Chessmaster: The Art of Learning | Superb for its intended use

Chessmaster: The Art of Learning | Great way to start playing chess

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Chessmaster: The A...

	Chessmaster: The Art of Learning Windows \| Ubisoft, 2007 average customer review:based on 42 reviews view larger image
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Superb for its intended use

A lot of people criticize Chessmaster for what it isn't. It isn't the strongest chess engine. Correct. That honor currently belongs to Rybka. It's database functions aren't industrial strength. Correct again. ChessBase and Chess Assistant beat it easily in this category. Chessmaster, however claims to have a very strong engine (absolutely true), perhaps the most convenient and capable way out there of playing against the engine at less than full strength (rated personalities), and excellent instructional material. It delivers on all of these and more at a very reasonable price.

Also, some say that there isn't much change from upgrade to upgrade. I don't have version 10, but I had used 9000 for quite awhile. It didn't work well on a newer computer, so I purchased the Grandmaster edition. Not only have I had no problems with the program, but I was also pleasantly surprised by the (IMHO) much cleaner interface and excellent chess sets. From 9000, at least, I found it a real step up.

I have the big database programs, and they are great for what they are. But for what Chessmaster is (at a fraction of the cost) it's pretty hard to beat.

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Great way to start playing chess

This is my family's favorite computer game now. I find the tutorial and games with audio commentary fascinating...almost like watching a good movie. My kids (6 & 10) enjoyed the tutorials, and they love to play against the computer simulated players (with name and personality). At this price, it's a great bargain. It's a great way to start to learn to play chess, and the kids are getting pretty good.

It's worth $20

I've owned Chessmaster 10 since it first came out, but was hesitant to buy the Grandmaster Edition based on some of the reviews. True, it is very similar to its predecessor, but for me was worth Amazon's $19.95. Finally, no cd is required (I know, you could download no-cd patches for earlier versions, but this made upgrading especially troublesome). This to me was almost reason enough to buy it. Second you can customize the interface with various skins, and add your own avatar, which I really appreciate. Third, the chess engine seems a little better. Even though I usually play the mid 1500-level players, their gameplay seems improved. For me, however, the best new feature is Josh Waitzkin's "The Art of Learning" module." Hearing his blow-by-blow description of his match with Jeff Sarwer is amazing.

I'm running this under Window's Vista Ultimate, and have had no problems whatsoever. Once again, for me this upgrade *IS* worth $19.95, though I probably wouldn't have paid $49.95 for it.

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Excellent Chess Education for Beginners

When I bought this game, I already knew how to place chess as far as the rules were concerned but had no clue when it came to strategy and therfore wasn't very good. This game has taught me a lot about chess and has helped me to enjoy the game a lot more. It has lessons to teach you everything from how the pieces move to basic chess strategy, opening tips, an endgame course, and more. It also has a lot of computer opponets to play against that all have different ratings (some are easy and some are hard).

I rushed through the chess lessons and improved my game a lot. Now I'm going to practice my newfound knowledge, and then I plan to go through the lessons much slower so that I can master each principle. Most importantly, understanding some basic chess strategy has enabled me to love this game more. Playing chess isn't a total mystery like it used to be.

There is also a lot of recorded famous chess games, which you can watch and study. Some of them even give comments explaining why certain moves were made. After I go through the lessons again I plan to watch these famous games and learn more from them. Really no matter how little or how much you know about chess, I think you can always learn more with this program by watching the games of master chess players. Another cool feature is that it contains a database filled with thousands of known openings. If I don't do well in an opening, then I got to this database and study what I should have done differently.

Another educational tool it has is that you can set the board up with any position and then play from that position. I use this tool by putting a position which I previously didn't know what to do in. Then I play against the Chessmaster (the expert computer chess player) putting the Chessmaster in my shoes to see how he responds in it. This has helped me a lot.

You can also play against other people online or using a LAN.

As far as chess education is concerned, I can't think of any way that they could improve on it. The only way I can see room for improvement is in the chess sets, boards, and wallpapers available. There are several beautiful chess sets available (mostly from the House of Staunton Chess Sets), but there are also a lot of chess sets that are not visually appealing at all. Some of these chess sets are colored similar to the chessboard and it makes it difficult (for me anyway) to quickly see exactly what pieces are where because it all kinda blends together. Although there are different chess boards available, they all match a paticular chess set. I wish there was a way to mix and match different chess sets with different chess boards. There might be a way to do it that I just haven't found yet. I would also like to see a way for you to modify chess sets. For example, take a chess set you like and keep the style but change the color to Red or Blue or Yellow. I think that would be really cool. They do have both 2D and 3D chess sets, as well as a few animated chess sets.

I hope this review helps you make an informed decision when you decide if you want to purchase this product, I know I'm glad I did.

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