Fritz 8 Deluxe review:4 stars (Works well, if somewhat difficult to use.) - I must agree with other reviewers when I say that the interface is simply awful. It's much harder to navigate than it should be. The 3D graphics, if you opt to use them, are herky-jerky and poorly programmed but nicely rendered when not moving. Chessbase should really release a patch for that, but I suspect they won't. Fritz's talk feature is neat for a few minutes, but quickly drags - that goodness you can turn it off. I do not enjoy having my computer mock me while it beats me to a pulp on the chessboard.
And another thing. When the chess coach (which, being relatively new to the game, I leave on) tells me that "This move will lose the game for you, Nick" or "This move will spell your downfall.", I would absolutely love it for him to elaborate and (being a coach) maybe tell me WHY. But he won't. I can slap the two hint buttons all day long and he says nothing. Sure, I can hit the suggestion button, but I would much rather figure it out on my own with a hint and learn something than be told what to do and wonder. I realize it's my own dumb fault for putting myself in situations where Coach would tell me that, but still, I'd like explaination so I learn from it.
That said, there are many helpful functions to be had, once you've found them. The openings training is nice because it will automatically set up an opening for you and allow you to play from there, giving you a feel for how each one works. Endgame training is harder, but welcome. A whole bunch of openings and a few variations are included. The beginners course is pretty good for newer players like myself, and includes a few exercizes. It's relatively easy to set up chess puzzles on the virtual board, too. Another neat feature is a seperate, smaller window with a board for analysis while you're playing.

I ended up liking this program once I figured out how to do what I wanted to do with it, and playing against such a difficult engine has made me think about what I'm doing noticeably more after just a few days of playing against it. Recommended, though I have no experience with Chessmaster software to compare this to.3 stars (Horrible interface, smart chess engine) - This software literally has the worst interface I've seen on any software in the last 5 years (atleast). Using it feels like you're piloting a 747 running on Windows 95. Sadly, this is an improvement from earlier versions.

You may notice that many reviews mention the "chatter" as an actual feature. That people are highlighting a set of 40 unfunny prerecorded looping sound clips should tell you something about the rest of Fritz's features. Imagine playing chess with an autistic fan of Monty Python that kept throwing gems like "I strike at thee!" at you. Cute for a day, but you'd be crushing Ritalin in his orange juice soon thereafter.

The hardcore chess community has latched onto this product due to a combination of three things.
First and most importantly: near-flawless play. Fritz will destroy you.
Less critical but still influential: high ranked namedropping and the more mainstream competitor's (Chessmaster) recent foray into obnoxious copy protection.

If you're at competition level with chess, Fritz is the choice for you.. but you probably already know that. If you're anything less, go with the much more pleasant, visually impressive, feature-rich and still respectable playing Chessmaster.4 stars (Excellent Features. Powerful Program. Difficult to Use. ) - SUMMARY:
Excellent features in an extremely powerful program, although a bit difficult to use. As I improve, I'll appreciate the program more and more.

DETAIL:
I've spent the past bunch of years with Chessmaster, starting with my C64, I think, through a 386, and now onto a P3 (and a P4, too). In all fairness to the people at Ubi - and this was maybe (12-15) years ago, they upgraded my Chessmaster program for five bucks so I could use it on a new computer. Pretty classy. Now, though, they've become so paranoid of the chess community that they've screwed us over with unbearable copy protection. It's an insult, so I bought Fritz 8 instead of upgrading CM6000.

Onto Fritz 8 Deluxe: The great features are the analysis tools, the coach, and the soft levels (handicap, friend mode, etc) that take some of the pain out of computer play. The Spy-on-Fritz option is fantastic (Fritz will show you what he's thinking so you can consider a counterstroke). Understanding your opponent is a challenging climb in learning chess, and this option puts it in the front of your mind. And, Viva throws in a year membership to Chessbase. Excellent stuff.

A few other posts hinted at the poor features: It can be difficult to use the advanced functions due to program design and mediocre documentation. And, for some reason, the natural language advice doesn't work on my machine (P3 and P4). Chessmaster never gave me any problems there. Also, Chessmaster's Josh Waitzen (sp?) tutorials are brilliant. The Gary Kasparov stuff (Viva threw in a few demo chapters with Fritz) doesn't come close. Gary's just too good for us hacks; Josh talks to you.


Fritz 8 Deluxe Features:
Computer Games
Board
Chess
CD
12 Month free membership to PlayChess.com, the fastest growing Chess server
NEW: Garry Kasparov Training Videos Introduction to the Queen’s Gambit
NEW: An additional 6 all new true 3D chessboards including the Spanish Room playing environment
NEW: Improved Fritz Engine for more power and deeper position analysis
NEW: 500,000+ games database updated and fully searchable

Fritz 8 Deluxe is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 39.99USD.