What people search:
 | Title : Chessmaster 9000
Author : UBI Soft
Release Date : 20020827
Binding : CD-ROM
Regular Price : $39.99
Amazon.com Price : $25.95
(35
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Editorial Reviews :
Discover the fun of mastering the game of chess in the latest edition of the bestselling chess brand available. Chessmaster 9000 is the most comprehensive chess program and the only one that will improve your level of play. Learn how to master your opponent, how to find the best moves, and how to shut out distractions. Improve your play immediately with the new Blunder Alert feature. Test your skills with the new Endgame Quiz from U.S. chess champion and grand master, Larry Evans. Chessmaster 9000 will be your teacher, mentor, and ultimate opponent.
Buyer Reviews :
First thing first: Chessmaster 9000 runs smoothly on my three-year-old laptop; the inteface, windows, and menus are intuitive and easy to customize; the boards, pieces, side windows (those showing moves made, pieces taken, etc.) and graphics in general are crips and clear. Two minor problems: a). if you run the game on a low resolution (800X600 or less), the various windows tend to 'clutter' quickly and hide each other, making the larger 2D boards and the 3D ones useless. b). Unless you have a 3D accelerator, the 'true 3D' chess boards don't work. These problems sound much worse than they actually are, since in practice you don't need to use most of the side windows, and the 3D boards tend to be more for 'show' than for practical play; the medium-sized 2D boards are just fine.
Now for the chess program. Unless you are in the top 0.01% or so of players, the Chessmaster 9000's program can beat you. More important, for the vast majority of playes, are the numerous options. There are dozens of computer opoonents to choose from, on every level from complete novice to strong master, and each with their own 'personality'. No matter what your strength is, you will an oppoent that is on your level of play, and for a challange some that are anywhere from slightly stronger to a LOT stronger.
When it comes to the game itself, the program comes with all the expected frills: you can choose from dozens of different time controls, or set your own time controls; you can make them different for black and white, and force the computer to move anytime. You can start from any position, play black or white, give yourself (or the computer) odds in time or material, and so on. The 'side' windows show anyhting from pieces taken and moves made to time remaining and name of opening. The computer can even annotate the game after it's finished.
In other words, in a few mouse clicks you can move from playing a friendly speed chess game against someone on your level, to a tournament game with a strong master (complete with the master's annotations, after the game), to polishing your Sicilian Dragon opening or rook-and-pawns endings (set up the position, give yourself infinite time and the computer 5 seconds a move when it's playing at its stongest level), to solving chess problems (set up the position, give the computer infinite time, come back after dinner and force it to move) and so on and so forth.
But the really nice thing about Chessmaster 9000 is that the chess program is almost incidental to the 'classroom', 'database room', and 'kid's room'. In these rooms, you can get an entire chess course, starting with 'how does the pawn move?' and ending with 'what is the strategic plan of the Grandmaster who played white in this position?'. This tutorial alone is the equivalent of buying a few (good) instructional chess books, and topping it off with a couple of 'my best games' volumes, opening encyclopedias, and endgame books. It is worth the price of the software all on its own.
You start with the kids' tutorials and the 'Beginner's' stage in the classroom, which start with how pieces move, what checkmate is, and so on and show you some basic strenghts and weaknesses of the various pieces. You move from there to the 'intermediate' level, where you learn and practive basic chess concepts--especially concepts like 'initiative', 'space', 'pawn formation', 'planning', and so on that most mediocre players know SOMETHING about but not nearly enough to get better. Then you move on to advanced concepts in strategic chess thinking, ending with looking deeply at grandmasters' games and trying to think like them. You also get to practice endings, openings, and middle-game combinations as seperate subjects. Each level comes not only with a tutorial, but with numerous drills, tests, and so on. When this is done, you are ready to move to the huge database of endings, openings, and masters' games in the 'Database' room. There you can practice what you learn back
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