MillenniumChessGenius Exclusive, Model M820

I've owned many chess computers over the years starting with the infamous Boris in the mid 1970s. I've owned Novag, Mephisto, expert models, supposed master models and along the way there have been some very good machines. Now I have the Millennium ChessGenius Exclusive, Model 820 and it is by far the best of all of them.The most fun feature has to be the automatic sensing of the pieces by the board. It knows WHICH piece you're moving and I haven't experienced a single glitch in the system, not even once. Every other auto-sensory board I've ever owned including the Novag Super Expert and the Citrine would at some time get confused and cause a mistake. These machines also didn't automatically know which piece was on a square either. It could only follow the moves of pieces it already knew were moving to a square by going from the previous position. Knock a piece over or just not get the board to respond to a move and It would almost always mess up the game. It would test patience to the limit when you would attempt to recreate the right position and who is on move. If you accidently knocked the pieces over, it could create a situation where the game would be unsalvagable. With the Exclusive, you just put the pieces back where they go. No harm, no foul, no problems. You can even set up any position just by placing the pieces and it would know exactly which piece was where automatically.Next is ease of use with the Menu System. The logic is similar to the Mephisto Berlin except with the Exclusive, it is much simpler to use and involves far fewer key strokes. You can do anything in just a few clicks and it is very easy to do it right. Brilliant! All the usual options are available and if you want to look into the computer's thought processes, it only takes a single key push. Language selection is also that easy. Take backs are a single button push and going forward is just as easy. Levels, sound, two play, auto-play, all right there. You can even use the board and clock to play with a friend and it is simple and straight forward.The machine's ability is, well simply put, it is a monster. At the higher levels it plays far above Master strength, more on par with an International Master over 2400 and approaching Grandmaster at 2600. The processor is more advanced than the famous TASC 30 (or 40) and the processor speed goes up to 300 mhz! The Berlin 68020 was about one tenth that fast and it was master strength. The pawn play is very advanced and intelligent. Defense is excellent and I thought the play was very natural and human like.The physical design and workmanship are very fine. I'm sure the $3,800 Pheonix is a bit finer but the difference isn't equal to the huge difference in price. The Millenium is under $800 and usually even with shipping is closer to $700. So I think it is a great value and the best I've ever seen in the past 40 years of all those machines that have been built.So what are the shortcomings? Most machines will resign when you've got them badly beaten. I had one game (when it was on the lowest level) where I had 2 queens against a lone king. It didn't resign but instead let me pummel it all the way to an easy mate. Perhaps the programmers decided not to deprive the winner the pleasure one can get from torturing an opponent. Maybe they didn't want to waste memory on a resigning protocol. Or maybe they didn't think the machine would ever lose a game. I don't know but in the end, this is a miniscule thing that doesn't have any impact on the success of this machine.If you love playing chess computers, this is the holy grail right now. The thing is even upgradeable and there will be books you can download through a USB cable. The entire module is updateable so you really never have to invest in another chess computer, ever! You can't beat the strength and features at this price by a huge margain and you won't find anything this nicely built at this price range either. Buy this unit and you will derive hours and hours of chess pleasure worth every penny and more.

I have been a fan of computer chess since the 70s. First played Boris and Fidelity Challenger for years. Still have and play one. When smart phones came the on scene I started playing two dimensional chess. I missed having a chess board and pieces in front of me. As an aside I once read in a chess book that a computer would never ever defeat a GM . That it would require an Armory filled with computers to even begin to attempt such an undertaking. Now you can have an app on your phone that can have an Eli rating to rival the best chess players in the world. This item comes about as close to playing a human as you can imagine. You better be a decent player when you buy this. I thought I was a fair player. When you first turn it on it is set to Normal 0. So that’s where I started. After being crushed in a few games I switched to easy level. There are nine easy; 0 to 9. Finally found a level where I could compete . It gives a competitive game at 0. I’ve settled in around Easy 4. I’ve since learned that normal 0 is about 1900. Now wonder it crushed me. The board is attractive. Wooden chess pieces are high quality. Some have complained they were not heavy enough. I don’t agree. The computer module could be a higher quality but is ok. If you are considering purchasing suggest you buy upgraded offering including the Bluetooth module and the external battery . I’m also adding the cabinet. I greatly enjoy playing chess on this item. You will not regret it.

Although pricey, this chess computer is a joy to play against. It has 81 LEDs - so one see the entire square light up when the computer makes a move - this is a must game feature when playing chess computer. Fully automatic piece detection - this a another must have when playing a chess computer ( avoids getting distracted by looking at the display - you can really focus on the game at hand - just like a normal OTB game) or for setting up a position. There is no pressing the square with the pieces. You play naturally , lift the piece up and place it down (and remember, do not slide the pieces!). The processor is 300 MHz ( also adjustable down to 50 Mhz in 50 MHz decrements) ARM Cortex M7 processor which easily outclasses earlier world-class computers from Mephisto that costs thousands of dollars in the 1990's. It plays close to 2400 FIDE , suitable for about 99% of the players as it also includes various settings to decrease the strength if you do not want to get crushed every time you play. The wooden pieces are lighter than some would hope for, but that is to be expected since it uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to enable the fully automatic piece detection. RFID technology uses magnetic fields to identify the pieces and would not play well with metal added for weight. If one were buy just one chess computer in this price range, this would be the one to get.

