Kasparov
Chessmate by Hexacto
Games, Price: $24.95
Reviewed July 2003
If you are a computer chess fan, you will
know that the PC version of the Kasparov Chessmate game has
one of the most powerful chess engines, called Ruffian. This
engine offers a very realistic challenge to players of all
levels, and has an estimated rating of 2600 (Grandmaster
rating). Hexacto Games has taken on this huge task and ported
Kasparov Chessmate to the Pocket PC. The result is a very
deep chess game with a big range of player levels and tons
of resources for improving your chess game. For the chess
vets, you will find various types of games to improve many
aspects of your game, and ratings to track your progress.
Beginners will appreciate Kasparov’s in-game hints.
The Pocket PC version of Kasparov Chessmate
preserves the framework and all the major features of the
PC version. Players should be able to use the rating system
in this game to manage their stats and profiles, and grow
their game with this chess package. The Profiles feature
in Kasparov Chessmate allows you to create multiple profiles
as well as Guest profiles with lower rating points. The rating
system in Kasparov Chessmate is very similar to the real
life chess federations’ system that is used to rate
players and assign titles. So you can use the formula in
this game to estimate your skill level.
There are various types of games you can
play in Kasparov Chessmate. The beginners can start reading
rules and learn about some very basic moves and traps in
Training. You can play against another human on a single
screen or against the computer to learn or sharpen your skills
and strategies. There is a slider bar for you to choose one
of the 45 computer opponents ranging from Easy, Intermediate
to Hard levels, with rating points up to 2300. You can also
choose to play in the Kasparov Chess Club, which is a virtual
chess club where you can test your skills and improve the
level of your game. There is an Exhibition mode where you
can play against Bronze, Silver and Gold Leagues. You can
also play the Club Championship and go up against Gold Champion
Garry Kasparov himself, if you are good enough. The game
offers a huge number of historical matches played by Kasparov
against other chess geniuses.
Rapid chess fans should be happy to know
that Kasparov Chessmate has four basic time controls including
Blitz, Rapid, Classical and No Time Limit. In each of the
time control games you can choose allegro timing which adds
a little time to each move to give you some room at the end
of the games. After each game, you will see the time used
to complete the game and the change in the ratings. I find
Kasparov’s hints very useful. You can actually control
how many hints you want and their frequency. If you are playing
club matches and getting hints from the Grandmaster, your
game will not be used for ratings.
There are three chessboards with 2D or
3D options and various types of notation. The graphics are
nice, but not ground breaking as the point of this game isn’t
breathtaking graphics. The game is played in landscape mode
and controlled by the stylus.
Just as with the graphics, the sound FX
is minimal in this game. You will hear a sound every time
you interact with the game. You can set the sound volume
in the Settings screen. Kasparov Chessmate supports Pocket
PC 2002 devices and takes under 4MB of memory.
Powered by a strong engine and graced
by this Grandmaster’s historical matches, Kasparov
Chessmate should be a great title for the serious computer
chess players and learners. The rating system will help
players understand their skill levels, and the Kasparov
hints will dazzle his followers. Even though the chessboard
graphics are not that impressive, the title screens and
other not in-game screens are polished and show Hexacto’s
graphical touch.
Playing Hint and Tips
You can play games under multiple profiles.
You will get more points beating players who have higher
ratings than you. The more games you play, the more accurate
your ratings are.
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