The video begins by showing you where you can find the feature to set the chess timer for
Long Games. To get started quickly, you're able to select from a series of defaults: 5 minutes; 10 minutes; 40 minutes; 75 minutes; 90 minutes; or 2 hours. All of these default settings focus on players making 40 moves, within the allotted timeframe.
Next, you'll see how Fritz records the moves by both armies - you can switch between
"Sequence" view, which is simply an accumulating list of the moves made, and
"Score sheet" view, which replicates how a player fills in their Score sheet, when taking part in proper
chess tournaments (whether at your local Chess Club, or a more prestigious event).
Moving on and the video lets you see how to change the
Style of the Chessboard, to one of 16 different themes.
You're able to play in 3D mode, either against Fritz, or you can switch off the Chess Engine - either to play against a friend (sitting at the same computer as you), or so you can make moves for both armies, for the purpose of analyzing different positions.
From there, the video shows inside the
View menu, where you get to show or hide different panes, such as the
Clock Window,
Notation and
Analysis Board, among other options.
If you prefer to play and analyze chess games in 2D mode, all you have to do is go to the tabbed menu labeled "
Board" and select the style of Squares, Pieces and/or Table that you like.
The
Training menu is where you'll find tools for showing the potential of different moves. Among the options include
Dynamic Hints,
Opening Hints,
Threatened Squares,
Spy, a window to
Explain All Moves and one to
Show Plans (a feature that animates the Chess Engine's plans on the board).
Next, you'll see how easy it is to set the Chessboard up in any position you want, with the aptly named
Position Setup tool. You simply click on the Pawns/Pieces you want, then click on the squares where you want them to go.
Fritz 12 is more than just a sophisticated tool for playing and analyzing chess moves. From the splash screen, you can enter the
Chess course section, which is packed with a hefty selection of Beginner videos, plus samples of other
Video-based Training, which are available on DVD, from Chessbase.
This video takes you from opening Fritz 12 and shows you the usual options I select when playing against Fritz.
From the View menu, I switch on the Clock Window and the Notation pane (whether you have it set to show the Notation or the Score sheet is down to your personal preference).
With those options set, go to the Home menu and, from the Levels drop-down button, I choose the Fixed depth to set the playing strength of Fritz (the optimum Search depth is Level 50).
After I set the Level, I then choose the time control - basically, you can choose how long you want to play (either from the Blitz Game or Long Game options respectively).
And that's it ... you're ready to play chess against Fritz!
In the video, you see one of my favorite online resources for chess games. You can search through hundreds and hundreds of games played by the most-influential players of all time.
Not only that, but you can view the PGN file for each game. What you'll see in our video is how to Copy the PGN file and Paste it directly into Fritz 12, where you can either analyze the individual moves, or play the game, from any position, against Fritz!
Of course, we're not just limited to Pasting in games from ChessGames.com. For instance, if a friend emails you a sequence of moves or a full game in PGN format, using the same method you see in the video, you can quickly Copy & Paste the file straight into Fritz 12 and get playing or analyzing to your heart's content.
In addition to Pasting games into Fritz 12 from an external source, the video also shows you how to Copy games
from Fritz 12, so you can paste them into a text file or email and send them to a friend (this works great if, for example, you play
Correspondence Chess online).
Of course, the gameplay is always the most-important aspect of any chess program. However, if you can use a sophisticated chess playing and analysis tool like Fritz 12 and do it in an environment that's pleasing on the eye ... well, all the better, right?
In this video, you get to see how to change the look and feel of the Fritz 12 playing environment. The quickest option is to select one of the four Style themes: Blue, Black, Silver, or Aqua.
However, if you want to get your Fritz 12 really personalized to your unique tastes, there are options for tweaking and changing the playing area even further.
Due to the vast amount of tools, options and customization that Fritz 12 offers, there are lots of buttons to press and setting to choose.
At first, it can seem overwhelming. So, this video gives you a quick overview of where everything is. By the time your copy of Fritz 12 lands on your mat, you'll already be familiar with the key setting, where they're located and how to turn them on or off.
Rather than showing every conceivable feature of Fritz 12, this page shows only the features I've found I use most often, as a beginner, when learning to play Chess with this highly sophisticated, feature packed program. It's excellent value for money.
