cbh2pgn

About

A small python script that converts chess databases stored in the .cbh file format to .pgn. The tool is currently very limited:

• converts only standard games - no Chess960
• only the moves (including variations) of a game plus the following meta-info is converted:
  • Event
  • Site
  • Date
  • Round (plus subround if exists)
  • White player name
  • Black player name
  • Result
  • White Elo
  • Black Elo
• in particular, as of now, no game annotations are converted

Installation and Use (on Ubuntu)

As python is quite slow, I recommend using pypy instead of cpython. Even with pypy, a database with 9 million games takes approximately 8 hours to convert.

For comparison (reading and writing from/to SSD):

• with pypy 300 to 400 games per second (after a few seconds, when JIT kicks in)
• with cpython 20 to 60 games per second

Using pypy

Install python, pypy, pip, and python-chess:

• sudo apt install pypy3
• sudo apt install python3-pip
• pypy3 -mpip install -U pip wheel
• pypy3 -mpip install python-chess

Download cbh2pgn here and unzip to myfolder, then

• cd myfolder
• pypy3 cbh2pgn.py -i your_database.cbh -o output.pgn

This will create output.pgn

Using cpython

Note that this will be too slow for large databases.

Install python, pip, and python-chess:

• sudo apt install python3
• sudo apt install python3-pip
• pip3 install python-chess

Download cbh2pgn here and unzip to myfolder, then

• cd myfolder
• python3 cbh2pgn.py -i your_database.cbh -o output.pgn

This will create output.pgn

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Dominik Klein. Licensed under MIT (see file LICENSE)