User Reviews (1 - 11 of 15)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Cannot play without the DVD

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 75 / 80
Date: January 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This program has many fine features but they are useless to those of us with a laptop who do not want to carry the DVD with us.

Each time you load the program you must insert the DVD or it will not work. The manufacturer has every right to insert this copy protection feature but the buyer should be warned. I would not have spent the $40 for this program had I known about this limitation. I am away from home a lot and want to use the program to relax during little breaks from study and writing.

If every program used this kind of copy protection we would have to carry a lot of DVDs with us and constantly search through them for the right one every time we wanted to load a program. This would be ridiculous.

For those who are comfortable with this feature and have all the hardware to run it properly it is a fine value worth five stars.

ADDITION: The program interferes with other programs.

One of the advantages of the Mac X operating system is that you can run a bunch of programs at the same time, switching between them as needed or desired.

Chessmaster 9000 has interfered with two of my programs. Even though I turn all of the sound off in Chessmaster 9000, it blocks iTunes from running. It also stops macros from running in Microsoft Word for the Mac.

The program may not be suitable for users who would like to have it running or loaded while they have another program on.

Fat, slow and a lot of trouble

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 13 / 18
Date: September 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

You can get sleek FREEWARE from sigma that blows this bloated buggy mess away. It interferes with other stuff, you have to have the DVD in and it is a mess that messes up your mac. Run for your life. UGH!

Game not compatible with OSX - 10.4

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: July 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Beware - there is a major bug with the latest version of Chessmaster 9000. The game is not compatible with the Tiger operating system: you cannot access any of the opponents from the library of "personalities" in the game room. Instead of being able to chose whom to play against from among hundreds of different computer opponents of differing skill levels, you can only play one. I would assume that Feral is aware of this problem (it's been going on since Tiger was released months ago). Feral only offers email support; I've reported the problem several times but so far they've neither fixed the bug nor replied to my email.

If you are using the Tiger operating system, don't buy this program unless Feral fixes the bug (you should be able to find out when they do so through versiontracker -- right now, the Feral website says that the program is compatible with OS 10.3 or later, which isn't quite true). Even if they do fix the bug, think twice before purchasing software backed up by such shoddy support.

Yuck, get another chess program...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: June 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Based on the strengths of the reviews here, I bought the program. It looked great-that is, until I ran the program. It is horribly slow, first of all. It is sluggish even when making a move, and crashes often. Definetly not recommended for slow Macs. The interface is also poor-windows are everywhere, making it hard to use them and play at the same time. The tutorials are not bad, though. Overall, I don't think it's worth it.

Tiger bug

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: December 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this program on good faith, only to discover that important parts of the prgram do not run with OS 10.4 (Tiger). I've e-mailed Feral and have not as yet received a reply. Since they seem to have a 'beta' patch, they should make this known to all Tiger owners. If you have Tiger, I wouldn't buy this software until they have a real fix.

Doesn't seem to compatible with OS 10.5

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is a great product but the support for the Mac seems to be a problem. I recently upgraded to Leopard and Chessmaster 9000 now takes forever to close dialog boxes. I've had no problems related to the speed of moving pieces or loading personalities that I've read about elsewhere. But, there are enough problems that I would stay away from this product for the time being. And, I have installed the patches, no help...

Clumsy and awkward

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This computer chess program has been around since forever, and I guess the developers just got lazy. I remember playing Chessmaster 3000 maybe 15 years ago, and I swear the game play was superior then. Almost everything about 9000 is incredibly awkward.

The 3D graphics are so intolerable to look at (and the computer frequently misinterprets which piece I am trying to move when the graphics overlap), that I have to play in 2D. Even then, motion graphics are not smooth on my 2 GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook. The windows open up on top of each other and do not "remember" the position you move them to, so you have to do this each time you start the game. Not to mention the problem everyone else notes about needing the DVD every time you play.

