I think you'd really like ChessMentor if you find books a bit dull. I'll give you a link to an old thread on it. Since then they've added many new courses that do an even better job of fulfilling the promise of "mentoring" you.
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/community/anyone-tried-chess-mentor-yet?page=1
That thread mentions 2500 lessons available; it's now just a few shy of 4000.
You can get chessmaster, it's cheap and the lessons are nice. No need to get a fancy a new fritz 14 either, get fritz 8 for like 2$, it's just as good.
Chessmentor is nice too.
Thanks the comments. Chess mentor definitely looks promising. I was just wondering whether there were any CDs/downloads that were as good as that would mean a one off payment.
Is fritz an actual mentor or just analyzer? I have apps telling me the best move in any position; I need something that teaches though rather than just telling me the answers.
Fritz has a friend mode for beginners, a sparring mode that has a light blinking when you have the opportunity to take advantage, a coach mode that will tell you if you play a bad move, analysiss features etc. It's nice to play against for training.
No teaching though but it's part of the paraphernalia of chess software you've got to have :)
So would you recommend chess mentor/chessmaster as a primary teaching tool with fritz to compliment?
No, I would recommend studying books :)
But you can do worse than use chess mentor or chessmaster. I began with chessmaster and there is a lot to learn there.
I have not tried any of this but keep reading positive reviews.
CT ART
Chesssity
Chesstempo
Last two sites are most probably similar to and compete for same market as Chess Mentor.
Those are Tactics trainers as far as I know Rishi9, not actual courses.
They are quite nice though. Used CT-Art a few years ago in Peshka.
I vote for CT-ART.
Do the first few volumes over and over until you recognize the patterns and can solve them quickly from memory.
It has a crappy interface but its functional. The point is to do the tactics, not fuss over the bells and whistles.
I learned how to play chess using the program "Chessmaster 2100" on my Apple II GS years ago. I now use "Hiarcs Chess" app on my iPad and it has helped me out a lot.
Peshka Training Courses are interesting. I am currently doing the Advanced Defense course and it has improved my chess.
I think in that in general, you will find written information in books of much higher quality than that of a comparable interactive product.
Thanks for all the comments guys; some really useful stuff, even if I am now more confused than before about to get because of so many options!
Bardu I agree; however I think I'll learn much more whilst actually playing on the computer and making mistakes as I go along vs reading a book.
Books are nice but if you aren't a book person they won't help (this from someone who shares his bed with 30 - just checked - books, plus chessboard and cat).
Peshka Training Courses are interesting. I am currently doing the Advanced Defense course and it has improved my chess.
How has it helped? What does the course do?
Peshka Training Courses are interesting. I am currently doing the Advanced Defense course and it has improved my chess.
How has it helped? What does the course do?
It does help, it has improved my game noticeably even tho I have completed less than half of it. The Peshka program can be downloaded free but you have to buy the courses separately. Basically a course is a set of positions--the Advanced Defense course, for example, has 400 positions--and you have to figure out the best move. You can compare your moves with the moves that were acutally played in the game from which the diagram was taken and there is an engine that you can use to play out the position yourself. I find that for myself, hands on training is better than studying books or watching videos.
Peshka Training Courses are interesting. I am currently doing the Advanced Defense course and it has improved my chess.
How has it helped? What does the course do?
It does help, it has improved my game noticeably even tho I have completed less than half of it. The Peshka program can be downloaded free but you have to buy the courses separately. Basically a course is a set of positions--the Advanced Defense course, for example, has 400 positions--and you have to figure out the best move. You can compare your moves with the moves that were acutally played in the game from which the diagram was taken and there is an engine that you can use to play out the position yourself. I find that for myself, hands on training is better than studying books or watching videos.
I may give that a try I have only worked with the tactics part of it.
Hey guys
New member here. Played a bit of chess when I was younger and recently getting back into it... Why did I ever stop?(!)
I was wondering what people considered to be good software to get someone to a decent basic level (1300-1500)?
Apart from the chess mentor on this website (any reviews for that are welcome), I've seen the step method which seems to be pretty famous and popular (http://en.chesstutor.eu/), and Chessmaster GM which is a bit dated now I think.
I may consider one-to-one tuition at some point in the future, but need to build a solid base to begin with.
Thanks.
Edit: I realise some people may be inclined to recommend books; whilst I have no doubt that there are books out there that would be perfect for me, I'm much more of a visual interactive learner and simply do not have the attention span nor patience for books! (Terrible, I know)