CBV Converter

Extract text from CBV files

Select File
Drop or upload your .CBV file

Online File Converter

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How to extract text from your CBV file

Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your CBV file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert CBV to another file type

To convert your CBV file to another format, you need ChessBase or other Game software.

Convert a file to CBV

To convert other file formats to the "Chess Database Archive" file type, you need software like ChessBase or a similar tool.

About CBV files

A .CBV file is a compressed archive created by ChessBase, the standard software for professional chess management and analysis. Internally, a standard ChessBase database consists of multiple distinct files (CBH, CBG, CBA, CBP, etc.) that track game headers, moves, annotations, and player keys separately. The .CBV format bundles all these constituent files into a single, compressed archive, making it easier to email, backup, or download chess databases.

While convenient for transfer, .CBV files present significant hurdles for users without the paid ChessBase ecosystem. They are strictly proprietary binary files, meaning they cannot be opened in standard text editors or generic chess GUIs like Arena or SCID. Furthermore, popular web platforms like Lichess or Chess.com require PGN files for game imports, rendering the .CBV format unusable for direct online sharing. To access the games, perform engine analysis outside of ChessBase, or publish content, users must typically convert the archive.

Recommended Conversion Targets:

For Universal Compatibility: Convert to PGN (Portable Game Notation). This text-based standard is supported by every chess engine, mobile app, and website.
For Editing: Extract to the uncompressed CBH format if you have ChessBase installed and need to modify the database locally.
For Reading/Printing: Convert to PDF or TXT to view game scores and annotations as a document without a chess board interface.

Convert.Guru analyzes your CBV file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.

Users also converted CBH, 2CBV, PGN, SBV, PDF, CBZ, UBZ, TREE and TUR files.

FAQ

If you want to convert CBV file to EXE, ISO, BIN, CUE, PAK, WAD, PK3, PK4, BSP, MAP, SAV or DAT, you can use ChessBase or similar software from the "Chess Database Archive" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert MOD, BIN, CFG, SCX, DAT, MPQ, LOG, CUE, INI, EXE, SCM or ISO files to CBV, try ChessBase or another comparable tool in the "Chess Database Archive" category.

The CBV Converter Story

The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our CBV converter.