DGT Centaur chess computer brief review

I ordered the DGT Centaur chess computer a month ago and finally received it last night.  I have played about 10 games so far and here is my brief review.

To start with I REALLY like playing on it.  The pieces have a nice feel and I have experienced no glitches except it didn’t seem to recognize enpassant when it came up in one of my games.  I will have to ask DGT about that if it happens again.

I have it set at the “Friendly” level and I have, so far, won about a third of my games.  I tried a few on 5 minutes and lost all of those.  The computer moves almost instantly so all the time pressure was on me.  Plus, there is no increment of delay that I could see.  I then played the rest on “Clock Off” mode and won a few.

That advertisements said it learns in just one game but it crushed me for about the first 3 or 4 games and then started to even out.  I won the last two.

The battery took a LONG time to charge.  About 5 hours but I was playing a lot while it was charging which I’m sure affected the time to full.  Now that it has been fully charged I have played about 4 games and see no real drain on the battery.  With the E-Ink display I am hoping it will last a long time.

I like that it is so easy to set up and play.  Just put the pieces in their places and turn it on.  It takes about 15 seconds to fully boot and be ready to play from powered off.  Then just pick a piece and place it down.  No keying in moves or pushing down on the board.  Easy and fun.

The only thing that worries me is that it seems to be fragile.  The board is very lightweight plastic with no bottom on the board leaving the lights and electronics fairly exposed.  The bottom of the chess pieces have a thin foil coating under which you can see the electronics.  They have no real protection.  I feel like the board in particular would not survive even one small drop.  I could be wrong but I am not going to experiment.  LOL

 

A few things to note –

I see no way to export the PGN of the game.  I have been writing down my moves for later analysis but being able to export would have been nice. 

It does come with extra queens which I have used in game.  When you get a pawn to the back rank it defaults to a queen but you can easily choose another piece if you so desire.

The board is smooth plastic and the pieces have only slick foil on the bottoms so if you move the board the pieces WILL slide around unless you are very careful.

 

I got mine at 20% off so it cost me $320 which I feel is well worth it.

Do update your post as you play more on the Centaur, or when you realize that it had been relegated to dust collector status for one reason or another. 

I am still using it regularly.  I love the ease of use and how it does seem fairly human like in play.  A few times it has made rather nonsense moves but I am okay with that as long as it doesn't happen to often.  Maybe it just felt bad because it was beating me so badly.  lol

Also, so far I have not had to charge it again and it is still on about 80% charge.  (no % indicator)

Got any pics of your preferred way of using this chess computer? I assume that you just play against the engines and not for analysis or OTB play against a human? Indoor or outdoor?

Certabo offers the option to pay extra for a clear acrylic cover for the underside of their electronic boards, in case you like looking at the underside of your chess board. They use blue LED on each square, so there's more activity to look at when at play.

https://www.certabo.com/products/chessboards/

 

The bottom is covered covered hard plastic domes, which is stronger than a flat piece of plastic. Visibility through clear plastic has nothing to do with exposure to damage, unless it's UV rays. Do you own one?

 

 

I own one and had the pleasure of meeting with the CEO of DGT. He took me through the product, it’s features, and some of the engineering elements. As someone with quite a few chess computers, I was pleased to see a lot of improvements made. The board is thin and lightweight. Those cups underneath actually work as a sort of prism to help illuminate the board when moves are made. The extra queens is a nice touch. None of my electronic sets included those. Compared to my Grandmaster, the piece size slightly smaller but still satisfying to move.

One thing to be clear about this device, it is not positioned to be a “serious” championship/professional device; rather, it is Dgt’s attempt to attract a broader more casual mass market player. They don’t care to advertise its ELO. That is why the playing strength is simply 3 levels. Also because the audience is more casual, they opted against any sort of PGN functionality. I will say, I have played OTB with it and simply snap a picture with my phone of the move list. To go back and study my game later.

The display window is another cool thing. It is an e-ink which is clear and crisp. It also helps with power consumption.

I normally just play on it but you can use for analysis.  When the computer makes a move you can choose to make a different move and the computer will continue as if that was its move.  In this way you can analyse positions, try different line variations, etc.  You can also set up positions.  I am still really enjoying it.

Happy to hear that. You’re experiencing exactly what we felt when we played against the smaller and weaker chess computers back in the 80s though the 2000. From the concept of scalable playing strength to the what-if playthrough scenarios with our chess games prior to the analysis feature in Chessbase and ChessKing apps.

