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Which of these deals should I choose (Komodo 12, Fritz 16, ...)?

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Avatar of SammyAsh
SammyAsh
Mar 20, 2019
0
#1
Hello!
I already feel it's going to be a bit laborious to answer this barrage of inquiries. So answers are deeply appreciated.
I have quite a few questions, of which most are about what's the better deal between Komodo 12 pack and Fritz 16 pack they have on the ChessBase store, but also some half-related questions in there about certain features and where I can find them. 
 
I know chess.com is a great place for what I'm looking for in a practice environment, and I'm thinking of starting a membership when I know I can make use of it on my schedule, but I for now want to keep something as a standby exercise tool because it's a one time payment, and most importantly so I can make use of my PC's CPU.
 
I'm interested in buying Komodo 12 with Montecarlo version and the Fritz 16 interface from here : 
Komodo gets going! The new version of the multiple world champion program not only plays stronger than ever. What‘s more, the additionally supplied „Monte Carlo“ version of Komodo 12 uses the analysis technology employed by the AI project „AlphaZero“ in its recent sensational match triumph.
shop.chessbase.com
 
But I'm wondering if I will miss out on the Fritz 16 engine or any of the advantages of buying Fritz 16 
 
If the engine wasn't included, then is there an option to buy the standalone engine from within the GUI?
 
I'm also interested in Chessbase 15 The problem is that it's a bit expensive So I need to know if it's better for me than Fritz 16's interface with the aspects I'm interested in.
I want the maximum number of types of drills/puzzles/mini games etc
I want real time analysis and suggestions with natural language (English)
I want to customize the engine to play in a style that I define (or at least a preset of definitions/personalities)
 
So basically, I want the most learning, exercise, analysis oriented tools and whatever "crazy" game modes, mini games I can include in a buy.
I appreciate having different analysis methods for learning from different angles too.
 
Is there anything such as real time (maybe something like move by move) natural language (English) AI that aims to influence the player's thinking throughout the game with principles rather than calculations?
I remember seeing an interactive form of Yassir Seirawan's Winning Chess a few years ago that ran on ChessBase GUI, but I'm not sure about that. Anyone has an idea if that's true, and if not, does anyone know of anything similar?
 
Is it possible to play things like 4-player chess, Fischer chess, 960 chess, scrambled starting positions/random openings or anything like that in any of the programs that ChessBase (Or whoever) offers? Does Fritz GUI allow add-ons? Because those things I mentioned can probably be added through add-ons.
 
Thank you!!
Avatar of madratter7
madratter7
Mar 20, 2019
0
#2

Chessbase does play games against you. You could use freeware like the excellent Lucas Chess for that.

I have Chessbase15 , Fritz 16, and the Komodo 12 engine.

Between Fritz 16 and the Komodo 12 package, I would get Komodo 12. But it is a minor difference in practical terms since either is way stronger than we can ever hope to be.

But my real recommendation is try Lucas Chess first and see if that scratches your itch.

Avatar of SammyAsh
SammyAsh
Mar 20, 2019
0
#3
madratter7 wrote:

Chessbase does play games against you. You could use freeware like the excellent Lucas Chess for that.

I have Chessbase15 , Fritz 16, and the Komodo 12 engine.

Between Fritz 16 and the Komodo 12 package, I would get Komodo 12. But it is a minor difference in practical terms since either is way stronger than we can ever hope to be.

But my real recommendation is try Lucas Chess first and see if that scratches your itch.

 

I actually installed it yesterday, but I haven't checked it, now that you tell me to do so I did and wow this program has so many features for a free one!

I wonder what is it missing. Since you've already tried it and use the ones we mentioned, what makes you use each of those instead of Lucas Chess? Is there any point to buying the Komodo 12 package now? I mean there could easily be and it could be very clear to anyone who's testing Lucas Chess (as I'm doing right now) but it will be very helpful if someone with prior experience tells their opinion. I don't have much experience with Fritz to know if Lucas is as good or better in any regards.

Thanks!