Rating: 
Summary: Excellent online interface
Review: I am a rookie chess player. I bought this game primarily to get the one-year membership at playchess.com. Boy was I disappointed! The serial number printed on my CD case was invalid! It took WEEKS of pestering the people at playchess.com before I got an answer. The answer was that I needed to deal with Amazon.com to get it fixed. So I have a replacement on the way. I just hope it does not have the same misprint problem.This is the best online interface of all that I have tried. None of the others come close to the flexibility. You can change the board size, color, go to 3d, move windows, filter chat, and a lot more. I really enjoy the ability to change the layout to match my taste. I bought Chessmaster before I bought Fritz. With Chessmaster I was disappointed to see that zero people were online. I checked several times, on several days. Unless I am doing something wrong, UBI (Chessmaster) online is a ghost town. Chessmaster I think has a slightly better interface and some nice tutorials, but if you want to play online, then Fritz is the way to go!
Rating:
Summary: This is the best
Review: I bought Fritz 8 a while ago and have to say this is the greatest chess software I have ever used. I have CM 9000 and 8000, Majestic Chess and even wasted my money on Kasparov Chessmate. Fritz 8 is superior in almost all of the aspects chess software can provide. -Installation is simple and no patches are needed. I run it on a Compaq notebook and a Dell at home. Both are XP and I have never had any trouble. CM 9000 crashed both my computers a couple of times and is still not running properly with the secoond patch they provided. -Fritz is stronger than all of its competitors and it is by far! But don't worry, you can adjust the playing strengths infinitely or you can play in Friend Mode and Fritz 8 will automatically adjust to your own playing strengths and increase (or decrease) accordingly. This is a feature none of the competitors offer and it is great no matter how strong you play. -The analysis functions are legendary. Gary Kasparov (who called Fritz "My iron Friend" in his latest book My Great Predecessors) and many other top players use only Fritz for their game analysis. I wonder why Gary Kasparov gave his name for the poorest chess software available (Kasparov Chessmate) instead of giving it for Fritz, the software he is using himself. -The training functions are good for every level of player. There is no big bla bla but all advise comes straight to the point. There is opening, middle and endgame training available. The program teaches you verbally and in on screen text. The only product that has better training courses for beginners and medium players is Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster, which also uses the Fritz engine. -The 3D boards are awesome because you can really play on them. CM 9000 offer a lot more boards in 3D but you cannot change the angle and therefore you don't have the necessary overview over the board and your position. Fritz 8 allows you to change and adjust everything. You can zoom, tilt, reverse the board, and adjust the angle to whatever degree you feel comfortable with. If you have played on the Fritz 8 true 3D board once you never want to play on any other board again. -Fritz 8 comes with a 500,000+ game database going back to games that were played in the middle ages. The nice thing is that you can select any game from your database and with one click load it into the true 3D game interface and have Fritz re-play the game for you. You can also change the game at any stage and see how you would have done. -For playing online Fritz 8 is the only choice because you always find a couple of thousand people playing on www.playchess.com. On CM 9000 www.ubi.com you may find up to 5 people but mostly you find 0. The interface and online training courses on www.playchess.com are great and you will always find someone of your playing level or a nice game of chess. With your purchase of Fritz 8 you get a one-year full membership free of charge (the extension for additional 12 months is $24.99). You can even see on a world map and find out where in the world people are playing online. I bought Fritz 8 for $35.00 on Amazon and I am happy that I have spent 5 bucks more than I spent for CM 9000 and Majestic Chess for a program that is worth I would say at least double.
Rating:
Summary: Many Features combined with easy gameplay!
Review: I don't know why someone would complain about bugs in this game because I have yet to find one! My guess is that the person complaing about them is using a pirated version of the software and thus his problems were created. Anyhow, the game is definitly loaded with features (most of which are already explained by other reviews) but the one thing I wanted to emphasize is that this game actually helped better my game play tremendously!
