Chessbase 12 OR Deep Fritz 13/14

Hello Chess.com friends,

Can you please help me figure out the difference between chessbase 12 and deep fritz 13?

So far I've learned that CB12 is sort of chess database management system where you can setup your database like Mega DB 2014 and play/annotate/analyze the games and prepare against a particular opponet say Magnus Carlsen for your upcoming OTB tournament but you can NOT play against the computer. Whereas, with DF13 you can not only analyse but play against the compter too.

I am not sure if one can setup player base with DF13.

Analysis/annotation can also be done with DF13. Right?

Is there even any difference? I... think there is, not sure, though.

So what factors should I consider if I have to choose between these two OR do I need to purchase both?

Best Regards,

Mohit

You are definitely right about CB12 and what it can do. It's basically a database management program. I don't know Fritz program, so cannot help you with the comparison. Greetings,

Hi! I'm not sure if you're still tracking this thread but i'll try to help you anyways. I myself got into this whole CB12 or DF13 thing quite recently so i think i can help with your question. Any pro computer-chess users, before you laugh at my ignorance, i'm not trying to hide the fact that i'm a noob at this!! :D

Anyhoo, the thing is CB12 or any CBs is a database management program. So all it does, is store your databases in order. This can include databases of games you played (yes, you can save games you played with your pals too) or it can be individual databases of your fav GM or the World Championship database or it can be the king of all, the MegaDatabase compiled by Chessbase.com that contains 5.7 million games. With these databases, some of the simpler things you can do are:

1) View the game

2) Analyse the game using 1 or more engines and play out the analysis.

Sounds cool and fancy, but, if you're just a bit more than a beginner at chess, all this is really not gonna make a lot of sense to you. Yes, you can watch the wonders of Vishy Anand at work, the flawless thinking of Anatoly Karpov, but unless you have been doing this for quite a few years, the moment you're done with a game, you're not likely to remember a lot of what happened :P

So if you ask me, go for DF13. It has impressive database capability, but legendary game interface. I personally prefer learning from ChessMaster (if you haven't, try it out, trust me, it's prob the best chess tutor you're likely to get) and playing in DF13.

Although ChessMaster has stopped bringing out new versions, if you were to just pick one, i'd say pick ChessMaster Grandmaster edition. Or else go for DF13. It's good, no, great. Once you understand the intricacies and depths of computer-chess, go for CB12. But unless you are already a beyond-average player, you're likely to gain little from CB12.

Hope this helps! Keep playing! :D

I enjoy the feature comparison chart on that page where if you put Scid vs. PC in a third column, it would have a yes by every single feature.