Free chess software
If you're an amateur, but starting to get serios about the game, there are a few things you should definitely have. Here is my list...

1. Scid - the best free chess database application. In fact, I don't think it has any serious competition in its category. If you don't have it yet, go and grab it. You've got nothing to lose.
Unfortunately, Scid uses a GTK based interface. Which means, it doesn't look too good. I know that one shouldn't complain about things like that when it comes free, but I really do think interfaces matter. Someone should rewrite it using Qt, for instance... Anyway, Scid does the job, and does it well, too.

2. Chess database - well, Scid alone doesn't do too much. You need some databases, too. Here it is one, that's free, and it has 1.5 million games. Pretty impressive, for $0. But of course there is a "but": the games there are not too new, the latest is from around 1994. Not that it would matter, for an amateur like me :D

3. Crafty - one of the strongest free chess engines around there, developed by Robert Hyatt. After getting Scid, and the chess database, Crafty is the next thing to download and install. It is extremely useful in analyzing the games in the database. It seems however, that right now the site only contains the sources of Crafty, there are no precompiled binaries...too bad, but there are other places one can get them.

4. Babaschess - I tried a few interfaces to connect to FICS, and this one is the best I've seen. Register a handle on FICS, get Babaschess, and the world of online chess is ready for you.

5. Arena - one step further....it's a very nice looking interface to chess engines. You can use it to pit chess engines head-to-head (there are loads of chess engines available for download on the site, all working with Arena), to play against the engine of your choice (there are also some weaker chess engines, not just GM strength!), or it can serve as an interface to chess servers. Good to have.

Well, these are the first things that pop into my mind when it comes about free chess software. Have a look, try them out, have fun.
- posted by Időbeosztás-guru @ 3:47 PM