I have always been interested in getting some kind of device to record my chess games during an over-the-board match but most of those devices are so expensive because it needs to be tamper prove to be able for it to be legal in any official rated event. I totally understand that but most will never be willing to spend hundreds of dollars for one of these things. Monroi was one of the original chess recording devices which is allowed for use in all USCF and FIDE tournaments but it carried a huge price tag of $359. Way to much in my opinion. There use to be a smaller device also approved for use called Plycounter that was roughly $175 but sadly the company is no longer as of early 2019. The newest device out there is Chessnoter which looks great but still seems to be costly weighing in at $299. So I decided to look around to see if there are any options out there that a person could use something cheap and inexpensive to manage recording notation on an app or device. Now of course these programs/items are not allowed on any official event/tourney but if you are in a club or just casual game play they could to the job as well as the pricey products.
This app has a lot to offer and makes notation so simple with drag and drop features, email post game to yourself just like the expensive competitors. The app cost $7.99 and totally worth it.
This app is a little more basic but still easy to work with. You have to manually type in your move but you have a toggle tag to see the layout of the board so you can see if pieces are correct on the board to help not make mistakes. After the game has finished you can email the results. This app is free.
This PDA is an oldie dating back to 2005 which of course I had at one point in my life. It had a chess program in there that you could fill out the info of names, event, etc. You used a stylus to tap to move the pieces. If you wanted to transfer the data you would have to use a mini usb cord with some kind of software. Wasn't to hard to do. If you ebay out you can get a pre-owned one between $12-30 or a new one for $60 roughly.
I didn't do a ton of research on all options but this was just me looking around one evening.
I have always been interested in getting some kind of device to record my chess games during an over-the-board match but most of those devices are so expensive because it needs to be tamper prove to be able for it to be legal in any official rated event. I totally understand that but most will never be willing to spend hundreds of dollars for one of these things. Monroi was one of the original chess recording devices which is allowed for use in all USCF and FIDE tournaments but it carried a huge price tag of $359. Way to much in my opinion. There use to be a smaller device also approved for use called Plycounter that was roughly $175 but sadly the company is no longer as of early 2019. The newest device out there is Chessnoter which looks great but still seems to be costly weighing in at $299. So I decided to look around to see if there are any options out there that a person could use something cheap and inexpensive to manage recording notation on an app or device. Now of course these programs/items are not allowed on any official event/tourney but if you are in a club or just casual game play they could to the job as well as the pricey products.
For iOS users I found this---> Chess Score Pad
This app has a lot to offer and makes notation so simple with drag and drop features, email post game to yourself just like the expensive competitors. The app cost $7.99 and totally worth it.
For Android users I found this--> Chess Scorebook
This app is a little more basic but still easy to work with. You have to manually type in your move but you have a toggle tag to see the layout of the board so you can see if pieces are correct on the board to help not make mistakes. After the game has finished you can email the results. This app is free.
For a device user I found this--> Palm Z22
This PDA is an oldie dating back to 2005 which of course I had at one point in my life. It had a chess program in there that you could fill out the info of names, event, etc. You used a stylus to tap to move the pieces. If you wanted to transfer the data you would have to use a mini usb cord with some kind of software. Wasn't to hard to do. If you ebay out you can get a pre-owned one between $12-30 or a new one for $60 roughly.
I didn't do a ton of research on all options but this was just me looking around one evening.
Hope you enjoy.
Jay