Kasparov Chessmate

For the wood-pusher in you...

Rating: 4/5

If you rate this game (or any game on amazon.com), it tells you to rate it based on 'How much fun is this game?'. For me, chess programs have been quite an exercise in frustration. So far, I have found Kasparov to be pleasantly enjoyable, even though I know that it lacks some of the incredible features (analysis, play strength, graphics) of the heavy hitters on the market (CM9000, Fritz 8).

Instead of writing a negative review about this, allow me to take a moment to explain why I decided to buy Kasparov Chessmate. But let me first confess that I am little better than a wood pusher (or, if you would prefer... a patzer). That means that although I know the rules, and am familiar with basic tactics and can recognize a couple openings by name, I am not a strong player. I have no rating... but believe I am class E in strength. Over the last 9 months, my chess studies/purchases/results have included:

- Chess for Dummies (still working on finishing up the last few chapters... but it introduced me to tactics)

- Play Winning Chess (just bought last week - and am very pleased with it)

- Chessmaster 9000 (gave it away to a good friend, but will be buying again - but only for it's training material)

- Fritz 8 (for chess analysis and playchess.com chess server)

- ChessTiger for my palm (which beats me 99% at it's training level 3 playing with it's book)

- play and lose to my Dad regularly in online and e-mail chess(who is the reason why I continue to play)

- Polgar's 5334 chess problems (a great big book that I enjoy)

- am loosely rated around 1200 on yahoo chess

Why did I buy Kasparov? For starters, Chessmaster 9000 confounded me. I would struggle and lose against very poorly ranked players. I don't think chessmaster 9000 has quite figured out how to reduce it's strength at it's weaker/weakest levels. It either makes really good moves, or really dumb moves. [I believe that it still has a few issues with XP. They have not released any patches/updates in over 9 months.] This is where Kasparov seems to shine. When I downloaded the trial version of Kasparov to try it out for an hour, I discovered that it has players ranked down to elo 500. Although I haven't had enough time to seriously try it out since I bought it (midnight last night at WalMart), I am pleased to announce that I wasn't trounced on the lowest level (elo 500) of Kasparov on my Palm - and I can tell you that Kasparov on my palm was not throwing completely random/stupid moves at me as Chess Tiger will tend to do in Training level 1 (what it claims is elo 1000). I feel like I actually 'met my match' playing Kasparov on my Palm.

I also spent sometime going through the training last night before falling asleep and this morning. It could be better, but it does a reasonable job of explaining how pieces move, and what is checkmate. I wish that they would have placed middle-game tactics before openings (it gives you about a dozen examples of common open games played out to about a dozen turns (24 ply) - without any variations). I won't be able to give an adequate evaluation of the training until I complete it.

I'm not saying Kasparov is better than Chess Tiger on the palm (no analysis, strength of play, etc). But I feel that at my weaker level of play, I have possibly found a program that isn't playing 'stupid moves', but isn't trouncing me either. If you can stand losing occasionally (especially against Fritz in 'friend mode') and analyze your failures, that's great - and we often learn by losing. But it sure is nice to win once in a while.

I've given Kasparov 4 stars because of it's quality of weaker play (which may - in fact - be it's greatest selling point to the average consumer), and for the Palm version of the software. For me, it was a bargain because I got two chess programs for the price of one (one for my pc, and one for my palm). As I take more time to evaluate the game (and if I notice improvement in my play) I will be sure to post additional comments.

Keep in mind - Kasparov is aimed at the general consumer market. Anyone serious about chess programs is already aware of Fritz/Chessbase and Chessmaster 9000. This program is not better than those for reasons already stated. But I will confess, that so far I have enjoyed playing Kasparov chess - and hence it earns 4 stars on the merit that 'I had fun'. If you want to make money selling chess software to the masses, then you want to offer a game that is fun and challenging. If, and when, I win the 'bronze level' tournament in Kasparov, I'll be back to give additional feedback.

A very basic chess program

Rating: 1/5

When compared to the variety of computer chess programs available on the market, Kasparov Chessmate lacks in every aspect, from graphics, training, and play-strength.

A price conscious consumer shopping for a chess program might consider this program since it is relatively cheap, but as they say, you get what you pay for. Actually, a program like Chessmaster 9000 is a bargain compared to what one might pay for Kasparov Chessmate if one considers all the extra features found in the former.

If you are mildy serious or serious about chess, Chessmaster 9000 is a better choice. It offers much more than Kasparov Chessmate, especially in terms of the training and education aspects. Frankly speaking, Chessmaster 9000 has no competition in that aspect, in my opinion.

One of the selling points is Kasparov Checkmate's ability to synchronize with either the Palm or Pocket PC, but in my opinion, it's not sufficient as a reason to purchase this in light of other options available.

For the super serious chess player, a good choice would be Fritz, but it is probably overkill for most people. Fritz is strong, but doesn't have the nice graphics or features of CM 9000. For the beginner, casual or serious players, Chessmaster 9000 is the best choice.

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