Pocket PC chess games?

Todd Watson

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Sep 4, 2003, 9:20:38 AM9/4/03

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I've been a Palm user for years. I initially used Chess Genius, then
switched to Chess Tiger. I've just purchased a Pocket PC, and, looking
at pocketgear.com, I see there are a fair number of chess games for
it. I'd appreciate some recommendations as to which to try. I'm an
average, non-tournament player. Much obliged!

Todd

Mr. Plow

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Sep 4, 2003, 11:57:00 AM9/4/03

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I have used both Pocket Fritz and Pocket Chess Genius for playing and
analysis.

I like the Genius display better than Fritz, but overall I prefer Fritz,
probably because I'm more familiar with it.

However, the program I use most is CEBoard for looking over annotated games
and including my own notes. The simple black and white display is easy to
look at. If it played a strong game, it would be the best of the lot.
Unfortunately, it has no playing engine, it's just a viewer/recorder.

For me, there is no perfect program on the market yet. The perfect program
would include:

1. Clear, sharp display, nothing fancy.
2. Strong playing engine.
3. Ability to include annotations (at least 500 characters of text) and
multiple variations.
4. Ability to read FEN, so I can work through tactics and studies.
5. Interface to ICC and FICS

"Todd Watson" <jilla...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:9f66126.03090...@posting.google.com...

Tiger88

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Sep 4, 2003, 12:58:43 PM9/4/03

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Todd,

I'm using Pocket Grandmaster. The graphics are excellent and even the
sound is good. Unfortunately, even on the "easy" levels it's just too
strong. My ranking is around 1500 and it beats me to death. I am running
it on a 400 mhz Axim, so maybe the high cpu speed is a factor.

You can check out the features here:

http://www.pocketgrandmaster.com/english/index.html

Tiger88

Bryan Whitby

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Sep 4, 2003, 1:41:44 PM9/4/03

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> Todd

I have a web site dedicated to chess programs that run on the Pocket PC & Palm.
Nothing technical, just screen shots and links.
Might be of some use to you.
http://www.bwhitby.freeserve.co.uk/
Regards
Bryan

Robert Pawlak

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Sep 4, 2003, 5:52:34 PM9/4/03

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Take a look at the following, probably in this order:

Lokasoft Pocket Chess Partner
Pocket Grandmaster
Majestic Chess (the PC version comes with a PocketPC version)

I would not get Pocket Fritz if I were you, I think the engine will be too
strong. I would give Majestic a higher rating if it had better PGN support and
an opening book.

But download the Lokasoft program, and see what you think. I have reviews of
all the above programs on my website, except for Majestic.

Bob Pawlak (remove 1et.tw to e-mail)
Chess Assistance
http://www.chessassistance.com
Chess Reviews
http://www.chessreviews.com

Tiger88

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Sep 4, 2003, 10:19:17 PM9/4/03

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Robert,

I downloaded the evaluation copy of Lokasoft Pocket Chess Partner and I
like it very much. It's not quite as slick as Pocket Grandmaster. For
example it doesn't show the player names on loaded games. But, it is much
more fun to play on the easy level. I actually won my first two games! I
guess I'll have to register so I can bump it up a notch.

It looks like Pocket Grandmaster is more suited for serious study and
Chess Partner might be better for casual gaming.

John Merlino

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Sep 4, 2003, 11:18:56 PM9/4/03

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rjpa...@aol.com1et.tw (Robert Pawlak) wrote in message news:<20030904175234...@mb-m02.aol.com>...

Is a review of Majestic Chess forthcoming on your site?

jm

Todd Watson

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Sep 5, 2003, 9:39:02 AM9/5/03

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rjpa...@aol.com1et.tw (Robert Pawlak) wrote in message news:<20030904175234...@mb-m02.aol.com>...

Thanks, everyone! Bob, the reviews on your site helped a lot. Sounds
like Chess Partner is probably my best bet. According to the rating I
get from my computer, I'm around a 1000-1200 player (no idea how
accurate Chessmaster 7000 is at making that evaluation, though), so
it's probably my best bet. I'll check out the others as well, though.

Thanks again to all of you.

Todd

Robert Pawlak

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Sep 5, 2003, 4:10:45 PM9/5/03

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>Is a review of Majestic Chess forthcoming on your site?

John,

I'm not sure at this point.

Robert Pawlak

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Sep 6, 2003, 5:00:59 PM9/6/03

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>Robert,
>
> I downloaded the evaluation copy of Lokasoft Pocket Chess Partner and I
>like it very much. It's not quite as slick as Pocket Grandmaster. For
>example it doesn't show the player names on loaded games. But, it is much
>more fun to play on the easy level. I actually won my first two games! I
>guess I'll have to register so I can bump it up a notch.
>

Yes it is a good program because it can be beaten. BTW, another good way to
adjust the strength of the engine is to change the hash size.

> It looks like Pocket Grandmaster is more suited for serious study and
>Chess Partner might be better for casual gaming.
>

PGM is really what I recommend to most club players, since it has three
engines, and is a well written program. But Ruffian, SoS and Gromit are all
stronger than PCPs engine, which can make them a real challenge for those
looking for a more casual game.