Chess for Palm OS

featuring ChessGenius 1.3 and Chess Tiger 14.6

The Reason For This Review

The Short Version: I think some chess programs are better (in some cases drastically better) than others, and I want others to be more informed before they make a decision about which chess program to purchase.

The Long Version: People are always looking for a better deal, a better program, a better way to work and a better way to play. Those of us who own a Palm, Handspring, Sony or other Palm OS-based handheld computer are no exception. Many units still have relatively slow processors, relatively low screen resolution, and for many of us, relatively low amounts of memory. We need programs that can really maximize our use and enjoyment of our Palm units. So when competing programs arrive on the scene, people are often curious as to which one is really the best. As far as Palm-based chess programs go, I am curious about each program that comes on the scene. But in the end, my recommendations are limited to three different programs: Chess Tiger, ChessGenius and PocketChess Deluxe — yes, in that order. Hopefully, this review gives you enough information for you to decide which program will best meet your needs.

I used to play PocketChess back in the days when it was freeware. It was a decent game for such a small platform. I knew the capabilities would be limited and playing strength wouldn't be stellar. But I'm not the best player in the world, so it gave me a run for my money every now and then, especially if I wasn't being careful.

Then one day at PalmGear I saw "ChessGenius". I did very little research, downloaded and installed the program, was very subtly wow'd by it, and registered it within a couple of weeks.

Then within a couple of months, "PocketChess 2.0" game out. This time it wasn't freeware; but it had been re-vamped substantially and looked better than ever. I downloaded it too, and was a bit concerned that maybe I acted too hastily when I registered ChessGenius.

Did I have an inferior product now? To try to find out, I played my 10 allowed demo games of PocketChess. It was still a decent program, with nice additions — some of which weren't part of ChessGenius. Then the next thing I knew, Chess Tiger suddenly shows up claiming to be the strongest chess program around.  To make a long story a bit shorter, I registered all three programs and played them against one another and against Chessmaster 7000 to see how they stacked up.

I know that most folks aren't interested in paying for three programs to do essentially the same thing. So I thought I'd publish my findings to help them out.

The Reason to Register

I have been a supporter of shareware for many years now. I've owned various PDAs over the past 10+ years and have found many third-party software solutions and games to be very worth while. From the Psion Series 5 to Palm OS machines to Windows Mobile machines, I've registered a great number of shareware titles. Some programs I no longer use and some I still use virtually everyday. Overall, one thing I appreciate about most Palm OS software authors is that they price their products quite modestly, making it easier to afford fully working versions of programs that you can feel good about using because you know you paid your fair share for it.

For many authors, Palm software development is a part-time endeavor (i.e. they do this on their own time and don't get paid extra just because they spent three weeks finding and fixing one bug). Richard Lang (ChessGenius), Christophe Théron (Chess Tiger) and Scott Ludwig (PocketChess Deluxe) put in many hours of hard work to produce programs that will enhance your chess and your Palm OS experience. So it's as simple as this: you register, they keep improving programs; you don't, they can't. Help the Palm OS community: support shareware authors by registering the programs you use.

I'll step down from my soapbox now. Thank you for your attention.

The Disclaimer