Product Description

Chessmaster DS

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3936 in Video Games
• Brand: UBI Soft
• Model: 16366
• Released on: 2007-10-23
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .50" h x 5.25" w x 4.75" l, .20 pounds

Features

• Learn from champion Josh Waitzkin - Using the principles outlined in his book The Art of Learning, Josh puts players in his shoes during some of the most riveting moments of his career, then walk through the classics, introducing beginners to the fundamentals of the game and providing revealing commentary about the road to mastery
• Multiplayer wireless - Two players can battle each other using the wireless option on the DS including varieties such as Dark Chess (opponent's pieces are invisible), Extinction Chess (first player to capture all of the opponent's pieces), and Losing Chess (first player to lose all of his/her pieces)
• Six original mini-games - Each mini-game is packed with its own music, sound effects, a high-score record and 20 levels of gameplay such as Minefield (chess pieces are used to locate mines hidden in the board), Breaking the Lines (the knight is moved to capture all of the pawns) and Fork My Fruit (uses chess pieces to fork fruit of the same kind, among others)
• Famous games - Players have access to 900 of the most important chess games, which are analyzed to provide key tactics
• Checkmate - With an arsenal of 600,000 games, players will never run out of fun

Customer Reviews

Best chess game so far, some big faults...
I've been looking forward to a decent chess game for the DS since I picked it up last year, so I picked this game up on its release day.

The chess game on clubhouse games, even on "hard" is very weak. I can beat it without even paying attention, and I'm no where's near an expert level player.

Anyway, without boring everyone to tears, here's the PRO and CON list:

PRO

* You can have four profiles. Great to have for the kids.
* It has a very strong, and in my opinion, realistic engine.
* You can set up positions for playing against the computer.
* Save game is very useful if others are using the game.
* Can play someone else on a single card (see below for gripe though)
* Movement is so much nicer with a stylus, but the Direction pad
is also an option. You can either drag a piece to its destination,
or you can touch the destination. You also have a choice to confirm
your move to avoid "mouse slips".
* The mini games, like "Fork the Fruit", are actually very good drills.
* Nicely themed chess puzzles too.


CONS

* False advertising. "Players have access to 900 of the most important chess games, which are analyzed to provide key tactics", uh no, there are NO games. This and other features mentioned on the chessmaster site, are not here. They must be for the PC version.
* No online play. Are you kidding me?!
* No ability to set it for two human players on one DS. This seems
like a "way too obvious" feature. I'm truly baffled as to why it's
not on here.
* You can only set up a position to play the computer. That, and the
fact that I can't set the clock to one players advantage, makes it
difficult to have a challenging/fair game with my daughters
* You can't set the clock to add time per move (Fischer Clock)
* Pieces are a bit odd looking, but tolerable.
* "Help" shows a play button, that, while reviewing a game, would let
you play from the current position. It's just not there though.
* The puzzles, though nicely themed, are all one move. Also, I was
having a lot of trouble with one, and had to ask for the answer.
Turns out I was supposed to be playing white from the flip side of the
board. However, it still showed the flip side as being the 8th rank.

Ok, that's a lot of "CONS", and the first three really annoy me. I was so looking forward to having 900 games to go through without sitting at the computer, or setting up a board.

This does give you a great portable chess engine to have a game anywhere you might be. Also, doing all the puzzles repeatedly, and going through the mini games, will give you a fair skillset to destroy the average non-serious player.

Finally, a full chess game for the DS. But it's lacking...
First, before you buy, please note that Chessmaster for the DS *does not* have wifi capabilities. Meaning, if you want to play your friend, he/she will need to be in the same room as you. This is likely the game's biggest flaw, and I'm really surprised that Ubisoft managed to omit wifi play--it's a huge missed opportunity.

There's a lot to like in this game, but it's largely geared toward beginning players. The tutorial is fairly shallow, and the mini-games are gimmicky. I'm not sure how effectively they'll change the way you play chess... or even the way you learn.

Still, with the negatives aside, this game is worth the $[...]. It's the only decent chess game on the DS, and it does have a number of tough and varied computer opponents. I enjoy playing a game of chess on-the-go, and Chessmaster DS is superior to the cellphone version I've been using.

So, for simply playing chess, it's a fun and worthy addition to the DS library. With wifi, however, it could've been amongst the essentials.

This is a great Nintendo DS game.
I cannot understand all the negative feedbacks of this game. UBISOFT has created an easy to understand and fun version of chess. I am a first time chess learner, and this game has clearly shown me the basics in an easy to understand tutorial. The graphics and instructions are excellent as are the sounds. The negative feedback probably came from those who do not know how to use this game or hot shot chess players who want to let others know how much they know and want to rub it in. This is an excellent game for first time learners, like me, and the pros outweigh the cons (I could not find any cons).