Announcements and reviews for chess products and services have kept a steady pace since year end 2004. Follow the links for more information on the products and their suppliers.

Product News

• ChessMaster 9000 for Mac Goes Golden Master • 'British Mac gamer maker Feral Interactive announced Friday the Mac OS X incarnation of its strategy game ChessMaster 9000.' • Also has 'Observer Comments'. [5 December 2004]
  
  
• Majestic Chess • 'From the leading experts in computer chess comes the latest in chess gaming innovation: Majestic Chess has everything you have ever wanted in a computer chess game: A powerful A.I. opponent that can be adjusted to any strength or style of play, stunning graphics and dazzling animations and free 24-hour online play.' [17 January 2005]
  
  
• Wholesale Chess Buys Assets of Closing Shamrock Intl • 'Wholesale Chess opens up a new line of top-end chess sets and products after purchasing assets of international importer of hand-carved chess pieces.' [17 January] • Wholesale Chess Buys Chess Equipment Inventory of Closing Chess Discounters • 'Wholesale Chess completes an inventory-only purchase of the remaining chess equipment held by Chess Discounters.' [8 February]
  
  
• Sigma Chess HIARCS Released • 'Sigma Gameware and the team at HIARCS have announced the official release of Sigma Chess HIARCS 9.6 for the Mac.' [18 January]
  
  
• Palm OS Program Defeats Chess Grandmaster • 'Mark Uniacke writes, The Palm HIARCS 9.5a chess program defeated chess grandmaster Jan Gustaffson by a 3-1 margin in a chess match held 22nd-24th Jan 2005. This is the first time in history a chess Grandmaster has been defeated by a handheld chess program.' [28 January]
  
  
• IntelliChess - Pocket PC Chess with Support for Online Games • 'Intorine has released IntelliChess 2.6, a new version of its chess game for Pocket PC with an ability to play online at the Internet Chess Club.' [10 February]
  
  
• Chess-as-a-Learning-Tool Demonstration at the Indiana Association of Home Educators Convention • 'Scholastic chess coach will demonstrate materials and methods of teaching chess at the 20th Annual Home Educators in Indianapolis, Indiana.' [23 February]
  
  
• PlayFirst and Ubisoft Partner to Bring Chess to the Mainstream With the Launch of Chessmaster(R) Challenge • 'Downloadable Version of the World's Most Popular Game Allows Chess Novices and Enthusiasts to Learn, Improve and Master Their Chess Game' [1 March]
  
  
• Yahoo Launches Mobile Video Game Studio • 'Yahoo Inc. has launched a studio to develop video games for mobile telephones, the company said on Friday, tackling one of the fastest-growing segments of the $20 billion global video game industry. [...] Yahoo also said it has acquired a company called Stadeon to enable people to play games such as chess and poker on their phones online against those playing through the Web' [4 March; Reuters]
  
  
• Starcom Digital launches interactive chess game for Solaris 10 • 'Starcom Digital has developed an interactive chess game for Sun Microsystem's advanced Unix operating system Solaris 10.' [7 March]
  
  
• Mephisto Chess Goes Mobile • 'Living Mobile today announced it has exclusively licensed the Mephisto brand for mobile phone chess games from Saitek.' [9 March]
  
  

Product Reviews

• Moving to Checkmate • Chessmaster 10th Edition & Fritz 8 • 'Here at the GiN labs, I seem to be alone in that, while everyone is excited about the new shooter or what-have-you, I tend to look forward to things like new chess programs. It is a lonely existence, but occasionally I am rewarded.'
  
  
• Chess Computer Has a Level for Every Player • Saitek's Mephisto Maestro Travel Chess Computer • 'The shrinking world of electronics makes it possible to carry around more computing power in a pocket or purse than was contained in a roomful of UNIVACS a few decades ago.' [16 January 2005]
  
  

  Fritz (& Friends) : Thumbs up
  
  

• Fritz 8 Deluxe : A chess game for the grandmaster in you • 'I've been a casual chess player for almost twenty years now.' • Compares Fritz 8 Deluxe with Chessmaster: 'the decision to get this game over Chessmaster should be based on how serious you are about the game. Beginning players will find the Chessmaster games much more approachable and personable.' [6 January]
  
  
• Chess played for laughs, with skill • Learn to Play Chess with Fritz & Chesster 2: Chess in the Black Castle • 'While this is a sequel, it stands alone just fine. The original Learn to Play Chess, also excellent, spent more time on absolute basics for slightly younger children. Learn to Play Chess 2 still begins at the beginning with a tutorial and goes much further toward mastery. ' [7 March]
  
  

  Fritz (& Friends) : Thumbs down (both from same reviewer)
  
  

• Fritz 8 Deluxe • 'I had some reservations about reviewing this game, because the old Atari 2600 version of chess could wipe the floor with me.' • 'Overall: 6.5[/10] If added features and effects are crashing your product, you should not ship that product.' [14 February]
  
  
• Learn to Play Chess 2 • 'I have two sons. One is 12, and the other is almost four, so it’s safe to say I’ve seen my fair share of kid’s videogames during the past decade. Since Learn to Play Chess 2 with Fritz & Chesster is obviously geared to beginners, I first grabbed my youngest son.' • 'Overall: 3[/10] A kid’s game of such poor quality should be made illegal.' [17 February]
  
  

Product News : Previous reports. • Disclaimer.