Reviewed: February 12, 2006
Reviewed by: Jeff Gedgaud

Publisher
Viva Media

Developer
ChessBase

Released: December 1, 2005
Genre: Strategy
Players: 2
ESRB: Everyone

8
6
5
10
7.3

System Requirements

  • Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
  • Pentium II, 300 MHz
  • 64 MB RAM
  • DVD-ROM drive
  • Windows Media Player 9

    Recommended System

  • Windows XP
  • Pentium 4 2.2 GHz or better
  • 256 MB RAM
  • GeForce5 graphics card w/ 128 MB
  • 100% DirectX sound card

    Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)


  • Fritz 9: Play Chess is the latest in a long line of chess learning and teaching tools developed and published by Viva Media. You can learn to play better chess or start off playing opponents from around the world with the included one-year subscription to Playchess.com.

    Fritz 9 is not your regular chess game; it's not even in the same league as most other board games. It does not even let two players play against each other on your computer, it is strictly for one player to play and learn against either the computer or others online. This game has so many settings and customizations that it has to be classed as an interactive learning tool for chess players. Just look at these assorted features:

    • Super strong knowledge based chess engine: Fritz 9
    • 2 or 3D opponents, optimized graphics and physics engine
    • Updated and fully searchable 1 Million games database covering 4 centuries of chess
    • Interactive training modules for attack, defense and check improvement with high score function
    • Position explainer offers positional commentary about the current position
    • New handicap-function for practical training of positional play
    • 2 more ways to play: Engines for Giveaway Chess and Fischerrandom (Chess960)
    • 3D surround sound on all boards
    • Evaluation profile with depth of calculation
    • Video beginners course (1 hr. video in Chess Media System) and additional video sample lessons
    • Continuous gameplay function – watch Fritz replay history’s most famous games back to back
    • Engines: 3 additional Main engines. Runs different engines under the same interface at the same time. UCI interface for Winboard Engines, Engine duels,
    • Engine tournaments
    • Chessboards: 8 classic 3D boards, 2 3D symbol boards, 2 3D Character boards,
    • Extreme 3D Mode, 2D customizable boards
    • Coach and help functions: Coach, Threatened Squares, Explain all Moves,
    • Hint, Spy and Kibitz engine (parallel game analysis)
    • Levels: Full playing strengths, Friend Mode (engine adjusts to player’s strengths),
    • Sparring, Handicap and Fun, Shuffle Chess, Tournament Chess with ELO rating
    • Opening Book: 1 Million opening positions ECO classified, and fully searchable, interactive opening training
    • Analysis: Deep position analysis, full game analysis, find mistakes, analysis comparison with different engines, position evaluation, search mate position, additional analysis board
    • Commenting: Graphical commenting with arrows and highlights, medals, null-move

    I don't understand completely all of the features on the box but I can muddle through most of them. What I do understand is Fritz 9 is not for the occasional chess player. I don't mean that you have to be an expert at chess, but you have to want to learn more and become a better player. Fritz 9's many features, customization and learning tools make a great assortment for someone who wants to become better at chess.

    It gives you not only the at home tools to play and learn more about the game, it gives you online choices to learn from masters and take your shot against many others worldwide. Some of the sections of the game can be a bit confusing to handle without some reading in the manual or the help section in the game. Most of these tools are easy to use though.

    You can start a regular game and turn on in game help or what they call a counselor who will give you whatever level of help and tips you want. You can have the program add helpers to show you which pieces are more at risk than others or even show you the better moves for each piece that is at risk. The program can show you which move would be the best for you at any particular time as well as showing you the next move your computer opponent will take.

    Or you can turn all these features off and play a regular game against the computer program and be told at the end of the game how well you did, your ranking and what you can do better to improve your game. You can also play against the computer at many different levels and in many different types of chess games. Fritz 9 includes timed games where you can set the clock from as low as a minute for a whole game up to several hours for you to consider and have time to make your choices for each move carefully. There are also some fun games such as giveaway chess where the winner is whoever loses all their pieces first or chess 960. Whichever type you like to play against the computer is one thing, you can also play against others on line.

    The game comes with a years subscription to Playchess.com. Playchess is a worldwide chess web site that has players of all ages and rankings playing and learning more about chess. When you join you get some free Ducats, a kind of money that is used on the site. You can purchase Ducats through Playchess.com from the Chessbase shop, an Internet chess store. Currently the price of Ducats is $12 US for 100 Ducats, I got 10 ducats for free when I joined the site.

    You use Ducats to buy lessons or to use for the privilege to play some of the grand masters of chess. There are tournaments where you can win prizes of Ducats or subscriptions to the site at Chessplay.com. You can find people in different ranked rooms who play for fun and in different age groups as well. There is also a chat room for people to just gab and you can even do what they call kibitzing or watch games that people are currently playing as well as watch some of the tournaments.


    The graphics are somewhat customizable but the main part that you have to deal with is all the different things you can do. Sometimes during a game it can be hard to tell whose move it is and you may have to look at the clock to tell. It would be easier if the game had a small but easy to see icon or something that tells you to wake up and go. The windows are easily configurable to suit your taste and when the 3D board is up you can also have the top down 2D on to make sure your getting all the view of the game you need.

    Other than that I had no problem navigating around the various windows and sections of the game. The game comes with a 2d, 3d and more detailed 3D board which you can customize and change positions and colors. You can even make the board look like a wooden set or use the colors and change the board, pieces and background. There's not much else to the graphics but hey, in a chess game how much can you have in the way of graphics.


    Fritz 9 comes with Bach background music in various forms such as vocal, orchestral and organ. You can have a variety of announcers giving play by play moves and your help coach can not only show you the moves but tell you them while you play. The announcer can also help you learn the annotation of chess or the numbers that they use for the pieces and their position on the board. Again though, the sound or graphics is not the most important part of this game, the game engine is.


    If your serious about wanting to better your chess game Fritz 9 is great. It gives you all kinds of customizations, help in improving your chess performance and you can analyze your moves to show what you did wrong and how to improve. The program comes with tutorials and lessons on video to help everyone from the beginner with the very basics of chess to the advanced moves of the grand masters.

    The online subscription is worth the cost of the game itself in the chance to play on line with so many people and you are sure to find someone of your ranking to play. You can also get help, lessons and chess news as well as the chance to play in online tournaments to test your mettle and find out just how good you are.


    The Fritz 9 chess engine is the same one that beat Garry Kasparov, a chess grand master. The game has many features and even tutorials to improve your chess game. You get the online server subscription for Playchess.com that also includes tutorials and help along with the chance to play others world wide online.

    The game includes databases of games played and variations to those games, both famous and ones that are not so noted. The game engine itself has adjustments and customizations that require more investigation before you go tinkering with it, but there is a whole room on the web site for guys doing just that.

    Fritz 9 is a great chess program for helping and improving your chess game. This is not just a game to play chess with others or against a computer; it is a set of tools for teaching and improving your chess game.