Chess Program Advice

I was looking to get a new copy of Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition since I have lost my original discs and looks like the line is defunct.

CGE is on Amazon for 200 bucks but that is kind of steep and I have Windows 7 fixing to upgrade to 10 so it does not seem like a good idea to buy that.

What programs are out there now that are popular and comparable to Chessmaster?

You won't find a program with the depth of instruction that Chessmaster had, but as a diamond member that shouldn't bother you.  I'd say the 3 most popular would be Fritz, ChessKing, and HIARCS chess.  Fritz is very powerful but a bit of a pain to learn to use.  ChessKing was designed for the scholastic crowd with lots of puzzles to solve and an elaborate videogame like reward system.  HIARCS chess has a rep for having very human like play and has an easy to use database.  I have all three.  I use Fritz for analysis with an upgraded engine, ChessKing to amuse myself with puzzles and games with odds against Houdini, and HIARCS to search databases and learn new openings (you can start a game against the engine from any of 200 common opening positions).  

Older versions of Fritz are available and cheaper.  ChessKing can be bid for on Ebay.  Haven't found a cheap way to get HIARCS, but it's only around $50 for a download.

And of course there's lots of free stuff out there as well.  You might want to do a "search forums" for some threads on best free software, etc.

Good Luck!

I would say ChessKing Pro.  There is nothing like good ole CM, but chessking is probably as close as you will get to what youre looking for.

Go with Lucas Chess it is Free,  If you want to pay  for chess playing program check out the engine on chessbase Komodo, Fritz, etc.

Get lucas chess and stockfish both freee and awsome

lots of people asking about chessmaster grandmaster edition. why is it so hard to buy.its one of the best learning chess tools

It hasn't been produced in about 10 years.  Someone posted that Ubisoft lost the rights to some of their educational content.  Ubisoft still has the rights to the name but they're mostly a "shoot 'em up" video game producer and apparently has no interest in reviving it.  Or so I've read...

There seem to be so few chess programs for PC. Guess it just is not as exciting as the other games for most people.

I am hoping to find a CGA at a local Half Price Books one day (or find my disc). I still have it installed on one computer but once that computer goes it is gone.

I will research the paid program suggestions and test drive the free ones that have been and shall be suggested.

I appreciate all the input thus far.

There are a lot of programs for the PC available. It all depends on what you want and I won't speak to the quality of most of the software, since I haven't used most of it.

A good computer repair shop can put all programs on a new hard drive from the old one for you. I had this done myself.

If you're going to buy a chess program, you might ought to make sure the program is compatible with Windows 10.

Chess King is expensive but probably comes closest to what you're looking for.  

Lucas Chess was mentioned and I agree it's pretty cool ---->> Lucas Chess

I would recommend looking at a winboard; I use the crafty chess interface. With winboard and the Rybka 2.n series engine you can pretty easily create CM style personalities. The initial learning curve is a bit steep; but the results well worth your effort. BB

Crafty Chess Interface Download
http://crafty-chess-interface.software.informer.com/10.0/

Rybka 2 Download.
http://www.rybkachess.com/index.php?auswahl=Rybka+engine

UCI support for playstyle was nerfed in Rybka 3 so if you want to create personalities with different play styles and ranking vis Chess Master. Rybka 2 is your best choice.