Handheld Chess Computers
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thanks for the warning, erik. i was on the verge of buying one. any decent software for mobiles?
This is why I purchased I handheld gaming device. Honestly, I don't think most handheld communication devices can handle the engines designed for chess software. Even if someone comes up with an improved chess game for a mobile device, it's still not going to be as good as the software we all use on our computers. The PSP does have the ability to handle chess engines, but the proof will be when Sony brings out Chessmaster and we get a chance to compare it to the PC software! I'm not holding my breath on this one!
i wish they would release more info on the ds/psp chessmasters
there are versions of Fritz for mobile phones (Java software I believe) and for windows mobile.
I'm very happy with Fritz on my pocket pc. Sure it's neither as challenging or feature rich as the regular pc version but I don't expect it to be. It's a fine challange and distraction when I'm somewhere away from my pc.
Good point jkrzok. It's nice to have almost any chess program close at hand. I like to use any down time playing chess. I now bring a chess board and laptop when we're on the road. You'd be surprized at how many mucisians are hess players. We spent an entire tour with Black Flag playing chess on our bus. Of course, this was back in the stone age when there were no pocket pcs and you had to use a chess board and pieces! Any chance to play is a good opportunity! Thanks for reminding me of that! I used to have a great Radio Shack chess computer that had a great engine built in as well as tutorials and other extras. Of course I got rid of it for a better machine. The they stopped making it so I search Ebay for it. I now save ever piece of software and chess hardware to avoid that mistake.
Well I usually use my regular chess board if somebody cares to play (unfortunately it's not very often). I also play chess every day on my computer against players on the I-Net, but it's not really a very cheerful thing because you can play only very slowly with breaks in it and you get out of the game after a day. But I can still learn from it, though it's not very pleasant. But I love chess, so I bear this one.
I got a chess computer, but anyhow it doesn't work anymore. It's also very complicated to configure it the way you like...
Can you recommend any programs or machines to use?
Thanks
Try Chessmaster 10th Edition. You can get for around $20.00 and it's really easy to use and install on your PC. Let me know if this works!
I am never without a laptop. So, that's what I use. For a while, I was using a magnetic travel chess set to study openings and such, but it's easier just to do it on my notebook.
I still use a chess board and pieces when I study because I want the the physical board in my view. It allows me to see what I would actually see when playing a live game with a physical opponent. The magnetic set is great when you travel or don't want to carry your laptop. They have chess computers that are the side of a PDA with backlit screens and are touch sensitive. I'm thinking of getting one!
I have a Palm LifeDrive (and a Treo 600) and have been considering the Hiarcs software for the former. Is this the best chess software for the Palm? Doesn't seem much point buying a handheld chess computer when the Lifedrive is so useful...
See: http://www.hiarcs.com/palm_hiarcs.htm
I have a game called Chess Genius, I use it on my Nokia 6600 mobile phone.
It really is awesome, with a huge variation of levels and the engine is pretty good (specifically fast). I am not such a good player so I can't judge well how good it is, but it really is fast and has all the features one would desire of.
One of the best things I liked about this game was that it used a minimal amount of battery power! Even when my battery was out cold, almost on the verge of giving up, I could play many games...That's one thing that really was cool...I was travelling to a distant place, and being able to play my favourite game with minimal battery for the maximum time!!!
I have a handheld chess game from Excalibur Electronics. They're the same company that makes the Game Time II digital chess clock that I take to tournaments, and they host the World Chess Hall of Fame in their Miami headquarters. It's local for me here in Florida, and I actually know a couple of people who work for them.
Their handheld chess computers seem ok as far as quality of play. I'm sure they could give a tough game to people as high rated as 1800 (OTB, not internet) rating. My big problem is that the display is just too small for my bad vision, so I almost never use the thing.
Mastermind2007, it sounds like you're only playing correspondence games here and not playing any "real time" chess on the internet. If you go to freechess.org (my personal choice) or any of several other chess sites on the internet, you can play games at faster time limits, where you play the whole game in one sitting. They've got blitz (15 minutes or less per player for the entire game) or you can play slower "standard" games. I prefer slower games, but I sometimes have problems finding people who want to play an hour game, but finding opponents for 30-40 minute games isn't too tough.
I like playing real time that way the most, but playing a move here or there on this site is nice, too. I like the variety of going back and forth between different games at different time controls.
--Fromper
I've got a small hand held chess computer and it's too small to easily read, not to mention it's not backlit!
thetimetraveller wrote:
I have a Palm LifeDrive (and a Treo 600) and have been considering the Hiarcs software for the former. Is this the best chess software for the Palm? Doesn't seem much point buying a handheld chess computer when the Lifedrive is so useful...
HIARCS for Palm is terrific. Sure, it may not be as good as Fritz on my PC, but it's good enough when you're on the go. Definitely the strongest program for Palm OS.
I checked out the NY Times handheld chess computer and it's cool. However, I still love my PSP with Chessmaster.
Oct 18, 2008
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#19
I am ashamed to admit that I have Chess Tiger for my Palm T|X.
I bought both Chessmaster for GBA (GameBoy Advance) and Chessmaster: Art of Learning for the DS. The one for GBA was decent, but I was really disappointed with the DS title. There was really no skill gradation at all IMHO. It seemed to just hop from complete hack, to 1400ish mediocre, to Master class on the highest profile. I know you all are probably looking for pocket stuff, but as far as portable without being ungodly to deal with (notebook size, not too bad), would be some of the sets from Excalibur. Now note, the palm sized stuff is really not gonna be super strong, but the unit I've got plays a solid training game without too long a thinktime, and it's got decent features. http://salestores.com/ex901e4sabiv.html (<-example site, maybe cheaper elsewhere)
I have Chessmaster 10th Edition on my laptop and PC. I also have a handheld e-chess machine I picked up at Radio Shack about four years ago for $19.95, but it is a pain to use. What do you folks use?