Just bought Fritz 13

After reading no1marauders thread about joining icc or playchess.com, i thought i'd look into it myself as my desire to play blitz has returned somewhat recently. I used to play at playchess but didn't realise you get a 6 month subscription when you buy chessbase applications. Well, i found Fritz for £25 with delivery and figured i might as well try a free 6 month subscription and see how much i actually end up using playchess before i commit to a full years sub, while also getting the perminent use of fritz.

I've never really owned a chess program (i had chessmaster 3000 once, but it's not really a professional app like fritz is). I just wondered if anyone on here has bought it and what you think? I've long sought a decent program to analyse my finished games, what is this 'letscheck' function? Does fritz 13 have an auto analyse function? How about end game tablebases, do i need to add that or does it come equiped?

Originally posted by Marinkatomb
After reading no1marauders thread about joining icc or playchess.com, i thought i'd look into it myself as my desire to play blitz has returned somewhat recently. I used to play at playchess but didn't realise you get a 6 month subscription when you buy chessbase applications. Well, i found Fritz for £25 with delivery and figured i might as well try a fr ...[text shortened]... e function? How about end game tablebases, do i need to add that or does it come equiped?

You should have asked before you bought it. There is somebody on here that has one that can tell you the top four moves in order for every position. He has never said what it is, but I figure it must be the best. It could be Fritz 13 that he has. I don't remember who it was now. But if you are lucky he may still be reading these posts. Good luck with it since you have already bought it.

Originally posted by RJHinds
You should have asked before you bought it. There is somebody on here that has one that can tell you the top four moves in order for every position. He has never said what it is, but I figure it must be the best. It could be Fritz 13 that he has. I don't remember who it was now. But if you are lucky he may still be reading these posts. Good luck with it since you have already bought it.

I guess being an older guy you wouldn't understand much about chess engines and the like eh RJ?

I have it marina, I put all my pgns from here through it and set it to analyze them at 10 minutes a game, I've built up a nice little database of my usual errors, but I've never had time to look over th more again. I now have two otb club champs games to analyze, I'm going to look over them myself on monday night, then give fritz 10 minutes to look at each, may try and give it a six ply maximum depth or something, so it's finding stuff I have a hope of seeing otb.

I think the best method with any engine is not full game analysis.
My preference is to go through the game one move at a time with infinite analysis. You will see a lot more of what you missed. Also, if you wonder why a move is correct, play your sequence out and see how it's refuted.
I can't tell you how many times I've spotted a line that ends with a fork (or such) and then missed a crushing tactic from the other side.
One or two printed out lines can't beat going through every single move with as much or as little detail as you need.


Infinite analysis is also a good way to "check the cheats" after a loss.
Usually, the blatant ones stay in the top 3 moves of the infinite analysis for most, if not all, of the game.
Occasionally, they will even play a move not on the list, and in the end, it comes out with a higher evaluation! (That means they're probably using a better engine or looking deeper.)

Just remember, don't become obsessed with numbers. Numerical evaluations are only one part of the evaluation of a position.

Even computers are capable of making numerical mistakes. I played a hippo one time, where the game was completely locked. The comp had a space advantage, so it evaluated it as up a pawn or two, even though it was a dead draw. These things happen, not to mention horizon effects.

Remember, use the engine to aid study and understanding, but don't rely solely on it. Try to find the mistakes with a real board and pieces. Form a few ideas in your own head before you go running to see what the engine thinks. Use it as a learning tool, not a crutch.

Originally posted by Marinkatomb
After reading no1marauders thread about joining icc or playchess.com, i thought i'd look into it myself as my desire to play blitz has returned somewhat recently. I used to play at playchess but didn't realise you get a 6 month subscription when you buy chessbase applications. Well, i found Fritz for £25 with delivery and figured i might as well try a fr ...[text shortened]... e function? How about end game tablebases, do i need to add that or does it come equiped?

I always found Fritz not very user friendly. I mean it takes a bit of work to find out all it can do. But anyone who takes the time to get to grips with it seems to love it. That's not technophobic me I'm afraid.🙁