Fritz 15 Chess Playing Software Program

Ok. So here it goes. My experience with computer chess programs is limited to Chessmaster 10 and my phone's chess app (it's called Chess, go figure). I bought Chessmaster a long time ago (10-12 years ago), and didn't even know there were updates to the Chessmaster's glitches out there until a few weeks before I purchased Fritz 15. Overall, it Fritz seems ok as a program. However, I feel that Fritz 15 is a fairly complex piece of software, and you would need a plenty of instruction on how to use it. It's not user-friendly, until you know how to use it! It's a good program. Definitely and without question, a better chess player than I! There are a few glitches and is not intuitive. I bought Fritz 15, mainly for training. I thought it would help. However, these features are not the best. It's worth considering assuming the Fritz team figures out a way to fix the glitches and enhances the user-manual.I'm not willing to give it 4-5 stars because I believe that the user interface, in this day and age, should have been much (much) better and intuitive. Also in that evaluation, the training feature weighted heavily. The glitches didn't help either, but these could (I don't know if they will) be fixed in any updates that they would release. It still gets an "Ok" rating (3 star), since its a very robust program.Pros:1. Strong engine. It's a computer program that will beat most of us. I'm not the best player, just re-starting actually, son I can't say whether the program is the best player out there. But, it's certainty good.2. Training features. It does have a robust training features. From training openings (a very wide variety of training openings by name), attacking chess, defending chess, checking, and mates. Except for the openings, the training structure is based on the same database of over 2 million games. This assures plenty of variety.3. Huge database. You can navigate a robust database of about 2.2 million games played. It has plenty of old and famous games, but not all. I found that some games of my interest were missing (I purchased  Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide , and it's best to follow along with the actual games). Not too bad, since I was able to "paste" the PGN on Fritz and was able to save that game, with annotations, to the database.4. Feature rich. There are plenty of other features with Fritz. Friend mode, coaching, etc.Cons.1. I bought the software primarily for training. I found that the training is a bit cumbersome. For my part, the openings training, although it will help you memorize it, it's not just for the opening. Fritz will play out the game, so you don't get the constant repeatability of solely the opening. At least I haven't figured that out and it's not in the instructions on-line. The attack, defense, check, and mate modules are time sensitive. It's a "how many can you get in XX time" type of situation. It's fine, but it's not instructive. More of a figure it for yourself. On the Mate module, it's also a move the pieces that will threaten mate, so not quite a "Mate in XX moves" type idea. Not a bad training strategy, but sometimes I felt I wasn't quite sure why a particular piece was selected and where would a move will generate a threat.2. Glitchy. There is a glitch with the clock and turn system. While in friendly mode, I found that the take back option allowed by the Coach feature, confuses Fritz. I have found playing that when I take back with the coach, Fritz mistakenly thinks is his turn, and there's no easy way around it. I also have issues that, when playing and using the regular take-back feature (not the cancel move feature), the clock's and turn also behave erratically. The program is complex enough without these glitches.3. Interface is not user-friendly. It's not as intuitive as other programs I've used. For example, a new game just takes you to a new table. The program switches between black and white by itself. It doesn't ask if you want to play as either, the time controls, etc. You have to do some other steps for it. I haven't figured that part out yet, but given that other programs give you that option on a new game, I feel that would help with the Fritz's complex interface. Also, when in the training modules, it's very basic. As in, it tells you the instructions, but that's it. In the openings, it doesn't just teaches the openings or give you the option.4. Light on the training side. After using Chessmaster, which has (or had, since it's no longer sold), a training rich feature, I found the Fritz training module disappointing. Yes, it has a coach, openings, attach, defense, etc. But, it lacks teaching technique, middle game, end game objectives. Frit's end-game module has a many tasks, but it doesn't teach you the objective or what to look for on those scenarios. Instead, it just throws you against the never-forgiving Fritz engine. I found that a bit annoying. Yes, you should figure it out, but I would have to keep pressing the hint or suggestion buttons in order to find out what should be the next move, not the idea behind the position.

