The Chessmaster (NES) Playthrough
186A playthrough of Hi Tech Expressions' 1990 chess game for the NES, The Chessmaster.
The Chessmaster was the first NES game of its kind when it was released in early 1990, and it was one of only two chess games to ever appear on the platform, the other being Battle Chess (https://youtu.be/zp4eQo4wBpQ) released later that same year.
The Software Toolwork's "The Chessmaster" series got its start back in 1986 with the release of The Chessmaster 2000 across several computer platforms. The game was met with near universal acclaim thanks to its wide range of customization options and the strength of the engine driving its AI routines.
This NES entry to the series was likewise met with praise. Reviewers agreed in that whatever the game lacked in panache, it more than made up for in its ability to provide satisfying matches against a capable opponent.
There are several options that you can tweak to suit your ability level. The newcomer levels are perfect for those looking to get their feet wet with the basics, especially since the game helpfully includes a "teaching mode" that shows all of the possible moves you can make in a turn.
For anyone looking for a real challenge, there are sixteen levels of difficulty available that scale based on the amount of time you allow the CPU player to "think." For example, the lowest level, 60/5, makes the computer able to play 60 moves within five minutes. The highest level, infinite, gives the AI unlimited time to consider its possibilities and it'll only take its turn once you hit the "Force Chessmaster" option.
There are also options for "deep thinking," which allows the AI to consider its moves during your turn, and "opening book," which allows the AI to draw from a large library of predefined moves during the first few turns of the game.
I'm not a big chess player so I can't speak to the challenge that The Chessmaster might offer intermediate and advanced players. However, I can tell you that even on the 60/5 level, The Chessmaster puts up a fight. I can steamroll the game on its newcomer settings, but on the numbered difficulty settings, I'm the one that gets flattened.
You can see that in the three matches I show in this video, all with deep thinking and opening book turned on:
0:31 Newcomer 1
4:25 Newcomer 2
7:00 60/5
The Chessmaster is, as far as I can tell, an impressive piece of software, and if you're looking for a serious game of chess on the NES, this is easily the better of your two options.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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