Kasparov Chessmate

There are, of course, numerous chess programs available in the shareware world. Apple even includes one with Mac OS X, in case you haven't seen it yet. I can't speak for any of them, but I can say that Kasparov Chessmate is the most useful chess program I've ever played (at only $19.99, it's also priced better than some shareware programs). I'm not nearly ready to play a knowledgeable human yet, but Garry's being patient with me. With some practice, I may be ready to sit down for a game in central park, or, at the very least, spend one night in Bangkok.

I would really like to see a more feature-rich Mac chess game for OS X than this product provides. Considering that the box says "Learn and improve play using hints from Gary Kasparov," it should have included at least a PDF on chess rules and play, instead of relying totally on the Hints feature. However, if you are looking for a chess game with more features than the Apple program, such as Internet and/or Palm capabilty, then this program is worth considering.

As a single-player game, Kasparov Chessmate is pretty decent. The A.I. is smart and the tutorials are useful. It’s also kind of neat being able to watch famous chess matches of the past. Deep Blue got OwN3D! I also like being able to record and watch my matches later, in order to see my many mistakes. However, Chessmate’s unrefined user-interface is often enough to kill the chess fun. A multiplayer chat window that covers part of the game board is unacceptable. The game’s graphics and sound are ho-hum at best, except for the 3D boards, which are actually lovely.

Kasparov Chessmate ne tient pas la comparaison avec des Chessmaster 9000 ou Fritz 8.0. Niveaux de jeu décevants, partie didactique trop succincte... seul reste le jeu en ligne et la compatibilité Palm et PocketPC, mais ce n'est pas suffisant. Je mets 7/20 + 1 point pour la photo de Garry sur la boîte ; c'est vrai qu'il a l'air en colère sur la boîte... je comprends pourquoi maintenant :o)