Time and the Shredder Chess App
If you really want to
succeed in chess, you really got to spend a lot of time! This statement is true
not only in chess but in every endeavor.
Time is a very important investment
in developing your innate talent in chess. Without spending time, the God given
talent in chess cannot be honed to its maximum effectiveness to earn that
elusive and sought after “Grandmaster” title. Chess which is somehow easy to
learn but very difficult to attain perfection requires a lot of time in
studying every aspect of the game – the opening, middle game and the endgame.
In the opening stages alone, there
are a hundred openings with a thousand variations. The resulting variation from
every game played through the centuries require a lot of time
to thoroughly study and analyze. Even
the most common openings, such as the Ruy Lopez and the Sicilian defense,
demand spending a lot of time in analysis and evaluation. There are a thousand
books written about each and every opening. To read and review these books,
magazines and other document on chess would definitely require a great amount
of time.
The lack of time to devote for chess
study is often the main problem why there are very few amateur chess players
who reach grandmaster status. In a developing country, where survival mandates
that time should be spent for work, there is really very little time left for
serious chess study. Chess, unlike spectator sports such as boxing, basketball
or football, is not a financially rewarding. There are many promising chess
players who are constrained from playing the game because all their time is
spent to earn a living. There is really lack of quality time to give to chess.
Despite the apparent lack of time
however, there are still players who play the game seriously. For the love of
the game, players still flock local tournaments even if the prize is not really
that much. More important than the prize money, is the experience of having
participated in the tournament. To meet players and just be there in the thick
of the fight is enough for the chess player.
One option chess players have today
is the internet. With the advent of the internet and various websites where
chess is played online, chess players now have a venue to play with other
players all over the world. There is
“www.chess.com” and “caissa’s web” where players can play online and test their
skills against other players. The internet is one great invention that has
popularized chess and reached all levels of society in every part of the world.
There are also strong computer programs that can be downloaded from the
internet.
With these chess venues, the player
can at least practice and play the game of chess in their comfort zones. They can
just log in and play chess in their computer, laptop, ipad and cellphone. But of course, there is no substitute of
having a human opponent across the chessboard. Playing chess online or against computers seem
to lack suspense and that feel of competition.
There are however computer programs
and apps that are challenging and exciting to play. I have recently purchased
from the App Store and installed on my iphone “Shredder Chess”. It is described as “the most successful chess
program ever” and that “in addition to the outstanding playing strength of the
12 times computer chess world champion, Shredder is also able to mimic the play
of the human chess player with any playing strength. He even deliberately makes
mistakes in those levels”.
Here are the features of the Shredder App – “(1)
adjustable playing strength; (2) intuitive and very safe to operate; (2) 1000
built in chess puzzles; (3) see your rating in a diagram; (4) outstanding
playing strength on the iphone; (5) analyze your games with Shredder, find your
mistakes and improve your play; (6) coach shows your mistakes; (7) different
playing styles from passive to aggressive; (8) great variety: opening book with
more than one million moves; (9) enter an analyze any position you like; (10)
load and save games (incl. names, data, etc.); (11) send games via email;
(12) different chessboards and pieces;
(13) support for voice over/accessibility; and (14) improve your play whenever
and wherever you like. With a price of
$7.99 or around P 340.00, I think the app is worth it.
To get that human feel and during my
spare time, I would get a chessboard and play Shredder. I would imagine that I
am playing against a human opponent. As
I play against Shredder, I am challenged by its comprehension of the game. It plays within my level of strength and it
gives good guidance to further improve my play.
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