10 BOOK OPENINGS (menu Books)

Keyboard users use F5.

• 10.1 In general
• 10.2 Book opening on/off (menu Books )
• 10.3 Load opening book (menu Books )
• 10.4 Import book from (menu Books )
• 10.5 Join opening books (menu Books )
• 10.6 Overview MVS-book (menu Books )
• 10.7 Analyze MVS-book (menu Books )
• 10.8 Show book scores (menu Books )
• 10.9 Tournament book on/off (menu Books )
• 10.10 Book learning (menu Books )
• 10.11 Clear book learning scores (menu Books )
• 10.12 User books
• 10.13 User book on/off (menu Books )
• 10.14 Load user book (menu Books )
• 10.15 Edit User book (menu Books )
• 10.15.1 The REBEL opening book editor
• 10.15.2 Remove a variation
• 10.15.3 Change priority
• 10.15.4 Add variation
• 10.15.5 Hints
• 10.16 Save user book (menu Books )
• 10.17 New User book (menu Books )
• 10.18 Make user book from db (menu Books )
• 10.19 Selected RBM from DB (menu Books )

10.1 In general

• In REBEL three opening libraries can be active: the normal book (extension ".MVS"), the tournament-book (in the program itself, so not in a separate file) and a user book (extension ".RBM").
• In selecting a book move, REBEL will give the user book the highest priority and the normal book the lowest.
• In the REBEL.CFG file is saved which kind of opening book REBEL is allowed to use.
• At the start of the program, the normal book and the user book (if available) found in the REBEL.CFG will be loaded.
• If you play from the opening book, the comment section will show you which moves are still available for the current position.
• Additionally, the program knows about 300 openings by name. If the program recognizes a variation, it will display the corresponding opening name with ECO-code in the comment section.

10.2 Book opening on/off (menu Books )

Here you can decide whether the computer is allowed to use its .MVS opening books or not. If not, the program won't search for a move in its .MVS opening book. It is possible to activate the tournament book and/or the user book without activating the normal book.

10.3 Load opening book (menu Books )

At the start of the program, the book found in the REBEL.CFG will be loaded. With this option you can switch to another opening book which has the extension ".MVS".

10.4 Import book from (menu Books )

With this option you can import opening books of external formats and use them in REBEL with Load opening book. Choose from the pull-down menu which type of opening book you want to import.

REBEL 10.0 supports the following formats:

• Chessmaster 4000/5000 : extension .OBK
• Genius: extension .CGS
• Fritz: extension .FBK

After you have made your choice you will be prompted to enter your desired (file)name of the new REBEL book. After that the conversion will start. The new book is available with Load opening book.

HINT
Handmade Genius books (extension .BOK) can also be imported however they must be first renamed to the extension .CGS

10.5 Join opening books (menu Books )

With this powerful option you are able to join 2 or more MVS opening books into one big opening book! Do you have for example our external 12,000,000 opening moves on the CD-ROM REBEL GOLD? You can join these books into one big opening book. There is just one limitation: Books can not be made larger than the size of the REBEL hashtable. In practice this means that if you have a PC with 8 MB of Ram you are able to make opening books of 5 to 6 MB (!!) This option works as follows:

• Choose from the file menu the book you want to ADD.
• Next choose the book to INSERT the first selected book into.

EXAMPLE
Suppose you want to join the kasparov.mvs and the rebel.mvs main book (available in the BOOKS directory) Do the following:

• choose Join opening books
• select kasparov.mvs (after question "Select to add:")
• select rebel.mvs (after question "Add to:") next will appear:" Add file kasparov.mvs to rebel.mvs?"
• confirm with YES and all moves of kasparov.mvs are inserted in rebel.mvs

REMARK
Take special care about the following: if you make very big books with Join opening books, the response times of the opening moves will slow down. A fast harddisk and/or a good diskcaching program is very important for using opening books greater than 2 MB.

10.6 Overview MVS-book (menu Books )

By selecting this option, an overview of the opening book sorted on opening names is presented. In other words: you can have a look into the book to see which opening is well represented, which is less represented, and also which opening is active and which not. Under the overview, the total number of moves and positions and the average length of the book opening lines are reported.

10.7 Analyze MVS-book (menu Books )

REBEL will analyze the book on the current level and add values to the moves of the book. This option is extremely handy in case you doubt about 2 or 3 book moves. With this you may consider taking the book move with the highest score!

The more time REBEL has to evaluate, the more reliable these values will be, and of course the better your book. In the submenu you can choose to make REBEL start again from the beginning or to continue where REBEL left last time this option was used.

10.8 Show book scores (menu Books )

The MVS-books contain values made with Analyze MVS-file (see Analyze MVS-book). With this option you choose if you want to see these values. We refer you to section Analyze MVS-book to add values to a MVS-opening book.

10.9 Tournament book on/off (menu Books )

Here you can decide whether or not the computer is allowed to make use of The internal tournament book. The tournament book only contains good variations for REBEL. When the tournament book is turned off only REBEL.MVS (which is a much broader book) will be consulted resulting in a much more varied game.

