Hello Pawnerai,
thanks for the pictures. The wooden pieces look better, does the piece detection still work as expected? (I assume the original plastic chessmen were magnetic as well).
By the way, the board looks like the Vonset L6 chess computer, your opinion about the playing level and style would be much appreciated!
Hello Pawnerai,
thanks for the pictures. The wooden pieces look better, does the piece detection still work as expected? (I assume the original plastic chessmen were magnetic as well).
By the way, the board looks like the Vonset L6 chess computer, your opinion about the playing level and style would be much appreciated!
Good eye. Yes. It's actually a rebranded Vonset L6 board I received.
The L6 piece detection worked fine with the replacement magnet wood pieces. The system does not use unique chipped pieces, so all that is required is to have a magnet on the bottom of a similarly sized set. (0.75" base, 2" Kings) I was a little concerned with compatibility because the L6 pieces used quality smooth magnets that were perfectly flush with the bottom. Direct magnet contact with the board. Cheap, replacement magnetic wood pieces are always a bit shoddy with magnets either being a little sunken in or bulging out and wobbly. And then there's a thin "felt" paper glued on. But the replacements worked fine.
The L6 is a great stand-alone e-board for beginners and novices. Lots of settings to turn various options on and off, depending on your skill level. The color LED lights, the voice, the alerts, volume, etc.. it's all customizable to your preference. 20 skill levels. USB-C port charges the internal lithium ion battery. It lasts pretty long. If you constantly switch back and forth between, black, white, levels, puzzles, etc,, it can get cumbersome diving into the settings each time. But you get the hang of it pretty quick.
I'm definitely a casual Novice player. L6 Levels 10-12 is the fun range (for me) where the L6 AI is just challenging enough for me, but still falls for traps and blunders once in a while like a human. I can beat it on levels 13-14 if I'm really concentrating. Haven't beat it yet on 15. At Levels 14 and up it helps to know your openings, or else you'll be too far in the hole by move 10 to catch up. You can just wing it on lower levels. Although I only have 6 more levels before I max out, I think the difficulty becomes exponentially harder with the higher levels. We'll see how it goes.
BTW: The small E-INK display on the side is cool. Very clear and easily readable. It looks like the same tech as my Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. Love it!
Dear Pawnerai,
Thank you very much for your comments. I am Samson Liao. The product designer of Vonset Chess Computer. Thank you very much for your feedback on our chess pieces. Our original intention in design was to create a smart electronic chessboard that was different from the norm. Even in the details, such as the material of the chess pieces, we considered over 10 different materials before choosing the transparent and shiny crystal material for its aesthetic appeal. We did not consider other factors at the time. We have received your feedback and have already made adjustments to our chess pieces. In the future, we will offer chess pieces in different materials, including the wooden ones in your picture. For the next phase of shipments, we will provide customers with the option to choose their preferred material for the chess pieces. Thank you for your suggestion.
The Vonset L6 comes with a variety of game modes, it even has a built-in database of over 3000 opening moves, so you can study and practice different strategies. The fact that it has a playing strength of over 1950 ELO and our updated version will have an Elo rating of over 2000. And L6 have three mode:
Training Mode
From level 1 to 20, manually adjust the level to meet the needs of chess players of different levels. Just like having chess partners, you can play chess anytime, anywhere.
Human Mode
In the two-player mode, you can play chess with another player efficiently and interestingly, and record the score and the process of each move.
Match Mode
Fully simulate the real competition environment, with timing and rule enforcement functions, so that you can experience the tension and excitement of the competition anywhere, anytime, and test your skills in a competitive environment.
I would like to talk about the background of our company. In the early days, our factory produced many low-end chess computers, but at that time, we did not have software development capabilities. Two years ago, we formed a strong hardware and software team, upgraded the design of the engine, and redefined the product. Vonset L6 is a product that starts from the low-end and reaches the high-end. Our brand concept is to apply the power of technology, especially artificial intelligence, in the field of family companionship, to accompany children and the elderly. Therefore, our Vonset L6 always stands from the perspective of protecting children. Even the screen we use is an electronic ink screen, which is to protect children's eyes. We will be committed to researching and developing better chess computers. Please support us.
Hello Samson. I can easily see how when designing the chessmen pieces you wanted a look that was unique and special for your product to stand out. For a product aimed at beginners who are learning the game, to Novices like myself who enjoy the game on a casual level, to ELO 1800 players, I believe the style and material for the pieces should be plain Staunton. Something easily identifiable at a glance. The L6 board is the star and highlight of your product. The chessmen pieces should go back to basics. No one ever complains about classic "normal" Staunton pieces.
There are 3 pieces which I had the most trouble with. The Queen, Bishop and Pawn are not easily distinguishable from each other at a glance on the board during a game. Sitting at a table. Looking down at normal height and angle.
