Right now I have “Chessmaster 10” on my PC, but it is a hassle putting a CD in every time I want to use it. Are there other good products out there that don’t require that?
I would be using it primarily for game analysis from a pgn file.
TIA
I use Fritz 9, and it doesn’t have that requirement. I don’t know about later versions of Fritz. You do have to copy all the databases onto your hard drive, which is an install time option.
I also had an old version of Chessmaster, and I discovered that the entire CD could be copied to the hard drive, and then you could run it off of the hard drive. I don’t know if that would work for Chessmaster 10.
Jim
Fritz 12 only requires the CD to validate the program the first time around, and not after that. (Though I did have to reinsert it one time after that when it asked, but that’s not normal.)
Most programs these days that employ some sort of validation key do it via Internet - no CD required to validate. F12 was definitely an exception to the rule for me… can’t remember the last time before that a program actually asked me to insert the CD for validation.
But if all you’re looking for is a high powered engine, there’s the free Stockfish, currently #2 on the computer rating lists behind Rybka.
Your in luck: Chessmaster: Grandmaster edition doesn’t require you to put the CD in the drive to play the game.
I guess Ubisoft decided to finally get rid of that antiquated form of protection.
If you install all the patches for Chessmaster 10th edition you will no longer need to have the CD in the drive. For the US edition there are 3 patches —1.01 1.02 and 1.03. The patches are available from the Chessmaster 10th edition download page forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/ … 5081052236.
I installed the patches, but it still requires a CD for me to start it.
That’s strange. I bought Chessmaster 10th edition in 2005 and use it regularly without the CDs (which are safely stored somewhere in my house). The Chessmaster 10th edition FAQ forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/ … 1881098036
mentions this and provides other useful info. Just a wild guess but maybe you have to uninstall the program, re-install it, and then install the patches. I seem to remember doing this when I bought it (I don’t remember why)
In the past the Chessmaster 10th editon FAQ has given conflicting information on patch installation. It once said that all 3 patches had to be installed in order (1.01, 1.02, and 1.03). Then it stated that the 1.03 patch was a cumulative patch so only 1.03 was required. Now the FAQ does not mention any of this…only that 3 patches are available for the US version of the program.
Maybe there is an option when you install it to install a minimal version or a full version to the harddrive and you aren’t really experiencing a security check, but an actual need to use files from the cd. Once you have put the cd in do you have to leave it there to continue to use the program? Just a thought.
arena is free:
also, i highly recommend chessdb. i don’t think it’s what you were looking for but between chessdb and arena you’ll have most of what anyone could want. oh, and it’s also free: