Play Magnus??

I installed this app, made by Carlsen, and played 1 game just to try.

I'm sorry to say that I'm totally disappointed. The app is really poor, maybe Carlsen programmed it himself, but luckily he doesn't gain a living from programming.

Let's come to some minimum things apps do:

1. have 2-3 different sets of pieces and boards, and this app have only 1.

2. Show the transcription of the game, this app doesn't have it.

3. When the game is won, I couldn't find a way to send it, as PGN, through email, or to save it somewhere.

Now, I was happy to donate 0.99 cents to Carlsen, because I know many chess professionals have big difficulties living on chess, and I don't want to see such a young guy as a beggar, but I believe he should give back the money to everyone, and eventually ask some real programmers to make a real app.

Further, this app is for the Iphone, he didn't know that the Ipad has a bigger and better screen?

It seems to me, and this is just my opinion, that this app is a kind of scam, they ask you to register with your email, and if you win a game, please put also your facebook account or twitter, so Carlsen can sell advertisement.

I refuse to believe that this guy, never tried a real chess app on Ipad, something like Hiarcs, Shredder, Stockfish or what else, and didn't know the functions needed for a chess game.

My rating in an Amazon review star system, would be ZERO stars.

It's free. How did you pay 99 cents?

//What level did you beat Magnus on? I don't have an iphone but articles say that you can play against Magnus when he was a 6 year old pirate or as a 23 year old?  

There are in-app purchases. The first thing the app asks you is if you want it ads-free (no advertisement) for that you pay 99 cents. Then there are some videos, maybe made by Carlsen, I didn't pay for them, because if the quality of the app is so poor, I cannot imagine the videos.

I played a game against Magnus, 5 years old, it is ridicolous, because it leaves pieces hanging, and the quality of the game is really bad, but I guess it is expected that a 5 years old doesn't know how to play.

I wouldn't give my name to an app which is so poorly made, no matter what. Especially if I'm the world champion in that field.

It shows that Carlsen as a person is quite cheap. I thought he could be a good ambassador for chess, but if this is the first thing he does as world champion, it is quite fishy.

It's primarily a method to keep his popularity up and to make money. After all who wouldn't want lessons from Magnus Carlsen?

I'll preface this with the note that I am a fan of Magnus. 

1. You can show the transcription to the game, it's in the game options field. On the board. 

2. They ask you to register with your email because it is how they contact you to play against Magnus in a live competition if you win. I think it's the whole point of the app actually. 

3. Of course Magnus at 5 years old doesn't play well, it says right in the description that he didn't play chess at this time.

He purposely said in his YouTube video this app was to bring chess to more people including beginners.

Don't know why you need to be so harsh. 

I'm not harsh, but I do understand that someone who made a new account yesterday to write negatively upon my review has some "interests" which are undisclosed.

I also notice that you didn't address the negative points of this app.

If you are the programmer, please have the balls to admit who you are, and don't spend time here arguing, just watch some of the free chess app, which are written well, and learn from them.

However let's address the points you didn't address:

1. If they need my email just for contacting me (1 out of?? 1 million??), then why they found the time to add, at the end of the game a choice for sharing the result of the game in facebook or twitter, but not to send the actual PGN? Come on, that is made to "sell" advertisement.

2. A low res screen board made for the Iphone, in an app which can run on the Ipad, come on, it is not difficult to make the app also for high screen resolution. Again, go to see some real chess programs running on Ipad, and learn from them.

Further if it is really for bringing more chess people, then do a search for "chess" and the app doesn't appear, you need to make a search for "play Magnus" and the app appear, so even the marketing of the app is totally wrong.

Maybe is Magnus' father making few bucks on the side who wrote this crappy app.

By the way, (if you want it privately, so you don't lose the face in front of Magnus, if you are the programmer who wrote it) I can give you the name of real app programmers, who would make the product professional, and a better ambassador product for new prospective chess players all around the world.

I'd like to add another point to my review:

With the Play Magnus app it is not possible to play with time controls.

I played a game with the 6 years old, again the quality of the game horrible, but there is no way to control how long one takes per move.

That should be important in terms of "rating" since if one takes 1 minute to make a good move, and one takes 10, evidently their rating should be different.

I don't find the app bad... There are many bad chess apps out there. If you're seriously complaining about the horrid game you had against the 5 year old magnus, then turn any computer engine to ~Elo500 and I'm sure you'll have a comparable game. If you want a good game, try playing him at age 23. This is honestly a baseless complaint. 

As far as the programming of the app, I believe they are in development for an iPad app, but my guess as to why the iPhone was released first is the wider availability of the iPhone in comparison to iPads. After all, the goal of making an app (any app) is to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. The iPhone is a huge platform with many users, so it was a good starting point. As far as different interfaces, sure that would knock a "star" as a previous reviewer stated, off from the quality of the app. But it is the first version. Why be so critical of the app? It is clearly not designed to be an in-depth chess engine, or a complex feature filled app. It's designed to bring more people to chess, including beginners, and to add in videos designed by Magnus to give people a better feeling for the game. With that notion in mind, I think it's hard to give this app anything less than 4 stars.. It is the first version after all. 

Doesn't this remind you of those awesome "Kasparov" chess computers back in the 90s?

Yes seems logical, Carlsen is looking for a way to steal our 0.99 cents.

the question is not to "steal" because evidently you missed the point. Someone scam 1 million people of 1 dollar has made 1 million dollars, how much did you make this year?

I played few games with the app, and also the different ages don't seem to match. Obviously I'm not at IM level, and Carlsen I believe at 10 was already at least around 2000-2200.

This is the game played with Carlsen age 10, and I won easily. But if this was chessmaster with a 2200 rated character, I doubt I would win.

Another thing which takes away from the experience, and one knows he is playing with a computer is the fact that everytime I need to give checkmate, quite silly.

dangit i havent slept in days

Well, it is not only "playing crap" it is quite the artificial way that a computer cannot really replicate a human.

The few 2000-2200 players I played with, were generally strong in the endgame, and wouldn't play like the engine in this game.

Around move 37-38 the engine begins to make moves which no 2200 rated player would really play. Notice: I didn't check the game with an engine, so maybe my evaluation is wrong, but my feelings are that a human wouldn't make those moves.

But I also don't know anything about the real Magnus in that period. Is it possible that his 2000-2200 rated level was maybe just made by good openings and bad at endgames?

I played another game, this time Magnus was 11, should be at IM level, please let me know if you know of any IM who wouldn't agree to a draw (I asked 3 times, but being an engine doesn't understand the concept) or lose a pawn for no reason, like in the endgame when he threw away the H pawn.

You can check the FIDE site, I've added the following FIDE rating for the benefit of everyone, however the "title" sometimes is given late, because of bureacracy, while these young players, and I don't know if you ever played one (in my state a 2200 player 14yo, just beat a 2600 GM) are wild and their rating is not really precise, they can be quite stronger than what the rating says (maybe is like growth spur in children!):

At 11 was 2072

At 12 was 2250

At 13 was 2450

It was not because of bureaucracy that Carlsen became an IM being a 12 y.o.

He made his first IM norm while being 12.

But then you give Carlsen at 11 the rating he reached when he was 10 years and 10 months, and that was based on his games the months before that. The same thing with Carlsen aged 12 and 13. Maybe a more exact measure of the 11-year-old Carlsen would be his rating when he was around 11½ years old than the one he reached when he was 10 years and 10 months.