Sanford wrote:
I am returning to the chess game after a very long absence.
I am trying to identify a few of the better (more popular?) ways to play
computer chess, both [a] programs for purchase or download, as well as [b]
online websites where I can play against a computer.
Also, I would like to know the titles and authors of a few good books for a
beginning or intermediate player to acquaint himself with the tactics,
strategies, and skills of the game.
If any of the kind readers of this newsgroup would please make suggestions,
I
would be very appreciative. Thank you.
Sanford
The Chessmaster and Fritz series of programs have always been popular
computer programs to play and analyze with. The latest versions usually
cost $30-$50 (US dollars), but you can usually find versions dating 1
or 2 revisions back that are almost as good for $10-$20, sometimes even
as low as $5 if you get lucky. I have Chessmaster 8000 (2 versions back
from the latest), and I'm quite happy with it.
As for playing on the internet, why would you want to play computers?
If you're going to play on the net, why not play real people? I'd
recommend freechess.org as a free place to play. Some of the players
there run computer programs (look for a (C) after the player's name to
know it's a 'bot), so you can play both humans and computers there for
free. ICC is pretty much the same thing, but with more high level
players and it costs money, which can sometimes keep out some of the
riff raff. For most players, though, freechess.org is the best bet.
Look for me there as Fromper.
As for books, there are a lot them out there, both good and bad. I've
had good experiences following the advice of Dan Heisman. He's a
master, professional chess coach, and he writes a column called Novice
Nook at chesscafe.com, which is aimed at helping adult
beginner-intermediate players improve. You'll probably learn a lot
reading all of his articles from the Chess Cafe archives, but here are
the 3 that you definitely want to start with:
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman04.pdf
Hope this helps!
--Richard