Author: Larry S. Tamarkin
Date: 16:58:33 04/18/98
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Here's a quicky review of some of the better programs, that I posted on rec.games.chess.computer a while ago. Help it helps. Ratings of programs are now so high (for us ordinary chess experts that is!) that IMHO that shouldn't be the primary reason for selecting a program. That said, on your list Fritz5 has a substantially lower rating than the others, but notice that it is on a 90 MHz processor which really hurts its performance compared to the others. My personal selection of programs is based on its overall features and computability with Chess Base (my database of choice) and looks like this: 1: Fritz5 - Has a Opening tree and many, training/coaching features that set it apart from other playing programs. Also, so far it is the only program that incorporates the new cbh file format of Chess Base and plays multimedia clips. So if you down load Chess Base Light and get this program you pretty much have a complete chess Database and Playing program together. Also the fact that Fritz5 comes with 300,000 chess games on the CD, and that more than 5000 are annotated is a very important feature. So far, I hardly use the Talk feature (German or English), but it is innovative and important to some. 2: Genius5 Gold - Comes with all Genius versions (dos and Windows) on one CD! Genius 5 has the best interface of all the programs I've seen, is compatible with Chess Base (CBF format), and has some settings for the way the program evaluates that seem more customizable then Fritz5. It also has the best 3d Board(s) I have seen! It is likely the fastest program in Blitz, and also can be plugged into the an external board. 3: Rebel9 - Probably the most feature rich dos program, It like HIARCS is thought to have the most human like playing style (Maybe not as human as CS TAL or HIARCS though) Rebel9 currently comes with a 'free' bonus CD loaded with a 105,000 game database, other famous games databases, 56 MB of additional opening books, and numerous utilities to increase one's chess playing fun. For true chess professionals, it is probably the best combination of chess playing program and database in one. 4: HIARCS - I only have an older version of this so I can only go by what others have said about it in this newsgroup rather than personal experience. Aside from Chess System Tal it is said to have the most human like playing style. It is said to incorporate 'more' chess knowledge then the other's, and yet somehow it is currently the highest rated (by 1 point! over Rebel9) of all the programs on the SSDF list. The version I had (2.1) had a really old - fashioned dos like interface which I quickly (like with MChess) got tired of. Like MChess it has a shuffle chess feature, if you like that sort of thing! Also is available as a DLL engine playing module usable inside Fritz5, but I was (am) disappointed that company Chess Base doesn't offer an additional discount to previous (and current)HIARCS owner's on this add-on. Hope this quick summary helps, mrslug - the inkompetent chess software addict! On April 18, 1998 at 07:44:40, Rajen Gupta wrote: >On April 17, 1998 at 17:45:08, John Stafford wrote: > >>To anyone who may care to respond, Thanks. I'm trying to assess which >>chess program to buy. I'm looking at Fritz5, Rebel, HIARC and others. My >>son is now regularly beating me and I can't tell him much more about the >>game. The program needs to have a good shelf life and some decent visual >>appeal as well as helping a person improve their game. Can anyone help? >>Thanks. John Stafford > >Fritz 5 Without doubt is the greatest single piece of chess software, >both in terms of playing strength and fatures.for more specialized >training software packages, refer to Mr Komputer Korners >Recommendations. > >Rajen Gupta
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