Many of us can probably recall a few years back when World Chess Grand Champion Gary Kasparov went up against IBM's Deep Blue, billed as the most powerful chess computer in the world. Now it appears that same power, and perhaps more, is available to the home PC user. In a three match series against Kasparov, the score ended at 1-1, with one draw. I figure if Gary can't trounce Fritz then most of us poor sods in front of a PC screen won't be beating him, or looking for a bigger challenge any time soon.

Fritz Chess 11 continues the tradition of what is arguably one of the world's best known PC chess engines. Developed by Chessbase GmbH and published by Excalibur Publishing, Fritz is a far cry from many of the most common PC games that involve little more than a quick trigger finger and the ability to walk in a straight line. Fritz is pure chess, with few bells or whistles, and it takes the game very seriously.

While Fritz is described as a "chess tutor" by the developers, don't for a moment think it's something that total chess-noobs can pick up to learn the basics, and do it easily. While there are introductory videos on the DVD by chess master Andrew Martin, as well as training programs, expect a serious learning curve. This program is probably best suited to people who have experience in the game and are interesting in improving and acquiring more advanced skills.

Fritz opens as a fairly standard looking chess game with a simple two-dimensional board. There are a multitude of options for setting up the game and it's here that no amount of seasoned chess knowledge will save you; make sure you have the manual handy, because it can be incredibly difficult to set up even a practice match. There's no simple "new game" function, instead under the "new game" menu there are a dozen different options for different sorts of games, such as tournament or modified rules, yet nothing that just says "practice game". While this offers great flexibility and choice once you've got to grips with the menu system, it means you'll be spending a lot more time learning just to get the program running rather than learning much about chess.

After a steep learning curve however, the flexibility of the Fritz 11 chess engine really shows its best. Fritz's 'brain' can be modified to play in a wide variety of styles, from careless or stupid to aggressive or passive, and a whole lot in between. Games can be set up under a number of rules and handicaps can be applied if you find Fritz beating you far too often - which you will.

Graphically, it's fairly safe to assume that you're not buying a chess game for the pretty graphics. Fritz has very basic graphics and is easiest to use on the simple two-dimensional setting. There is an option for a three-dimensional board, though it really doesn't improve the game and must have been quite badly coded, as it runs very slowly, even on a powerful system. The playing screen is highly customisable, allowing you to set up different windows, each displaying various statistics or information about the game, to fine-tune the details that Fritz displays. There's even the possibility to display Fritz's 'thinking', although without a degree in mathematics and computer sciences, the readout might not be that useful. The availability of a move checking option is however very useful. When you pick up a piece, the board displays all the available legal moves. After you drag the piece to one of these spots, Fritz displays all the possible threats to your piece, as well as all the pieces that it now potentially threatens. It's one of the few options that is genuinely useful to beginner players, while even advanced players will appreciate Fritz keeping an eye out for anything they may have accidentally missed.

By far the most impressive feature I found in the game however is the way that Fritz comments on all the available moves. With this option turned on, a window appears where Fritz lists every move available and comments on them. Fritz makes comments on the quality of the move, such as 'weak option - not advisable' or 'will pin down opponent's bishop', as well as listing the immediate consequences, such as losing or trading pieces. This is a great learning tool and will be useful even for the most advanced players.

On the subject of being useful, does Fritz really have to talk to me so much? Other than the 'clack' of chess pieces being moved and a 'bong' sound when you try to make an illegal move, the only sound in the game is the voice of Fritz. I'm not entirely sure what Fritz's accent is, but whoever voiced him sure sounds weird. After every move he makes a comment, usually something 'funny' and in a stupid voice or accent. It is funny, though only for laughing at Fritz, not with him. For a game that is about serious chess and learning advanced strategies, it's little more than an annoyance.

Chess is one of those games that polarises opinions easily. Most people see it as overly difficult and dull, but there are quite a few people who truly love the game and find it both challenging and rewarding. Fritz Chess 11 will appeal very strongly to these the latter group. As a straight-laced, no-frills chess program, it is the ideal tool for refining and polishing everyone's game, so if you have a strong interest in chess, Fritz will supply all the challenge and education you will need for a long time to come. That is, at least until you can beat Kasparov.

Reviewed by Steve Rosenthal for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).