The
Chessmaster series of games prides itself as the prime chess learning and computer-based playing tool. Its incarnations throughout the years has continuously improved on factors that one might assume computer-based chess has exceeded traditional means of learning and playing.
Chessmaster 9000 builds upon the strong lineage of predecessors, taking positive aspects of other versions and throwing in a few handy surprises.
Always striving to bring the concepts and strategies of chess to beginners and intermediate players, Chessmaster 9000 is equipped with a humongous collection of lessons, tutorials, and strategy drills. Since Chessmaster 9000 is a growing game program, most lessons have been taken from previous versions of Chessmaster. These concepts are in no way outdated; in fact, they are included because they work. Furthermore, Chessmaster 9000 does offer some additions that are both insightful and contiguous to the games older tutorials. Such enhancements include an eight-part course consisting of nearly 20 annotated games assembled by international chess champion Josh Waitzkin. Waitzkin gives his own critique of the matches, helping to solidify the tactics Chessmaster 9000 teaches elsewhere in the program. Two new drills, 'Follow the Game' and 'Memorize the Positions' are aimed at memorization tactics and strategies. For new players, Chessmaster 9000 offers a 'blunder alert' to warn you of foolish decisions before you make a move.
What does Chessmaster 9000 offer to seasoned players? Chessmaster is positive that the new chess engine is more than satisfactory as a deemable opponent to even the most experienced players. Also featured is a downloadable 'endgame database generator' which creates a database of all possible outcomes for all positions toward the end of a game. Chessmaster 9000 also assists in the development of a 'rating'. Your rating is similar to national competition standards, as it develops positively or negatively depending on the outcomes of your games.
If the computer is not enough, and you still yearn for a match against real humans, Chessmaster 9000 reintroduces a feature that was not included in more recent versions. A dedicated online-server through Ubi.com lets you combat against other chess addicts anywhere in the world. Online play is nice, but hardly necessary, with the varied amounts of chess games available online already. However, if you are meticulous about your board setup, this does allow you to play in the Chessmaster orientation of your choice.