DGT Centaur Chess Computer

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!

TLDR: Photo 1 shows the computer choosing to open with e4 under Queenside Odds (check the display bottom-right). Queenside is one of the more extreme Odds options. There are others to explore and/or you can invent your own (within reason). These can all be set up using the Set Pieces menu option.Top tip: Download the instruction manual from DGT - for free - and read section 6 for more details on Set Pieces.The Centaur’s advantages are…Ease of use: anyone can follow the information shown on the e-paper screen and press the❓(Hint) button if they don’t know what to do next.It’s a standalone device: It does not use or need to be connected to an external computer or mobile app, sparing you the inevitable specification-matching, connection troubleshooting and upgrade wrangling. The USB socket is for recharging only.The Hint button: displays a list of numerically graded moves (courtesy of the Stockfish Chess Engine) with the topmost move shown in lights on the chessboard, either for a single player playing against the computer or for each player in turn (when the computer is set to Analyse a two-player game - although in practice just put the less-experienced player in charge of the Hint button since they are likely to use it more frequently). You can choose to play any one of the listed moves or something else entirely (movement rules permitting) for your current move.When you play against the Centaur it usually plays as Black and, on its turn, it will accept any legal move you play in place of its own requested move and continue the game as if it meant to do that. For example, in Photo 1, I could ignore the computer’s request for e4 and play, say, Knight to f3 instead.Set Pieces: When all the pieces are in their normal starting positions, selecting the Set Pieces menu option allows you to change the setup of the board to any middle or endgame you may wish to study.Obviously, for newer players, you can also use this option to introduce restrictions (a.k.a. odds chess) - making the computer start a game without key pieces such as a Queen or Rook, and/or giving a less-experienced player a one, two or three move head-start. Once the board is set you can select: the direction of play (for White), the side which is about to move and the role of the computer (plays Black, plays White or Analyses play). Then press the Play/Pause button (not the Back button). The computer will play one side or analyse each players’ moves and provide hints as usual, as the game progresses from this unconventional starting point. Over time, the aim is to gradually reduce the severity of any odds used - but entirely at your own pace. Find what works for you.Launching any game from the Set Pieces menu does not seem to influence Adaptive Play - see below.Take Back: You can undo as many moves as you like. Scroll up the move list shown on the e-paper screen if needed and simply return pieces to where they came from, in the correct reverse order. The computer will automatically recognise these reversals and will modify the move list accordingly.Adaptive play: whenever you feel confident to move on from Odds Chess, then if you play a full 32-piece game in Friendly mode the computer will adapt its level of play to match yours. However, your grading will be skewed by friends and/or family members also playing full, 32-piece games against the computer in this mode. If the thought of this keeps you awake at night, simply hold down the Play/Pause button for ten seconds to restore the original factory settings.BTW like Friendly mode, the Challenge mode also plays at the current assessed level while mixing in some stronger moves. Expert mode goes full Stockfish.Customised chess pieces: If you want to use your preferred chess pieces with this board, first check to see if the board can detect any metal weights they may contain. Otherwise just buy and apply thin, self-adhesive metal foil discs to the bases of the pieces. Size them for the pawns and stack them if necessary. The base diameter of the King should not exceed 42mm otherwise it will start to cover the onboard lights.And on the other hand…E-paper ghosting: As you can see in photo 2, the e-paper screen displays information on your current game (until you choose to return all the chess pieces to their starting positions; the Centaur interprets this as a Reset). However, although e-paper screens extend battery life, you can see that faint images of playing pieces from other points in the move list are scattered across the diagram, making the screen look as though it has some sort of old tech Cathode Ray Tube burn-in problem. This has been implemented deliberately in order to speed up the e-paper response time (which would otherwise take a few seconds). This doesn’t bother me but YMMV.The Centaur is not for everyone: chess ninjas will prefer something with connectivity and more settings to adjust - and absolute beginners do need to know how all the pieces move, including castling, en passant and promotion.So…in conclusion:The Centaur is very easy to use: Turn it on, arrange the pieces - to disadvantage the computer/stronger player if necessary - play the game, take back moves, use the Hints (and gradually learn to anticipate them).Worth it? Well, the price of some chess sets can creep into exclusive wristwatch territory, so I guess the madness is relative. Just make sure that you are clear about what the Centaur can and cannot do.

I love this chess computer. Haven’t tried it on expert yet, can’t beat it on challenging! Make no mistake this thing would make a Chess Master cry.I was however a bit gutted because the price dropped significantly just after I bought it.