Chessup vs chessnut air vs square off swap

I’ve been looking into echess boards as I like more physical chess boards rather than digital and I don’t have a lot to people near me who like to play chess. Ive seen these three chess boards and they seem pretty neat, I like how they look, and I like their features. However, I can’t seem to find like any reviews on these chessboards (I’ve scoured the websites, amazon, and Reddit, maybe I’m just not looking hard enough though) especially for the swap. So I want to ask anyone who’s bought one of these board, your opinion on them and which board I should get. As I am a beginner in chess, I have an emphasis on learning so anything about adaptive ai or any other features you feel help in learning would be helpful to know in your review! Thanks!

Ok, was doing a bit more research and I turns out the swap isn’t released yet which would definitely explain lack of reviews lol. So now it’s between Chessup and chessnut air. What do you guys think?

Go on youtube and search for Chessnut Air and Chessup reviews.  Plenty of them there if you want to see video reviews.

I think your decision should be Chessnut Air vs Chessup.  From all my research these are the two best e-boards and trust me nobody in this forum has done more research on e-boards than me.  I spent months researching before I bought the Chessnut Air.  I compared all of them before making my decision.

I would recommend the Chessnut Air over the Chessup for the simple fact that the higher price of the Chessup is not justified if you won't use the AI assist stuff.  If all you're doing is playing online then you will never use that stuff.  Playing against the computer gets boring quick.  The fun is in playing against other people online.

The Chessnut Air is also better looking in my opinion and it has real piece recognition (it actually knows if a king is a king so it actually knows the individual pieces and what they are etc while Chessup doesn't from what I remember).

I have played hundreds of games on the Chessnut Air and i wouldn't trade it for any e-board out there.

thank you! I’m going to look more into the two boards on YouTube like you mentioned, but you’re probably right about me not using the ai assist. Once more, thanks!

AbundanceEd, thank you for your advice.

What do you think about the upcoming Chessnut Pro ?

Wood / Great Board, but also (from my perspective) a high price.

Also looking forward for the Neo, but i am not convinced that the mechanics are trustworthy.

Thank you.

Just to add here, there is Square off pro as well which doesn't includes automated movement. You can find plenty of videos online.

It it's as good as the Chessnut Air than it will probably be the best tournament sized e-board on the market.  I trust Chessnut great customer service plus I have played hundreds of games on my Chessnut Air and use it daily.  I'm waiting for the pro to be released and to watch videos on it to make my decision.  

1. Chessup: Best electronic Instructor Board
2. ChessNutAir: Best Budget electronic Board
3. Square Off Swap: Fancy self moveing electronic toy Board.
4. Square Off Pro: Best tournament sized electronic Board for traveling. 

Does that answer all you guys questions?

 

Wut? It high price? It literally a electronic tournament sized set going for $550 man with built in bluetooth connection capabilities. Where u going to get a cheaper wooden tournament sized electronic chess set? 

Though it's not about the quality, the price of the CAP is sky high. There are cheaper alternatives such as the SOP, the DGT Smart Board, even TKP (with or without ChessLink) is less expensive. 

My square off neo just came. As soon as I picked it up there was something rattling around the inside and the magnetic mechanism was sliding even with the shipping lock. I turn it on and get a horrible grinding noise. After tipping the board on its side and moving the mechanism inside like this it seemed to work. But only for a few moves. It works very inconsistently with some pieces going at lightning speed, others drag along very slowly. As soon as there is a capture by the computer, it starts dragging random pieces, running into the edge of the inside, and sensors misfire. Very, VERY disappointed. 0 stars especially after waiting 3 years for extra testing.

@BM_BlunderMaster90

I'm sorry, maybe it's a faulty product, did you ask for a replacement yet ?  

 Did you check with their support? Any resolution provided?

I wouldn't recommend the Neo for online play because you just can use the Square Off App with very limited settings. You can only play with random opponents and a few time settings. It is a toy rather then an eboard. The Chessnut is the machine you want. But maybe look into the DGT Pegasus also.

No I haven't checked with their support yet but given their history of not being helpful in their responses I don't feel very inclined to try...

I like the look of the Chessnut Pro, and I would like the same system as my Chessnut Air on a larger board, but for me the Chessnut Pro has a fatal flaw - it uses bright red move indicator lights that feel unsettling and unpleasant for me - flashing red lights to me instinctively feel like the building is on fire, and for me, playing chess is something I do to feel more peaceful and relaxed. If it used the lovely green lights that the Air uses I would buy one.

Does anyone have thoughts on the new phantom robotic board and set with wooden peices from kickstarter?

I own both ChessUP and Chessnut Air. I would recommend the Chestnut Air over the ChessUp.

They both are made of great quality materials however Chessnut Air has delivered much more. ChessUps' app (android side) is plagued with bugs and was less robust than Chessnut AIr's app and support.

The only saving grace of the ChessUp board, is that it allowed me to play OTB with my 5-year-old nephew, and be challenged. I've ended up avoiding usage of ChessUp because of their app. This would encompass more advanced AI, any online play and lessons (which do not exist for android anyways).

Lets go through some reasons against ChessUp claims:
1. Adaptive AI training is non-existent atm. It's a WIP.
2. Chess.com is non-existent and is WIP with ETA of 2023.
3. Lessons are available via iOS and are only a handful and are basic. Don't expect intermediate, advanced and/or endgames lessons off the bat.
4. Past and present bugs appear to reveal the company not having significant testing of their app (check their online community forums and apps' ratings).
5. Little to no method of post-analysis for intermediate and advanced players.
6. Not true piece recognition thus does not have (will likely not in future) random fisher without a lot of programming.

The thing that is going for ChessUp:
1. OTB advantage handicap for lower-ranked players. Allowing children to play against better players. Otherwise, the advantage can be too much (especially without a reliable app to tweak it better). The app allows for tailoring the amount and number of hints but... because of the bugs, I can't go through a game without the board/app desyncing.

ChessNut disadvantages:
1. No adaptive AI training (then again, chessup doesn't have it yet..).
2. No lessons (but honestly, it's probably best to do lessons online anyways).

ChessNut advantages
1. A lot cheaper.
2. Delivers a robust app and online experience
3. Much more reviewed and is a more polished product.
4. Less frustrating post analysis.
5. Allows to vs different types of bots and/or different positions.
6. Much viable for intermediate and advanced training with the options available from their and 3rd party apps.

I've only kept the ChessUp to play with my nephew. I am embarrassed to let people know how much it cost, especially when I have the ChessNut Ait near it, which receives a lot more play.

Trying to make up my mind between the square off pro and the chestnut air... I really like the ideal of having a tournament-size board to play with. Curious if any square-off owners can speak to its reliability. 

I’ve had my square off pro for almost a year. I like it. Works well. The size is great.