The educational component of the game, which is the main reason for my purchase, is tolerable. But a lot of the intermediate lessons are just quizzes (which move is better) without any real explanation. The best thing about the game is the ability to play opponents of many different levels and personalities.

Overall, I'm rather disappointed in the game and do not consider it a good value at forty bucks.

A Long Wait for No Improvement

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 21 / 23
Date: March 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I agree with the two differing previous reviews by Mr. Zaft and Mr. Powell.

Chessmaster 9000 is an entertaining and enjoyable program for the Mac OSX platform, and is definitely the best program for the dollars, but overall, it is no more flexible than the previous versions for the Mac OS9.

As Mr. Zaft stated, there is no way to copy the program onto your hard-drive and play it without the CD-ROM. In order to play the game on your laptop, you must carry the disc with you. That is very inconvenient, and I would have thought that Ubisoft would have corrected that issue.

The other things I don't like about the Chessmaster 9000 are that the program takes a while to load, even on a very fast computer, and even if you bypass the lengthy introductions. That is a flaw directly related to the fact that the game can only be accessed through the disc. Then, you are presented with the Puzzle of the Day when logging in, which I find annoying. I would prefer to just set a default player and go directly to the game, like programs that live on a hard-drive.

Also, the Chessmaster 9000 seems to be even more limiting than previous versions, as far as selecting chess boards and pieces. I found a board and piece combination I liked, but the program won't let me change the viewing perspective. Previous versions for Mac OS9 allowed us to alter the viewing angle.

The program seems a bit "hinky". Sometimes, while clicking and dragging your chess pieces, they stick and freeze, and all you can do is hold still and wait until the program catches up. I've got nearly a Gig of RAM, so the problem is not with my Mac. Also, be certain the chess piece is precisely over the square where you want it before unclicking, or the piece may wind up on an adjoining square. If you happen to be playing a Tournament or Rated game, you cannot undo your move, and you are stuck with the result, which affects your ranking.

The Chessmaster 9000 for Mac OSX is a good program, but considering that I waited more than six months for my order to be filled, my expectations were for a program which fully integrates with OSX and takes advantage of the smooth abilities of Unix in our operating system. The only thing that makes 9000 any different than 5000 is that it functions in OSX. It is not a better program.

Excellent program, new patches available make it run on 10.4

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 19 / 19
Date: January 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I just got Chessmaster 9000 for Mac in the mail today, and I'm already having quite a bit of fun with it. I'm a bit crazy, I already had Chessmaster 9000 for the PC, but I don't have a PC anymore and figured that it wouldn't be any fun to play in Virtual PC (rating - 0 stars), so I picked up the Mac version.

The Mac version is pretty much identical. It's got lots of great lessons, and more gameplay options than could ever be fully explored. I think the game actually seems a bit smoother on Mac than on PC.

For those complaining, it seems that Feral has finally let the patches out of beta, and the game now works pretty smoothly on OS X 10.4, Tiger. This is what finally prodded me into purchasing the game. I haven't seen any problems yet, but one: no online play available. I'm not sure this is a big deal, I'll give it a try on another day and see if it works, if not, I'll contact support.

This game is fun and educational. I would give it five stars, except for the copy protection issue that requires that the DVD be inserted to play the game. This STINKS! I would like to take the game with me wherever I have my laptop, but the idea of carrying a $40 DVD with me, when it's likely to get lost or scratched, doesn't appeal to me. I wish developers wouldn't pull these kinds of tricks. Otherwise, I would have gladly given it 5 stars.

This game has it all

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If our looking for the total package, this is it. From the enormous board and chess peice selection to the classroom, this game is the best. I have never had any problems with the game freezing and quitting. The only drawback is that you have to use the DVD to play the game. The annotated games from Josh Waitzkin are also very nice. I would definetely buy this game if your looking for a chess program for Mac OS X.

Review Page: 1 2 Next 

Actions