Help me choose best chess analysis program- Need help!

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valleydoc

I am a 1200-1300 player.  I want to get a program that can do the following:

  • I can download my online games and analyze them 
  • Do opening analysis
  • Endgame analysis 
  • Would something like this have any tactic/ strategy/ endgame training tools as well?

Any ideas would be great

Drawgood

Look up on google "free chess GUIs" GUIs are the programs which give you various feature, let you use menu and all the needed functions, graphics, etc. As far as free ones, you have many good choices.

Separately (if the GUI does not include a couple or more free engines) search google for "free chess engines". or just go to stockfish website and download what they give for free.

ABOUT GUIS:

I think Arena Chess is the most popular free GUI with many advanced features. I also tried Tarrasch GUI, Lucas Chess GUI

Of the paid for GUIs, I only used Fritz 14 which I bought years ago on Steam. Strictly as a GUI often it is functional but seems to be difficult to learn to me. I have not tried recent Fritz software, but heard positive things.

Fritz provides some advanced resources that are connected to Chessbase. When I bought it in 2016 it had a 1 free year of access to standard features of Chessbase (not sure what was limited). If you wanted to pay for ChessBase their services and features are very expensive IMO. Overall Fritz 14 has many advanced features if you want to do self training, learning, analyzing games, and the included database of master games(which I believe you can download free online anyway, but not sure) then it is good.

HOWEVER, many of these Chessbase and Fritz features are also available from Chess.com in a more limited way. So maybe try the free resources first.

For your chess level most mainstream engines have more than enough strength. Some analyze faster, some slower, and other often important differences. Apart from the main chess engine, many of them are just free from their creators. According to people who are good at chess the engines have different personalities and quirks. 

I can only comment that I when I used Fritz 14 GUI (and engine by the same name that came with it), and then installed and switched to Stockfish 15 the program could take at least 1/3, if not half less time to search the same depth. So maybe the Fritz engines that are included are nothing special. I don' tknow

 

stumOnner

I like using Scid vs PC. They have a few tutorials on YouTube to help get started.

martinbchess

Whats wrong with the chess.com analysis ?

skakaras

You can use an ancient (and cheap from eBay) version of Fritz (Fritz 10), which will allow you to create chess databases and analyse a game deeply with whatever analysis software you choose (like Stockfish).

One add-on of Fritz program which bolsters our understanding of a position is the function of "analyse threat." Analyse threat" can be found in Fritz's drop-down list when we right-click on the analysis board. It can also be found as a cross in Lichess on the right side of the analysis board on the upper part next to the evaluation number or by just hitting the X key.

I rely on the interface of the old Fritz 10 and use the program Stockfish, which I downloaded from the net.

When I play a game on Lichess or Chess.com, I run a fast analysis and download them to distinguish the most critical phases of my game (opening phase, middle game and end game) and the landmark mistakes - deviations.

I use the unlimited analysis function to make Stockfish analyse a position as deep as possible (over 35 moves). To understand when and how I made a mistake, I will run the "analyse threat" function to understand why the computer proposes a move and where this leads.

So, using the "analyse threat" function is very important; for me, it constitutes the other half of computer analysis and is the only way to understand why a computer fostered a proposed move.

You can also use the "insert" or "Enter Null Move" to force Stockfish to reveal his plans for a position you do not anderstand.

nik1111

"Chessis" app from the play store.

Edit: it has a lot of tiny settings and tricks, one time cheap payment. A lot of customisability! Never-ending.

Edit 2: Maybe someone have big chess dreams, I just want once in a lifetime to won over the "Colosus Chess 4", the game against I've played as a kid on my C64c with green led diode.

Edit 3: Someone mentioned "Decode Chess", also certainly on my list but let's first pay my bills.

xK4LIBUR

Lucas

Stockfishdot1

Check out Decodechess, which is supposed to explain why moves are good or bad in regular English. It's AI of course.