Chess Software for Playing and Analysis.

Thx again, analyze my own games and also start an opening repertoire since I never had one. I use chess.com for tactics and lessons and the new puzzle rush on here sure makes you think fast. 

Keeping the plaque off of my brain and trying to stay warm in Wisconsin.   

Looks like you are right. They may have switched to an every other year schedule like they do for CB15. That would actually make a great deal of sense.

I personally would get the Komodo version instead of Fritz, but either way, you'll do fine. You are really buying it for the GUI and other features, not the engine when buying Fritz.

I haven't read every post in this thread so I apologize if this is redundant.

If you purchase Fritz 16, you'll get a GUI (The Fritz GUI), a chess engine (Fritz 16 and a few others), a database and an openings book.  You could then add Stockfish as an additional UCI engine, if you wish.

Opinions vary as to how easy it is to use the Fritz GUI.  It's a large program with a lot of features so there's definitely a learning curve if you're new to it.  I find it easy to use but I've been using various versions of Fritz for over 20 years.  We're not talking differential calculus here but it might be confusing at first.

Thank you all for your input, I also see Komodo had the F16 built into it. Went to the Komodo site and they have 9 for free and 10 for $17.99. Also, they have the latest 12.2 for $59.98. Might download the free version and play with it. 

No harm in doing so. You'll need a GUI. You can try either Lucas Chess or Arena if you haven't picked up Fritz yet.

Another free GUI to consider is ChessX.

I'll just throw in my 2 cents on the topic.

I too am back in this game for the same reasons as you (I'll be 68 next month).  I have Fritz 16 (birthday present from my daughter) and enjoy it for both analysis and just playing against it.  I have nothing to compare it with but I find the GUI very user friendly, even for this computer illiterate old man.

There are two methods to play against Fritz that I have found.  One is "easy game" which is supposed to adjust to your playing level and I beat it as often as not, even at my lowly level of play.

The other method is to play a "rated game" where you can manually adjust Fritz's level and set what ever time control you want.  I usually set Fritz at 1800 Elo (whatever that really means for a computer) and play 60 minute games.  I've yet to beat it but I have drawn it once.  I find the games very challenging and, at my level, don't really expect to win, but I still have the hopes.

As others have said, you can add other engines if you choose but since the Fritz engine is already above 3000 Elo I've not felt the need.

Good luck in your quest.

I can't find a way to play Fischer 960 on Lucas chess.  Is there a way?  Does Fritz or Chessbase have that option?  I would assume so.  Even my crappy android chess app has 960 games.  

A Google search reveals that Fritz 11 can play Chess960 so I assume newer versions can too.

Reference: https://en.chessbase.com/post/che-960

Just curious, for your level, is it such a huge deal?  My average laptop with short think times still finds way better moves than I could find.  Does it matter if the computer gives you a 2900 level analysis or a 3300 level analysis?

Does it matter if you get a move suggestion from Carlsen or from Svidler if they are both seeing stuff that you would never see anyway?

I always look at my computer analysis as a way to find the worst moves that I made, and see better possibilities, not necessarily the absolute best possibility with 80 level deep analysis.  The reason that move is the best usually escapes me anyway.

Chessbase did away with the "Sparring" and "Handicap and Fun" levels beginning with Fritz 15.  However, the improved "Friend Mode" still allows you to play weakened levels and the "sparring" function is effectively there, also, albeit in a different form.

Bet you're kicking yourself now huh? Fat Fritz 17 is much better at analysis

Have you been using it? Can you share your experiences please?

It's a neural net software. This means that it analyzes in a completely different way than previous engines. While other Fritz software began to start failing against newer models once Komodo, Houdini, and Stockfish started rolling in, tests have shown Fritz is capable of standing up against Leela and stockfish. I would never be able to explain neural nets and traditional engines because I am far out of my league in that sense, so here: https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-neural-network-chess-engine-How-is-it-different-from-a-regular-chess-engine

Fat Fritz also tends to play much more human-like and prefers tactical positions. This means that attacking players will be able to utilize it much more than they could with Stockfish.

Thanks for the replies, yes I'm aware of Fat Fritz and neural nets. I'm interested in any insights into how using this new software (as opposed a traditional alpha-beta search engine) for analysis might bring practical benefits to a crap player like me