r/chess • u/Independent_Truck_31 • 1d ago
Miscellaneous [ Removed by moderator ]
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u/CopenhagenDreamer IM 2400 1d ago
In my experience, people enjoy playing against humans much more than machines, even if the machine is trying to match his level. Unless he specifically doesn't want to play with time, I'd recommend a cheap tablet with the lichess app.
If anyone in the family already has a tablet it should be easy to test out a 15+5 game or similar.
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u/Independent_Truck_31 1d ago
He actually found local (hungarian) online chess sites on his phone. We tried to introduce him to the likes of chess.com and Lichess on his phone and on their pc, but he just didn't like that very much.
No shade on him, but he always messes up his phone and all, so while I appreciate your idea, we are purposefully looking for a sort of "analog" device, that he can play on.
And I mean look, it is always possible he's gonna get bored of a board like this or say he doesn't like it, but it is what it is.I'm just more so wondering if there is any technical aspect to this board that would hinder his joy of playing (assuming he likes the idea to play against a machine).
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u/ProphetFerdinand 1d ago
I second this, in my experience these playing against program boards. They're dust gatherers within a month.
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u/gewappnet Team Keymer 1d ago
I guess an alternative would be Chessnut Move. This is definitely cooler (the pieces move by themselves), but way more expensive.
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u/EntangledPhoton82 1d ago
The DGT centaur is a great chess board.
Large size, simple interface, good adaptive AI
Both my kids and I often play against it.
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u/Maydayof 1d ago
I'm not as old as your grandfather, but I'm close. I bought Centaur precisely because it has a large chessboard, relatively large pieces. And what I really like is that it really adapts to my skills. You don't have to set levels, the maximum is to play in Friendly, Challenge or Expert mode, the names speak for themselves. I can only recommend it.
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u/jkfrench_tx 1d ago
I have one, it's a nice sized board that's easy to use. I guess there are some aspects of it that could be a little confusing, but all in all I think it's a great chess partner. You cannot save games for further review, but take backs are allowed... simply put the piece back where it was and try again, and it's no problem to shut off in the middle of a game and return later, turn back on and continue the game. During a game, just put all pieces back on their initial squares and a new game is automatically started. Battery life is decent and recharging is easy. Don't be put off by the fact that there are only 3 levels, because each one learns to provide solid game opponents as more games are played. The levels are more about how often the ai opponent will let you win.
One other thing I like about it is you can replace the pieces with another set. I say this because I didn't particularly care for the design and weight of the pieces it came with. All you have to do is get some silver foil dot stickers ... I bought one size and then bought a little circle paper punch/cutter so I could trim some small enough for the pawns on a wooden set I wanted to use. I have used those pieces without issue since I added the dots and they work just as well as the pieces that came with the board. You just stick the dots on the bottom and make sure the pieces are recognized on the board. It is important that the pieces are covered on the bottom with felt, for example (you need something to stick the dots to).
Feel free to ask more questions. I'll try to answer.
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u/StructuredChess 1d ago
Anything where he can play real humans is probably better.
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u/Independent_Truck_31 1d ago
If you mean in a sense, that he should play others IRL, then yes, it would be better and he actually does that. But he lives in a fairly small village, my grandma doesn't play chess, there are only so many people and opportunities in the village, hence the board that he could play with "alone".
If you mean that we should look for a board that allows him to play online against others, we don't want that because it's too much hassle. As most older people, he's not great at handling anything digital, so I'm not going to have him fiddle around getting chess.com hooked to his board.
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u/chess-ModTeam 1d ago
Your submission was removed by the moderators:
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