I’ve heard it said, “The third time is a charm.” That certainly seems to be true regarding my recent purchase of “Fritz 15,” Chessbase’s latest version of its chess program.From the very first moment I launched “Fritz 15,” I could see its many vast improvements over previous versions. First and foremost, “Fritz 15’s” all-new chess engine, which supports multiple core processors right “out of the box,” is much stronger than those of its predecessors. Its super-Grandmaster 3171 Elo rating (as of October 2016) is nearly 100 points higher than “Fritz 14 (Deep)” and over 200 points higher than “Fritz 13.”“Sparring” has been removed from “Fritz 15,” and “Friend Mode,” has an all-new design. It now engages its human opponents in a truly “friendly” game of chess. It continually adjusts itself to its human adversary’s playing abilities. It gives players hints and suggested moves, and allows them to take back bad moves – all without penalty. At the end of each “Friend Mode” game, “Fritz 15” displays a graph showing how well the human played, and also provides an estimated Elo rating. I play most games in "Friend Mode" and find them very challenging and enjoyable.“Fritz 15” contains several features that make it an invaluable chess trainer. The Calculation Trainer allows me to move pieces around from any fixed position in order to determine the best sequence of moves. There are also sections that provide problem-solving exercises in tactics, attack, defense, and achieving checkmate. During game play, an ever-watchful and wisecracking coach will pop up and remind me of my (all too frequent) dubious moves and blunders. The coach can either offer me subtle hints on better moves, or even suggest outright a different move. There’s a very useful “position tutor” that displays a plain language description of a game’s current position. Another helpful feature shows all attacked and threatened squares and displays Fritz 15’s game plan.“Fritz 15’s” “Microsoft Fluent UI”- style ribbons have also received a major overhaul. “Friend Mode” is now located on the “Home” ribbon, so it can be reached with just one click. Other ribbons have also been reorganized and are much more intuitive.“Fritz 15” carries forward at least two small issues from previous versions that I find problematic: it still opens with its clocks and engine stopped; and in “Friend Mode,” I am still unable to leave a game in progress and return to it later in exactly the same state as when I left it. (In order to resume a saved game, “Fritz 15” forces me to use one of its full-strength playing modes and to reset my time controls.) Other than that, “Fritz 15” works very well, with none of the freezing, blinking, or temporary “Not Responding” messages that plagued prior editions.With “Fritz 15,” it appears that I've finally gained a truly reliable program that’s both a great chess coach and a challenging playing partner. It’s also fun to use. Even taking its minor quirks into consideration, this is very close to everything I’ve been looking for in a chess program. Highly recommended. (4½ Stars ^ 5)

This is based on two days' use of this Fritz version. I am a first category, or club, player who has used several earlier versions of Fritz, most recently number 11. This is NOT as user friendly as the earlier version, especially for actual play. To have a game in which the ordinary user has some sort of chance you have to use one of the weaker modes. Version 11 offered friend, sparring, and handicap modes. Friend mode is very nice; it adjusts its playing strength depending on results. I.e., the human wins, it gets stronger, or weaker if the human loses. The sparring modes (there are five levels) feature a flashing light when the program makes a mistake. Handicap modes include preset personalities, such as Drunk and Moron, and can be adjusted to be stronger or weaker and to have different tendencies. The analysis mode is easily turned on and off.In version 15, you now have only friend mode, which adjusts strength and now has a flashing light, indicating an intentional error by the program. It seems to be a lot stronger at the beginning than version 11's. There are clocks, but according to the online help, they mean nothing in friend mode. Of course, at its full strength it crushes everyone. When playing over a game in the database, one pane shows Fritz's analysis the same way earlier versions do. But is tops after every single move and has to be turned on again. Another pane shows evaluations from Stockfish, Komodo, and Fritz 13.Maybe there's more to this for top level players. But for the club or class player I think the earlier version that I have is better for casual play and analysis.