Centaur 40 x 40cm Chess Computer | LED move indicators, weighted pieces, e-paper display, rechargeable power

I enjoy playing chess, but can rarely find someone else to play with. Playing chess on a computer or a video game console is a perfectly viable option, but I greatly prefer playing on an actual board with real pieces I can move: it simply helps me visualize and understand the game better, plus I just like the tactile sensation of playing a game in a physical way. I have played with other AI chess sets before, but up until now each one has given me various reasons to complain. Not so with this set, which exceeded my expectations in every possible way. First of all, the quality of this set is SUPERB: the materials, the craftsmanship, everything. Plastic chess sets most certainly don't need to be thought of as cheap, as the pieces of this set are exceptionally molded, feel good in the hands, and are very sturdy. The board, likewise, is attractive and sturdily made; this isn't a set you want to slam your pieces down on by any means, but, then again, if that's how you play we ought to have a discussion about chess etiquette. Most importantly, the AI communicates with the human player in two complementary and easy to understand ways: each individual square lights up to indicate the computer's intended moves, which is by far the most intuitive means of AI communication I've seen yet in an electronic chess set, and the e-ink screen, despite its small size, is crystal-clear (if you've ever read an Amazon Kindle, you know exactly what I mean) and easy to understand. The board recognizes the placement of the pieces without any issue, and, unlike every other electronic chess set I've played, absolutely zero force is needed to indicate movement to the AI: simply lift a piece and place it on its destination and the AI knows what you're doing. The board does not distinguish between individual pieces, merely the presence or absence of a piece on any given square, so it is important to make sure you set up the pieces and move them correctly. (In case of any confusion, the screen always displays a diagram of the current game state.) Of course, even the best-made set in the world is meaningless without a decent AI opponent, and this does not disappoint in any way. At easier difficulty levels the AI is somewhat forgiving, but still plays a game with a focus on beating you, and at harder levels it's tough as nails and will give you a real battle of wits and stamina. In other words, this AI is of benefit to novices, as you have no choice but to concentrate and learn strategy as you go, move by move, and it's also of benefit to experienced players who enjoy a real challenge. I can't recommend this set highly enough for anyone who enjoys playing chess against an AI opponent and is happy to play with real pieces instead of staring at a computer screen. At the price point this set is certainly a financial investment, but one that is going to provide countless enjoyment.

UPDATE 4/26/21: As mentioned in the original review, I tried the foil disc method with my House of Staunton Zagreb '59 set, and it worked like a charm (I used the 25mm aluminum foil discs sold by Demon Tweeks, see photo). The Centaur had no trouble recognizing the pieces, and in minutes we were playing with no difficulty (see photos). The computer chose a Robatsch Defense, pretty interesting! Happier than a clam at high tide to be playing real games with my favorite set! 100 percent satisfied with my DGT Centaur! * * * * * * * * * * Like a lot of chess players I have gotten used to studying the game on my computer, and playing games against various chess-playing engines on my computer as well. Sometimes, though, you just want to play a game on a regulation-size board with full-size pieces, so after doing some research I took the plunge and purchased the DGT Centaur. The product shipped promptly and arrived on schedule. The packaging is appealing, and everything you need is included (three different adapters for the AC charging module, too!). Manuals are provided in several languages, so this is a product which should appeal to players worldwide. The board came charged already (nice), so I was able to have my first game minutes after opening the box. Setting the board up is easy (read the manual first, though, you'll be glad you did). The menus are easy to understand and operate, with only a few simple buttons to push to get the results you want. I was pleasantly surprised with the regulation-size Staunton plastic pieces, which are as nice as most of the plastic sets you see at over-the-board tournaments (although not quite so heavily weighted). I will experiment with using my House of Staunton Zagreb '59 set soon, and will update this review once I have results to report. The board hardly weighs anything, and the paper white display window is a nice feature. There are a variety of options for what information is displayed, so most players should find it easy to configure the display to their taste. The lights that indicate moves are easy to see, and unlike some other reviewers I can't see the rings except when they light up to indicate a move. I much prefer the lighted circles Centaur uses to the tiny LEDs you see on other electronic boards. At the end of the day, the most important aspect of a device like this is how well it plays chess. For my first game I set Centaur to Friendly, and still got a good game. I tried the Tarrasch Defense, and won a long game (I was playing on the Game/90 setting) after the machine made a couple of inaccuracies in a complex middlegame. Centaur will not resign a position, so even after achieving a decisive material advantage I had to play it out to checkmate, which is good practice. Of course if you don't wish to do that you can end the game at any point using the display menu. This is a chess-playing partner, with no bells or whistles like saving/exporting games or interfacing with other devices. Pawn promotion and castling were handled correctly, and if you read the manual you should not have any difficulty with en passant captures if those come up in a game. I intend to get a carrying bag next, to protect the board from bumps and bruises when it is not in use. The bottom line: The Centaur is exactly what I wanted, a playing partner ready at a moment's notice when I feel like a game using real pieces on a real board. We improve as much by playing as we do by staring at books or computer screens, so I expect Centaur will be quite helpful in my training as I prepare for the return of in-person tournaments. Highly recommended!

