Database & Position Search

See how millions of games have continued from any position

The database panel lets you see how millions of chess games have continued from any position — what moves were played, how often, and how successful they were. It's one of the most powerful tools for opening preparation and understanding typical plans.

Opening the Panel

Press Enter to toggle the database panel. It automatically searches the current board position whenever you navigate to a new move.

What You'll See

The panel has a two-part layout: a moves table showing available continuations with statistics, and a games list showing individual matching games. The header displays the total number of games found and White's overall score percentage.

The Moves Table

Each row represents a continuation that has been played from the current position. Here's what the columns mean:

Click any move to play it on the board. Columns are sortable, resizable, and reorderable — just drag the column headers.

The Games List

Below the moves table, you can browse individual games that reached the current position:

• Each row shows White, Black, their Elo ratings, the result, date, event, and the game's continuation from the current position
• Click a game to preview it on the board. Your original game is saved — click "Back to your game" or press Ctrl+R to return
• Drag a game onto the notation panel to add it as a variation in your analysis
• The list loads 100 games at a time, with more loading automatically as you scroll down

Right-Click Options

Right-click a game for: Copy PGN, Add to current game, Select all, Copy all as PGN.

Column Management

Columns are sortable by clicking headers (sorting happens server-side for accuracy). Right-click any column header to show/hide columns, show all, or reset to defaults.

Keyboard Navigation

Use ↑ ↓ to navigate rows, Ctrl+C to copy selected games, and Ctrl+A to select all.

Search Sources

The database panel can search several different sources. Switch between them using the buttons in the panel header.

Master Database (default)

Millions of over-the-board master games form the backbone of the database. This is the best source for serious opening preparation. Use the Exclude Online Games toggle (⊕/⊘ button) to filter out internet games and focus on classical OTB play.

Lichess Explorer

Switch to the Lichess explorer (Lichess logo button) to see opening frequencies from millions of online games on Lichess. Results are filtered to blitz, rapid, and classical games from players rated 2200+. This requires a one-time API token setup.

Syzygy Tablebase

For endgame positions with 8 or fewer pieces on the board, the Syzygy tablebase (∞ button) provides perfect solutions. Every legal move is classified as a Win, Loss, or Draw with absolute certainty.

Tablebase Mode

When the tablebase is active and the position qualifies (≤8 pieces), you'll see precise endgame evaluations:

• Outcome categories: Win, Loss, Draw, Cursed win (theoretically winning but drawn by 50-move rule), Blessed loss (theoretically losing but saved by 50-move rule), Maybe win/loss
• Color coding: Green for wins, red for losses, gray for draws
• DTM (Distance to Mate) shown when available, with DTZ (Distance to Zeroing — the next pawn move or capture) as a fallback

The games list is hidden in tablebase mode since there are no example games to show.

Correspondence & TCEC

A separate Database panel variant is available for correspondence games. Within it, you can toggle to TCEC (Top Chess Engine Championship) games to see how the strongest engines have handled a position.

Layout Options

Toggle between horizontal (moves on the left, games on the right) and vertical (moves on top, games below) layout using the ⬍/⬌ button. Your preference is saved automatically.

Player Name Display

Enable the "Surname only" setting to trim player names to just their last name, giving the games list a cleaner, more compact appearance.

Quick Reference