This iteration of the Chessmaster series offers a strong chess opponent at 12 skill levels, catering for novices to grandmasters. Its many features include an opening library built around 71,000 moves and the ability to print out the move history.

To help novices there is a teach mode showing all legal moves, a hint move offering what the computer feels is a strong move, and the chance for the Chessmaster to analyse all previous moves in a game. Famous real-life game positions and pre-set challenges offer individual challenges.