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This is a great Nintendo DS game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: January 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I cannot understand all the negative feedbacks of this game. UBISOFT has created an easy to understand and fun version of chess. I am a first time chess learner, and this game has clearly shown me the basics in an easy to understand tutorial. The graphics and instructions are excellent as are the sounds. The negative feedback probably came from those who do not know how to use this game or hot shot chess players who want to let others know how much they know and want to rub it in. This is an excellent game for first time learners, like me, and the pros outweigh the cons (I could not find any cons).

chessmaster

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 31, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Chessmaster is the ideal programme for Nintendo. Comprehensive and versatile. The portability and screen clarity make it ideal for use anywhere without the need of a PC. I would recomend it to any chess player.

5 for a good time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I gave it five because for the platform you use it on it's great and I'm having fun. I don't think for the price you can go wrong. Not exactly a lot of different chess games out there for handhelds to compare it to.
Not perfect but fun.

Great Fun and Educational Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

My 6-year old and 7-year old love this game and the fact that they can play chess with each other using only one game card. They are novice chess players, but with this game they can really expand their skills.

Great game but, like many items, not eligible for Amazon Prime

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This, like its PC Game counterpart, is a great chessgame (at least as far as games available for Nintendo DS and the PC go). However, and unfortunately, because it is actually sold by Target and not Amazon, it is not available for Amazon Prime benefits like free shipping. I have noticed that more and more items are being sold thru Amazon by third parties. This makes Amazon less useful and the Prime account virtually useless! So, I ordered this game for under $16.00 (including free shipping) elsewhere on the Internet (google it!) instead of the $24.00 (including shipping) it would have cost me on Amazon. My online shopping experience, especially as Christmas approaches, has now become much more complicated thanks to Amazon's deterioration into relying on third parties. I cancelled my Prime account since there is really no benefit anymore to having one. Bummer...

Best chess game so far, some big faults...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 55 / 55
Date: October 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I've been looking forward to a decent chess game for the DS since I picked it up last year, so I picked this game up on its release day.

The chess game on clubhouse games, even on "hard" is very weak. I can beat it without even paying attention, and I'm no where's near an expert level player.

Anyway, without boring everyone to tears, here's the PRO and CON list:

PRO

* You can have four profiles. Great to have for the kids.
* It has a very strong, and in my opinion, realistic engine.
* You can set up positions for playing against the computer.
* Save game is very useful if others are using the game.
* Can play someone else on a single card (see below for gripe though)
* Movement is so much nicer with a stylus, but the Direction pad
is also an option. You can either drag a piece to its destination,
or you can touch the destination. You also have a choice to confirm
your move to avoid "mouse slips".
* The mini games, like "Fork the Fruit", are actually very good drills.
* Nicely themed chess puzzles too.

CONS

* False advertising. "Players have access to 900 of the most important chess games, which are analyzed to provide key tactics", uh no, there are NO games. This and other features mentioned on the chessmaster site, are not here. They must be for the PC version.
* No online play. Are you kidding me?!
* No ability to set it for two human players on one DS. This seems
like a "way too obvious" feature. I'm truly baffled as to why it's
not on here.
* You can only set up a position to play the computer. That, and the
fact that I can't set the clock to one players advantage, makes it
difficult to have a challenging/fair game with my daughters
* You can't set the clock to add time per move (Fischer Clock)
* Pieces are a bit odd looking, but tolerable.
* "Help" shows a play button, that, while reviewing a game, would let
you play from the current position. It's just not there though.
* The puzzles, though nicely themed, are all one move. Also, I was
having a lot of trouble with one, and had to ask for the answer.
Turns out I was supposed to be playing white from the flip side of the
board. However, it still showed the flip side as being the 8th rank.

Ok, that's a lot of "CONS", and the first three really annoy me. I was so looking forward to having 900 games to go through without sitting at the computer, or setting up a board.

This does give you a great portable chess engine to have a game anywhere you might be. Also, doing all the puzzles repeatedly, and going through the mini games, will give you a fair skillset to destroy the average non-serious player.

