Scid, a great tool to learn to play chess

Since the beginnings of personal computing, one of the most popular video games has been and is chess. Currently in professional chess and in general, computer science is playing a great role. But fortunately not everything is paid and even in the chess world, free software reigns quietly. One of those programs that we can use in our Ubuntu is called Scid. Scid is a database of chess games that not only allows us to store our games but also allows us to study chess, watch other people's games and even play online with others through the ICC service.

Scid installation is simple as it is found in the Ubuntu Software Center, but in this case, the visit of the main web of the project will be mandatory since on the web we can find many resources and complements for this program. Installation can also be done through synaptic or in the terminal using the "apt-get install" command. Any method will work in our Ubuntu. Among the plugins that I would recommend to install together with Scid, there would be Endgame Database by Kiril Kryukov, a database to play the endings that will be useful for us in our studies, not only when analyzing. Chess Engines is another section that we should consult since it is very important.

Scid is a free chess database

Chess engine is a chess engine, this means that when analyzing a game or playing a game against the computer, the computer plays as if it were a professional. There are payment engines and other free ones, among the free ones that you can use is Critter, Stockfish and Firenzina. Very good engines that will make a novice able to reach the level of Grandmaster of chess, yes, with a little time.

In addition, on the Scid website we can find a database of chess games, although as Scid supports universal formats, any database that we find on the Internet can be used without having any problem.