Really need advice! anyone? Please :)

Reposting this because it's been almost 3 hours and I think, perhaps, no one will see this post, anymore. Really, I'd appreciate someone taking the time to share their knowledge & opinion.

Hi there,

I would very much appreciate advice on which software program and version to buy for an 11 year-old tournament player. I want my son to be able to get his games analyzed with feedback, such as suggested moves, why a move is bad... He recently had someone analyze a game for him on Fritz (unknown version) which even highlighted every piece that was attacked which he thought was really cool. I'd like a program that he could use now but that has enough features to grow with him. I went looking for Fritz programs and after many, many hours I'm nowhere closer to buying something for him. I've read many reviews blasting Fritz for being incredibly UN-user friendly. I don't want buy a program that will end up frustrating him. I've also read about installation issues. I can't find anywhere on the net where it tells me the difference between Fritz for Fun 13 & Fritz 13 other than the 6 months free on playchess. ( I like the sound of the Let's Check feature on both.) One reviewer on Amazon claimed that Fritz 12 was faster than Deep Fritz 14 due to a switch of engine designers! I was considering getting Fritz 12 but there's no availability for the Chessbase green box version on Amazon. (I like that it comes with1 year on playchess but is the software better than the other versions you see offered on Amazon?

I'm sure you're starting to see my frustration/confusion! I have ruled out the need for a deep, multi-core version.

Are there viable alternatives to Fritz? The newest Chessmaster I see is Chessmaster10 and it's pricey. I'm not even sure if you can input and analyze games with it?!

I can't be the only clueless chess parent to have struggled with this. Any help/information would be appreciated. Thanks! :)

Hello

Here's my opinion on this:

I've always been a bit of a Fritz fan for analysis (and I use it to store my games too), so I'm a bit biased. I've never understood the view that Fritz is not user-friendly (although a lot of people say this so there must be something in it). I find it easier to use than any of the other chess programs I've seen - which includes Chessmaster 10 and Shredder.

You haven't mentioned how old your son is - it may be that you'll have to read the manual and teach him. There's also a few articles on getting the most out of Fritz by someone called Steve Lopez that you may find useful (for example, see http://www.chesscafe.com/text/lopez04.pdf. For more examples, google "fritz Steve Lopez". There's a you tube video there too)

I think you're correct not to worry about getting the deep version of Fritz. Unless your son is approaching Grandmaster level - whatever version of Fritz you get will very probably be stronger than he will ever need it to be. You can get version 11 of Fritz very cheaply - I'm still on version 10 and as far as I can see subsequent version offer minimal improvements so see no reason to upgrade. I've downloaded the strongest free engine - Houdini 1.5 - and installed that in my Fritz.

Note that whatever program you buy, you won't get good human style analysis. What you'll get is evaluations - which are basically numbers - saying who is winning and by how much, and what better moves could have been played and what the evaluations were for those moves. This will take a bit of effort to make use of for someone new to chess.

You may find that it's better for him (or you) to post his games on the Game Analysis forum - ideally with his own thoughts on why he played the moves he did, where he thought he went wrong, went right, etc.  People here will provide very useful feedback

Hope this helps

Thanks, Matt,

I really appreciate your considered response. I was beginning to lose hope of any reply. I had given his age in the heading of my first post and just edited this one to show that he's an 11 year-old tournament player. ( less than 15 tournaments, I believe) I'm off to look into Fritz 11 and thanks, again!

Excellent, hope it helps!

Google the Steve Lopez Fritz stuff too, you'll get a much better idea of what is involved in getting the most out of Fritz

@ Matt - I am worried about figuring out how to use the software so I will, definitely, check out that link, thanks!

@Harry - Thanks for letting me know. Why is it so bad?

Does anyone know the difference between the Fritz 11 software on Amazon.? Since one is only $12, I'm tempted but I wonder what it could be missing that the $70 Chessbase version has?!

Thanks, Mebelalalana. Do you use this? Would this work like Fritz? Are these safe downloads? I worry about viruses. Hey, I like that "Have Fun" graphic!