Package arrived no dings or scrunchies. Easy to setup light to move around. Only issue one of the black pawns had issue of not registering no matter what square I moved it too. So contacted seller which promptly responded within 8hrs. and resolved with sending out another black pawn coming from LJUBLJANA - SLOVENIA with DHL shipping. And in 4 days already reached CINCINNATI HUB - USA. So Five stars to US C-Games Trade for fast response and resolving issue. Otherwise being a casual player thru life always felt intimidated by online 2D powerful chess engines or players. Always felt rushed and overwhelmed with all the complex move strategies and stronger players. When my way is slow leisurely learning pace. Starting out friendly mode was being crushed by 8-10 moves. So started by slowing down and taking breaks and coming back to board. Within a course of a week went from 8-10 moves into blunders to 12-20 moves before blundering. Just finished my slow game playing to end resign on 32 moves. So much improvement in 1st week alone. And enjoyable the whole time. And love the stand alone all-in-one no phone,tablet or computer needed. Tho would have loved the ability to connect if desired. To the pawn not registering all I did was lick the bottom and registered fine after that. As the Black pieces taste like Licorice and the White taste like vanilla! :-) All kidding aside there is a trick being used with round metallic stickers putting on bottom of other chess sets to be used on the Centaur. Which I imagine also applies to any problematic pieces that came with the board. Also if having issue when resigning and moving pieces back to start. Sometimes the board will just loop and loop lights thru the squares not ending. Again this is an issue of pieces? Usually removing and resetting pieces resolves this and computer resets to new board. Never found a position or piece attributed to the looping but eventually resetting pieces most times resolves the issue. Also holding down play/pause button for 10 seconds will reset to fresh clean start. Now to my concerns with the board. This was released in 2019 without any hardware upgrades? Coming up on 4yrs without significant changes? Like bigger battery I get about 2 days worth of Off/On playing. When images of insides show plenty of space for a battery twice it's capacity. And would like a battery percentage and quick charge option. Also would like to see the display be increased much longer to see more moves on display. And add more definitive levels then just Friendly, Challenging, and Expert. More based on more levels assigned to ELO ratings would be nice. They could have also replaced the Pi-zero with a Pi-Zero W giving wireless connecting to computer,phone or tablet opening up internet chess to it. Or added a micro SD card slot for recording? The bottom is the most unattractive part of an otherwise elegant set without all the annoying gadget looking obtrusive buttons of other sets. Speaking of buttons would have like some rubber gasket around them so they are less cheap clickity sounding. Chess pieces with some outer ring felt? or made such as way to not slide around so easily when attempting to move the board if somehow pieces made magnetic would be perfect. Also if the board folded would have been a great plus to compact travel ability. Any of these would have been great and expected improvements over last 4yrs. Tho still a great Chess board and brings joy and enjoyment to many non-professional to professional chess players. And totally worth the $291 I paid for it. Update: Now been over 1yr. and still going strong without any hardware or software issues.

Absolutely love this set. Thanks to the wonderful man who took 12 mins or so (if I remember correctly) to do an excellent review, I made the purchase. I have been looking for a while now and so thankful to come across his review. Everything he described is correct and accurate and honestly, if you haven’t seen it yet, go watch it. You will be glad you did! Amazing set, incredible computer with easy to understand maneuvering and play. Great battery life, we’ve played many times now and it’s still on full charge a week later. I love it so much I’m considering a second purchase to take one with us for travel and leave the second at home for my son, who also loves this. Picture attached is of my first checkmate against my opponent. As you can see in the screen, it says: “checkmate!” Go buy yours now! <3