Rating: 
Summary: Fritz 8 is nice.
Review: I guess Fritz 8 is stronger than chessmaster 8000 (GOOD). I have almost the whole family of chessmaster xxxx (from 2000 to 8000). Fritz 8 human interface is not very friendly or intuitive, maybe I spent too much time with the chessmaster series. I could not find the self-play mode in Fritz. The analysis of Fritz is very professional, it even uses the international symbols to grade the position. However I'd like to see another mode to give numeric values at each position like chessmaster, the symbol =/+ , +/=, etc. are not specific enough (at least to a detail player like me.) The user manual is hard to follow.
OK, 4 1/2 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Currently the Best
Review: I had heard about Fritz beating many of he worlds best players but did not buy this program for a long time. At first it was too expensive. After buying this program I am ashamed to admit I ever owned Chessmaster and Battle Chess. The review on this page by "oblivion95" gives a good run down of the main features. I would just like to add a couple notes:
1. The current version comes with access to their game server (playchess.com) and it is the best internet chess playing interface I have ever used! I have used many to include USCF, ICC,Kasprovchess,yahoo, and many more.
2. It is easy for the average player to buy a program that can beat them time after time. Yes, most programs have adjustable levels but that is where the teaching stops. This program has many more teaching options.
3. The game analysis is awsome. Try this: Have chessmaster and Fritz analyze the same position from one of your games and compare the results. Better yet just save your time and money and buy Fritz.
Rating:
Summary: This Beast is Best
Review: I have most of the top commercial chess programs in the world (Shredder, Fritz, Junior, Hiarcs, Chess Tiger, Deep Sjeng, Ruffian 2, Rebel and Chessmaster), and Fritz is my favorite program. I don't even use Chessmaster anymore. Fritz is a Chessbase product, so it is state-of-the art in all respects. I can't imagine why some of the other reviewers had some problems with it. Myself and my chess-playing friends have had none. For those who are saavy about chess programs, yes, I admit that Fritz is the second-strongest program ... Shredder 8 (also a Chessbase product) is definitely stronger than Fritz, but if you aren't Gary Kasparov, who knows the difference? Besides, in my view Shredder suffers from several defects ... its principal variation (PV) in analysis can be complete rubbish (ie: hanging a queen for no compensation), although it's first move of the PV is always first-rate. Also, Shredder's playing style is "dryer" and more technical (e.g. boring) than Fritz. If you want a tip-top program that plays like a boring machine, grinding out wins, then get Shredder. If you want a program that will come at you like a doberman, then get Junior, Hiarcs or Chess Tiger. But if you want the best of both of these worlds, then get Fritz! Hey, let's face it ... unless you are a Grandmaster, any of the top programs I named, on their top level, will tear you to tiny little pieces every time, especially when you're playing blitz. However, Fritz has many modes (like Friend, Sparring and "personalities") that can lead it to playing like you! There are dozens of ways to change or "dummy down" Fritz's play, and you can have fun with all of them. You can also use Fritz's GUI to play the many FREE winboard or UCI engines freely available on the Internet (I have about 3 dozen, but many more are available). So, it's like having a whole chess club at your disposal, and you can even have the various engines and personalities play each other in matches or tournaments, or help you play against Fritz. (I don't know about you, but I need help against the silicon beasts.) One observation ... which program does Gary Kasparov (and other top players like Anand, Kramnik, Leko, etc) use and analyze with? Fritz. Did Chessmaster get a match with Gary Kasparov or Vladimir Kramnik? Nope ... only Fritz and Junior did. If Kasparov says Fritz analyzes the best, that's good enough for me! Fritz's database is also very useful and it's GUI and many features are top-notch. Also, if you are a serious chess player and want to get the top chess database program, Chessbase, then Fritz will fit in seamlessly. How can you go wrong, especially at this discounted price? (Don't hold your breath looking for a discount at Chessbase...ha, ha.) So the bottom line? Fritz is #1. Get it from Amazon! I did, and don't regret it a bit.
