Aquarium generated pgn files don't show move totals in Fritz

[mhalstern]

Couild some pgn standards expert please help out with this:

If I play an engine match in Fritz12, the database (pgn) view shows the result, followed by the number of moves. If I play an engine match in Aquarium and export the game to a pgn file, or append to an exisitng pgn file, Fritz12 will show the correct result, but not the number of moves.

What is Aquarium not outputting for Fritz to not show the results? I would like to be able to add this information to my pgn databases where move totals are missing, or better yet, would like to script to automate the process.

Thanks

[Mike S.]

This sounds to me as if the PGN tag "Plycount" is missing. It looks like this:

Code: Select all

[PlyCount "59"]

It is possible that there is a PGN tool available which could add this information to your PGNs automatically. Maybe one of Norm Pollock's PGN tools (but I'm not sure).

[mhalstern]

I checked. The issue is as you suspected. The "PlyCount" tag is missing.

Aquarium has lot of purported "advanced" features, none of which I can figure out well, but for something simple as this, it is lacking.

Thanks

[pawnslinger]

I checked. The issue is as you suspected. The "PlyCount" tag is missing.

Aquarium has lot of purported "advanced" features, none of which I can figure out well, but for something simple as this, it is lacking.

Thanks

PGN imported by Chessbase into a standard CB database will have plycount added to them during the import process. I do this all the time with the TWIC pgn files. And use the Plycount to filter out the trivial, 1 move, games.

If you don't have Chessbase, Chessbase Light is a free download and handles databases of up to 32,000 games. Perhaps other database programs will do similar.

[mhalstern]

Thanks for the advice.

I tested this with Fritz:

Copy the pgn database games without the "PlyCount" tags into a blank *.cbh database, then copy the cbh databases into a blank pgn database. Now, the move coubts are all present, as the "Plycount" tags are still in the new pgn headers.

This si what I needed.

[dadij]

The PlyCount tag is totally redundant. The information it conveys is readily available when parsing PGN files. For this reason I hope it will never be added to Aquarium output.

[mhalstern]

I understand that the information is easily obtained from the pgn files without the tag, however you must agree it does have value to the user when looking at the header in the GUI database view. Some GM vs GM game 1/2 1/2 89 moves would be worth looking at, while 1/2 1/2 7 moves would most likely be a waste of time.

In the database view, Aquarium dosen't show the move count by default, and the option is not available in the field choices.