I'm 65 years old and I've been enjoying chess computers since the release of the Fidelity Electronics Chess Challenger in 1976. Through the years I've bought many more as they improved. I love chess computers. But, the biggest problem I encountered with them is that they never played like a human opponent. They were annoyingly perfect chess machines. They were very challenging, but not in an enjoyable way. A year ago this month, I bought the DGT Centaur, so now I have the DGT Pi, the Novag Citrine (which are both excellent), and this one. This is by far my favorite of any that I have ever owned! They claim that it plays like a human and adapts to your playing level. Wow! They are right! It plays more like a human opponent than any computer I've ever played on and that makes it extremely enjoyable to play. It's like a breath of fresh air! On my other computers, when I lost (which was often!), it was aggravating and depressing. Not only can I beat this computer occasionally, but even when I lose I can honestly say that the game was an enjoyable experience! Other computers are such number-crunching machines with the ability to calculate endless scenarios for each move, it just never felt like a fair game when I lost. But, I always feel like it's a fair game with this computer! It's wonderful. I highly recommend this chess computer. I also think it is the best one out there for beginners. PROS: Beautiful-looking set. Very attractive. It's cordless! (Just charge it up and play for hours!) Very pleased with how long it can play per battery charge. I've never been disappointed. Excellent size and the pieces feel just right to me. "Friendly" mode plays just like a human and adapts well to your playing level. (I've had so much fun on the "friendly" mode I haven't even tried the other two more difficult modes yet) Nice customizable display. You can set it to show board position also. Very pleasing to the eye to play. The computer moves are indicated by a very nice light display with adjustable brightness. Automatically saves your game. Lightweight/very easy to carry. The set comes with 2 extra queens to accommodate pawn promotion. CONS: Pieces slide too easily, meaning a slight bump of the board will cause your pieces to slide out of position. This is a minor gripe though. Just avoid playing it in your lap where a sneeze could disrupt the board. Board feels kind of thin and cheap at first. But, it is actually well-made and sturdy. I've actually grown to like how it's made. Kind of a marvel, really. UPDATE: Since writing this review I have since played more 'personalities' on my DGT Pi and found that it is as equally enjoyable as this Centaur. While I do love playing on the wooden DGT smart board with the Pi, the combined price for those 2 products are about 3X the price of the Centaur. So, in my opinion, if you can afford the smart board + Pi, you may enjoy the experience more due to the sheer elegance of playing on a beautiful wooden board with very elegant pieces. But, this Centaur is elegant in a different way - with a more contemporary look. The gameplay is very similar to the more expensive wooden smart board. So, by all means, if you want to keep it under $400, I say you can't go wrong with this Centaur. Go for it! UPDATE (4 Years Later) Still loving this Centaur very much! Played a long game last night and stalemated but beat it tonight...a close game. On this set and on my Millennium King Competition, I spray painted the black pieces gray. (the dark black made the details too hard to see especially in low light. See picture.) It makes a huge difference and makes the set look a lot nicer in my opinion. I've been having a blast playing on this and highly recommend it unless you're wanting on line play. For that, I highly recommend the new Chessnut Air for just $200! UPDATE 7-13-2023: Been playing various chess computers lately (Chess Up, Chessnut Air, Millennium Competition, and Igor...each one is a blast to play!) But, I pulled out the Centaur last night after not playing it for a while and WOW! What a game! A fantastic and fun game indeed...and I can say that even having lost! It really does live up to what it claims to be. It's like playing another human and I love that! I highly recommend this...again!!!!

