Editing Chess (section)

====Beginnings of chess technology====
Chess-playing computer programs (later known as [[chess engines]]) began to appear in the 1960s. In 1970, the first major computer chess tournament, the [[North American Computer Chess Championship]], was held, followed in 1974 by the first [[World Computer Chess Championship]]. In the late 1970s, dedicated home chess computers such as Fidelity Electronics' ''[[Chess Challenger]]'' became commercially available, as well as software to run on home computers. The overall standard of computer chess was low, however, until the 1990s.

The first [[endgame tablebases]], which provided [[perfect play]] for relatively simple endgames such as king and rook versus king and bishop, appeared in the late 1970s. This set a precedent to the complete six- and seven-piece tablebases that became available in the 2000s and 2010s respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-03-16|title=Endgame tablebases: A short history|url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/endgame-tablebases-a-short-history|access-date=2021-04-19|website=ChessBase News|language=en|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420013702/https://en.chessbase.com/post/endgame-tablebases-a-short-history|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first commercial [[chess database]], a collection of chess games searchable by move and position, was introduced by the German company [[ChessBase]] in 1987.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-05-19 |title=ChessBase is 25 |url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/chebase-is-25-everything-25-off-in-our-shop |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=Chess News |language=en}}</ref> Databases containing millions of chess games have since had a profound effect on opening theory and other areas of chess research.

Digital [[chess clocks]] were invented in 1973, though they did not become commonplace until the 1990s. Digital clocks allow for time controls involving [[Time control#Increment and delay methods|increments and delays]].