Ludography
78/100
Players12 ratings
Chessmaster 2000 cover

1986 · Puzzle · Sports

Chessmaster 2000

The Chessmaster 2000 is the most powerful computer chess program in the world today and the friendliest!

Released
1986
Platforms
AmigaAmstrad CPCApple IIAtari 8-bitAtari STAtari ST/STECommodore 64Commodore C64/128/MAXMS-DOSMSXWindowsZX SpectrummacOS
Genres
PuzzleSportsStrategy
Developers
—
Publishers
—
Series
Chessmaster
Perspective
Third personBird view / Isometric
Country
United States

About

The Chessmaster 2000 is a computer chess game by The Software Toolworks. It was the first in the Chessmaster series and published in 1986. It was released for Amiga, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Macintosh, and IBM PC compatibles.

Keywords

  • chess

Media

Chessmaster 2000 screenshot 1

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Chessmaster 2000 is a chess engine made for chess players ranging from novice to professional skill levels. In the game, players can play against a computer opponent with 12 different skill levels available to choose from. They can also elect to receive assistance from aides in the game, such as hints offered by the CPU. Players could also turn the board 90 degrees in 3D.

The game has documentation on famous chess matches from past tournaments, and allows players to recreate the positions from those events. S. Chess Federation, and included a discount on membership to the USCF.

Reception

Compute! stated that Chessmaster 2000 "is now the yardstick for which other similar programs will be measured", and favorably cited Software Toolworks' decision to give all versions of the game the same sophisticated engine. In 1986, Computer Gaming World wrote of the IBM PC version, "I wish I could find something negative to include in this review but I can't ... It gets my absolute highest recommendation".

It was noted that the game had a sophisticated defense, but would resign in hopeless situations without forcing the human to finish an inevitable win. The magazine also favorably reviewed the Amiga version, calling the graphics "exceptional" and concluding "highly recommended". Info gave the Amiga version five stars out of five, describing it as "the definitive chess program for the AMIGA", praising the graphics, user interface, and options. The magazine gave the Commodore 64 version three stars out of five, stating that it had almost all of the Amiga version's features but criticizing the requirement of using algebraic notation to move.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Apple II1 June 1986North America
Atari 8-bit1 June 1986North America
Commodore C64/128/MAX1 June 1986North America · Europe 31 December 1987
MS-DOS1 August 1986North America · Europe 31 December 1987
Amiga1 September 1986North America · Europe 31 December 1986
MSX31 December 1986Europe
macOS1 January 1987North America
Atari ST/STE1 March 1987North America · Europe 31 December 1987
Amstrad CPC31 December 1990Europe
ZX Spectrum31 December 1990Europe

Editions and related releases

Included in
The Software Toolworks CD Game Pack

In the same series

Games like this

Collections3 collections

Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.