May 14, 2004

10:51 PM

I want to learn to play chess. Anybody know of a good computer program to help me learn? More inside.
posted by LittleMissCranky to (11 comments total)

I'm not looking for basic instructions, but a sort of strategy tutorial program. I used to play occasionally, and I was okay, but now I can't really play at all.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 10:53 PM on May 14, 2004

Chessmaster is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to get your feet wet. If you find the price too steep, Chessmaster 8000 and 7000 are quite good as well.
posted by BlueTrain at 11:03 PM on May 14, 2004

Here's an inspirational story:

Magnificent Magnus, the world's youngest grandmaster (13 years old!)
posted by dagny at 5:45 AM on May 15, 2004

I second Chessmaster.
posted by Gyan at 7:48 AM on May 15, 2004

That kid's amazing.
posted by Gyan at 7:58 AM on May 15, 2004

I agree Chessmaster is good (at least back when I used it a few years ago) but another option you might consider is Fritz which is pretty much the same program used in the Man v. Machine matches with Kasparov. It includes a good amount of stuff for training beginners and can grow with you as you improve.
posted by gyc at 12:25 PM on May 15, 2004

I recommend the book "Chess Fundamentals" by Capablanca.
posted by bingo at 9:08 PM on May 15, 2004

I picked up a copy of Chessmaster, and it is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the recommendation, everyone.

I might also take a look at the Capablanca book, bingo, thanks.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 6:21 PM on May 16, 2004

Oooh. Now I'm tempted too. I've never been able to learn from a book. I always feel like if I could figure out those static diagrams and see what I'm supposed to see from them, I'd already be great at chess.
posted by scarabic at 6:43 PM on May 16, 2004

Scarabic, it's pretty great. My favorite thing is that it has a "classroom" with literally tens of thousands of practice setups and drills. I don't like the static diagrams much myself, and this is a vast improvement.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 9:38 PM on May 16, 2004

LMC: theory is good, but practice is better. www.instantchess.com has a java board and you can play for free. I've subscribed, and found that going over my previous games has really helped. Best Lessons of a Chess Coach is a really good book.
posted by vvv at 2:24 PM on May 18, 2004