Chess Program Review Archive

This is a windows program for learning/testing chess tactics only, from the makers of Chess Assistant. The manual says that this program is meant for novice to intermediate players, with some challenges for advanced players. Well, this may be true in Russia, but I guarantee that novices in the US will be very challenged with the material. I think that the program is most suited for players with a USCF rating of 1200+. There is significant overlap with Maxim Blokh's book (this is good in a way - you can go to a specific position from the book by entering it's number), but there are many more positions in the program than there are in the book (~1250 unique positions, which can have colors reversed, and side to move switched - so you really have many more test positions). The ability to switch colors and side to move is a neat concept. You'd be surprised at how different problems look in this context.

You can access the positions in one of four ways:

• By problem number
• By tactical method - Removing the defender, distraction, etc.
• By tactical motif - Overloaded piece, weak square, etc.
• By difficulty level - Here you pick and ELO range

The program just includes quiz positions without any instructional text. So, if you do not know basic tactical techniques, then you should probably start with Chess Mentor, or the TASC tutors.

If you already own CT-ART 2.0 for DOS, the windows version will give you a few dozen more exercises. The crafty engine is also included for checking variations that might not have been explored in the test positions. The program can also interface to a number of external engines (see list below). ELO tracking has also been added, so that you can evaluate your increasing (hopefully!) tactical ability.

The bottom line: I think this program belongs in just about everyone's library. I have heard that a number of chess instructors swear by M. Blokh's book. The material in the program is nearly identical, but there are even more positions. It presupposes a certain amount of basic tactical knowledge on the part of the user, and is not suitable for those that have not mastered these ideas. Intermediate to advanced level players will definitely experience significant brain strain on some of the more difficult problems. If you don't already have M. Blokh's book, then this program is definitely a good investment. Even if you do, it might be nice to have for the extra examples and board/analysis/testing facilities on harder problems. Also, additional categories and themes have been added to the program that are not in the book.

Copy protection: CD-based refueling

Strengths:

1. Many variations are pre-analyzed in complex tactical positions
2. Two chess engines are built-in (Crafty and Dragon), for playing out solutions that may not be examined in the exercise. However, I find that if I need this feature, then I probably missed a real cheapo.
3. You can call other chess-playing programs with it's EPD export facility. These include: Hiarcs, Rebel, Genius, MChess Pro, or any program that supports EPD import.
4. The program is good for coaches - it keeps track of results (time and score) on every test position under a student name
5. The program has a sort of 'rate-my-play' feature that can be used to evaluate your progress. It provides a bar graph of your estimated ELO based on your success or failure on exercises.
6. A small 5x5 board is provided as help in some tests, giving the pattern hidden in a combination. I really like this approach. It helps reinforce key patterns
7. Help is given in progressive increments - i.e. the first mistake pops up an indication of the pieces involved, the geometrical pattern involved in the combination, important squares, etc. More specific hints are given when more mistakes are made, including the piece to move.
8. Many of the problems have a study-like quality to them, and many of the positions are double-edged
9. Multiple languages are supported: English, Italian, Spanish, German and of course, Russian.
10. Key variations are presented in a window to the right of the board. Clicking on a move in a particular variation allows you to navigate through the problem. This is nice for reviewing a variation you had some trouble with previously.
11. A test mode allows you to review material you have already covered - you can do this for problems you did well or poorly on, or you can be tested on new material, easy or hard problems, etc.
12. The program has many possible ways of presenting material for tests. Key patterns are presented from both the white and black sides (i.e. mirror imaged). This aids calculation ability.

Weaknesses

1. The program is not suitable for weaker players - no instruction is given on basic tactical elements
2. I had some trouble with buttons not appearing in the course navigator window. This is kind of troublesome for the new user, because it makes it harder for him/her to navigate the exercises. As far as I can tell, this only ocurs when you use large fonts for your windows display properties.
3. I noticed that I had scored over 100% in some categories (!). Maybe there is something I don't understand in the scoring process....
4. There is no way to enforce a time limit on tests. In fact, time is not used as an indicator when the program evaluates test performance. It is recorded however, and available for later review.
5. When using crafty as the analysis engine, there is no principle variation and move score displayed (as there is for dragon). This makes it harder to see who is better in some positions.

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