The program offers some novel training functions in combination with the numerous chess engines which over the years have massively influenced and downright revolutionised chess and above all training preparation and the analysis of chess games. Of course it is extremely practical when a chess engine delivers a conclusive evaluation of a position within a short time, but one big disadvantage is underestimated by many users: the intensive use of chess engines tempts you to approach the position superficially instead of working on it independently to a sufficient degree.
The current program version offers the user a rather discreetly implemented feature which, in combination with an engine, increases the motivation for independent training. Instead of staring at the displays of the engine window, there is an extremely useful alternative: click the button Hints on/off in the running engine window.
The following example introduces the function which we recommend for the independent analysis of games.
This position dates from 1961 and occurred in a game between Tigran Petrosian and Ludek Pachman. Followers of the King's Indian Attack will certainly know this game well, in which Pachman and the World Champion of the years 1963 - 1969 both overlooked the spectacular queen sacrifice which is possible in this position.
With the move 1.Qxf6+ White wins immediately and forces a mate in seven moves. If you did not see this move, Petrosian and Pachman fared just the same on the previous move.
If you play through the game with a running chess engine, this beautiful mate is calculated in a flash and displayed immediately.
So far so good - or, from the point of view of tactical training, so bad. This position is actually perfectly suited for training your own combinational vision. Could positions like this not be used profitably for training at home in combination with the strong chess engines?
As you can guess after reading the introduction, it is possible. Now click the button Hints on/off in the engine window as described above.
Now a new effect appears: the engine variation(s) are not displayed; instead you now see helpful text hints which can assist you in finding the solution on your own.
By clicking the button Next tip the program offers you further tips and hints for the current board position.