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Decent program and Excellent value for the money CM9000 offers excellent value for your money. You will get very good graphic, decent playing modes, training modes, fun drill, ok quizzes, etc,... Some lectures are good as well. I never had any problems with Windows XP on my 3 year old PC. Also, a nice feature - you don't need to insert the original disk every time, only once in awhile. My only complain is - when you select opponent Under 1500, as I did to observe some of my younger students playing, the program plays in a weird way. It makes terrible moves at first and then begins playing strong. This would not be an unusual opening for 1300 PC player "Annie" playing as Black - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 Ke7. Another words - when you want CM to play like 1300, CM plays like 500 for a several moves and then like 2400. Overall - far from superb, but excellent value for your money. For children beginners, I would strongly suggest Learn to Play with Fritz and Chesster. For older and stronger players CM is OK, also check other products from the Fritz "family." One of the more important things is to be able to properly evaluate your current level and find how to improve. You may want to check my new book - Chess Exam and Training Guide: Rate Yourself and Learn How to Improve - to get accurate self-evaluation and more suggestions on books and software appropriate specifically for you.