Answers.Body: <p>To access them today, you either need to <a href="https://reverseengineering.stackexchange.com/a/264">reverse engineer the format</a> (hard) or <a href="http://www.chessdryad.com/education/henry/chessmaster/pg_01.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">export them to PGN</a> inside Chessmaster (moderate):</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>HOW TO CONVERT CHESSMASTER GAME FILES (*.CMG) TO *.PGN FILES</p>
    
    <p>(*.CMG files or Chessmaster game files are typically for use with the
    Chessmaster programs and may contain various enhancements, such as
    annotations, illustrated voice analyses, etc. Cf. page 25 of the
    Chessmaster 9000 user manual.)</p>
    
    <ol>
    <li><p>Log in (on Chessmaster 9000) and go to Game Room.</p></li>
    <li><p>Click on "File" in upper menu bar and then on "Load" in pull- down menu, to get "File Open" window.</p></li>
    <li><p>By default, the "Look in" box will show a folder that is named the same as the name you log in with. Let's say it is "Loginame." If the
    file you wish to convert is not in the list in the big box below, then
    you will have to find it by scrolling to other folders. In front of
    the file the little icon will contain the number 9000. (The icons for
    *.PGN files contain the initials PGN.)</p></li>
    <li><p>Click on the name of the *.CMG file that you wish to convert. The name will show in the "File name" box below. The "File of type" box
    should mention Chessmaster files. Leave "Auto" in the last ("Open as")
    box. Click the "Load" button and get the game on the board.</p></li>
    <li><p>Click on "File" and then on "Save" in the pull-down menu.</p></li>
    <li><p>"File Save" window comes up next. Check that the "Save in" folder is acceptable. (Your "Loginame" folder is OK, but you could even
    scroll to save the file on the floppy in drive a:) In the "File name"
    box below you can fill in a shorter (8-character) name of your choice,
    rather than accepting the long name created by Windows. In the "Save
    as type" box at the bottom,scroll and pick "PGN Game Files (*.PGN).
    Click on the "Save" button. In the "Annotation Type" window that comes
    up next, accept "None" by clicking "OK."</p></li>
    <li><p>The *.CMG file has been stripped to the plain *.PGN format and saved in the folder that you have chosen. If you wish to add this file
    to a database of your choice, see our earlier instructions under the
    appropriate heading.</p></li>
    </ol>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Obviously, if you don't have Chessmaster installed, you will need to do that.  Easiest way might be to <a href="http://dev.modern.ie/tools/vms/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">install a Windows VM</a>, then install a legacy copy of Chessmaster.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-10-24T22:39:10.327Z
Answers.Text: Clearly, this method will work, but you will have to repeat the steps to process each game individually. There is no method for bulk processing of CM format game databases.
Answers.UserDisplayName: jaxter
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-09-10T15:25:24.477Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-09-10T15:25:24.477Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2017-04-13T12:49:38.677Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: bishop
Body: <p>I have many old chess games saved from Chessmaster 7000, 8000, and maybe even 9000. They are all saved in the Chessmaster .CMG file format.</p>
  
  <p>How can I access these games today?</p>
  
  <p>I would like to either open them or convert them to .PGN format.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2015-05-20T23:02:55.443Z
Comments.Text: If I might ask, are you trying to resurrect Chessmaster?
Comments.UserDisplayName: magd
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2015-05-21T02:59:51.163Z
Comments.Text: Impossible without Chessmaster.
Comments.UserDisplayName: SmallChess
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2015-05-24T06:09:39.947Z
Comments.Text: If I could learn the format, I could code this utility.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Xonatron
Tags: <software><pgn><chessmaster>
Title: How can I open (or convert into .PGN) old Chessmaster .CMG files, without Chessmaster?
ThreadText: # How can I open (or convert into .PGN) old Chessmaster .CMG files, without Chessmaster?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2015-05-20)
  
  I have many old chess games saved from Chessmaster 7000, 8000, and maybe even 9000. They are all saved in the Chessmaster .CMG file format.
  
  How can I access these games today?
  
  I would like to either open them or convert them to .PGN format.
  
  **Tags:** software, pgn, chessmaster
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: If I might ask, are you trying to resurrect Chessmaster?  
  > **username_2**: Impossible without Chessmaster.  
  > **username_0**: If I could learn the format, I could code this utility.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2015-09-10. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
  
  To access them today, you either need to [reverse engineer the format](https://reverseengineering.stackexchange.com/a/264) (hard) or [export them to PGN](http://www.chessdryad.com/education/henry/chessmaster/pg_01.htm) inside Chessmaster (moderate):
  
  > HOW TO CONVERT CHESSMASTER GAME FILES (\*.CMG) TO \*.PGN FILES
  >
  > (\*.CMG files or Chessmaster game files are typically for use with the
  > Chessmaster programs and may contain various enhancements, such as
  > annotations, illustrated voice analyses, etc. Cf. page 25 of the
  > Chessmaster 9000 user manual.)
  >
  > 1. Log in (on Chessmaster 9000) and go to Game Room.
  > 2. Click on "File" in upper menu bar and then on "Load" in pull- down menu, to get "File Open" window.
  > 3. By default, the "Look in" box will show a folder that is named the same as the name you log in with. Let's say it is "Loginame." If the
  >    file you wish to convert is not in the list in the big box below, then
  >    you will have to find it by scrolling to other folders. In front of
  >    the file the little icon will contain the number 9000. (The icons for
  >    \*.PGN files contain the initials PGN.)
  > 4. Click on the name of the \*.CMG file that you wish to convert. The name will show in the "File name" box below. The "File of type" box
  >    should mention Chessmaster files. Leave "Auto" in the last ("Open as")
  >    box. Click the "Load" button and get the game on the board.
  > 5. Click on "File" and then on "Save" in the pull-down menu.
  > 6. "File Save" window comes up next. Check that the "Save in" folder is acceptable. (Your "Loginame" folder is OK, but you could even
  >    scroll to save the file on the floppy in drive a:) In the "File name"
  >    box below you can fill in a shorter (8-character) name of your choice,
  >    rather than accepting the long name created by Windows. In the "Save
  >    as type" box at the bottom,scroll and pick "PGN Game Files (\*.PGN).
  >    Click on the "Save" button. In the "Annotation Type" window that comes
  >    up next, accept "None" by clicking "OK."
  > 7. The \*.CMG file has been stripped to the plain \*.PGN format and saved in the folder that you have chosen. If you wish to add this file
  >    to a database of your choice, see our earlier instructions under the
  >    appropriate heading.
  
  Obviously, if you don't have Chessmaster installed, you will need to do that. Easiest way might be to [install a Windows VM](http://dev.modern.ie/tools/vms/), then install a legacy copy of Chessmaster.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_4**: Clearly, this method will work, but you will have to repeat the steps to process each game individually. There is no method for bulk processing of CM format game databases.  
  
  ---
  
  