This is one of the very rare purchases where the product exceeds my expectations. My grandson is on the chess team an I thought it would be fun to play against him remotely. Yes, there are iPad apps for this but, for me, playing on a real set just feels better somehow. As this was something I intend to leave on my coffee table, I really didnt want a plastic plugin gadget. I really wanted a full size set. After looking at all the competition, only Chessnut offered a full tournament size set with wooden pieces. Unless you saw the discrete control panel on the side of the board, you would NEVER realize this is a computer set. This set is beautiful.
Setup literally took 2 minutes. I plugged in the charger (there is a built in battery so you don’t need to keep it connected) and downloaded the NEW app (there is an old and new version on the App Store). The set connected to my iPhone instantly over bluetooth. I selected a bot match and it was up and running. You literally just move your pieces and the board displays hidden LED lights on the squares showing which piece of theirs needs to move and where. If their move places you in check the board beeps. It is super fast and a PERFECT experience.
The pieces that come with the set are nicely sized, good quality wood and does include extra queens. For the chess connoisseur, you can get premium tournament quality pieces directly from the manufacturer. If you are really attached to a particular set of pieces, you can purchase a sensor pack from Chessnut for around $50 and modify any wooden pieces to work with full piece recognition for your board. I am happy with the look and feel of the pieces that were included with the set.
For me, the coolest part of this set is that it does not just recognize pieces are on the board, it can tell exactly WHICH piece is where because of unique chips within each piece. This is amazing if you want to setup a puzzle and get help - you just put the pieces on the board.
The app has built in support for chess.com and lichess.org so challenging a friend works very easily. One other nice feature is that you can play against other computer players, phone players, or other people using different Chessnut sets (not just the pro).
This set IS expensive and , for me, is worth every penny. At this time, you simply cannot get a better computerized tournament size wooden set. If tournament size is not a must for you, you can get the same functionality in Chessnut’s smaller sets for less than half the price. That said, if you want want the very best, this is it.
HIGHLY recommended.