|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Chessville
Advertise to Single insert:
|
Dear Penny-Pinching Pawnpu$her… by Rick Kennedy Q. Dear Penny-Pinching Pawnpu$her: My 7-year-old son loves to play chess, and he seems to be very good at it. How many thousands of dollars should I invest in computer programs to help him become a grandmaster? A. Congratulations to your son! The royal game of chess can become a life-long source of challenge, learning and enjoyment. It can also be joined by baseball, basketball, soccer, bike riding, skateboarding, video games and a lot of other activities in your son’s life. As time passes, and interests change, closets can fill up with no-longer-used spikes, retired hockey sticks, neglected volleyball nets – and computer chess software. The Penny-Pinching Pawnpusher advises you to take a practical approach to the chess program question: Try it before you buy it. Fortunately, this is easier than you may think. There are three main types of chess software today – those that teach the game, those that play the game with you, and those that help you study the game. For example, Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess is fun and time-tested way to take someone from “how does the horsie move?” to “I just beat my dad!” Check with your local library: chances are you’ll find a copy. After borrowing it for a few weeks, you and your son will know if its what he needs. While you’re at the library, see if they also have Chessmaster. That chess-playing program will challenge your son with a whole chess club of opponents, from beginner to master, from defensive wizard to attacking genius, all willing to take him on across-the-board. If he wants a game, it’s in there. For a more difficult challenge, there is also Fritz – one of the top chess-playing programs in the world. The people who made the program are so confident that they have a winner, they offer a free demo (demonstration) version at their website, www.chessbase.com. It’s well worth the time to download. If your son wants to record his own chess games, to go over later, or if he wants to play over games of his favorite player, or look at games with his favorite opening, a chess database is the program that will do the trick. The top two programs, ChessBase and Chess Assistant, offer free demo versions. Download at www.chessbase.com and www.convekta.com respectively. Each includes a master level chess-playing program that will help your son analyze the moves of his games. Actually, ChessBase Light and Chess Assistant Light are so full of features your son may never get around to upgrading – but, if he wants to, you’ll know he’s serious about his chess. In addition to the many games that are available for free download right here at Chessville, the website at the University of Pittsburgh Chess Club, has thousands of free games to download and add to the games that already come with the databases. A final program, Bookup, is specifically designed for studying and learning the opening. Of course, it, too, has a demonstration version, Bookup Light. If you follow the Penny-Pinching
Pawnpusher’s advice, your son will receive a grandmaster-size experience at
a patzer’s price – which should make you feel like a world champion. (This article first appeared May 2003 Chess Life, and is reprinted with permission. Since that time, a new instructional program, Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster, has made quite a splash. Check your library.)
|
The
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
