Hey maybe the low dollar will get some of our manufacturing jobs back.

The chessprogram Fritz and others from Chessbase) include databases of usually 1- 1.5 million played matches. It should fit your needs, but at less then one third of the price for the chessbase database starter kit version 9. The interface (as I just have written in another chess-ralated thread) is superb.

Price for new Fritz 10 in Germany is 40-50 euro. You could as well buy some older version of it or another chessbase-engine, and eventually buy it for a price in the one-digit range (in Germany at last, availability of these softwares in the Us seems to be a bit limited, what surprises me).

http://cgi.ebay.com/FRITZ-10-CHESS-S...QQcmdZViewItem


http://www.amazon.com/ChessCentral-H...3445128&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Junior-10-Cham...3445128&sr=8-5


If I could be of help, let me know.

I don't think its gonna get that low. I mean... think Rhode Island will ever be able to challenge the one dollar a day wage?;)

I got the Fritz 10. Thanks for the link. Don't really know why, but it was a good deal. I'd like to get Junior 10 at some time.

Why?

If you wish to collect the top titles, I would recommend Rybka (download), and Hiarcs 11 (since version 11 also only downloadable).

If you want to do engine matches, get Hiarcs. Fritz and hiarcs are nicely contrasting in playing styels.

If you think about playing strength, forget it, you do not need more than one of these top engines to suit your needs in personally playing the CPU. They all will kill oyu if you let them loose without artifical brakes or handicaps in your favour.

Look here:

Ah, it's currently down, but remember this link:
http://web.telia.com/~u85924109/ssdf/list.htm

It's the Swedish SSDF computer engine ranking list. They have a DOS list as well on that site, listing all board computers and programs since the mid-80s.

Hiarcs homepage:
http://www.hiarcs.com/

Rybka:
http://www.rybkachess.com/index.php

I personally use Hiarcs 10 engine with Fritz 9 GUI and stopped collecting engines.

You said you are currently learning chess. You probably already found the link yourself, but to be safe:
http://chessbaseusa.sectorlink.org/DesktopDefault.aspx

Check their training software.

Just came back from England yesterday.

You mean those weren't prices in dollars on all those tags?

:doh:

:damn:

That is exactly what will happen. It will also prevent any further jobs from leaving. THe dollar is way upset against almost every other currency too.

I heard it's training is very good.

Maybe not, but then again who says that the workers in those dollar a day countries will put up with slave wages forever?

As far as I know, Junior still runs under the Fritz GUI. and it is not the engine, but the GUI that offers the user any helping tools, training possebilities, etc. As I said, my hiracs 10 engine runs under Fritz 9 GUI, your Friotz 10 engine runs with the GUI one version higher. I would be surpsied to learnt hat junior offers you any functionality that you do not already have with Fritz 10.

P.S. I just checked it and I am sure: Junior is still distributed by Chessbase, and 10 is the latest version. You do not get anything more in functionality than what you already have with Fritz 10. As a matter of fact, Junior 10 comes with either the Fritz 9 or Fritz 10 GUI. - Save your money!

I thought the British pound's value was based on silver ... I know USA's was and now it's not, but the pound has always been like between $2, $2.25, $2.50 to me.

Speaking of things going up, have you seen the price of groceries lately? The sale price is now what the regular price use to be and that's just this year.

I have too! Groceries are through the roof! Crazy.

And you can bet your bottom dollar it's not the farmers making the money either.

Fuel costs isn't it. Corn products also because of Bio-Fuel. I have heard that because of the low numbers of brown cow's being born that chocolate milk is going to skyrocket.

Not Chocolate Milk! Noooooooooooooooooooo! :D