Which Computer Chess Software?

I have known how to play chess for a while, buti just started really playing recently, joining the chess team this year and improving relatively quickly. for the holidays, i wanted to get a better chess computer software than my Chess Titans (it doesnt have anything...) i would like it to have multiple levels of computers to play against, as well as the ability to analyze games (tell me what moves are good and bad, other possible routes, who's winning, similar to chess.com's analysis). I guess 3d would be a nice feature, although not necessary. Also, price is a factor...probably anywhere up to 40 or 50 USD would be better, but i guess if its much better than the others i could ask for a more expensive one. Thanks!

Pick up a cope of Chessmaster 10 or 11. If you're looking for a general purpose software program, it cannot be beat.

I did more research, and have found that the top three are probably Chessmaster 11, Fritz 12, or Rykba 4. Any reason why one is better/worse than the other? do all three have what i am looking for?

chessmaster better for newbies

  I have Chessmaster 10 and Fritz 12 and I am using both quite extensively

   -Mark

Fritz 12 and rybka 4 would have really advanced chess engines to analyze games. i don't think you can play weaker levels of the engine, but I could be wrong.

I think chessmaster is the opposite- you'd probably get to play various levels of the engine but probably not be able to analyze games, but I could be wrong.

I think you're looking to play different computer levels and have a really advanced chess engine to look at your game.

I think this is what you're looking for http://www.amazon.com/Viva-Media-603-Twelfth-Edition/dp/B003B2MLDI/ref=sr_1_2?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1292903906&sr=1-2 .

Here's some quotes from the reviews: "Another very helpful analysis mode is "Infinite Analysis" which takes a single position and continuously analyzes it until the engine is interrupted or the position is changed. This is especially helpful for taking a deep look at a position and trying several what-if scenarios." -So you can put in your game and have it analyzed

"The program is smart enough to obliterate just about anyone, but you can play the game at several different difficulty levels. It even has a friend mode where the computer determines how strong a chess player you are and plays at close to your level. This is one tough opponent - even in the friend mode. There are also several "personalities" you can play against." - So you can play against various computer levels

And it includes a database of over 1 million games, so you can look over openings.

I'm a little confused it's only $20, but I think this is the real deal.