Rating:
Summary: This Beast is Best
Review: I have most of the top commercial chess programs in the world (Shredder, Fritz, Junior, Hiarcs, Chess Tiger, Deep Sjeng, Ruffian 2, Rebel and Chessmaster), and Fritz is my favorite program. I don't even use Chessmaster anymore. Fritz is a Chessbase product, so it is state-of-the art in all respects. I can't imagine why some of the other reviewers had some problems with it. Myself and my chess-playing friends have had none. For those who are saavy about chess programs, yes, I admit that Fritz is the second-strongest program ... Shredder 8 (also a Chessbase product) is definitely stronger than Fritz, but if you aren't Gary Kasparov, who knows the difference? Besides, in my view Shredder suffers from several defects ... its principal variation (PV) in analysis can be complete rubbish (ie: hanging a queen for no compensation), although it's first move of the PV is always first-rate. Also, Shredder's playing style is "dryer" and more technical (e.g. boring) than Fritz. If you want a tip-top program that plays like a boring machine, grinding out wins, then get Shredder. If you want a program that will come at you like a doberman, then get Junior, Hiarcs or Chess Tiger. But if you want the best of both of these worlds, then get Fritz! Hey, let's face it ... unless you are a Grandmaster, any of the top programs I named, on their top level, will tear you to tiny little pieces every time, especially when you're playing blitz. However, Fritz has many modes (like Friend, Sparring and "personalities") that can lead it to playing like you! There are dozens of ways to change or "dummy down" Fritz's play, and you can have fun with all of them. You can also use Fritz's GUI to play the many FREE winboard or UCI engines freely available on the Internet (I have about 3 dozen, but many more are available). So, it's like having a whole chess club at your disposal, and you can even have the various engines and personalities play each other in matches or tournaments, or help you play against Fritz. (I don't know about you, but I need help against the silicon beasts.) One observation ... which program does Gary Kasparov (and other top players like Anand, Kramnik, Leko, etc) use and analyze with? Fritz. Did Chessmaster get a match with Gary Kasparov or Vladimir Kramnik? Nope ... only Fritz and Junior did. If Kasparov says Fritz analyzes the best, that's good enough for me! Fritz's database is also very useful and it's GUI and many features are top-notch. Also, if you are a serious chess player and want to get the top chess database program, Chessbase, then Fritz will fit in seamlessly. How can you go wrong, especially at this discounted price? (Don't hold your breath looking for a discount at Chessbase...ha, ha.) So the bottom line? Fritz is #1. Get it from Amazon! I did, and don't regret it a bit.
Rating:
Summary: Best chess software period!
Review: I have played chess all my life and am a fairly strong non-professional. Every feature of Fritz (Engine, UI, online games, database) is excellent! I cannot say enough!
Rating:
Summary: Best chess software period!
Review: I have played chess all my life and am a fairly strong non-professional. Every feature of Fritz (Engine, UI, online games, database) is excellent! I cannot say enough!
Rating:
Summary: Best Chess Program
Review: I have rececntly started playing chess with a club and got this program as a training tool. I couldnt find my old copy of Chessmaster 6000, so needed to get something new and will compare it to Chessmaster. The MOST AMAZING thing about Fritz 8 is the "sparring" mode. This actually feels like playing a real person! Despite all the window dressing and the player bios, Chessmaster was never really able to accomplish this feat. Of course if you play in normal mode, Fritz will devastate you. Another great feature is the visual opening book which lets you drill on the openings. It makes it very easy to run through the differnt variations of an opening and commit them to visual memory. The database and analysis tools are top notch and I prefer their interface to the Chessmaster's. The various lines are color coded with statistics which makes it easy to review and make choices based upon the play of better players. Very instructive. Frits 8 also has free 1-year of online playing which I have not yet tried. Frits will save your internet games to a private log, so you will have records of all your play! This is a serious chess program and provides all the tools you need.
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