User Reviews (1 - 11 of 21)

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Toooooooooo gooooooooood !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 87 / 95
Date: November 23, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game for my dad a week back. I myself loved it a lot. I have seen the earlier versions of chessmaster also. The interface has been highly improved to make it all the more easy and friendly. I found that I can learn a lot from the way the chessmaster plays. U can make the system play like Anand, Kasparov, Spassky or whomever U want. I found the tutorials very interesting and the puzzle of the day is also a nice idea. Bottomline - a product worth buying for all those chess-fanatics out there.

Great for program no matter how good or bad your are.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 23
Date: December 20, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Really nicely layed out and easy to use. The tutorial section is actually very helpful, and I'm finally beating my Dad more often as a result. I thought about getting him this program, but opted not to for that reason. Many different computer "characters" with different styles you can play against. You'll see a noticeable improvement in your play very quickly!

Excellent Chess Program

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: May 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This is by far the best Chessmaster program (by sheer ability if not design). Be advised that the product update from Mindscape is bugged and I've had to reinstall the program WITHOUT the update because when the update was installed it constantly crashed. Either way, if you need a good chess partner that flexible and can even teach you a few things, you can't go wrong with this program.

Very User-friendly Menus

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 16
Date: June 02, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Chess is a very beautiful game and it's my inner 'world-model'.It's ancient origins and how it survives throughout our history is enough to speak that chess is indeed a many splendoured thing.I love this game!

ChessMaster7000 has by far,of all chess software I've seen,it has the most user-friendly and intuitive interface.It has a strong engine too.Though I heard that Fritz6 has a stronger engine.But Fritz6 has very poor User-interface compared to CM7000.I told myself,"okey,I'll beat ChessMaster7000 first then I go to Fritz6 after that happens!".But I doubt if I could ever do that within this year!CM7000 is very strong player.Again,I like the menus and stuff UI.Good to anyone who wants to become NM,IM etc.CM7000 is a well-balanced product which considers the customer's needs and intuitive ease-of-use.Fritz6 on the other hand has this constant 'busy' mouse cursor every move and it greatly disturbes your focus.ANd certain buttons in fritz6 (the clock for example) constantly freezes-up then refresh when Fritz tries to crunch-up some deep level analysis during a game in each move.Much like you're talking to a weird eccentric scientist in front of you...you just can't understand his expression! THough,no doubt and I admit..Fritz6 is a very, very, very strong player.But again, I still have to beat CM7000 first..but I don't think I could ever do that within one year.I highly recommend ChessMaster7000...

A real Master of a Program!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: November 19, 2000
Author: Amazon User

It seems kind of dumb to review this program, now that CM 8000 is out. But here goes:

This is a great program. I have spent many hours with this puppy. I am a USCF Master, and I have beaten this program (on its top level) only a handful of times. Of course the strength of the program will be based on the speed of your computer's processor chip. I.e., the faster the processor, the stronger the program.

Some of the features I liked: A library of around 300,000 games!! A multiple personality, programmable playing engine. (There is almost an infinite variety of playing strengths here.) Josh Waitzkin's voice as he goes over some of his best games! (He explains the variations in great detail.) Josh will become your personal chess coach. You will definitely learn from watching his games and analysis.{See his victory over my friend, Moshe Khatena from a tournament in Bermuda.} I could go on and on. But by now, you should get the general idea.

I can heartily recommend CM 7000 to ANYONE. If you don't like it, I will buy it back from you. [I won't promise to pay full retail, however. ;) ]

Almost Too Much!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: August 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

If you love chess, and you find it difficult to always have a playing partner, this game is your answer. I've had sessions where I play four or five games in a row, until late at night, and I take my time between moves analyzing what happened and thinking about strategy. Not many human players would put up with that!

The playing levels of this game are above and beyond what almost any amateur chess player would need. I am willing to bet that at the toughest settings about 1 in 10,000 chess players could win consistently. I like "watching" the saved games, seeing the moves of famous chess players. I also like the rating system built into the game. The graphics are terrific, very realistic, and the moves are very smooth. The views are great.

The only thing I would say about this game that is slightly negative is that there are almost TOO many settings -- adjusting the tilt of the board, choosing the color and "texture" of the board, choosing different sets of playing pieces. Also, you can endlessly tweak the personality of your opponent, making it more defensive, more offensive, more controlling of the center of the board, more protective of the queen, and on and on. I find I am always trying to adjust the settings. The best thing is to find a setting, then forget about settings and focus on the game.

I tried the modem-to-modem chess games, but found it too slow for my taste.

My chess game has definitely improved after using this game.

A Great Bargain For Serious And Casual Players

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: May 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

After reading (and largely agreeing with) the other positive reviews, I wanted only to add two points that were important to me (I am a Class A USCF player): 1) CM7000's continuing inability to seriously analyse a game (for example, that game you played at the club last night)still is a MAJOR drawback. Annotation consists of more than just identifying the opening and repeating the moves! Try Fritz6 if you like strong and easy-to-use analysis features. 2) Although there is really a lot of unnecessary "eye candy," CM7000's chess engine has been rated in the 2500+ category (and you can adjust that strength downward) and will challenge and humble you.

Even better than 6000

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: February 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Continuing from the wonderful Chessmaster 6000, this version has some good new features. There's a couple more voice-annotated games from IM Josh Waitzkin, and there's a much better variety of computer personalities on offer.

The teaching facilities have been vastly expanded, with speed drills, puzzles, and extra coaching from Bruce Pandolfini. Children will also have much more fun than with 6000, because of the new "Kids Room" and the colourful layouts.

My only problem with this software is cosmetic...I liked the black background of 6000, but I couldn't see a way to get that back. But I still think it's a worthy successor to 6000.

Excellent for players at any level

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 39 / 41
Date: April 30, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I am somewhat of a chess nut and I have owned the most recent version of Chessmaster since its inception. Chessmaster 7000 is an excellent chess partner/teacher for players of any level. It is versatile and can provide opponents that will challenge but not overwhelm players at skill levels from beginner to master.

The tutorials for beginners and children are particularly good. There are a number of exercises for intermediate players, but the real value is Chessmaster's ability to analyze games and recommend moves. The opening book database is vast and the database of games of Grand Masters is very useful, especially for intermediate and advanced players who want to improve their games.

Chessmaster 7000 is not the strongest chess program available, but it will beat 99.9% of players and it cannot be matched for versatility and teaching.

If you are not an international grand master and you are looking for a good chess partner or teacher, you can't go wrong with Chessmaster.

A great program even for the total beginner

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 36 / 36
Date: March 01, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Without having a lot of experience with either 'real life' chess or chess programs,I still can say that this is a great choice for anyone interested in getting started and learning the game - even if you've never played chess in your life.

The beginner tutorials walk you through everything you need to know about the basics, and it's worth noting that they have a very good kid's program as part of the package.

Especially helpful is the ability to choose what kind of 'personality' you are playing against. This lets you build up your skills and confidence without getting crushed by a grandmaster every time - the first personality I played against was a beginner too. But it's a good program for the seasoned player as well: my dad, a real pro, was well challenged by the high-rated personalities.

The only drawback are some of the other features like the library, as it's hard to figure out how to view classic games. But for basic learning this program is a winner.

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