Beren the 32nd: It depends on what you mean by "aid". If you mean to help you plan and play your moves then you should only do it with the express permission of your opponent (most will probably say no but a really strong player may not mind). If you mean using a program to explore a game that you've finished playing then there can be no reasonable objection. If you want to analyse moves during a game (but after you play each move, of course) then you must ask yourself whether it helps further your strategy. In Chess (ie. your game area) I would suggest that it does.

If you mean can you find a book or website and study up on an interesting stratagem then again it's a question of conscience: Is it materially helping you in a current game and could mean a win or draw that you would otherwise not have had? Then perhaps it's gaining an unfair advantage. I say "perhaps" because there will be times when you gain some knowledge "inadvertantly" (eg. while learning about a different idea) and you shouldn't be having agonies over it being unfair. There are other reasons for that "perhaps" but I can't express them properly at the moment. I'm for bed!

Have fun!
:-)


Others may disagree. ;-)