Because we take a more conservative approach to matching player names, duplicates may not always be identified as such. We are continuously improving this process to further reduce the number of duplicates. However, it will likely never be possible to eliminate all duplicates using this approach.
Scid’s duplicate search is very rudimentary and relies primarily on simple string comparisons. As a result, it finds more duplicates than actually exist in the database.
Yes, absolutely. Although the main files are optimized for Scid (si4/si5), you can find the complete database as well as monthly update files in PGN format in the menu under „Download PGN.“
To better manage file sizes and relevance, the database is divided into two parts. The OTB (Over-The-Board) database contains games played on real boards. The online database focuses on games played on the Internet (e.g., Lichess, Chess.com), mostly by title holders or players with high ELO ratings.
That depends on your software. Scid vs. PC uses the si4 format, which has a technical limit of 16.7 million games. If you want to merge databases, we recommend Scid 5.x and the newer si5 format, which can handle over 4 billion games.
Since I provide ready-made Scid files, you don’t have to import a huge PGN file. Here’s how:
1. Download the .7z archive from our website and extract it to a folder.
2. Open Scid (or Scid vs. PC).
3. In the top menu, click File > Open (or press Ctrl+O).
4. In the extracted folder, select the file with the .si4 extension (for Scid vs. PC) or .si5 (for Scid 5.x). The database is ready to use right away.
ChessBase runs fastest with its proprietary .cbh format. Here’s the best way to convert PGN files:
1. Download the PGN file from our website.
2. Open ChessBase and create a new, empty database (File > New > Database).
3. Open the downloaded PGN file in ChessBase (a list window will open).
4. Select all games with Ctrl + A and copy them with Ctrl + C.
5. Return to the main window, click on your new database, and press Ctrl + V to paste and convert the games. (Alternatively: Drag and drop the PGN file icon directly onto the icon of your new database.)
Lumbra’s Gigabase is a labor of love that I run on my own. Since I work full-time, I handle database updates and website maintenance in my free time. I always aim to do this during the first week of the month, but work commitments can sometimes cause minor delays. Thank you for your understanding!
To continuously improve the project, I’ve programmed a small plugin that asks users a short question 15% of the time. Your feedback helps me tailor the database even better to the needs of the chess community.
The data comes from dozens of different sources (associations, historical archives, online platforms). Our deduplication algorithm standardizes most names. However, some spellings differ so greatly from one another that they cannot be reliably merged automatically.
Unfortunately, no. Most historical and external PGN source files do not contain a „Time Control“ tag. Therefore, it is technically impossible to filter cleanly by blitz, rapid, or classical chess.