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Latest version of perennial favorite has hefty requirements

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 61 / 63
Date: December 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Highlights:
(1) Make sure you have the necessary hardware/software before buying this.
(2) Of the three documentation sets, the Manual.pdf file CM9000 installs
on your hard drive is the most thorough.

Chessmaster has long been the most popular Mac commercial chess program.
It has been over 3.5 years since the last version (Chessmaster 6000)
was updated (April 2001), so I was excited to receive it today.

Chessmaster 9000 is OS X native and comes on a DVD full of goodies.
The minimum hardware/software requirements are high, though.
Both the package documentation and the publisher's Web site
(Feral Interactive) say you need:
- DVD player ( the Chessmaster DVD must be in your DVD drive to play)
- Mac OS 10.2 (minimum) or higher
- 256 MB RAM, 1.3 GB free hard drive space, Quicktime 6
If your setup doesn't meet these criteria, then Chessmaster 6000 Mac,
which Amazon also sells, is an alternative.

My copy came with a 20 page hardcopy manual, a 54 page manual
in Acrobat format (Manual.pdf) that was installed on my hard drive,
and a 68 page copy of the 2-yr old Windows version manual (?!)
accessible by the Help: Chessmaster Help menu option. The
Manual.pdf file seemed the most useful.

The program features are arranged in five areas:
- Classroom: tutorials, drills, tests, problems, annotated games at four levels
- Game Room: play games for fun, with lots of help from Chessmaster
- Library: View any of 800 classic annotated games from 1619-2002
- Tournament: Play games for score - no hints, takebacks, etc. ;
set up matches between various simulated chess greats
- Database: 500.000+ chess games, searchable by position, or from an
opening game tree of some 2200 initial move sequences.
- Kids Room: Training and games for beginners
- GM Live: Play another person over a LAN or the Internet

The program supports hosted games through the GameRanger site,
but the GameRanger site does not list it at present.

The voice-narrated annotated games and animated analysis are my
favorite features of this product. When Josh Waitzken is explaining
his games, for example, squares light up, ghosted pieces show
alternative moves, and arrows show lines of attack.

Also, Chessmaster is very strong. Of chess programs available
on the Macintosh, Chessmaster 9000 is second only to HIARCS
(based on matches played with the PC versions by the SSDF).
Chessmaster 9000 uses the chess engine "The King 3.23".

Works great with Intel Macs

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: March 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Chessmaster 9000 (Mac) is a great game. It provides excellent interactive tutorials for beginning chess players, many different piece styles, and playing options. It also is very playable on the new Intel Macs even though it is running in Rosetta. The only issues I have noticed is the video on the splash screen at startup is a bit choppy. I upgraded my version to 1.02 from Apple's (Feral's would also work) website before running the program.

The user can select between 2d, fixed 3d look, or full 3d with adjustable camera angles. It even includes my favorite chess set, Isle of Lewis, which I am currently carving out of wood, so the game gives me a nice reference for the piece plans. The pieces are well detailed, but show some rough pixel edges.

The game has all sorts of useful hints and tips, such as a blunder alert to notify you if you are about to make a mistake, replays that let you analyze every move (so you can kick yourself when you realize you could have check-mated), and a move advisor. The move advisor not only tells you where you should move, but why you should move there.

Overall this is a well thought out game, with good graphics, playability, and function. If you upgrade to the latest version you should avoid many of the problems that others were having with playability. It also pleases me that it plays so well on the new Intel iMacs. I would recommend this for the beginner, or for a much more experienced player. It offers something for everyone.

An Excellent and Fun Training Tool

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: January 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This chess program provides a wide vareity of play and training options that is sure to please both the very beginning chess player as well as the novice and all the way up through advanced players. My favorite feature of the game is the "classroom" feature in which hundreds of lessons are presented into three levels: "Basic", "Intermediate", and "Advanced". The lessons play through with a voice over recording and a graphical interface that moves the chess pieces for a visual demonstration of the lesson. At the end of each lesson are multiple quizzes designed to test your knowledge of the lesson contents. Very helpful and entertaining if you are simply learning for the first time or wanting to really hone your skills on a more advanced level.