It is good to see you are listening to feedback and improving on the product for the best experience. Good luck!
In all honesty, my first choice for small replacement wood magnet chessmen pieces were the unique stubby ones from ChessHouse but they are currently sold out and backordered. King height 1.63". King base 0.75". They would've been perfect for the L6. Hah!
Hello Pawnerai,
Thank you for your feedback. We are actively listening to our users' opinions. In fact, for our next batch of products, we will replace the current crystal chess pieces with ones made of a new material. Please see the image below. Although these game pieces may not look very beautiful, they can solve practical problems. At the same time, we are also looking for wooden game pieces, and we have found a game piece that looks very similar to your picture and perfectly matches the L6 game board in size. However, the material of the wooden game pieces does not quite match our game board, so we have not considered using wooden game pieces at this time. We will actively listen to user feedback in the future. Thank you again.
Best Regards
Samson
Hello Pawnerai,
By the way, I want to mention that your photography skills are really great. The texture of the photos you take is very good, and I think they are fantastic. If it's okay with you, maybe next time you can take some videos or photos of you using our L6, and we are willing to pay for it. Thank you. My email address is liaojunqu@vonsetchess.com.
When to play a chess computer? Life is too short, but that's only me.. Sweet design, the plastic pieces are fine, the great knights and the ice cones. The information emanating from the pinheads, radio stations of chess personae. The crystal set obviously a challenge to play, black is okay, I guess. Smoky quartz vs. rose quartz, maybe? Three-dee-print in wood? I very much like Pawnerai's solution. Wood transcends the surface material, it's good on stone, metal and plastic.
i used to have a set of glass pieces given to me as a present by a non playing person. . . But they were only for decoration because OTB players including myself like standard chess pieces and vynil boards. . .
I used to run KIDS tournaments and i would give away single chess glass pieces as rewards to them . . .
When to play a chess computer? Life is too short, but that's only me.. Sweet design, the plastic pieces are fine, the great knights and the ice cones. The information emanating from the pinheads, radio stations of chess personae. The crystal set obviously a challenge to play, black is okay, I guess. Smoky quartz vs. rose quartz, maybe? Three-dee-print in wood? I very much like Pawnerai's solution. Wood transcends the surface material, it's good on stone, metal and plastic.
@Vonsetchess, you new design is also flawed. The Queen should always have a crown, not a nipple-head 😂 Chess players don’t care about decorative pieces; we just want them to be easily distinguishable at a glance. Even the old Kasparov Turbo pieces were good (have a google of those). I’d say that they are an inbetween yours and the wooden 😊
Hi op, can you post a link to the chessmen?
Hi op, can you post a link to the chessmen?
Here you go:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084WW5179
I think either of these pieces would work really nice.
UPDATE: I just bought the following "Kidami" set and the magnets are very weak and doesn't work reliably. But, I love the design and size, so I'll look into adding some new magnets.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IN2PNTY?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
I haven't tested the magnets on the following set, but I have the same larger set and those magnets are slightly stronger.
UPDATE: I tested the following pieces and the magnets are too small in diameter to work with the metal under the squares. Only get this next set if you really like the looks and want to attach 10mm magnets under them.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07534BWBF/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?smid=A13Y6OWZG3LGX0&psc=1
Thank you @Yenster1
By the way, maybe worth mentioning the Vonset (aka Femuey) L6 has been upgraded, both hardware & software-wise. Faster and stronger, now worth over 2300 Elo using the highest level (now 22 levels instead of 20). Lower levels scale appropriately, thus it can fit a very large range of users. More in my webpage (close to bottom of page)
Thanks @kiwimotard, I got my Femuey L6 today and it was the latest versions of software and firmware per your webpage. Also confirmed that it has max level of 22.
@Pawnerai
I dug out my childhood chess game and it has 2" kings.
And here is a set that I would like to add new magnets so that they work on the L6.
Independent of this thread, I'd been looking at the Vonset Core L6 since getting anything online is a bit tricky in my area, and playing on my phone has reached the end of its amusement. Then yesterday I found an old (German style?) folding set at the thrift for two dollars with 2.15"/.75" kings. The box/board is mostly trashed but the pieces are all present and that's what's important. The pieces aren't magnetic, but adding magnets shouldn't be that hard, right? #famouslastwords I was thinking of 5x2mm or 6x2mm neodymiums. Can anyone with a Vonset hazard a guess if these would be strong enough for piece recognition? Thx.
Not happy at all with the original, cheap looking, clear plastic pieces that came with an electronic chessboard I received. So I upgraded the pieces with these $15 wood magnetic chessmen from Amazon. Finding 2" King wood sets for 1" square boards was surprisingly difficult. The Kings had 0.75" bases so I gave it a shot and ordered them.
Here are the original plastic pieces.
Here are the wood replacement pieces.