Heh, I've only been here a month but I have a strong feeling this question must have already been asked about a couple hundred billion times 🙂
Since I'm already posting, I'll say that Rybka by far trounces all the other engines out there. But for fun and beginners I use Chessmaster.
Fritz and family are the best overall engines, especially when you consider the interface. Rybka appears to be the strongest engine (at least for playing other engines--I've not seen evidence of substantial testing of Rybka against top GMs). The Fritz interface has excellent database features built in; the Fritz and family engines all work within the Chessbase database program, which sets the standard.
Chessmaster has a strong engine, and comes with an interface that some find appealing. Its lessons are geared more towards beginners than the lessons that come with Fritz. Its database features are poor compared to the alternatives. (Six years ago I used CM as my database quite extensively, and to my benefit.)
Originally posted by tlswmsNo.
is the consensus that for a novice who doesn't know the difference between one opening and another that CM is the best?
Chessmaster is a fine product, and well worth the $20 I paid at Best Buy. It was originally priced at $40, and it is not worth that much. Fritz at $55 is underpriced in comparison.
Chessmaster is not better or best in any way, but it has lessons that reach a bit more towards beginners.
Chessmaster's teaching on openings is a bit dogmatic, IMO. Fritz puts more and better emphasis on ECO codes, and thus is better in the long run even for those starting without any opening knowledge. Fritz does a better job of recognizing transpositions; much of the difference is due to the vastly superior database features of the product, and better integration of all aspects of the product into a coherent whote. Chessmaster's playing, teaching, and database features are discreet that function more as separate programs. Only its teaching features can hold a candle to Fritz, and then only for players up to 1400 or so.
Chessmaster was my first chess program almost 20 years ago, and I used it for years. Consequently, I find it difficult not to check out new editions when they become available. However, I find limited use for it today. When I used Chessmaster 2100, it was a state of the art program. Today, there is Fritz, designed and maintained by chess professionals. CM, on the other hand, is an old program given a few tweaks by the gamers that now own its code.