Chessmaster

Chessmaster includes many features that will let you improve your chess skills, no matter what level you are at. In the chess school you'll be able to learn basic and advanced tactics, before competing against computer-controlled opponents in single or multiplayer mode. The game includes a variety of game modes, such as Quick Game, Rated Play, Handicap, Setup Position and Puzzle. Watch as the characters attack each other on the checkered battlefield. The offshoot of the Chessmaster series on the PlayStation 2 includes most of the features of the corresponding PC game - in this case, Chessmaster 9000. You can play training games (with all the hints and analysis tools available), rated games (your rating changes after each game), puzzles (chess ones, not the "build the picture" kind), learn chess by browsing the hundreds of tutorials in Pandolfini's Chess School, or watch famous games. However, there are some new features in the PS2 version; the most useful of them is the online mode. Another is the "living world" of chess championships, in which the AI's rating also changes as they play against each other. The last mode is more spectacular - a fantasy game mode (orcs vs humans) with animated chess sets and a 3D environment. You can play chess in a forest, in a castle and in the desert.