I've been using Fritz 12 on my old laptop for years and I want to add more visual boards. I've seen there are lots of downloads out there but I don't know which ones are safe or where to actually find them.
When I travel to camps with my college classmates, some of them carry Fritz on their computer to play during the nights, so I know a bit about it. The thing is, finding safe boards for those older versions isn't as easy as it seems because a lot of download sites are full of malware or dead links. What I'd recommend first is checking directly on ChessBase's official page, which is the company behind Fritz. They have a downloads section where you can find board packs and themes that were specifically designed for those versions. It's not always the most glamorous option, but it's the safest.
If you don't find what you're looking for on the official page, there are some chess forums that have been active for years and where users share verified resources, like Chess.com or the SparkChess forums. People there are pretty serious about what they share and the moderators generally make sure there's nothing suspicious. You can also search on Reddit in communities like r/chess, where some users still use old software and have shared where they got their boards without any issues. The important thing is that you avoid downloads from generic torrent sites or pages you don't recognize, because that's where people end up getting viruses without realizing it.
One more thing: Fritz 12 is pretty old by now, so some modern boards might not be 100% compatible. Before downloading anything, make sure you check the comments or descriptions to see if someone else has confirmed it works with your specific version. That'll save you headaches later.
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