Hello,

I'm looking a long time for Linux Chess Softwares that could let me play a honest game (it is with the correct level) and could analyse my games. I really like of Shredder Classic, but after an article of this site, i'm doubt of buy it.
I'm a weak player, so I don't need Deep XXX engines just to prove for me that i'm too bad.
Someone could give some tips?

PS: Sorry for my english, i'm from Brazil and i'm very rusty.

Hi!

Yes, finding strong chess engines (even for free) is no problem but good sparring partners are a different story. If you are running Linux, take a look at Phalanx. It has an option to set the "easy" level, see the man pages for more.

I use a command like the following to start Phalanx with xboard and easy level 50:

xboard -tc 30 -fcp "phalanx -e 50"

Give it a try and let me know what you think! The thing I like better with Shredder is that Shredder does not move immediately after you move. That gives it a more "human" feeling, if one can call it like that.

Oh, and don't worry about your English, I am not a native speaker either and I understand you just fine.

Ok! I'll try phalanx. Did you ever heard of Scid?
With Shredder i have all the things that i need, that is a "player" and "analyses".
Soon i will give an answer about phalanx!

Hi! I use SCID all the time, it is a great program. Unfortunately, the original developer stopped working on it and the two guys who continue developing it don't get along with each other, to say the least. SO there are now three different versions of it.

There is a SCID format chess database in the download section. That is essentially the database I use when I study openings.

You can also use SCID as a graphical frontend for Phalanx, but I haven't found a way to set the easy level there. You can even use the Shredder engine within the latest versions of SCID.