software suggestion

Good day all,

My name is Craig and I teach in the high arctic, 600 miles north of the Arctic Circle in fact! This year the students in the school have started playing chess and I have been looking for a suitable to program to run in our lab. I can not find what I am looking for so I figured I would ask the experts!

I am looking for something:

• server based (we run windows 2K3)
• that maintains user info and stats
• allows games to be played vs computer or vs human via LAN
• 3D would be nice but not a deal breaker
• the client would run on win XP

I think that is all... anyone have any suggestions? These kids vary in age from 11 to 18 and no one is very good yet! But they are learning!

Thanks in advance all

C

Bump...

Someone on here must know something!!

Why not just have them sign up on Chess.com -- is connectivity an issue?

 Connectivity is a big issue, also the lab is under some heavy filters and it blocks most if not all forum sites, so we would like to have some in-house software. That way the board would be happy and the kids can play right away... everyone hates to have to wait up to 5 min to play a game when they only get 10 min for recess!! :) Internet is slooooow up here!

Fritz 11?

I don't have any suggestions yet but I'll look into this.

Is there a possibility you, or someone you know, could set up your own intranet web page? It might be easier to find a web based program than a network based program. Your students could browse to it with Internet Explorer without going out to the internet.

I never thought about that. Not exactly what I had in mind but sounds like an option for sure. I will look into doing that for sure. I would rather a nice program but like I said, that could work.

str8edg perhaps the easiest and best solution for your situation is Chessmaster. Chessmaster can run on a LAN however you need the program on each workstation. It does not run on a server I don't think. It is an excellent choice for a 1st chess program as well as a great choice for the "if I only had 1 chess program what would it be" type solution. You can post a question on their forum to verify the server based question.(http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/4221052685)

For other information, I would go to the Rybka forum. Go to the Computer Chess section. The guys there are not only chess whizzes but they are computer gurus as well. Rybka is hands down the best computer chess program in the world today. It recently won the World Computer Chess Tourney (again)... not that you need the strongest chess program but the guys that hang out there are into chess AND computers. I'll bet they'll have an answer for you. This might even be the better place to ask about Chessmaster too. These prople are out there on the cutting edge!

http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/forum_show.pl

Sorry I took so long getting back here.

I found a program called phpChess that you might be interested in. Look for phpChess Server under their Products menu. There's a free version but it doesn't have options I think you'll need. The Server package isn't too expensive and looks like a good fit for you.

Here's a link to the software: http://www.phpchess.com/

Here's what Wiki has to say: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phpchess

Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition?

I just took a closer look at this and it could work. The web site doesn't go into too much detail about it's multiplayer capabilities but they use all the right buzzwords.

I enjoy playing on Chessmaster.

It has several degrees of difficulty and the version I have has a hint option and undo option that I find helps me immensly. Also it has several classic games on file that I have reviewed to great detail.

I usually study the games until I figure out why all moves are made. Still working on a few :P.

Chessmaster would be a great solution but I don't think (not sure) it will work as "server based (we run windows 2K3) " like he is asking. It will definitely run on a LAN. Like I said earlier. If str8edg or anyone wants to know the lowdown on anything involving computers and chess you need to go to

Crafty (or GNU Chess) + xboard + maybe a couple of shell scripts... if you were running unix. You still might be able to set it up under windows with winboard.  All of the actual software would be free.

 Fritz 11 is great for instructional concepts such as openings and tactics. It is also a very good engine, but that is not really going to help your students if they are at such a basic level it will be beyond them and playing a computer, even one set to elementary levels will frustrate them and not really teach them much.   But how you are going to incorporate chess software to teach that on a server I would have no idea how to do anyway.  I do very much like the software though.

I reckon if you make a private room (or LAN) it could work...