Good point… but if you are not sure which one you like, and you can’t decide if you are more beginner or advanced… or maybe you are transitioning… they are so cheap that it doesn’t matter … get one… play … have fun… and you can always get the other…if you want…
In the begining I was under the assumption that both were over 50 dollars and fritz was quite a bit more expensive than the other… but as you’ve seen… the older versions are just fine in the begining and in fact for some time so… 10.00 is just not that bad for a new chess program.
Just saw that this thread took a turn to OTB play. Maq, there are a few “just play” clubs around Dallas besides the tournament-focused Dallas Chess Club. Most of these clubs also hold tournaments which are smaller than DCC’s tournaments. It’s possible to play chess every night of the week in the Dallas area, just depends on your location and how far you’re willing to travel. I’ll leave Fridays and the weekend to dallaschess.com or the TCA tournament listing.
Mondays – Denton Chess Club – Denton Chess Club meets every Monday night from 6:00-9:00 at the Denton Public Library North Branch,3020 North Locust, Denton, Texas 76209.
Tuesdays – Tarrant County Chess Club – The TCCC meets every Tuesday night from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at the North East Mall in Hurst, Texas (beside Best Buy). They also hold small tournaments throughout the year. More details at tarrantcountychessclub.org.
Wednesdays – 3 rated games at Dallas Chess Club. Usually a smaller tournament and not as intense as DCC Friday nights or a weekend tournament.
Thursdays – Lewisville Chess Club – @ Borders Bookstore / 2403 S. Stemmons, Suite 100 / Lewisville, TX, 75067 (FM 3040 and I-35, beside Vista Ridge Mall). 6:30 or 7pm to close. Last I knew, FM Keith Hayward is a regular and was always up for a blitz game and conversation on how to get better.
EVERY Night – There are always players at the Barnes & Noble at Preston & Belt Line (address is 616 Preston Royal Shopping Center, Dallas, TX) from 7pm to close. This “club” has no name and no organization, but they’re always there and you can just rotate right into a game. Games are usually 5 0 or 7 0 blitz, but if you take your own set/board/clock you can probably find a longer game if you ask around.
Crume,
Say, thank you very much… I appreciate the help. I was expecting a chess club of sorts with lectures , lessons… looks like there are some just not in Dallas proper… I live in North Dallas… so Lewisville or Denton… wouldn’t be too bad… would love to play durring the day… as I’m retired but… I can maybe meet someone with similar interest as I play durring the evening and weekend with these places… Can’t thank you enough for the help… Everyone has been very helpful…
Just recieved my copy of Chestmaster Grandmaster Edition and am on my way today to Target or Walmart to pick up a copy of Fritz 10 for 9.99… Though I just found Fritz 12 for 19.99 at Office Max…I don’t suppose it matters for me all that much right now. But I’ll likely pick up one or the other to see which one I like best… I feel I’m in transition between beginner and intermediate player… Not a lot of tournament or over the board experience but a fair amount of chess reading…and memorization… I just counted a collection of 11 chess books… 6 of which I haven’t finished because they were too hard… I think I could go back to them if I want to take the time… we’ll see… sooooooo much information too little time
Maq
Found Fritz 12 this weekend at “MicroCenter” electronics store. Bought it online first at their site and then drove the next day to pick it up… cost 17.97… Nice program! I have found lots of learnig sites online too numberous to mention. But there is plenty of free info and videos to watch and learn with while you are trying to figure out what is important and where to set your priorities.
I Attended my first ever tournament after 2 months of reading and study… Not much online play… Just few games… It was a 2 day tournament and I Had a great time…(5 round swiss 90plus30.)… watching the 6 to 9 year olds play and win. At this tournament… and I’m guessing like most …90 percent are children… What a hoot… loved it and will definitely do it again… Learned a lot… how to write notation fast so that you aren’t waisting time …and I learned… If you are playing talented people in the 1700 to 2000 range… you really better know all the alternative moves to an opening… One kid said it best after a 30 move loss… Its not that you can’t play chess ok…Mr. …you just don’t know what you are doing yet. Very well said, I agree…
Will evaluate Fritz 12 and Chesmaster Grandmaster Ed… this week from an adult beginners perspective…
Maq
Dallas FIDE Open is quite a tournament to start with! Glad it was fun. Occasionally Dallas CC holds lectures and lessons…usually lead by one of the local NM or IM. Check with Luis Salinas on when the next cycle might come around.
Are you still using Chess Magnet School? I have to say I’m very pleased with that website so far. They’ve done a great job with it. My favorite feature is the lesson function. When a problem stumps me or the main idea eludes me that feature will point me in the right direction without giving me the answer straight out.
Will try to keep it short, may not get timed out!!
I also am a member of chessmagnetschool.com Someone here directed me there. I am a Commander level and 80% to Captain. The program gets better as you reach a higher lever.
This is my thought for you and any newbe to chess. Chess is like reading a good book, only say this book has a lot of 25 cent words in it and it is hard to understand it very well, and you are missing out on alot of detail. So you improve your vocabulary and get more out of the book then ever before!
