Chessmaster: The Art of Learning

by UBI Soft

Product 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

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000RF4PLS
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: October 23, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,218 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #11 in Video Games > Nintendo DS > Board Games
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Nintendo DS

Chessmaster DS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best chess game so far, some big faults..., October 25, 2007

By 

Troy Edwards (MANCHESTER, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Chessmaster: The Art of Learning (Video Game)

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.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a full chess game for the DS. But it's lacking..., October 25, 2007

By 

T. Lockridge (Blacksburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Chessmaster: The Art of Learning (Video Game)

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.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice chess title for the Nintendo DS, March 14, 2008

By 

W. Scott Gibson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chessmaster: The Art of Learning (Video Game)

I actually bought my Nintendo DS Lite for this game and the Brain Age products. I have been a USCF tournament player for 20 years and at one time had a rating over 1600. My rating has declined in recent years as my available time to devote to the game has dwindled. Chessmaster on the DS is aimed mainly at beginners and casual players. While there is no choice in the board or pieces both are nice looking and easy to see. The tutorials are basic but complete. I haven't spent a lot of time on the exercises but they are fun and would undoubtedly be useful to a beginning player. I jumped right in to rated games against the highest rated opponents. One thing I noticed is the claimed ELO ratings of the players appears to be 100-200 points higher than they actually play. Also each player uses the same opening for every game. They use different ones among the players but each player has his own favorite opening. The response time of the highest rated opponents can be several minutes in untimed games. I have beaten all but the last two opponents and expect them to fall when I have more time to play with it. As other's note, the claimed 900 games are nowhere to be found. That's no real biggie as I have over a million games avaible in the Big Database for Fritz 9. I would have liked a stronger engine and faster response time. The Chessmaster personality has beaten me a couple of times but I know he's going to fall. I blame my losses partly on unfamliarity with the board and distractions while playing. Despite my criticisms I like the game. I looked at some of the dedicated handheld chess machines but this seemed like a better option. If you're not over 1500 USCF and are looking for a nice chess title for your Nintendo DS this would be a very nice addition to your game library.

2115|R1S6GY4WRE9UG6;2115|RN5TBEN9HRA68;2115|RXCO44GB73QPX;