Author: Nathan Hellmers
Date: 13:28:44 11/13/02
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On November 13, 2002 at 15:50:08, Edwin Wigmore wrote: >I'm sorry if this puts you on the spot John, but I'm a bit cheesed off. > >I had been a great fan of the Fritz series having bought every copy from 3 to 6. >Then I became interested in Chessmaster and bought 7000 and 8000. > >I had intended to stay with Chessmaster and was about to buy 9000. A big part >of the reason for this is because if there was a problem, with you there I was >confident it would be sorted out. > >Now I am in a quandry. I don't know why they let you go, but it does definitely >influence the way I fee about Chessmaster, largely because the program (While I >really like it) does have more than it's fair share of bugs in the initial >releases. > >So now I am swaying heavily towards Fritz 8 which, with the new board layouts >looks absolutely superb and has very good features for analysis etc. > >So darn it, if I put you on the spot sorry, but.... if you were me would you buy >CM9000 or should I look elsewhere? > >Cheers and all the best for the future. Very sorry that things haven't worked >out. > >Edwin Opinion from someone other than John: Depends what you want of course. The database in CM is horrible. The CM interface is non-standard (for Windows)--doesn't maximize properly, taskbar blocks some of the window, etc. The various chess sets are ok but not a big draw. There is a very good 2d set though. The analysis is decent, but the database problems and shortcomings make it less useful. I like Fritz's ability to analyze an entire database, which CM can't do. You can have decimal analysis, text auto-annotations, or just type in your own. It appears you can only pick one when saving though. You can't edit the information or annotations for a game from within the database. Instead you have to copy it to the board and then copy it back (big potential for headaches there). The tutorials are pretty good, though some may prefer books and a real set. I didn't try the online play, but it is my understanding that there are not many people using it. That said, CM is the best program I've seen for variety of play. Other program can essentially do the same thing, but for whatever reason I find myself enjoying playing against CM rather than Fritz or Rebel. I play against the Palm versions of Tiger and Genius and like them both very much, but they are of course very limited in options compared to a desktop program. If I preferred playing against another program more, I would unistall CM without a second thought. As it is, I use CM, Fritz5, and CB lite to cover all of my needs. Nathan
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