.The inevitable finally happened: I have jumped on the bandwagon and bought an Ipad. One of the reasons to shell out the money was the recent cutdown on the prices of the Ipad and the other was that I had come to realize that the Ipad was almost perfect for my beloved hobby - playing chess, either against a computer program or against people on the Internet servers. The incredible human interface that "extends" your body in a very literal sense through smudges and fast finger movement is just perfect for playing chess on the tablet. Anyway, here are some of the things that I've experienced so far (after about two weeks with the Ipad):
The best program to play chess on FICS and/or ICC is IchessPack HD, a fast, stable and graphically pleasing application. It has a console and you can really chat with your opponent, has well chosen sounds and several nice boards and pieces you can choose from. I also bought Shredder Ipad International and Shredder for Ipad (by mistake as the first seemed not to be downloading for a long time so I ordered the other one, and it turned out to be one and the same program
), Chess Genius (had to have it if for nothing else than for sentimental reasons), Tom Kerrigan's t-chess for Ipad (a very nice and nifty little program that plays great chess and can be set up to play at your strength), Chess Wise Pro (a playing program and a database for your pgn selections). I also have Chess Tiger! that has turned out to be my pet program on the Ipad. I tried it at its highest level playing blitz with a tiny increment (3 + 1). Of course I had no idea what I was in for ---- slaughter, to say the least. As I am an attacking player and like to play a tactical game at blitz so is Chess Tiger, but it is a lot stronger than I and I simply had no chance. Then I started lowering its strength and am currently battling it out with Chess Tiger set at 1800, and enjoyng every minute. I had had another tiny Chess Tiger for my Palm and it was a great opponent, but then the passage of time ruined my Palm and Chess Tiger is no more, too bad. This time it has been reborn with some diabolical powers, its play is incredibly human-like and the interface is just beautiful. If you really wish to find a great chess opponent that makes you sad, cheerful, exuberant or depressive, a program that you want to shake hands with or yell at, get Chess Tiger for the Ipad . Back in 2001 or 2002, in the good old days of yore and intellectual honesty it was Chess Tiger that I wrote about with whoops of joy and claimed to be the best program ever. And, finally, I downloaded for free the monster, the ultimate calculating opponent that I only bow before and sometimes dare for opinion about a position. The oracle I am talking about is Stockfish for the Ipad -- beautifully done interface, devilishly strong engine. I don't thinkt that I will ever match up any engines on the Ipad, they are there to play against not to test them. I think that I'll always give the nod to Chess Tiger, it is my dream program, especially with my fingers playing the moves, just like in real chess, and I can enjoy matching wits with its crafty purposeful play. Chess Tiger actually reminds me a lot of a chess friend of mine, an FM master that I used to play a lot some time ago (by the way I am not exactly a patzer, my current FICS rating is above 2000 blitz). I've had only two grudges so far in my chessic experiences with the Ipad: the first disappointment was Magnus's Online Chess client that you supposedly can use to play on FICS (about 3 euros). I downloaded the app and it was not usable at all, it simply wouldn't budge and was stuck at the opening screen telling me that it was 'connecting to FICS'. This screen lasted forever. I tried everything to revive it, I removed it, downloaded it again, etc. No go. My Wifi is really fast and all other apps run just fine. I have no idea how to lodge my complaint and to whom as I haven't found the proper email address. But I firmly believe that the fact that this program is marketed by Itunes is a scandal as the program does not do anything it advertises.... The other minor disappointment is that Shredderchess support never replied to my query about the Shredder app that I paid for twice. I do beleve that it was I who made the mistake but I should have received at least some kind of explanation.
At the end of the day I am very pleased with chess on my Ipad
.