I received my DGT Centaur two days ago and I am hooked. The board is a good size (1.9 inch squares) and is very light and thin, which makes it extremely easy to move and use just about anywhere. The plastic pieces are heavier than I expected and feel good in the hand. The piece designs are easy to recognize, with well differentiated silhouettes. The pieces feel good to move, either by lifting or sliding. The bottom of each piece has a smooth slick black tape-like covering rather than felt or leather. This makes it easy to slide the pieces, but it also leads to the pieces sliding on their own if the board isn't placed on a level surface. I found that I could play a full game on my lap, but I needed to be very careful not to shift my position too much. The sensors in each square only detect whether a piece is on that square. They can't determine which piece it is. When the pieces are placed in all squares on the first two and last two ranks, the DGT Centaur assumes each piece was placed correctly in its starting position. After that, when a piece is moved, the board keeps track of its new location. This scheme requires the starting position to be set up correctly. If the pieces are arranged incorrectly (e.g., king and queen are swapped), then the legal moves won't match the pieces and the board will prevent you from moving pieces they way you expect them to move. If this ever occurs, you can look at the small board display on the e-paper display to see what pieces the DGT Centaur thinks are on each square. I've mainly been using my DGT Centaur to practice various endgame scenarios. It's quite easy to set up a board position. You select the type & color of piece you want to place on the e-paper display and then place all pieces of that type & color anywhere on the board. Once the pieces are on the board, you can reposition them one piece at a time and the board will remember which piece is which. When playing against the built-in computer, you can take back moves, one at a time, all the way back to the starting position. When the computer indicates its preferred move, you can choose to make a different move on behalf of the computer. This is great for practicing specific variations and lines of interest. All of this is done simply by moving the pieces on the board and so it feels very natural. I played dozens of lines of a new knight-bishop endgame I'm experimenting with to look for weaknesses. Some reviewers have complained that it's hard to take back many moves, because there's no indication of where the piece started. The notation used only shows the ending square. This is a fair complaint, but there is a workaround. You can scroll through the entire list of moves by pressing the up and down arrows. When doing so, the small board on the e-paper display will update to reflect the board position at that position in the move list. And so, by pressing the up arrow a couple times, you can see where the last move came from and them move the piece back to that position on the board. You can then repeat this process to unwind as many moves as you like. It's tedious, but it works. I can't comment yet on the strength or adaptive friendliness of the computer. I only played a few full-length games and I found myself unwinding moves and playing different variations so much that I didn't get a strong sense of the computer's ability. There isn't a mode for the computer to play itself, but you can emulate it by allowing the computer to play as your opponent and then requesting a hint for each of your own moves. This can also be useful in two player games between a strong opponent and a weaker one. For example, I could give a handful of coins to my son and allow him to "buy" computer hints at any time during our game. Some will justifiably feel the price is high for the build quality and materials, but I feel it's good value for my own family. I prefer playing on a physical board over a phone or computer screen and the gameplay feels extremely natural. Other than pressing one button to turn it on, there's no need to touch the controls or look at the e-paper display to set up a new game and play it through to the end. Both of my non-playing kids have spontaneously played multiple games against it (and me while I was using it), which is a great indicator of how fun and intuitive it is to use.

This is not a critique of the way this electronic chess set plays or operates. It did those things exceptionally well. The chess engine is very robust and the three levels of play work just as described. I consider myself to be an experienced player and I was able to win all three of the games I played on the lowest "friendly" level. The 2nd level was far more challenging, competitive and enjoyable, and the third and highest level will more than satisfy the very best player. My criticism is of the very lightweight and brittle hard plastic chess board. It looks nice but it feels very cheap...especially for a $300+ set. The board I received was broken in two places. The very thin clear plastic grid that makes up the underside of the chess board had two places in it where the plastic had snapped off leaving jagged gaps. This appeared to have happened when the clear plastic bagged chess pieces that are packed directly under the board at the factory were somehow pushed up against it with enough pressure to snap the clear thin plastic. I don't know if this happened at the factory or during shipping but neither the shipping box nor the manufacturer's box showed any indication of damage. One of the broken pieces of plastic was rattling around inside the box when I opened it but the other piece was nowhere to be found. I set up the board and played a few games to see if the electronics and LED screen had been damaged but they both worked perfectly with no problems. I returned this chess set for a refund since the plastic board had been damaged and I didn't request a replacement because it was so cheaply made. The chess board should be of better quality and much more sturdy in my opinion...especially for the $300+ price. How expensive and difficult would it be to make the plastic chess board thicker and stronger? It could probably be done at very little cost. It's a shame that the manufacturer didn't do this. The way the chess set is arranged and packed into its box at the factory also needs improvement so the board is better protected and won't be damaged. My recommendation...spend your hard-earned money on something else. If you decide to purchase this chess set be sure to save the shipping box so you can return it!

Prior to purchasing this I spent a fortune on a millennium chess set, buying the board, the base box and all the digital goodies to connect to the internet and pc, the upshot was after 6 months it broke… I had originally looked at this board prior to my awful purchase of the millennium board but decided to pass, wish I hadn’t, this is a great board for many different reasons. 1. The set up is painless and quick, the millennium board takes longer. 2. The size is bigger than the millennium 3. A fraction of the cost Ok, so there is 3 reasons why the dgt is better. The board has a cheap plastic feel to it but don’t be surprised at how much it responds because it is sensitive and the light’s dedicated to each square work flawlessly. You can alter the light for brighter or lower dimness, which I found useful in bright sunlight outside. There are 3 levels, easy, medium and difficult. For me at least I’m getting a good challenge on easy level, I’m not a great player but have won enough times on easy level to still need to stay at the level until my winning ratio is a lot higher before I will progress into the next level. I noticed that the beginning moves from DGT differs which means it’s switching it’s styles which is a nice thing. The pieces themselves are light weight yet quite large and moving pieces is a breeze, they provide a spare queen for those moments when you upgrade a pawn. As far as I’m concerned this chess board fits perfectly with my playing level, it’s ease of use, the menu options, the digital screen can display your score, move, current layout etc. For those unsure if this board would fit their needs, I will definitely recommend it, especially over its competition. It would make a wonderful gift to any chess enthusiast, either just starting out or a well experienced player. Thumbs up for the design. Simple and effective and actually fun to play which I didn’t experience on the millennium board. Avoid millennium, avoid square off. The DGT choice beats the others hands down, by making it simple in design not burdened with cables coming out of every box (I’m looking at your millennium) so yes, this is really the best choice for the majority of players new and old.

