I don't own "Chessmaster: The Art of Learning" for the DS, but I have tried it. The interface itself is very clean, and the touch screen of the DS makes it feel pretty smooth. As for features, there's plenty. Tutorials, puzzles, minigames, etc. I haven't explored the range of difficulty of the computer in the game, but I hear it is flexible to any kind of chess player. An important thing to note is absence of WiFi multiplayer if that is an issue for you. As for the graphics and sound...well, lets just say that nothing much has changed since the "Chessmaster" Game Boy Color version that came out 9 years ago.
If I may offer another view, my dad bought the Game Boy Color version for me when I was still in elementary school, and to tell the truth, I barely touched it. At that time I preferred to either play chess on a real board or on a computer. Playing chess on a Game Boy just didn't feel right for me then, and it still doesn't to this day.
If you're interested in an alternative, look into the "Advance Wars" series for the Game Boy Advance and the DS. It is fun, very challenging, and it puts a chess mind into good use since the game itself is a turn-based strategy game. If you are interested or have any questions about the series don't hesitate to contact me.
I just recently found out that there is a DS version of chessmaster and since my younger brother has a DS I wanted 2 look into it. Does anyone own a copy of the DS version, and if so what would u rate it on a scale of 1 to 10? Also, opinions on it would help me decide if its worth getting. Even if you do not have the game itself but have tested it out or heard anything about it please leave a few lines.