What pgn viewer do you use? I haven't used many, but the ones I have used have all had odd quirks that I don't like. For instance, Winboard is annoying for having separate windows for everything, so every move that has a comment or variation tied to it pops up separately. I recently downloaded Chessbase Light, but it won't let me save games when I enter the moves on the board.

I just want a simple tool for viewing existing pgn files and making new ones by moving the pieces around on the board. Any suggestions for a free pgn viewer for Windows XP that can easily handle the basics?

--Fromper

I switched from Winboard to Shredder about a week ago for the improved analysis strength. It has many nice features for annotating games etc.. And at $30 and some change I figured it was worth trying, I'm glad I did.

The unregistered version has the same limitations as Chessbase light.

Oh for sure, go with Fritz of some sort. Even the free ChessbaseLight is awesome for pgn viewing...

Get it here: ChessBase - Download

Winboard. Always.

What a weird thread. I specifically asked for a free pgn viewer, and said what I don't like about Winboard and Chessbase Light, yet the three recommendations you guys gave were Winboard, Chessbase Light, and a program that costs $30.

I've been playing in too many expensive tournaments lately, so I'm trying to save money by avoiding book/program purchases for a bit. And I really want to save my own games and copy games from books on to the computer and save them for later study, because it's easier to go through games on the screen, so CB Light is out. And as I said, all those extra windows popping up in Winboard is annoying, not to mention that it won't let you set up a position, then start playing it out with black moving first. Winboard always thinks white has to move first, even if you're not in the starting position.

Someone on another site suggested Chesspad, so I'll probably try that one out. Any other suggestions?

--Fromper

Chesspad is very handy. I use it for about everything except analysis. You can add an engine to it if you want though.

Yes, download the OLDER version of free Chessbase light that lets you save games. Here is the link(you want to pick the "smaller" one here). I LOVE my Chessbase light, It works fine on my WIN98 and I hope you give it a try on your system(after backing up your system files first of course...).
The link- Chess Direct Ltd. ChessBase download