You do not have to be a expert 2000+, or GM, to enjoy chess, or beat most players you play against, the real enjoyment is catch what seems to be a simple move but in fact a work of art as it leads up to a superior position. As your chess improve so will your keenest to see these moves. Thus you will enjoy more!
I had the chess Citrine board, and had problems with it, sent it back and thought about buying a DGT board=$8oo. But I have decided to buy a tournament board and pieces from here USCF, Cheap, and the Chessmaster/Grandmaster. I will transfer my moves from the computer to the board, and now you have a chess board with the brains of a pricey chess game.
Good questions you had and it shows you are an organized person and will make a good chess player!!
I recommend finding an older version of any of the top playing programs, maybe 2-3 generations ago. These are all at least 2700 strength on a decent computer. Use Arena as your database. It’s free. Or an old version of Chessbase. Don’t pay more than $10-15 for either. Do not waste your money on the current version of Chessbase. The company writes dysfunctional, expensive software, they don’t support it, and they barely give you a break on upgrades. They don’t really deserve your business. You can search online for a 3-4 million game database, which should cost no more than $30-40. No point paying ChessBase 150 bucks for the same product.
As for books all I can say is: it hardly matters which book you buy as long as it is well-reviewed and addresses one or more of your chess deficiencies. The trick is to read it and not just let it sit on the shelf, as 95% of chess books do (at least in my case).
I would only add that Chessbase Light 2009 premium is decently priced for a Chessbase product. Chess Assistant 11 Starter is a much better value IMO as is the new Aquarium w/Rybka 4. Some links to check out: chessok.com/shop/index.php?main_ … j9incfvn81
I have to come to the defense of Chessbase here. I have used CB9, 10, and now 11 extensively, and I’m a fan. I have virtually no problems with CB11. I am a relatively serious correspondence player. It is important that I be able to keep the database up to date with ease and then to manipulate it readily and often. I can do that with Chessbase. As part of the package I also receive Chessbase Magazine, which is really a disk with updates from both the OTB and CC world. It makes the job of staying updated much easier. I can also sign onto the ICCF and pull down my games immediately when I’m ready to go to work. Chessbase’s instructive disks are without parallel. In short, I think the products are expensive, but I’m content to pay the price as they’re superb and I’m willing to support their efforts to communicate good chess to the world. I also own Chess Assistant, which is just fine, too. I’m simply more experienced with Chessbase. As for engines, you can download Houdini 1.5 for free. It is within a few Elos of Rybka 4, and some think it’s performing better. Just google “Houdini chess engine,” and you’ll find it quickly. From my perspective the download is safe and I’m unaware of any intellectual property issues with the program.
(Please know that I have no pecuniary interest of any kind in any chess product.)
Rybka 4 Aquarium now also has a module that interfaces with ICCF. I’ve had it for about two weeks and I’m coming to rely on it for all my database needs. The newest version of IDeA analysis is very, very good. One thing Chessbase has is the ability to print correspondence post cards. The only down side is that you can really only get one game on a card. They still look neat with a color diagram of the present position which does reduce some confusion for some folks. That said, there is a lot of stuff out there that is free and open source.
The CB training media is indeed excellent. I don’t understand how Didi still manages to make and sell his dvd lessons.
PS–Chess Assistant 11 also has a module that accesses ICC and their own CA (Chess Planet) game server.
You’re right about the instructional disks, and CB Magazine is very informative and entertaining. However, the program is not worth $400 by a long shot. It’s extremely buggy, annoying, unintuitive, and lacks adequate documentation. I started to compile a wish list several program generations ago, and gave up after not even receiving a return email from CB.
They completely redid the Fritz interface, for example, and now it’s almost unusable. I spend 10 minutes looking for functions that should be available through a standard windows drop down-type menu (which they’ve done away with, btw).
When you think of what it is, basically a system for storing and retrieving chess games, it’s really not much in terms of programming or value. 99.98% of the CD/DVD is photos, the database, and various other junk. The fact that Arena is free should tell you something right there.
Its subjective to the person using a database program if they think they should use SCID, which is free, or Chessbase Light (fairly inexepensive), or Chessbase 11 full version. And you don’t have to pay $400. Thats for the premium version which includes CB magazine, and several different databases. The starter package is half that, and still includes the Big Database, which is the mega database sans photos and games with commentary. Even without commentaries, roughly 5 million games (maybe 4.8 million?) plus access to the online database which is updated frequently, is more than adaquate for serious chess research.
Chessbase light (paid version), doesn’t include the Big Database, but the online database should more than make up for it.
Case your wondering, if you buy the Stater Package, your actually spending most of your money on the database. I think its possible that Chessbase is not supporting Chessbase Light anymore. I can’t find a link to download Chessbase Light, or a price for the full version ( the version that’s not hobbled).
But in any event, CB is banking most of thier margin on selling the actual database. Pricewise, buying Chessbase Light, then seperately buying Big Database, ended up costing about the same. (Less than $20 difference for sure.)
I would gladly get the $400 version of Chessbase though. Its definately on my wish list.
EDIT: All the “Chessbase Light Download” links at Chessbase.com go directly to the Chessbase 11 download page. So it looks like Chessbase has indeed dropped Chessbase Light. The only way to even find a “Chessbase Light Download” is through a google search.
