Can anyone recommend a good (virus/malware-free) place to download a pgn viewer for my Win 7 PC?
And, also, a safe place to search for and download games? Often when I’m reading a library book I see games I would like to print out and play through on my chess board. Writing them out in longhand is quite tedious.
chesstempo.com/game-database.html
chess2u.com/t6120-twic-toolbox to download TWIC games
ChessBase Reader en.chessbase.com/pages/download
Thank you very much! I really appreciate it.
Also, rather than a viewer, I would suggest biting the bullet and getting a chess database. Hiarcs Chess Explorer will access pgn files and is available at $49. ChessBase can be downloaded, $117 after converting for Euros - and then you can use “free games” like TWIC to populate your database. Once past the initial expense, you may find that there is the occasional item where it is worth the expense (rather than a chess book.)
Arena Chess is free.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve never heard of Arena Chess, but free is always good. ChessBase and any others–well, we will see. My budget is limited and my ambitions are very modest. Get a rating, no matter how low, just for the fun of it. Study the games of historical players and try to determine whose style best matches the way I want to play. Maybe I’ll play in a few email tournaments.
Right now I have two games going at Chess.com. I’m pretty hopeless! But I do enjoy playing out famous games from the past.
good for you! that was my primary means of study back when i was growing up-playing out and analysing famous games.
you could try iccf.com and try a free two-game match, also.
and, if you get a chance, the us amateur team tournaments are always loads of fun.
good luck!
…scot…
If you have a phone or a tablet, you might consider a mobile viewer. ChessBase online for iPhone or Android costs around $5 and gives you access to a 5MM game online database - I think it also downloads some classic games directly to your device.
I downloaded Arena Chess to our PC. It appears to be a very powerful and flexible piece of software. But I think it will be some time before I understand much of what it can be used for.
Playing out famous games is fun, but it only reinforces how far my game has declined since I was 14-18 years old. I was playing out Fischer-Najdorf from 1962, and the intensity and elegance of Fischer’s attacks is just amazing. I understand what he is doing, and Najdorf just seems powerless to even slow him down.
But when I play against my little Radio Shack 1650 chess computer, even at the lowest level, I can’t decide what move to make after the second or third move. When I try to follow those basic principles like control the center or develop your pieces as soon as possible, the computer swoops down and snatches a bishop or knight with an attack I never saw. The computer makes a forking check, and there goes my queen. I can’t create combinations, or plan more than a single move. I wind up always reacting, and losing. When I try to use a tried and true opening, the computer always has a counter that stifles everything I try to do.
It wasn’t like this years ago. I remember games from my early chess life when I planned a series of moves, or evaluated a position and was able to see what the opponent was intending. Oh well. It is very good to be young.
Arena Chess is a fairly powerful program. I think you’ll get much use out of it.
Has anyone used WinBoard? I found its ability to save a position as a PGN string on the clipboard helpful in creating diagrams for printed material.