Very disappointed 😞 The board does not recognize all of the pieces rendering it useless. I tried searching the settings and online for an answer to the problem but to no avail. The only way to get replacement pieces is through the manufacturer which is Germany who knows how long that would take. I will be returning the set tomorrow this is my first and definitely my last experience with piece recognition.

Very good.

I will be in the middle of a game and make a legal move and all of a sudden, it doesn't like the move. I go over the move, to make sure it's legal, I take it back several moves and try again and it refuses to allow me to make the move. Game over :(

Produit bien reçu et bien emballé. La livraison a été effectuée en moins d'une semaine.Je n'ai personnellement rien à redire sur l'échiquier. Il est en parfait état, toutes les pièces sont reconnues et les patins sous les pièces sont bien collés, bien centrés.Il y a beaucoup de choix de langue dont le français. Un livret d'explication sur les fonctionnalités de l'échiquier est présent dans le package. Il est également traduit dans de multiples langues dont le français.La reconnaissance automatique des pièces ajoute un véritable confort dans le jeu.Petit bémol, mais anecdotique, les cases ne sont pas numérotées et lorsqu'on a pas l'habitude de repérer du premier coup d'oeil les coordonnées de chaque case on passe quelques minutes à comprendre certaines variantes de l'ordinateur

Reconoce muy bien las piezas, que son de buena calidad, no muy pesadas. Tiene varios niveles de dificultad pero no hacen referencia al ELO.Se sincroniza muy bien con el Hiarcs de mi ipad, pero para ello se requiere el chesslink.Lo que no me gusta es que no lleve un espacio para meter pilas y poder jugar sin estar conectado a la Red eléctrica.Yo creo que tengo un nivel de ELO de 1300-1400 y el nivel 3 me pone en serios apuros.Estoy contento con la compra.

Ho acquistato la scacchiera Chess Genius Exclusive dopo un'attenta valutazione di tutti i prodotti disponibili sul mercato, con riconoscimento automatico dei pezzi. Mi è sembrata il migliore rapporto qualità / prezzo. La scacchiera è fatta in legno, ben levigato così come i pezzi. Nel complesso è un bell' oggetto e fa la sua figura in salotto. Il riconoscimento dei pezzi è infallibile, i LED disposti attorno alle case permettono di visualizzare le mosse fatte dall'avversario.Altre marche concorrenti come Certabo e dgt richiedono l'utilizzo di un PC, la chess genius exclusive invece é dotata di un mini computer fornito in dotazione. La difficoltà di gioco è modulabile dagli 800 ai 2400 ELO. Anche un giocatore alle prime armi come il sottoscritto può trovare un livello adatto, che permette di esercitarsi sconfiggendo a volte l'avversario.Ho acquistato anche il modulo Chesslink che consente di utilizzare motori scacchistici differenti (Hiarcs) e permette di giocare online con la piattaforma Lichess.Nel complesso un prodotto eccellente. Ne consiglio l'acquisto a chi è appassionato di scacchi, vale la spesa.

Es spielt sich sehr flüssig. Das Brett und die Figuren sind hochwertig und schön verarbeitet. Macht absolut Spass. Der Preis ist zwar kein Pappenstiel , scheint mir aber gerechtfertigt zu sein. Es ist zudem sehr Bedienerfreundlich. Das das Bedienermodul keinen Schönheitspreis gewinnt ist zu verschmerzen.

Excellent service! The Chess computer arrived well ahead of delivery date and I was kept infofmed of its progress from moment of it being dispatched. The computer itself was extremely well packaged for its journey fro Germany. As for the Chess computer it is well made and it really is sitting to play a game with a human opponent and there is NO PRODDING OR POKING THE SQUARE YOU WISH TO MOVE A PIECE TO simply pick it up and move it. One thing I really like is if I play the black pieces all I do is set the board up the computer recognises it all I do is press move and the game starts. As for its playing ability it is relentless and has had me in zugzwang more than once or it will pounce and mate me. To have a chance of winning I most certainly will (despite being a strong player) have to set it on a lower level and with time resrtictions of my own settings. Perhaps I am not as strong a player as I think I am!!!!????..All in all an excellent Chess computer for the money and recomend this to any would be purchaser and certainly far cheaper in price tha others costing £3000 or more. It may be cheaper in price but not lacking in build or programming and playing ability.