Chessbase

ChessBase has been around a long time and is a database that allows you to enter, annotate and save games, including variations, text commentary, spoken comments, embedded pictures, soundtracks and even video sequences; analyze, generate a comprehensive openings report with main and critical lines, plans and most important games; search for material distribution, and more.

Chessbase 10 comments:

I got mine this morning... is it worth it…after a couple of hours playing with it I do not think so!!
…a lot of useless functions.
The version Chessbase 10 that I have been using until now is, in my opinion, an excellent chess program (especially with the new update): the player has practically everything that is needed for tournament preparation as well as for abstract preparation. The options are simple and a user has no problems to use them.

Chessbase 11 comments:
Modern programs, like Chessbase 11 have such a large number of options that it is practically very difficult to know all them.
Chessbase 11 is based on the new Microsoft Office based interface just as Fritz 12 and I can say that it is very easy to manage with the new environment. I had no problems when using it for the first time.
ChessBase 11 is rife with bugs…Terrible…I cannot activate it…I hate this mess…they are telling me that my activation number is already in use.
Get CB9 if you can. CB11 crashes, is bloatware, and has nothing, zero the earlier version will not do.
Games won't save, crashes do not show versions in history, and history does not work like it did.
CB 11 is wrecked.
…think ChessBase, the database program, is garbage.
It is highly unstable…activation locks up, indices become corrupted, games are lost, crashes, you get a "Disable" message when opening games.
It is a sea of bugs and problems…

Chessbase Lite
You cannot play against the engine and it has a limit of about 32,000 games in the database. You can open any database of course, but it will only read the first 32,000. It comes with the Fritz 6 engine and you cannot add other engines in the lite version. If you are looking for a free database program with reasonably strong engine this is an excellent program.  Good for doing opening research but if you want to analyze a game, you’ll have to do it move by move and hit the spacebar to enter the engine move.
      An excellent program if you are looking for free and you can live with the limitations and an annoying nag screen that pops up once in a while asking you to buy Fritz 13. Its main use that I can see would be for doing opening research.  Especially helpful is the “Opening Report.”  This report tells you how many games with the variation are in the DB, highest rated players who used the line, other strong players using it and statistics.  A random example:

Statistics
Black scores below average (41%).
Black performs Elo 2307 against an opposition of Elo 2370 (-63).
White performs Elo 2410 against an opposition of Elo 2347 (+63).
White wins: 600 (=38%), Draws: 653 (=42%), Black wins: 306 (=20%)
The drawing quote is higher than average. (4% quick draws, < 20 Moves)

The report also gives you the most successful moves against each reply:

Moves and Plans
a) 12.a4

586 Games, 1975-2010, Ø=2001
White scores above average (59%).
Elo-Ø: 2324, 566 Games. Performance = Elo 2373
played by: Kasparov, 2744, 8.5/12; Topalov, 2731, 3/3; Anand, 2720, 5/10; Grischuk, 2717, 0/1; Shirov, 2704, 1/1;

You should play: 12...h6  Click for Games

Free Download: ChessBase Lite 2009