IMPORTANT!
Always use the Tournament book in combination with Rebel's standard opening book. The Tournament book is just a small selection (5 Kb) of Rebel's main book with the opening lines we consider best for Rebel. If you turn on Tournament book and turn off the standard book then Rebel will actually play with an opening book of only 5 Kb!

10.10 Book learning (menu Books )

With this option set, REBEL will try to learn from its own mistakes: openings with a bad result will receive a lower priority and vice versa.

10.11 Clear book learning scores (menu Books )

Rebel gives you the possibility to decide whether or not REBEL will learn from its mistakes (see Book learning.). When book-learning is activated the book learning after many games will cause REBEL to use a small opening library.

This Clear-book-learning option will clear the book learning files and make REBEL play again from its original book without knowledge of former games.

10.12 User books

REBEL gives you the possibility of loading your own created opening book. This book needs to have the extension ".RBM" and will be saved in the REBEL.CFG. You can make it yourself by creating an ASCII-file with opening lines. It's very simple to do it yourself: a) to start a new variation start a new line; b) give a move by typing the coordinates in four characters, e.g. e2e4; c) after every move you need to type a space which indicates that the program will play this move active, or a minus which indicates that the program will not be allowed to play this move.

Examples: "e2e4 d7d5-g1f3 " means that REBEL will play at the start e2-e4; if REBEL plays with black then the answer to "e2-e4" will NOT be d7-d5, but when REBEL has white and the opponent plays d7-d5 after e2-e4 then REBEL will answer with Knight g1 to f3; "e2e4 e7e6-": REBEL will not play the French Defense as black; "d2d4 d7d5 c2c4-": REBEL will not play the Queen's Gambit as white.

10.13 User book on/off (menu Books )

Here you can decide whether the computer is allowed to make use of the user book if loaded.

10.14 Load user book (menu Books )

You will be prompted to enter the filename for the RBM opening book you want to load into REBEL's memory.

You now can choose Edit User book to change things in the book.

10.15 Edit User book (menu Books )

• 10.15.1 The REBEL opening book editor
• 10.15.2 Remove a variation
• 10.15.3 Change priority
• 10.15.4 Add variation
• 10.15.5 Hints

10.15.1 The REBEL opening book editor

The REBEL 10.0 opening editor only works with RBM text files which you probably just made with New User book.

The edit process goes as follows:

• load a RBM book into the PC's memory with "Load user book"
• choose Edit User book
• you now are able to change the loaded book in every way you please by deleting variations, adding variations, changing priority of moves or even importing games to the book.
• as a last step you can save the edited book back to your harddisk by "Save user book"

IMPORTANT
The REBEL 10.0 book editor ONLY works with a MOUSE.

The layout of the screen will change.

• the (big) REBEL button is changed in EXIT. Here you can leave the editor
• at the bottom of the INFO window the quantity of used and free memory is displayed. Found opening moves are displayed in the INFO window.
  By clicking on the moves you can quickly go to your desired place in the book.
• all other game manipulating key functions like PGUP, PGDWN, HOME, END etc. are also available.
• The comment window is used as an EDIT window.

This is an exact copy of the moves in the INFO window, however HERE is the place to make your changes

10.15.2 Remove a variation

You simply click on the move in the EDIT window with your RIGHT mouse button. The move will disappear from the INFO and EDIT window.

IMPORTANT Be aware that the remaining variation AFTER the deleted move is automatically removed too!

10.15.3 Change priority

This is done by clicking on the move in the EDIT window with your LEFT mouse button. The move with a "-" will change into a move without a "-" and vice versa. REBEL will never play moves with a "-".

10.15.4 Add variation

If you want to add a variation you simply click on Insert.

10.15.5 Hints

You can add your own games or (grand)master games very quickly to the opening book. This goes as follows:

• load the game
• press END, REBEL will go to the last move of the game
• click on Insert and the game has become new theory!

10.16 Save user book (menu Books )

By using this option you save the changes you made.

10.17 New User book (menu Books )

You will be prompted to enter the filename for the new RBM opening book you want to create. The new opening book will contain as the only move 1.e2-e4.

10.18 Make user book from db (menu Books )

With this function you can make an opening book from a REBEL database. All games of the database are exported to a RBM opening book.

This new book you can load immediately with Load User book or edit this book first with the book opening editor of REBEL 10.0 (see section Edit User book)

The program will ask for the following data:

• your desired (file)name of the new created opening book
• the (maximum) number of moves exported from every game

In this way you can limit the depth of the new created book.

HINTS

• if you have some quality databases, for instance a database with only (grand)master games, then you can make some excellent books with Create opening book.
• if you have some good Player databases, for instance a database with only games of Kasparov, then you can make an excellent opening book of the Kasparov playing style and open like Kasparov.
• and last but not least you can make an opening book of your own opening repertoire!

10.19 Selected RBM from DB (menu Books )

This is in fact an extended option of the one above: you will also be prompted to fill in a number of moves to be inserted into the new RBM book BUT now only openings will be included that are beginning with the same moves that are currently on the board!

EXAMPLE

• put REBEL into the player <> player mode (menu "Option")
• make moves e2-e4, c7-c5
• run this option and choose for 10 moves to be inserted
• result: the first 10 moves of all those games of the database that have 1.e4 c5 (the Sicilian Defense) will be put into the RBM file!