Players choose from 12 different skill levels to play against, and can have aides in game to assist them, such as hints offered by the CPU.

stated that Chessmaster 2000 "is now the yardstick for which other similar programs will be measured", and favorably cited Software Toolworks' decision to give all versions of the game the same sophisticated engine.

[5] In 1986, Computer Gaming World wrote of the IBM PC version, "I wish I could find something negative to include in this review but I can't ...

It was noted that the game had a sophisticated defense, but would resign in hopeless situations without forcing the human to finish an inevitable win.

The magazine criticized the Atari 8-bit version's playability, stating that "the 3-D display is unusable even on a very good monitor–you can't tell the overlapping pieces apart", lack of a chess clock, and poor documentation and controls.