2010 April | Chess Board Games

Executive Tournament Chess Set ComboMassive weighted chess set to help you roll over your opponents. Bring this set and show you mean business in executive fashion. Includes very popular, yet not entirely unbreakable heavy weighted 3 7/8" Executive Staunton Pieces, the Quality USA vinyl rollup chessboard (20") and Deluxe Chess Bag.Great chess set for club, tournament, and home play. Each set includes 34 pieces (EXTRA QUEENS), one chess board, and one chess bag. All equipment meets chess tournament standards.SPECIFICATIONS:Executive Staunton Chess Pieces:Complete set of 34 chess pieces (including extra queens)King size: 3 7/8" tall, 1 5/8" base, and 57gQuadruple-weightedAll felt baseVinyl Roll-up Green Chessboard:Board size: 20" by 20"2 ?" squaresClear and legible algebraic notation Carryall Tournament Chess Bag:24" x 8" x 3" Standard size fits all sets up to 4 1/4" tall (even with extra queens)Strong stitching, and quality zippers for long-lasting durabili

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24" x 8" x 3" Deluxe Chess Bag with Shoulder StrapPad and protect small or large chess sets and clocks! It's now designed to comfortable fit club size OR larger 4" chess sets. Plus, the Chronos and other large and long clocks now easily fit this new Deluxe Tournament chess bag. You'll enjoy smooth zippers, and a quality feel to this inexpensive, yet truly convenient chess bag. Whatever you've got, it'll fit in there. When you're ready to play, just unzip the bag, and in a matter of seconds you have it all out and ready to play!So next time you go to class, or next time you need to practice at home. Just pull this bag out and it's all there waiting for you. No searching for missing pieces when you have such a clever, all-in-one chess bag.The new shoulder strap is going to make it even easier for you to carry your chess set AND other stuff you gotta bring.The Deluxe Chess Bag is your smartest choice for low cost rugged gaming.Specifications:24" x 8" x 3" Standard size fits all sets up to 4 1/4" tall (even w

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I'm looking for a computer chess game and I would like to know if anyone has a personal favorite. If you do can you also explain why it's your favorite? Thanks.

I have 2 favorites....maybe 3 as of yesterday.

Chessmaster 10th edition. ($20 at Best Buy) It has excellent tutorials and drills, the layout is nice, and the computer opponents are fun to play with working your way up to the more difficult ones. Also, the Chessmaster online site works beautifully without the kind of problems Yahoo online chess has. (Except you must first download a free update for their software to connect properly - but that is a very simple matter.) I was amazed to play a guy in Moscow the other day...I'm in Virginia! The game was a draw.

Then there's Majestic Chess. ($10 at Staples) Very nice layout with an incredible ambience that really sets the mood. It has a story mode which is excellent. In that mode you actually work through challenges and as you progress, you earn pieces and are actually building a chess army to play with one piece at a time...and you will need these to accomplish future challenges. This is a perfect teaching tool because it assumes you know nothing about how to play....great for beginners who want to learn. But the challenges will entertain even the most seasoned players.

I just bought Fritz 10 (Purchased from Chessbase.com for $54)
This program has an incredible database of historic games that you can load and watch move by move (Chessmaster has this too, but not near as many games to choose from.) This program also taunts you as you play and makes funny comments (can be swtched off). Yesterday it did a Mrs. Doubtfire impression saying, "Are you sure you wouldn't like to take that move back, dear-r-r-r?" And this software has an incredible online deal where you can get tutorials by Kasparov and others, as well as watch live broadcasts of games being played by the GM's. And of course you play online as well.

I like Chessmaster and Fritz best because I have a DGT chess set ($490 from chessexpress.com) which is a set you connect to your computer and play from the board instead of the screen. These two programs work really well with the board.

Between Fritz and Chessmaster, I'd say Chessmaster wins because as I play from my DGT board, I rely on the computer voice telling me it's moves. Fritz will say "D6 to B4" as it captures a pawn and puts me in check. For that same move Chessmaster will say "Bishop takes pawn on C4 - CHECK!" The voice is very fluid and natural sounding while the Fritz voice is very synthetic and robotic and sometimes hard to understand.

Now there's one more product you may want to try, but it is a chess tutor, not a computer chess opponent. It is called Chess Mentor and you can get a free trial download if you google search "Chess Mentor trial"
I enjoyed the trial so much that I coughed up the $180 for the full package. (You can buy the package in increments for a lot less) This software gives you game scenarios with a goal for you to figure out. You can ask for various degrees of hints from vague to obvious. I enjoy it very much because it's like having a Grandmaster sitting beside you coaching you. If you give a wrong answer, it explains in great detail why it is not the best move. It's very user friendly and I highly recommend that you get the trial if nothing else because just in the trial you will learn a lot! For a freebee it's awesome!

Good luck! I hope this was helpful. "Castle early!"