Which software to buy

Chess engines are FREE!

Software you should buy........

Fritz or the like ie Hiarcs 10, Shredder, Junior etc etc :
They are great analysis tools on many levels, firstly you get a powerful engine to analyze with/play against. Next you can open just about every database on the net and lastly you can join playchess which is reason enough it get it anyway.

CT Art 3.0:
1200 problems in thermatic order maybe the best training program there is.

Bangiev's Squares Strategy, Vol. 3 Middlegame :
This is quite advanced but well worth it if you are willing to put in the time.

Mega Database :
5 million game database, need I say more?

Things not to buy..............
Chessmaster:
Total crap the choice of Fritz+co or CM10 is like the choice between driving a F1 sports car or jumping on an old ladies back and telling her to carry you around.

Originally posted by Wulebgr

Evaluation of my losses with Chessmaster is out of the question,

Originally posted by alffierez
what doyou mean exactly, if i can ask?

We've had several previous threads on topics similar to this one.

Thread 23440

Thread 39900 In this one, I gave a fairly extensive explantion of the strengths and wekanesses of Chessmaster, as I see them.

Thank you very much for your time and responses! After seeing many of the initial responses, I went out and picked up Chessmaster 10th edition, and I like it quite a bit. It's analysis of my moves seems to be what I was looking for, and since it is the best I have gotten thus far (since it is the only one I've tried), it has made me quite content, and I feel that it is a useful tool in bettering my game. Once again, thanks for all your help.

~Mj

Yes, CM is better for a first chess program. It is easier to use, more attractive and probably more fun to play against due to the personalities.

What's the diffrence between all these programs?

The last time I played chess was in the early 90s. Now there's all this software that boggles the mind. I have Kasparov's Checkmate--is this good for a beginner?

In the meantime I'll see what Chessmaster does.

Thanks

I have Chessmate also and it's decent. However, I think CM is much better due to its extra training features and nicer graphics. CM is also more configurable. However, Shredder 10 is definitely my favourite out of all of them.

Kasparov Chessmate is reasonably good for a beginer, seeing as it has a range from 500 - 2300 elo and after two years of learning the game I'm around the 2000 mark on it.....so it should last a while

unfortunatly though, there isn't much to do, but play

I have bought the chess master 10th addition and found it to be an excellent program. It offers different levels of play and it has 3 different chess academies that take u through all the different aspects of play. There are also different styles of opponent. Eg: attacking, defensive and so on. It also has an enormous data base of games throughout history of all the greatest grandmasters. It also has a feature whereby you play in different “leagues” against the computer. These leagues are of different strength and you are also able to analyse all your games straight afterwards. It is a worthwhile purchase.

I have Crafty and the Scid chess database program. I haven't played against Crafty, but I'm sure I would lose. I use it occasionally to see where I went wrong, but am not experienced with any of the other engines. I'm pretty sure you can't change it's skill level other than giving it limited time to move. But, Crafty and Scid are both absolutely free!

Originally posted by exigentsky
Get Shredder 10! It's clearly the strongest of those mentioned and it is a great tool for analysis. Furthermore, it should have a better endgame than any other engine. Also, remember that the Chessbase version has the same features as Fritz, Hiarcs or any other Chessbase program. So, that would mean that by buying Shredder, you get the strongest Chessbase ...[text shortened]... ur.

I think I've narrowed down the choices for you to: Shredder 10 and Chessmaster 10. 😉

Originally posted by HomerJSimpson
Get HIARCS 10, it moves like a human, it uses the same software as Fritz, it analyzes games far superior to Shredder, it was the first to realize Weyerstrass was winning when he defeated Jean Hebert, and it is the 2nd highest rated chess program behind only Rybka by the smallest of margins

Originally posted by Bowmann
Chess engines are FREE!