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Chessville
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Pocket PC Anyone who loves the game of chess will be excited by the incredible benefits of the Pocket PC platform, and your game will surely show the benefits as well. This article is a short review of what these amazing new devices will do for the chess player. A Little about the Pocket PC A “Pocket PC” is true to its name, a mini-Personal Computer that fits into your shirt pocket. For their small size they pack a real wallop in terms of capabilities. Many of us have laptops and enjoy being able to take our chess program and library of games with us wherever we go. Even laptops are bulky though. Alternately, many of us have purchased truly portable chess games, which are usually disappointingly underpowered, and of course, are not even computer-compatible, i.e. able to play a pgn file, etc. Now, at last, the best of all possible worlds has arrived - super high powered chess programs, capable of powerful play, accessing limitless libraries of stored games or even other opponents over the web, all from a PC you can carry in your shirt pocket. A laptop must be lugged in a briefcase, and to use it, one has to open the case, take it out, turn it on, wait for it to boot, etc. Hardly the type of thing I would do if I have less than 20 minutes to spend… My pocket PC comes everywhere with me, and even better, it is “instant-on”, meaning, I pop it out, hit the ON switch, and I am right back into the chess problem I was working on…. Everywhere and instant.. this is a MAJOR new capability for the chess player wanting to spend more time on his or her game. In an elevator, doctor’s office, waiting in line, or even during a TV commercial, I fill up minutes that were wasted before with useful chess practice. Powerful Chess Software is Available Next on the “fantastic” list is the software and library of games and courses I can take with me wherever I go. I actually purchased my first Pocket PC when I learned about Pocket Fritz for the Pocket PC. Like many people, I was waiting for a good reason to purchase one of these devices. Now I would never be without one! Yes they are a little pricey (running about $750 for a top of the line Compaq Ipaq), but I have justified this with the benefits to my business life (there have been MANY), and the improvement to my chess life has been a big bonus!
There are several inexpensive chess programs available but Pocket Fritz is by far the best (it comes from Chessbase, the people who make big brother “Fritz”) and it is very inexpensive as well. This product has more than lived up to its promise, it is a great chess program, always giving a great, human-like game, and with a great interface for playing, and strong chess analysis function. Even on this small screen, the playing board is crystal clear and definitely large enough for completely comfortable play. You will not feel like you have compromised playability for portability! If you have web access with your PDA you can access the Chessbase online database and search positions directly from your PDA, a possible problem for chess tournaments in the future, but a great new capability nonetheless!
Pocket Fritz 2 is about to be launched and I was able to review it prior to writing this article. For those of you who already own Pocket Fritz, this is a major improvement; for those thinking of making the jump to the Pocket PC platform, this could well be your reason to go for it. Pocket Fritz 2 is a highly evolved and robust application with features and capabilities you would expect in a desktop application and going far beyond the already excellent first version. There are Dozens of new features, many of them breakthroughs, but here are some of the highlights that I found important:
Pocket Fritz can be found on the chessbaseusa.com website or at your favorite chess specialty shop.
Great Chess Content Available Free! I not only take with me all of my own internet played games (games automatically save themselves into my laptop which synchronizes over to my Pocket PC effortlessly), but I have dozens of “complete game libraries” of all the greats, a tactics course, and much, much more. Chessville contains many links to get great public domain pgn content which plays on Pocket Fritz. I have even purchased several electronic versions of chess books and can read them through on Microsoft Reader, a no-charge program. These are text files, rather than pgn (i.e. playable on Fritz), but I can actually flip from the “e-book” to Pocket Fritz to play through the variation, with both applications open, just as I would on my laptop. A New Way to Play Anytime/Anywhere Perhaps the most exciting of all the capabilities of this incredible device is the ability to connect and play online from wherever you are. The new crop of Pocket PC’s connect to the internet easily through built in “Bluetooth” capability. With a “Bluetooth” capable cell phone (now available from most Cell providers) you can connect your Pocket PC to the Internet with no wires and no hassle. Just click, and there you are, able to connect to to a chess server or even the Chessbase database. You can also get a wireless expansion card if you already own a Pocket PC. Connection time is inexpensive. A new program called “Mobile Chess” from ID Gaming, (Pocket-Games.com) connects to FICS (shortly will to ICC as well). This is, in fact, the world’s first interactive online game available on the Pocket-PC platform. It is a truly amazing thing to be able to play live opponents online from wherever you are, at any time. The developer of this program Ivo Wentholt, of ID Gaming, is a self proclaimed chess fanatic and plans to continue the development of Mobile Chess, and to develop the “Mobile Chess” community by hosting special events. Carrying an entire chess library in my shirt pocket…being able to play through games, variations, and lessons, and being able to connect and play anywhere, anytime… these are the amazing benefits of the new Pocket PC technology, a real breakthrough for any serious student of the game!
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