Limited Features But Easy to Like

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: February 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

When I want to play a quick game of Chess, I grab my DS rather than my Dell PDA that has chess software (with many more features available). Why? The interface is easy to use, the display is bright and clear, and if I am interrupted just closing the lid QUICKLY pauses the game. As a member of the US Chess Federation, its chess ability is a limiting factor but the built-in rating system is FUN as you play pseudo-humans complete with their photos.

The mini-games are helpful exercises in recognizing patterns (a big key to improving your chess). Recognizing forks, pins, and simple checkmates are the basis for a sound understanding of chess.

Not so good - no separate time settings to handicap players, the game startup sequence is poorly impremented, there is no way to save a completed game to analyze later (better save it just before the checkmate!), and its of no use if you want to play another human without their having a DS with ChessMaster.

But I certainly have fun with it!!

Excellent Game with minor flaws - Highly Recommended

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 13
Date: December 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game for the PC so I did not experience the problems some mention for the DS. I did download the game via Ubisoft and did experience an issue with the PDF documentation not correctly being installed but after visiting the Ubisoft support website downloaded it manually and this worked for me just fine. There are also some minor flaws in some of the tutorials that do not seem to be free of bugs but this did NOT take away from my enjoyment of those tutorials but it is why I only give the game a 4 star rating.

Apart from these issues above the game is wonderful, and it has brought my joy of the game of Chess once again. The PC version has so much content in terms of lesson plans from various teachers, for beginners, to more advanced theories. There is also a database of past famous games with comments that will provide lots of insights.

I particular like Josh Waitzkin Academy where he will give you his approach to the game as well as some fundamental approaches to the game. His insight and philosophy will help redirect previous frustrations in looking at chess from a satellite view.

In the learning aspect of the game there are many tools, games and puzzles to get you familiar with the principles taught which I have found keep me coming back to play each evening.

For those who are learning and want to renew their passion in chess I highly recommend this game, do check and make sure you PC meets the minimum system requirements first.

Nice chess title for the Nintendo DS

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I actually bought my Nintendo DS Lite for this game and the Brain Age products. I have been a USCF tournament player for 20 years and at one time had a rating over 1600. My rating has declined in recent years as my available time to devote to the game has dwindled. Chessmaster on the DS is aimed mainly at beginners and casual players. While there is no choice in the board or pieces both are nice looking and easy to see. The tutorials are basic but complete. I haven't spent a lot of time on the exercises but they are fun and would undoubtedly be useful to a beginning player. I jumped right in to rated games against the highest rated opponents. One thing I noticed is the claimed ELO ratings of the players appears to be 100-200 points higher than they actually play. Also each player uses the same opening for every game. They use different ones among the players but each player has his own favorite opening. The response time of the highest rated opponents can be several minutes in untimed games. I have beaten all but the last two opponents and expect them to fall when I have more time to play with it. As other's note, the claimed 900 games are nowhere to be found. That's no real biggie as I have over a million games avaible in the Big Database for Fritz 9. I would have liked a stronger engine and faster response time. The Chessmaster personality has beaten me a couple of times but I know he's going to fall. I blame my losses partly on unfamliarity with the board and distractions while playing. Despite my criticisms I like the game. I looked at some of the dedicated handheld chess machines but this seemed like a better option. If you're not over 1500 USCF and are looking for a nice chess title for your Nintendo DS this would be a very nice addition to your game library.

Not bad

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If you are choosing between buying this for your Nintendo DS or for your PC, obviously go with the PC. The AI in the DS version leaves much to be desired. It is a much simpler, trimmed-down variation.

With that said, however, for a small, compact and portable chess game that you can play virtually anywhere, Chessmaster on DS is pretty excellent. Some common complaints include: You cannot play a friend by handing the DS back and forth; you cannot give one person more time than the other on the clock. Two of my own complaints are that the "people" in the game (programmed personalities accompanied by a photo) tend to respond to the same move in exactly the same way (not so on the PC version). This takes a lot of fun out the game. Also, you cannot set the clock below 10 minutes. My biggest complaint of all is that you have to go through far too many screens to get to rated play. There should be an icon that takes you straight to it. Also, you should NOT have to select what language you want EVERY time you turn the game on. Ridiculous. On the plus side, moving the pieces with the stylus is a lot of fun. I also really like the graphics, the way the pieces look--simple, but elegant. I also really like the optional music that you can have on while you play. Very suiting.

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