• PC Gamer (1-year)

You'll learn from one of the greatest in the world Garry Kasparov. Play against multiple computer opponents or challenge someone in an online multiplayer game. Also features 100's of Chess Drills based on history's best matches.

Customer Rating:
Summary: OK, But Predecessor Was More Fun
Comment: This version seems dumbed down from the previous version I had before XP. That version included a Kasparov animation that would inject video like, "Are you SURE you want to do that?"

As an average player I enjoy its general friendly format and ability to select whatever degree of opponent I prefer at the moment.

The most value is challenging the master. This would be greatly enhanced by the ability to retract unsuccessful moves one by one to gain best insight into optimum chess tactics without having to start a new game.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great software... but not for pro player
Comment: Hi, i am strong club chess player, i've defeated FIDE MASTER, in fact, i lead for 3pts, my ELo could be over 2000 USCF.

This software, could be helpful just for kids, if i have a child, his first step could be in this sorfware.

For a teen player, or club player should buy other software. Believe me will be very dissapointed, if you buy this product.

This software could be, around 2300 of USCF ELO, nice for sparing. i won one of three games.

I took the star for the poor render, just for that. With the sing of Kasparov, you can imagine that this program is strong, but not. are nice opening lessons, very basics themes, and the engine are not very strong.

Buy this just for kid, and they love it. Fritz or other product are to dificult for kids.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: MJA616
Comment: Contrary to some reviews that did not favor this item, I found it to be very entertaining. Although it does not contain a function for analyzing games as do other more elaborate programs, I found it to be a very fun program to play against. Initially, in the championship phase of the game, the program can be beaten, but progresses in level of difficulty to an ELO rating comparable to that of "Tournament" strength or greater. It is a powerful program in terms of rating its play, and I am about to finish the "Silver" level and going to the "Gold" level, but the program is a tough opponent. Considering the price I paid (around $4.00), it is A VERY GOOD DEAL and WORTH EVERY PENNY! I'm not certain about this, but I am going to guess that at the Gold Level, its play will probably be comparable to an ELO rating of 2000. I haven't tried the training features yet, but I'm also certain those are going to be worthwhile. Hope this review helps.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good for the weak but improving player
Comment: I bought Chessmate through an Amazon associated seller for $6 and it was well worth the cost. I'm a weak player who wants to improve, and there are three reasons that this program is good for me and others like me, including kids playing chess for the first time.

1. As others have noted, the game "scales down" well-it produces weak opponents who play realistically: they use odd openings, make premature attacks, and miss tactical situations (like moving a pinned piece). They don't, however, move pieces to squares where they can immediately be taken and often do find good moves to extricate themselves from attacks. When I do make a mistake, I get punished for it.

2. The tournament feature encourages me to play games with a 30 move/60 minute time control, no hints, no pauses, and no takebacks. As noted by others, there are three levels of accomplishment and seven rounds within each level. To get through a level, one must beat all four of one's opponents in as many games as it takes to get through a level. The opponents in the levels get progressively stronger, so one soon reaches a level where the opponents are of equal strength to himself. I'm studying tactics and find that as I apply what I have learned, I'm getting stronger and can thus progress through the tournament. Of course, one can play opponents of any desired strength with or without various time controls, hints, takebacks, etc, outside of the tournament.

3. Games can be saved (but this is not automatic) in pgn files; these are specially formatted text files that can be annotated. What I do is pull up the pgn file in a text editor and review the game in Chessmate. As I review the game, I can annotate the pgn file; the new pgn file can again be reviewed within Chessmate at a later date. In addition, the pgn file could be imported into Fritz (or some other program) for analysis there.

The downside of the program is the chessboard itself. The 3-D view is useless because it is easy to miss a pawn that is hidden by a queen; this happened to me in a game and caused me to fluff a move. The 2-D views are quite unattactive but serviceable. In addition, the program is fairly inflexible in that it will only look for my games in one folder and I can't seem to change that.

In addition, the game is easy to use and seems very stable running under WinXP.

In short, Chessmate is very useful for a player like me. If you are already a strong player, I advise you to look elsewhere.

Also note--a demo version of Chessmate is available for download on the web. It goes dead after an hour but it can then be purchased for $20.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good game with a stupid interface
Comment: The game is quite enjoyable on the whole, though it is a little light on the special features. One very annoying "feature" of this software is when you try to synchronize a profile from the Palm to the PC. It is very unclear as to which is the source, and which is the target. Time and time again, the wrong profile gets synchronized. The idiots who designed the user interface need to learn how to see a software from the user's perspective.

Other than that, the game is quite enjoyable.

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