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Position search allows you to find games that reached a specific position, helping you study openings, transpositions, and typical middlegame structures.

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How Position Search Works

Position search uses FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) to represent board positions. When you search, Obsidian Chess Studio queries your databases to find games that reached the exact position.

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What is FEN?

FEN is a compact text representation of a chess position: 
rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
This encodes:
  • Piece placement on all 8 ranks
  • Side to move (w = White, b = Black)
  • Castling rights (KQkq)
  • En passant square
  • Halfmove clock
  • Fullmove number
Find games that reached the exact position on the board:
1

Set Up Position

Navigate to the position you want to search:
  • Play through a game to a specific move
  • Set up a position manually on the analysis board
  • Paste a FEN to jump to a position
2

Set Reference Database

Ensure you have a reference database selected:
  • Go to Databases page
  • Click the star icon next to your master games database or personal database
  • This database will be searched
3

Search Position

Click the Search Position button in the analysis panel.
4

View Results

A list of matching games appears:
  • Player names (White vs Black)
  • Tournament/event
  • Date
  • Result
  • Move number where position occurred
5

Open Game

Click any result to load that game on the board at the exact position.
Exact search requires the position to match perfectly, including side to move and castling rights.
Find games with similar piece placements, ignoring certain factors:

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Ignore Side to Move

Search for the position regardless of whose turn it is:
  • Useful when the position arose via transposition
  • Finds more results

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Ignore Castling Rights

Search without considering whether castling is still available:
  • Useful for positions where castling rights vary
  • Common in opening transpositions

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Ignore En Passant

Search without requiring the same en passant square:
  • Rarely needed but available for edge cases
1

Enable Partial Search

In the position search settings, toggle:
  • “Ignore side to move”
  • “Ignore castling rights”
  • “Ignore en passant”
2

Run Search

Click Search Position to find more games with flexible matching.

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Filtering Search Results

Narrow down position search results:
Filter results to games where a specific player (White or Black) reached this position.

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Opening Preparation

Study how others have played a specific opening position:
1

Reach Opening Position

Play the opening moves until you reach a critical position.
2

Search

Find all games in your master database that reached this position.
3

Analyze Continuations

Review what moves were played:
  • Most common moves
  • Success rates for each move
  • Recent novelties or trends
4

Build Repertoire

Choose the lines that fit your style and add them to your repertoire.

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Transposition Detection

Find games that reached the same position via different move orders: 
Example: Réti Opening transposing to Queen's Gambit

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 ...
vs
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 ...
Position search finds both paths to the same structure.

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Studying Pawn Structures

Search for typical pawn structures to learn plans:
1

Identify Structure

Set up a pawn structure (e.g., Carlsbad, Isolated Queen’s Pawn, Maroczy Bind).
2

Search

Find games with this exact pawn formation.
3

Study Plans

Analyze how strong players handled the structure:
  • Piece placement
  • Typical breaks
  • Winning plans

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Endgame Study

Find endgames of a specific type:
  • Rook endgames with specific pawn structures
  • Queen vs Rook endgames
  • Opposite-colored bishop endgames
Partial search is very useful for endgames where castling rights and side to move may vary.

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Advanced Search Techniques

While not a direct feature, you can:
  1. Set up a position with specific material (e.g., Rook + 3 pawns vs Rook + 2 pawns)
  2. Search for that position
  3. Find games with similar material imbalances
Search for tactical or strategic motifs:
  1. Set up the position showing the motif (e.g., knight fork, back rank mate threat)
  2. Search to find games with that exact setup
  3. Study how the motif was executed or defended

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Historical Opening Analysis

Compare opening theory evolution:
1

Search Old Games

Filter results to games before 1990.
2

Search Modern Games

Filter results to games after 2010.
3

Compare

See how evaluations and popular moves have changed over time.

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Position Search Statistics

For each position found, you can see:
  • Total games: Number of games reaching this position
  • Score distribution:
    • White wins: X%
    • Draws: Y%
    • Black wins: Z%
  • Most popular moves: What players tried from this position
  • Average rating: Average Elo of games in the sample
Statistics are calculated from all matching games in the reference database.

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Integrating with Analysis

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Search from Game

  1. Load a game from your database or PGN file
  2. Navigate to any move
  3. Click Search Position
  4. See how others played from this position
1

Copy FEN

Right-click the board or use the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+C) to copy FEN.
2

Search Online

Paste the FEN into:
  • Lichess Opening Explorer
  • Chess.com Analysis
  • Online master databases
3

Compare Results

See additional games and computer evaluations from online sources.

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Building Custom Opening Books

Use position search to create your own opening repertoire:
1

Search Key Positions

For each critical position in your opening repertoire, run a position search.
2

Collect Best Games

Filter by:
  • High-rated players (2600+)
  • Recent games (last 5 years)
  • Your color’s wins
3

Annotate

Open each game and annotate key moves and ideas.
4

Export as PGN

Save all annotated games as your custom opening book.

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Troubleshooting

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No Results Found

Issue: The position has never occurred in your reference database.Solution:
  • Try a different reference database (e.g., master games instead of personal games)
  • Use partial search (ignore castling rights or side to move)
  • Set up a slightly earlier position in the opening
Issue: You’re searching a database that doesn’t contain this type of position.Solution:
  • Change the reference database to one more likely to contain the position
  • For opening positions: Use a master games database
  • For your games: Use your profile database
Issue: Exact search is too restrictive.Solution:
  • Enable partial search options
  • Search a few moves earlier when the position was more common

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Too Many Results

Issue: The position is very common (e.g., starting position, early opening moves).Solution:
  • Apply filters: rating range, date range, result
  • Search a few moves deeper into the variation
Issue: Searching millions of games takes time.Solution:
  • Ensure the database is optimized (indexes built)
  • Use a smaller, curated database for faster searches
  • Be patient - searches typically complete within seconds even on large databases

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Best Practices

Use Master Databases

For opening preparation, use large master game databases (100k+ games) as your reference for comprehensive results.

Filter Intelligently

When you get many results, filter by high-rated games or recent games to focus on relevant examples.

Compare Move Orders

Use partial search to find transpositions and learn flexible move orders.

Study Statistics

Pay attention to score distributions - if White scores 65%, that position favors White significantly.

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