Fritz DS vs Chessmaster DS

Hello,

Well, I've approached a few people about the above - I was thinking of ordering Fritz - and now I'm stumped.

Does anyone have the two games, and if so which is best. Or if you've got Fritz on the DS is it any good??? Finding reviews of it is nearly impossible! (Amazon aside, of course...)

Thanks

Russell

What's the DS?

If you are a beginner, CM is really nice.  If you are a bit more advanced, you will never go wrong with Fritz.  CM is like $10.00 at the local software store, though, making it quite appealing to us!  Here are my personal reviews on both programs!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1364425/fritz_chess_playing_program_a_grandmaster.html?cat=19

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/786899/chessmaster_10th_edition_product_review.html?cat=19

I think he is talking about the Nintendo DS (hand held portable devices)  versions of Chessmaster and Fritz not the stand alone versions. The Fritz one is brand new. My daughter uses the Chessmaster version and it is great for beginners. I have not tested it for its strength above 1200 USCF yet.

Are nintendo DS chessmaster and fritz very strong, what would be their UCSF or FIDE rating?

Fritz DS max ELO is 2320
Chessmaster DS max ELO is 1850

I recommend Fritz DS, i've played them both.

Thanks all; and yes, I was referring to the Nintendo DS (sorry for not clarifying!!!). The more I'm reading, the more I'm leaning towards Fritz. It's €16, so I think it'll be worth ago, plus it's got Chess960 too...

Update: I've had it for about a week now, and I have to say that it's tough!

Merely playing Fritz at sub 1000 rating is a real challenge for me (Chess.com rating around the 1250 mark). Though this could have more to do with the fact that I'm not used to playing blitz chess.

I've not tried 960, or giveaway chess, so I can't comment on them. But the puzzle section is very good (with beginner, medium and hard settings), and the set up position option is really useful, unlike Chessmaster DS, where you can choose which side to play once the pieces are on the board. I've already used it to play through some old games of mine for pointers.

The rated-classic chess is the meat and potatoes of the game, though the time options are quite limited. I assumed that you would be able to play at 5 minute increments for blitz, but it's a 1 hour increment (i.e. you can play blitz at 15mins, 1hr 15 mins, or 2 hr 15mins). There is also an option to gain time with each move you play. In this section you play Fritz at whatever strength you like, without any help from Fritz, unlike the practice section (see below). There aren't any tournaments, though, you just keep playing against Fritz.You can set the draw/resign options for Fritz by going to the options section.

You can also play classic chess with traditional 1hr for 40 moves time controls, or without the clock altogether.

Two grumbles: one slight, one large. The slight grumble is that, when picking which side to play, there is no random option. Which is a shame. Chessmaster offers the chance to play white, black or random, and I prefer this. My larger grumble is that the touch screen can go slightly mental at times, leading to me resigning positions because I've lost a heavy piece purely because the screen thought that I removed the pointer, meaning that the DS moved the piece to some random position. (Obviously, the latter could be caused by my DS screen - if anyone else has problems similar to this please comment.)

The practice option is very good. You can set it up so that it shows legal moves, potential threats with the help of Fritz (by changing the colour of the square of a piece, the square will go amber for a medium threat and red to highlight an undefended piece that is being attacked). It also has a "best moves" button, pressing this shows, in Fritz's opinion, your best move. I use this to go through openings I'm unfamiliar with. There is a "take back" option too, just in case you change your mind.These options are only availbile in practice and set up position games, not rated/classic. During the practice section, you do get some banter from Fritz, which is quite entertaining.

Another downside, for me, is the "historical matches" option. It is literally just 2000 games without any sort of notation. I thought that the Fritz engine, as it does with the practice mode, would point out things or show threats, etc. Instead you're just given 2000 games to flick through at your leisure- which seems quite redundant as you can look at these games on most chess websites anyway.

All in all I'm very happy with my €16 purchase. And I would definitely recommend this to anyone with an interest in Chess, especially those who need a challenge when commuting or travelling (the ELO, as stated previously, is around the 2300 mark!).

Hello,

I just joined chess.com today just to ask this question.  It seems like all the reviews about chess programs for the nintendo DS platform are written from the pespective of an experienced adult player.  I'm more interested in what is a better choice for a child.  Here's some details:  We're getting the Nintendo DS for my seven-year-old daughter for the holidays, and I'd like to get her a chess program to go along with it.  She's been playing chess for two years, and her playing strength is probably typical for a seven year old:  right around 400.  Once a month she plays in a local tournament for kids, and she wins some, loses some, and gets a bunch of stalemates.  She's pretty solid in the opening, but she doesn't know what to do in the middle game.  That's when she starts to move her pieces randomly, and eventually she'll make a blunder and her opponent will take her rook or queen.  What she needs is a program with entertaining, interactive lessons more than she needs a program with a high chess rating.  Chessmaster for the PC doesn't hold her interest, and she won't learn anythig by playing games on the computer without any feedback.  Again, she knows how to move the pieces, she knows basic checkmate patterns (e.g., Q+R v. K), she knows how to play the KP openings pretty well for her age--she just needs help on getting better.  Of course, like most kids, she won't take instruction from her father.

For someone like this, which program is the best choice?  What is the most entertaining for kids, and will teach them basic mid-game strategies?  Any insight is appreciated . . .

Thanks in advance,

--dumpicles

Well, regarding the midgame, you've just described my last 6 games

I don't think that there are chess programmes based on the mid game that are children orientated - the only children's game I know for the DS is Fritz vs Chesster, but I don't know how deep that is (check amazon). The above game's lowest rating is 400, so maybe - if FvC is too childish - then maybe you should go for this - though be warned it is hard (but playing on practice mode with all the warnings turned on could be worth it?!

lol.  It's not so much game strength that is the important factor; it's presenting basic chess concepts in an entertaining way--maybe through puzzles or mini-game that stress certain concepts that can then be used in a game.  Simply playing chess against a computer isn't much fun for kids.  To be honest, I don't find it fun, either.  Chess is a game of interaction, and psychology.  It's much more fun when you're playing a real person, and you can see the expression on his or her face when you slam down a piece like you mean it.  Kids aren't going to learn how to play solely because the computer takes all their pieces.  It will just be demoralizing. 

Someone mentioned chesster--as far as I can tell, it isn't offered for the DS in the U.S.  Fritz and Chesster looks really cool, though.

I have both and I prefer fritz however I also have chess DS which is not as good in terms of interface and playability but however it does come with a section that contains hundreds of grandmaster games from world championships etc. which I thought was a really good feature.