I have Fritz 12 and it's a very powerful and reasonably priced program.  No fun to learn how to use though.  Let me throw another program into the mix.  ChessKing is really designed for the scholastic crowd in that it offers all kinds of graded exercises to hammer home tactics and play against Houdini full strength but with pawn or better odds.  Lots of pattern recognition tactics puzzles.  It has a decent database although the search function isn't terribly sophisticated.  Here's the link to their site, but if you decide to buy, Ebay is the way to go.  ChessKing has a storefront there and you can get version 2 for $20, 3 for $30, and 4 for $50.

http://chess-king.com/products/

No one has mentioned HIARCS yet and it's well worth looking into also.  My favorite to play against because of the near human play and the several hundred preset opening positions.  Good deal at around $50 for a download.  Ported over from the Mac so it's refreshingly easy to use. 

Good luck deciding between the 3.  I obviously couldn't. 

HI Baddogno,

Yes, I' m unsure what to do now but I'm really happy to have all the input! Thanks for your contribution; I appreciate it. Picking a chess software looks to be as difficult as becoming good at chess!

its not that bad (i have it) but i would probably rate it about three stars out of five.

Thanks, again, Mebelalalana, Maybe, we'll try your suggestion first since it's free! Hopefully, then we can figure out if we need more features. I looked at the arena interface and it looks promising.

My husband & I( I'm logged in under his acct.) are newbies at chess & are trying to figure out the best ways to help our son improve. It's an uphill battle since he plays better than we do!

Thanks, Josif7. My son, has a Chessmaster on his DS. It's fun but, pretty limited. I would think the computer software would have a lot more to it.

Do you want your kid to "get games analyzed" or improve? If your goal is improvement, get him a coach. If your goal is getting games analyzed, people will give you real analysis for a very good price. Or you could let a computer give you some generic analysis and you can go on studying the wrong thing for years. I have never understood people who want to improve who are willing to waste years of their life, and in the end, see minimal improvement. Set a goal, waste years of time, don't achieve goal. Makes no sense.

@ Rtr1129 Both. Our budget at this time isn't able to handle paying a coach. Hopefully, that will change in the future. In the meantime, an engine and some good chess books will have to suffice. Unless, you'd like to offer to analyze a game or two out of the goodness of your heart? ;D

How much do you think a chess coach costs? There is also a sub-forum called Game Analysis. If your kid writes down his thoughts, why he made the moves played, people will give you feedback. Some of them are very strong players, but if your kid is lower rated, it doesn't take a strong player, just someone better.

I use BabasChess with Stockfish engine. BabasChess gives almost human-like comment, while Stockfish is one of the strongest engines at the moment.

@rtr1129 Yes, Ipswich Matt mentioned the Game Analysis forum, as well. I hadn't known about that and look forward to trying it.

@ Raja_Kentut Thanks, I've never heard of BabasChess. I'll have to Google it!

OK, thanks :)

@QueesnsM8, here is a link to a Video explaining how to use Fritz for analysis. This should help you decide if it's what you want. He's talking about Fritz 13 but the features he's explaining are in all versions of Fritz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyYXLUIs7yA

Also, note that the cheap version of Fritz differ from their more expensive counterparts in the amount of subscription to the PlayChess server that they offer. Not sure if the cheap versions offer any at all. Other than that I don't believe there's any difference.

Finally, with regards to the Game Analysis forum - this is something that your son could take advantage of immediately - for an example of the type of analysis he'll get, see  http://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-analysis/where-was-my-mistake2

You'll notice that in amongst the many post there are some that actually offer helpful advice

Fritz 13 or 14 is very powerful, and you can just swap the engine with a better one since it's not very good anyway. However the UI is indeed terrible, you will be watching videos and refering to the manual for every feature you want to use. I personally use Fritz 13 because there just aren't many choices. My favorite examples of the UI being terrible, here are some tips.

1. To install a chess engine you click "create UCI engine". (??)

2. The "infinite analysis" feature is not located on the "analysis" tab (its on the home tab)

3. To play a two player game or if you just want to make some moves on the board you must go to the Engine tab and click "switch off engine" 

....there is a critically important 4th step........can you guess it ?