Yeah, I'd have to agree with Ziryab. The 3D requirement is the killer; It eliminates most programs from the list. Fritz is one of the survivors. There's also the freeware José 1.4.4 GUI, but I've heard it's a bit buggy, so you probably wouldn't like that. (And it also requires the Java runtime environment.)
I think you've just about eliminated everything from the list. 
I have Fritz X here. Not good. Haven't figured how to set levels, etc.
I REALLY like my Chess Free app ( The AI Factory ), on my Galaxy S5, even registered it for 99 cents, to get rid of ads, but they haven't got a PC version, so I have to keep sitting here and playing on my S5.
That wouldn't be so easy to do. Chessmaster is only designed to import Winboard engines. The only way to import a UCI engine like Stockfish would be to use a polyglot adapter between the GUI and engine. It can be done, but it's more work.
ah
Yes chess free is nice to play against but that's about it, just today drew it on hardest for the first time.
I don't like 3D boards because in real life you move your head its not static like on the computer.
I have Fritz X here. Not good. Haven't figured how to set levels, etc.
Read this: http://www.chesscentral.com/Articles.asp?ID=330
Personally, I find the sparring level to be best. Fritz tries to estimate your playing strength and plays appropriately, offering tactical opportunities.
I remember fiddling with the playing levels on Chessmaster 2100 back in 1989. When I got tired of losing, I lowered the level. When the absurdity of the computer's mistakes grew wearisome, I kicked it up a few notches.
I could probabaly beat CM 2100 on its top level now on a good day, at least running on that old 80386 with 1 MB of RAM. I beat Chessmaster's top level on my RAZR phone several times and that phone had a stronger processor than my first computer. Stockfish owns me on the iPhone. If I don't dumb it down, I lose.
I have Fritz X here. Not good. Haven't figured how to set levels, etc.
I REALLY like my Chess Free app ( The AI Factory ), on my Galaxy S5, even registered it for 99 cents, to get rid of ads, but they haven't got a PC version, so I have to keep sitting here and playing on my S5.
I have the free version too. really good app to own.
Yeah, it's given me new found patience. When I'm out somewhere and have to wait for someone, I used to go bonkers. Now I just play chess. In the restaurant... LOL
Stop using Windows and the world will open to you.
I'm taking another look at Fritz 10 here. I set it up with a nice easy-to-see 3D board.
Is there a way to set it up so that it gives me a suggestion for each move, won't automatically kick my butt, and doesn't insist on recording database stuff if I take a move back? I really am more interested in learning and getting better, than official play.
Stop using Windows and the world will open to you.
how so? what OS can i play my old xp games on?
I'm taking another look at Fritz 10 here. I set it up with a nice easy-to-see 3D board.
Is there a way to set it up so that it ... doesn't insist on recording database stuff if I take a move back? I really am more interested in learning and getting better, than official play.
I don't think that you can shut this feature off, but perhaps you can ignore it.
But, out of ALL the Windows software out there, no one knows of a good 3D modern equivalent of Chessmaster?
Could someone suggest some good, yet inexpensive stand-alone chess software for my Windows PC?
I used Chessmaster for years, liked the 2D wood grain board, but didn't like the crashiness. Didn't care for Fritz - too hard to use and didn't have the level settings of Chessmaster.
How is that Chess King 2 with Houdini? Similar enough to the functionality of Chessmaster, with nice 2D boards, but runs well? Do they have a 30 day trial version?
I'm currently using the registered paid version of the Chess Free app on my Galaxy S5 but don't have anything on the PC. I've asked and AI Factory said they were coming out with a PC version, but that was last summer and I still don't see anything from them for PC.
I'm only an intermediate player, by the way, so I don't need "the most powerful engine" or anything like that. I think my rating would be around 1200, but I like playing fast informal games against the computer.
Look at the sample page from our chess club website:
http://sbranch.org/polgar/900.php
That 2-D illustration is not interactive, but it is virtually identical to Scid vs PC's full-screen representation of a chess game. My elementary and middle school chess club members have no trouble whatsoever using a 2-D virtual board on a PC to play games or to study games openings, endings, etc., and in many cases they prefer to play against each other on the computer, rather than with a real chess set because it makes it faster and easier to document their games and submit them for validation (which is manditory), and it eliminates their having to manually digitize their SAN scoresheets for me to enter into our ranking database. They each have a flash drive with Scid vs PC installed so any of them can pull it out of her/his backpack and play a game against anybody anywhere a PC is accessible.
I don't understand why anyone is so hung up about having a 3-D representation to play chess. My chess kids have no trouble whatsoever visualizing the game with a simple 2-D representation, and the computer colors match the chessboards and sets that we use so closely, that I doubt that they even think about whether they are playing 'real chess' on the table or 'computer chess' on a PC monitor. Sure Scid vs PC lets them 'take back' a move after they touch a piece, but I guarantee you that their opponent sitting in front of the same screen won't let them do so.
I'm done with Chessmaster, but now that we've refined what I'm looking for, yes, how about a nice 3D program that I can use here? Something like Chessmaster would have been, if they'd done it perfectly and maintained it?
I think that you've just described Fritz.