The game features rich graphics and beautifully rendered boards and chess pieces to chose from, as well as a wide array of computer personalities to challenge you. The program rates your play and helps keep track of your progress as you advance in the game.

I am using Tiger OS 10.4.3 and I have no problems running the program on my dual 2.5ghz G5 tower. I have noticed that the program does interefere with the screen saver function and as long as the game is running, it will not go into screen saver mode. There are other reports of the program interferring with other programs, but I haven't noticed any problems. My one complaint is that you must keep the DVD in the drive bay to play the game. That's unfortunate as it is somewhat limiting on the end user.

All in all, a truly wonderful product for everyone from the most casual to the most ardent chess fan. This one is sure to please.

Chessmaster 9000 + Tiger A-Ok.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Some reviewers have mentioned an incompatibility with Tiger (OS X 10.4). I am currently running 10.4.3, and CM 9000 was not working properly (it worked great on Panther). However, I emailed Feral, and WITHIN HOURS was sent a website where I downloaded a patch which has fixed all issues.
Reports of clunkiness & bugs are not present on my 1Ghz flat panel iMac, or my G4 PB. This program has really helped my game, and my 6 year old son has become quite the young chess afficianado...he loves to play it. Feral has done great work here.

Better than Fritz for Most Users

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

First, I am not a grandmaster. If I were a grandmaster, perhaps I would care about comparisons between Chessmaster and Fritz or Shredder for example. Grandmasters generally gravitate toward Fritz, and the few tournaments I've ever watched in person use Fritz to illustrate the play on big screen monitors. This, however, is of no consequence to Mac owners because neither Fritz, nor Shredder is available for Mac.* (see note below)

In any case, this is wonderfully designed software, challenging for all levels of play. The graphics are terrific. The imbedded tutorial, which includes in-depth analysis by Josh Waitzken (the real person behind the movie character in "Searching for Bobby Fisher") of 10 or so of his own best games, is better than any I've ever used, including Fritz. In fact, if you can't afford a teacher, this is the next best thing. It might even be better, depending on the teacher.

My favorite feature is the number and variety of virtual opponents, who, in addition to "Chessmaster" himself, include a number of virtual historic and modern grand masters (Capablanca, Nimzowitz, etc), as well as fictional amateurs at every level, complete with photos of your opponent and specific idiosyncrasies as to tactics and strategies ("John" "neglects the center"; "Dylan" is "balanced"; etc.) This is much more fun than learning with Fritz, which can be handicapped, but only in limited, numerical ways. The point is, each virtual opponent plays with a certain built-in set of habits, some good, some bad. Whether the real Capablanca would have recognized his style on this program, I don't know, but it's fun to think so.

You can also set up positions, see how various opponents would handle them, or see how Chessmaster would handle them. This feature demonstrates that there are many ways to skin the cat. You can play casually and "win" every time using "mentor lines", get detailed or quick advice on specific moves and positions, and you can take back your moves in this mode. Alternately, you can play in virtual tournaments by which, after 20 games or so against rated virtual opponents, will establish your real rating - you can't take moves back or seek advice in tournament play. Also, you can disable the engine and play against another human opponent, or you can set up games between virtual grandmasters from every age in the history of modern chess, and watch the play. (The program also has a huge database of famous games for study.) After you've played a game, you can have the program analyze and annotate the game you just played, showing blunders, better moves, etc. with audio explanations. One thing you cannot do is set up your games so that, even if it becomes ridiculous, the program will resign. Chessmaster never resigns. But this forces you to study endgame by trial and error. By learning checkmate, you learn the game.

Like Fritz, Chessmaster has an opening book reference that can be used during play, although this is the least sophisticated of its pedagogical features. But opening strategies are covered in detail in the tutorial, and ultimately it's better to know why the Sicilian systems work, than just to memorize the moves.

* NOTE: When I used to have a PC, I had all kinds of chess software including multiple versions of Fritz and Chessmaster. As far as I can find, you've got 3 choices as a Mac owner. This, a Fritz program for teaching children, and a program endorsed by Kasparov with his name on it. I'm not a child or a beginner and I might check out the Kasparov program if I can find it. Sadly, many software manufacturers don't seem to know about Macintosh OS's, or more likely, don't care.

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.

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.

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.

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