Software advice

Hi all,

New to the forums so apologies if this is the wrong place. I'm considering buying Chess King but have a very low spec laptop. Anyone have the system requirements?

Alternatively, I'd appreciate any recommendations for a similar programme that will run with Windows 10. I'm looking for something easy to use with a decent-sized database and an engine strength that can be dropped down to pretty low levels, with a strong training element. Thanks!

Steer clear from Chess King, it has a large database but the programs functionality is very limited. Don't waste you money on it. Most chess programs have drawbacks one way or another, but the two best programs out there are Fritz and Aquarium. Both programs come with a lot of bells and whistles though. But better to have them and not use them, than vice versa. Fritz comes with a 2 million games database, and Aquarium comes with a 6 million games database. You can expand Fritz' database with MegaBase, but this is quite expensive. Both programs should run just fine, although Aquarium loads a little faster. 

(the spec of your laptop will only effect the output of the engine, but this is the same for whatever program you decide to buy, just don't buy any PRO versions because your laptop wouldn't make the most of it anyway)

That's brilliant, thanks for that. I can see Aquarium comes bundled with Houdini, or I can buy it as a standalone and then download the Stockfish engine (works out about 28 euros cheaper this way).

https://shop.chessok.com

Which would you recommend?

If you buy Houdini 6 Standard from the Houdini website you will pay EUR 39,95 +VAT, that's about EUR 48,00, for just the engine, (have to convert that to British pounds yorself .  )

http://www.cruxis.com/chess/houdini.htm

If you buy Aquarium with Houdini 6 Standard you pay EUR 53,95 for the entire package. So you're basically paying only EUR 28,00 for Houdini 6 Standard. Still, I would go for the standalone option. Keep it nice and cheap. Stockfish 9 is probably stronger anyway.

The main thing is that you have huge database and a program that can handle that huge database (many programs can only handle smaller databases). You can also download database updates from the Chessok website for free to keep your database up to date.

And you can go even cheaper if you want to: 

https://shop.chessok.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_43&products_id=724

Just keep in mind that Convekta will probably release Aquarium 2019 soon, probably before the end of the year. I don't think there will be any real changes compared to the 2018 version, just a database that is more up to date. But like I said you can download those updates yourself for free.

Also, you can download the demo version. Try it before you buy it. I think it's the 2016 version. Newer versions have nicer chess pieces, but that's about the only difference. The huge database isn't included ofcourse. Scroll down untill you see the download link for Aquarium.

http://chessok.com/?page_id=29

That's fantastic, thank you. Had a look at some of the other reviews and I'm going to get it tomorrow.

Genuinely appreciate your responses.

I have heard that the Aquarium software is very powerful but non intuitive to use and at times very buggy.