impressed by late delivery and some sections can lag by 2 months. Poor.

tbh, the big thing for me is now having the 'auto' button clicked. It keeps up with the search changes. 
Dunno how others work, but maybe an idea for that to be the default? Just a suggestion.

Overall, good job!