Chessmaster 7000

Reviews / previews

Review: Chessmaster 7000

Perfection? Well, close enough for a chess program. If you want to learn chess or improve your game, CM7000 offers more than 60 tutorials and several dozen strategic drills and puzzles at all levels. A diagnostics exam tests your knowledge in 10 areas of chess expertise--openings, pawn play, checkmate, and so forth.

But the star feature is 13 games with extensive audio-visual annotation by Josh Watzkin, American Chess Master and star of the film, Searching for Bobby Fischer. It's like stepping into the mind of a brilliant chess player--simultaneously educational and exciting.

Kids have their own area in CM7000 in which much of the same tutorial information is presented more colorfully--without condescension and with rewards as an incentive. For instance, if a child completes enough tutorials and drills, the game prints a certificate of accomplishment.

If you jump straight into gameplay, CM7000's excellent 32-bit engine furnishes a Master-level challenge. You can also play against or set up tournaments involving 169 computerized "personalities"--both standard players with a wide range of styles and preferences and legendary chess Grandmasters (whose matches can be individually accessed in the 500,000-plus game database). You can add annotations, take back moves, switch sides, and, best of all, receive in-depth game advice that explains at considerable length why you should do what the computer suggests.

If you ever tire of playing against CM's engine, you can always go online and engage live opponents via null modem, LAN, TCP/IP, or Mplayer.com. The multiplayer connection works flawlessly.

But when it comes down to what specifically CM 7000 adds to the mix, the applause falters. The diagnostics exam is new, but a relatively minor feature. The interface is being touted as a major improvement-but so was the last interface, and, frankly, there was nothing wrong with it. Dividing the game into a series of "rooms" (a Classroom for learning, a Library for accessing annotated games and database) is a pleasant metaphor, but not much else. The busy blue background in CM 7000 gets annoying after a while and is at odds with so much else in this extremely configurable game. (You have dozens of chessboards and piece styles at your disposal, for instance.)

CM7000 suggests a new version of a familiar adage: "If it ain't broke, give it a new interface and sell it anyway." The game embraces this philosophy, and would be down-thumbed in a second-if it wasn't also the best all-in-one chess package available, with a great engine, many fine teaching tools, endless customization and good ease-of-use.

Skip it if you already have CM 6000. But if you don't, every chess fan should own CM 7000.-- Barry Brenesal / GamePro