How to create a openings repertoire.

[Jonathan003]

Hi this is my way to create a repertoire in pgn format after many trial and error. I'm pretty happy with it.
You can train the repertoire with Chesstempo, chess position trainer or Chessable.
I hope someone finds this useful.
You can try to find out your playing style here: http://www.chesspersonality.com/
I used following software: Chessbase, a text editor like Sublime Text, polyglot1.4w29, SCID, Lucas Chess, Chess Position Trainer and HIARCS Chess Explorer
1. create two cbh database of your favored GM, from chessbase big database 2017 or newer. ( with about a 1000 of games for white and a 1000 of games for black). Check them for abnormal starting positions and games with 0 moves, and delete these. Unannotate them and convert them back to pgn.
2. Change the result of the games, to drawn games in a text editior, change 0-1 to 1/2-1/2 and change 1-0 to 1/2-1/2. (They can be lost games because they are lost on time).
3. Create bin books from these databases one for white and one for black. (normalize the pgn's first by opening them in scid and exporting them by overwriting). Type: polyglot make-book -min-score 0 -min-game 0 -pgn white.pgn -bin white_1.bin -max-ply 27, for the white book and: polyglot make-book -min-score 0 -min-game 0 -pgn black.pgn -bin black_1.bin -max-ply 28, for the black book.
4. than create openings guides in Lucas Chess and choose to import only the best lines for the color, (you can also choose to import all best moves) of the repertoire from the bin books, (you can change the weight of a move in scid or you can even delete moves in scid vs pc). Then exrtact to pgn in Lucas chess.
5. After that create two big openings with Chess Position Trainer, one for white and one for black, afterwards export to pgn. Open these pgn files in Hiarcs Chess Explorer. Open player information, search for the name of the repertoire. Double click on it and click two times on more. Use the names of the openings generated, (just copy the names). And export the filtered games. Then you have the pgn files to use to train in Chesstempo, cpt or chessable. I keep the same orde as in Hiarcs Chess Explorer. If there are more then 80 games in one opening. Create a folder with the openingsname and split the openings. Install a small openings key in chessbase 15, to give names. Call the rest Others. You can also use the Tree tap in Lucas Chess opening lines, to give names.
I hope this can help someone to create a repertoire. If you have questions just ask.

[Chris Formula]

Nice one. Do you have any Polyglot opening book to share?

Here's mine: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1H3LV- ... ShQgK4kH8Y

[Jonathan003]

Thanks for sharing the bin book Chris.
Here you can find some other interesting books:
https://sites.google.com/site/computerschess/download

[Chris Formula]

Formula14b.bin is an update to Formula14.bin.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dvoGi ... dfRKI3AXNC

[Chris Formula]

pardon for responding to an old thread.
sharing here the latest BIN book that i've created.
here's the link:

enjoy! mabuhay!

[Graham Banks]

https://outskirts.altervista.org/forum/ ... m.php?f=20

Many opening books there.

[chesskobra]

I think most books available on the internet are not very useful because you rarely have more details as to how the books were constructed (what criteria were used to select games, what parameters were used in polyglot, how the weights were tuned, and so on). So my preferred method (which seems ok for an amateur) is to use a game collection such as Norman Pollock's databases, filter for games after 1980, and then use appropriate -min-game parameter in the polyglot command. If you use -min-game 50 or 100, it can't be bad for a generic book since it would include lines that are relatively well tested in IM, GM play. If you want a broad book, with not necessarily only the main lines, use games by 2300+ rated players, -min-game 3 (default). This way you at least know what has gone into the book. You could even filter games by ECO using pgn-extract and then merge the codes that interest you before building a book.

[jdart]

I have been maintaining a custom book for Arasan for many years. It is in a custom format, because polyglot only has move weights, and my book keeps win/loss/draw statistics and uses an algorithm to dynamically determine weighting. I've thought about making a ChessBase or Polyglot version of it though, I just haven't done it so far.

I use as inputs: selected high-rated OTB human games (>2400 ELO mostly), ICCF games, server engine games including Playchess, FICS, lichess. Games are filtered to remove losses on time or by forfeit. There is also a PGN file with manual weights inserted.

Re generally available books: the best ones IMO are non-free: these include Hiarcs, Fauzi, Goi.

[Krzysztof Grzelak]

I have been maintaining a custom book for Arasan for many years. It is in a custom format, because polyglot only has move weights, and my book keeps win/loss/draw statistics and uses an algorithm to dynamically determine weighting. I've thought about making a ChessBase or Polyglot version of it though, I just haven't done it so far.

I use as inputs: selected high-rated OTB human games (>2400 ELO mostly), ICCF games, server engine games including Playchess, FICS, lichess. Games are filtered to remove losses on time or by forfeit. There is also a PGN file with manual weights inserted.

Re generally available books: the best ones IMO are non-free: these include Hiarcs, Fauzi, Goi.

And where does this belief that Hiarcs' book is good come from?

[Harvey Williamson]

And where does this belief that Hiarcs' book is good come from?

Lots of testing and statements like this:

"I subscribe to your Powerbook now and I'm pretty impressed by it, I use it all the time in my class teaching. As far as I know it is the best publicly available book." - Larry Kaufman, Grandmaster and World Senior Chess Champion