CBH File

What are CBH files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a CBH file or are you simply curious about its contents? We're here to explain the properties of these files and provide you with software that can open or handle your CBH files.

What is a CBH file?

A .CBH file is a ChessBase Database Header file.

ChessBase Database Header files store the identifying data for games in a ChessBase database - details like player names, event (tournament) names, and basic game metadata (round, date, result), but not the moves, variations or commentary. They are part of a database used by ChessBase and related programs.

Such a file is created by the ChessBase software when saving databases in the CBH format. It works together with other files that store the rest of the game data: one for the moves and variations (CBG), another for game commentary (CBA), plus files indexing players, tournaments, sources, etc.

Database header files are not standalone. Attempting to use just the header file without its companion files will fail: many operations like viewing games or searching require all or several of the related files. Users who want to copy or send an entire database can compress or archive all the related files into one single backup file ending in CBV.

Files in this format are uniquely identified by an internal byte signature: at offset zero they begin with the bytes 0x00002C002E01 (ASCII "..,").

How to open CBH files

Important: Different programs may use files with the CBH file extension for different purposes, so unless you are sure which format your CBH file is, you may need to try a few different programs.

While we have not verified the apps ourselves yet, our users have suggested five different CBH openers which you will find listed below.

Last updated: August 31, 2026

Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of CBH files. Remember, different programs may use CBH files for different purposes, so you may need to try out a few of them to be able to open your specific file.

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File.org helps thousands of users every day, and we would love to hear from you if you have additional information about CBH file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.