Users of our chess engines and the chess database ChessBase can rely on being able to use any common data format with their program. As a rule, for saving games and chess notations you will get along fine with our CBH format. If you frequently browse the internet and visit chess-related sites, you will encounter data formats based on pure ASCII text that can be used to represent and save both chess games (complete game notations) and chess positions. A standard for saving chess notations is the PGN format.
Let us look in a little more detail at the EPD format, which is frequently used on the net to describe a chess position and is of course also understood by Komodo/ChessBase.
Structure of the EPD format
1. Every position definition within an EPD file appears on its own line.
1k1r3r/pb1q4/1p1p2pp/n1p1p3/2P1pPBP/PPP1B1P1/2Q1N3/2KR3R b - - 0 19
2. The chessboard is represented from top-left to bottom-right.
3. The rows of the board are always separated by a forward slash.
4. The English piece designations (KQRBNP) are always used.
5. The white pieces are represented by uppercase letters, the black pieces by lowercase letters on the board.
6. Empty squares, or the number of empty squares, are marked within EPD with a digit.
7. After the board position is defined, a space follows, then the marker for the side to move. "w" stands for White to move, "b" for Black. Castling rights must then be defined.
8. "K" stands for short white castling, "Q" for long white castling, while the same letters are used for the black castling rights, only in lowercase for distinction.
So far everything is fairly easy to understand. In EPD, a possible en-passant possibility must also be considered and defined. After another space follows the entry of the potentially possible en-passant moves. Within the EPD format there is a limited possibility of inserting comments. The abbreviation "bm" often appears at the end of a string. This stands for the best move, for example.
Note: Several positions can be saved in one EPD file.