What about the chess pieces? Are they still pleasant for you? I personally have an issue with black-and-white pieces on a black-and-white board. There’s a reason why Excalibur’s Grandmaster was a genius idea that was surprisingly ignored by the chess computer manufacturing industry.

Do keep us up-to-date!

I find the pieces perfectly acceptable.  They area  good size and, while not really weighted, have a nice feel to them.  I understand the B/W pieces on a B/W board but that doesn't really bother me.

The more I ask you, the more I want one.

MUST. STOP. SELF.

I have to ask:

1. Are you still playing with the Centaur?

2. Would you classify the style of play as “human-like” or the usual positionally accurate and solid with no weaknesses to exploit?

I am definitely still playing with the Centaur!  It is awesome and well worth the money to me.  I feel like it is more human like than other chess computers I have played.  It sometimes misses captures or makes a slightly questionable move but they seem like something a human player would do.  Other computers I have played would make several great moves and then do something incredibly stupid.  The Centaur feels more natural to me.  I also have been exploring different openings with it.  I love that it will make a move but I can select a different one and it just keeps playing. 

THIS feature is amazing.

BTW, chess.com will soon support DGT eboards for online play. Figured to let you know since you're into this stuff.

This is by far the best feature of the Centaur. No other electronic chess device offers this. They all beep at ya when instead of the engine move you do a different move on the board. They all treat this as a user error.

Centaur, OTOH, will simpy shrug it off, accept your move as it's own and play from that position.

This is invaluable when trying to play a particular opening against the machine. No setup, no nothing, you simply start the game by moving both, yours and engine's pieces in the desired move order well into the middlegame.

No. Other. Machine. Does it.

-Izmet Fekali

 

That is cool!  Once it becomes operational and bug free I will have to save up for one.

I wonder if it would be a stretch to expect DGT to produce a chess computer with Centaur's behavior? For the current owners of DGT eboards, DGT could tweak the DGT Pi and open the strength of the analysis to the latest and best engines in the market. This could even be a simple upgrade/update for the current owners who already paid $300 for their DGT Pi clock+computer.

I have also just bought the DGT Centaur.  I have a collection of chess computers ranging in age and strength - nearly all attained via charity shops.

I suspect the problems you are having with your Centaur may have more to do with your unfamiliarity with move inputs when making moves on a chess computer than the computer itself.  In terms of enpassant capture, you have to move your pawn diagonally first then remove the computer's pawn second.  (remember that enpassant can only be made in the replying move and not the next or later moves). If you remove the captured piece first in any capture the computer will correctly think that either you are trying to take a move back or that you you are trying to move the same side consecutively.  All chess computer work this way and factually, it is how you would move your chessmen and pawns in a tournament given you are only allowed to use one hand to make your move and press your chess clock button.  Additionally, if in a tournament you move your opponent's piece first it would be considered an illegal touch move.  Thus the computer is in fact correct to insist this move order when conducting a move for you or the computer.

Another thing to note is that when castling, it is imperative that you move your king first and then your rook.  This applies both on the computer chess board and in a tournament.  If you moved your rook first you have made a rook move that, if you let your rook go would have to stand,  If you still have hold of your rook, you can put your rook back but in a tournament, under touch rules, you have to move the rook and no other piece.  Chess computers in this instance play under friendly rules as they allow you to move any other piece instead.

A side note is that when setting up a position, if you want castling rights, you must NOT clear the board first, then place your king and rooks on the board.  The computer will count them as having moved and will not allow castling.  Therefore, if you want castling rights, you must set up a New Game position, enter set up mode and leave your kings and rooks alone that you want castling rights for.  This applies to all stand-alone chess computers I have used.

I have not experience any problems with my Centaur making moves and captures which is why I make this post because occasionally I come across folk who who blame the chess computer because they are not understanding the strict move inputs the computer requires.

Given the centaur uses standard chess computer move inputs, if you are still having problems I would recommend you search a chess computer manual online such as the Millennium 2000 which has a more in depth user guide than the Centaur.  Just remember you don't need to press down on the squares with the Centaur. 

The Millennium Exclusive is autosensory as well. 

I have a question about the Centaur's battery. When it comes to its end of life cycle, how easy is it to replace it ? Could you continue using it with its AC adapter/charger? Is it a common type you can find easily and replace on your own ? I'm considering buying the Centaur, but I'm concerned about having to send it back to the manufacturer (or wherever) just for a battery replacement. Thx in advance for any feedback