Computer Chess Game, Electronic Chess Set, Chess Set Board Game, Electronic Chess Set Game, for Beginners & Improving Chess Players, Great Partner for Play and Practice

Computer Chess Game, Electronic Chess Set, Chess Set Board Game, Electronic Chess Set Game, for Beginners & Improving Chess Players, Great Partner for Play and PracticeI just can't say enough about how cool this set is! It does much more than I expected it to do. And absolutely wonderful learning tool.I ordered it to learn to play with my son, who suffered a brain injury in an accident. He needs to exercise the part of his brain that allows people to think ahead. Chess is the perfect game for that and this set is an amazing tool.ANYONE could learn to play, and excel at chess using this board. It's a fantastic tool for children, as well as adults. Even once it teaches you to play, using voice, it guides you on your moves as you play the game. If you make a bad choice on a turn, it lets you know and tells you why.This is not just a game, but a very strong tool to strengthen problem solving skills and memory. Neurosurgeons recommend chess as way to increase intelligence, and even stops dementia from developing in the elderly. It's also recommend for ADHD and to help children learn to see things from the perspective of others.But, just handing someone a chess board won't help unless it gives the guidance for all the skills mentioned. This chess board set offers just that, guidance on every detail. It works flawlessly and effectively. This is a great addition to any household and worth every penny of the price. When I first ordered it, I thought the cost was a bit high. However, after using it awhile and seeing what it does, I realized the price is quite a bargain. Excellent!

This arrived today, I was excited to try it, so I immediately unpacked, set it up, and played. I am a USCF rated player. My observations are:- Basic play is good. I set it at 5 seconds per move for a quick first game. I opened with e4, computer responded with d6. I played about five moves into its opening book, then made a non-standard move to take it out of its opening book. Computer continued to develop its pieces, appropriately castled, but it played quite passively. It was on a basic level, but it failed to see a mate in two and succumbed in the early mid-game with one piece and two pawns exchanged. It should play better at a higher level. At five seconds per move however, the chess engine is significantly weaker than many others.- The squares are just over 3/4 of an inch, 13/16 inches on a side actually, the King is 1 and 1/2 inches tall. It is compact enough for travel, but there is no carry case. The pieces are magnetic and come in small plastic bags. There is a storage bag for the pieces, but if I put the pieces together in that bag, then they will not easily fit back into the box with the game board. There is no felt on the bottom of the pieces, and a magnet can easily fall out if the glue loosens, and it will be very easy to lose a magnet, so I will have to keep an eye on this.- The set runs on four AA batteries, not included. There is no option for an AC adapter. I used four rechargeable 1.2 volt AA batteries and these worked fine. The battery enclosure secures with a screw, so a screwdriver is needed to open and close it.Overall I enjoyed playing it. I think at the presently listed price, it is somewhat expensive. If I want to fashion a travel bag, or create space in my luggage for the whole box, I think this would be fun to travel with. I and many other players prefer to play chess on a physical chess board rather than a screen.

My husband enjoys playing Chess. I never got into it though. Instead of having him teach me, as he's offered many times, I thought I'd enjoy it more to learn this way and then surprise him. Although I could probably just as easily learn on the computer, I thought I'd like the tactile learning of this, and he might also enjoy it, and eventually our kids could learn on it (the oldest is 6).It sort of works for what it's supposed to, but misses the mark as well. It doesn't tell you how to set up your pieces, even in the manual. I went by the photo on the product's packaging box. However, I didn't realize that they aren't set up the same on both sides and had the king and queen switched on the black side. The computer doesn't seem to know which piece is which. When you move you first have to push on the square the piece is on, so it knows which one is moving and then push on the one it goes to. Same for when you are moving the computer's pieces for it.It does not tell you how to play. It will tell you if something is not a valid move. And in learning mode it will question your choices if they seem risky. But there's not really enough guidance for a complete beginner. I played at level 1 (which is the easiest) and the computer made a lot of mistakes, allowing me to win. The game still took awhile and I do think I understand it a little more, but I'm sure there are a lot of learning holes.My husband ended up walking in as I was finishing the game and I told him I had just got checkmate. He didn't know how I did as he saw the other side still had its queen, but then figured out that that was really supposed to be their king as I had them switched around. He informed me that he would not be interested in playing on this device and would far rather the computer if playing on his own. I like how the magnetic pieces stay put and give you a feel of a real game, but the downside is you have to play all the pieces, including the computer's to make moves. It'll be a nice alternative to screen time when the kids are older but for now it's going away and if I want to learn more I think I'm going to do so on the computer instead.

Instructions were not very clear to get rolling.One playing, the bot is fun to play against, keeping up good challenges...although, for a beginner, even the easiest bot only made a few mistakes.Lessons were too clunky, all around, much easier to just go to a chess web site.Overall, fun, but probably not worth the investment.