My experience with the Ceteur product wasn't great. I expected it to perform well since it’s a DGT product, but unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations. The board started to glitch when moving the pieces quickly, making it impossible to play at a fast pace. After using it for a few days, the Raspberry Pi board kept scanning and wouldn’t stop. I tried resetting it, but nothing worked. I contacted the seller, and while they offered a refund, they didn’t have the product in stock anymore. I really think DGT should work on better testing before launching products like this.

I bought the DGT centaur to practice with at home because my chess club is only open twice a week and it's really hard for me to find people willing to play slower time controls on the Internet. USB or the included wall adapter can charge it. I recommend ordering the extra set of plastic pieces sold separately by the seller co-trade for $20 if you ever want to promote your pawns to a Knight Rook Queen or Bishop it's going to be an issue for you when you don't have them. The centaur is a better chess computer than some of the cheaper ones sold on Amazon that are designed for complete beginners and have limited elo. You don't have to install any apps on a computer or smart phone to use it and it requires no Internet connection.

I am almost a beginner - learnt the rules when I was a kid but hardly played at all. I bought this about 6 months ago when I retired. I played about 10 games and lost them all so gave up. I then started using chess.com to do some basic lessons, do some puzzles and play some games against the computer. I can now consistently beat 850 rated computer “players” and this week I beat a 1000 rated computer player. So today I tried the Centaur again and I WON! My conclusion is that this is a great product but not for absolute beginners. It does not seem to have the ability to adjust down to a very low basic level. But now I love it! I have had no problems at all with the quality of the board, pieces or technology.

My first impression was that Centaur was bigger than expected - even though I had measured it size against a chess set before I made the purchase. It is unusual underneath (transparent showing the lights) - the opening sequence must be impressive on a glass table! All this is fine, but a slight drawback is that the pieces easily slip across the surface when the board is moved. The pieces are nicely sized but are lighter than weighted wooden pieces of the same height - though I do not consider this a significant problem. There is a small lcd display to the side of the board which is too small for my eyes at standard sized text. It is possible to make the text bigger but very little is displayed as a result. I would like the lcd display to be bigger (though it would make the device wider). It would ideally be twice the length and breadth. Having said all the above its easy to make the moves and to follow / make the moves the computer indicates - this is excellent. It is so much more pleasant than playing on a tablet or computer - I find it much easier to ‘see’ moves on a real board. I should mention that the LCD provides a view of the board so if the board is knocked its easy to replace the pieces. Clock times and a list of moves made are also shown, though as the latter only shows a few moves scrolling is necessary. Menu options allow hints to be displayed, playing black, selecting one of three levels, setting up a position and various display, sound, light and language options. It is possible to take back moves though there is no take back mode you just have to reverse the move sequence using the move list if necessary. Not ideal if you need to go back a long way. The Centaur has no connectivity so it can not be used to play games on the internet or against chess engines apart from the inbuilt Stockfish 9 engine. Of course Stockfish is one of the world’s strongest chess engines. On the Centaur the Stockfish engine reputedly delivers above 3000 ELO which means it’s good enough to win matches against the best players in the world. It has 3 levels ‘Expert’ which delivers the full power of the machine and two levels based on its in game assessment of your play. The ‘Friendly’ level might be about 200 ELO points below the player’s level while the ‘Challenge’ level might be 200 points above. This is based on my estimate of scoring 75% against the former and 25% against the latter. I have not played enough games to be sure of this for the challenge mode as I normally play at the friendly mode to get an enjoyable game with a good chance of winning! A point made in other reviews that I would agree with is that it would be better if in addition the Centaur had inbuilt levels say at 100 ELO point intervals. As always when a chess engine is ‘slugged’ to reduce its standard of play the moves it plays at times are strange (very poor) most noticeably in the end game. Having said that I never complained when a human opponent made a loosing move!

Se lo regalé a mi padre en Reyes y ha sido un éxito. Es fácil de utilizar, se adapta a tu nivel, hace resumen de partida, y muchas cosas más. Mi padre está feliz.