GamesRadar+ Verdict
Pros
- +
Varied AI opponents
- +
Puzzle mode
- +
Ease of play
Cons
- -
Chess is hard
- -
Visually bland
- -
Losing to beginners
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Board and card games have proven pretty popular on Xbox Live Arcade, so it’s a bit surprising that we haven’t seen more of them. The latest board game to join the party is one of the most widely-known, and one of the hardest to master.
And that might be the biggest thing working against Chessmaster Live - chess simply isn’t that easy to play, to the point that a lot of people just aren’t interested in investing the time to learn. However, Chessmaster takes this into account, offering one of the most user-friendly chess programs ever seen.
With the assists on, simply highlighting a particular piece on the board offers up information on where said piece can move. The game also shades possible moves that could lead to a piece being captured in red. Finally, if you move one of your pieces within range of capturing an opponent’s piece, the game will point that out with a green arrow. If that move will put your piece in jeopardy, the game lets you know that as well.
