How is your summer? Are you playing some interesting tournaments or just lazy around the beach. I remember some decades ago the beautiful Adriatic sea and many chess players sitting at the boardwalk and playing endless games. Those were the over-the-board days where people could actually feel the opponent.

Nowadays you see the board and computer in front of you, those lucky ones have installed great apps and see their iPads or tablets and communicate to the invisible chess player across the globe. No more of the face-to-face games, no more sea breeze, no more sun burns from the games. If you are reading these lines and you still belong to the traditional over-the-board chess, you are perhaps among 1% of the nostalgic players.

Do I sound pessimistic, perhaps yes. On the other hand, today systems, databases, computer power allowed chess players to become stronger ever. The ELO of the players reach 3000, which is nowhere seen in the history of chess before. Does our brain evolve? Do chess databases help? Do you consult your moves with Chessbase or Chess Assistant? Do you use Opening Master as reference chess database? If yes, we are very happy. On one hand human chess loses the sea breeze on the other hand, found strength and ultimate knowledge. We shall use the technological advances but not forgetting the world outside.

So after finishing these few words, go outside, go to the local club, go to the boardwalk and play chess.

Oh, by the way we have updated for your the latest version of OM OTB and OM CORR. July 2017 version. So if you are getting ready for some important tournaments, be sure to download the latest version of our chess database.

OM OTB - 7,666,616 human OTB chess games. (increase 60,000 games compared to last release)

OM CORR - 1,564,875 human correspondence chess games (increase of 30,000 games)

Good luck and enjoy the sunny August.

Regards,

Alexander Horvath and Jan Helbich

Founders of OpeningMaster.com