May 16th, 2011

FRITZ CHESS 11

Fritz Chess 11 continues the tradition of what was considered at one time the best chess engine. Produced by Chessbase GmbH and published by Excalibur Publishing, you must take into consideration this board game if you do not use your PC only to shoot with fantastic guns or to walk into virtual worlds. “Fritz” is pure chess without too many trumpets and drum-rolled, and you must take this game very seriously.

Even if Fritz Chess 11 is called “the chess professor” by the producer, do not somehow think it's for those who are just trying to learn the game, because will not be easy for them. It is rather directed to those who have experience on the chessboard and are interested in improving their chess skills.

Fritz Chess 11 starts as a typical chess game with a two-dimensional board. You will have plenty of options available to prepare your chess match, and here knowledge about the game of mind will not save you. Make sure you have the user manual at hand, because there is no a simple option for a new game, not even for a training match, instead, you have to choose from a variety of options and game types, such as tournaments and changed rules. Even if it offers amazing flexibility, some may be confused in the multitude of choices that have to do before to get to move a pawn. However, after these aspects are proving easier to understand, the flexibility proves to be a positive feature, since the "brain" of Fritz can be modified for play from multiple perspectives, from indifferent or bad, to aggressive or passive, and many other intermediate settings. Games can be started under a fairly large number of rules changed or disabilities that might be taken against "Fritz" if it wins often. The graphics of Fritz Chess 11 is pretty simple, two-dimensional, but it is also available for it to generate a 3D image of the board, but this does not greatly improve the game experience. The screen can be changed at will, by adding or removing multiple windows containing helpful or all sorts of information and statistics. You will be able to display the "thinking" of "Fritz", in the sense that choosing a piece on the board displays all positions where it can be moved, all the pieces that it threatens and the new potential dangers. By far the most interesting feature of Fritz Chess 11 is that the virtual opponent can comment on any moves.

Fritz expresses its opinion about a move as "a weak choice - it's not recommended" or will block the opponent’s fool but it will also list the next move options and their consequences, such as loss or exchange of pieces. It is an excellent method to learn the chess, even for players with long experience. Chess is the kind of game that easily polarizes opinions. Most people find it to be a game too difficult and boring, but those who have penetrated its secrets find it to be very stimulating and rewarding. Fritz Chess 11 is designed precisely for the latter, so if you have interest to improve your game, "Fritz" will provide lessons and challenges that will be very welcomed. It is a very fun and exciting game to play as long as you…know how.