Too long has passed since our last look at chess products (Elsewhere on the Web, Product News, 15 October 2006). It's time to mention a few of the more significant products announced since then.

Fritz and Chesster: Chess for Winners is the third title in the Fritz and Chesster series, following 'Learn to Play Chess' (2003) and 'Chess in the Black Castle' (2005). In 'Chess for Winners', Fritz, Chesster, and Bianca play at a 'chesstival'.

Reviews for all of the Fritz/Chesster products have generally been good and 'Chess for Winners' is no exception. Here is a trio of reviews published in 2007.

_{(Photo © Viva Media)}

• Game teaches kids advanced chess moves • 'Lots of kids know how to move chess pieces, but when they learn tactics and strategies, they discover what makes chess such a great game. The computer game Fritz & Chesster's Chess for Winners is a great way for kids' to expand their chess knowledge.' [26 January 2007; USAtoday.com]
  
  
• Learn Chess With Fritz, Chesster and Bianca • 'About four years ago, Fritz and Chesster appeared on the computer scene. Chesster, as you may guess from the odd spelling of the name, was a young boy who was interested in chess.' [22 April; TheLedger.com]
  
  
• Fritz & Chesster’s Chess For Winners; A Grandmaster Jr. • 'Chess programs have been around since the early days of computing and in fact, are quite prolific today. A little while ago GiN even did a round-up review of several that were out there on the market. And recently a PSP chess game was released that is generating a lot of buzz among those that play this noble game.' [GameIndustry.com]
  
  

Fritz & Chesster: Compare Prices.

Transformers Chess Set: Every year we see at least one new chess set with the pieces based on the characters of a major film. This year the film is Transformers.

• Chess - Movie - Board Game • 'Inevitably, with every major movie release there is a plethora of merchandising. Part of that merchandising machine for the upcoming Transformers movie are board games.' [25 June 2007; Tformers.com]

Transformers Chess Set: Compare Prices.

Ubisoft's Chessmaster: The Chessmaster series, introduced in the 1980s, is one of the oldest lines of chess playing software. Featuring IM Josh Waitzkin, it is also one of the most popular among casual chess players.

• Ubisoft Announces Chess Instruction Games • 'Two chess instruction games are on the way from Ubisoft - a portable version for the Nintendo DS as well as a PC version.' [10 August 2007; ign.com]

Chessmaster: Compare Prices.

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