GoChess Mini - Chess Game, 2 Players, Age 12+

excellent chess set. If your getting back in to chess like me then this is perfect with plenty of options to get you started again and its not just playing against an AI it does connect to others online as well.

Wow. I'm really with this chess board! I've played only a few games and I've learnt a lot already. Look forward to seeing what Particula come up with next!

Bought for my 8 year old daughter as she loves chess apps. Board is really nice, lighting is excellent, lovely materials. Feels premium. Integration with the app is seamless and very intuitive. If I had a recommendation, it would be to have a feature where recommended moves are explained with reason for learning purposes. Perhaps this is a feature we have simply missed, but overall, functionality is excellent. Size is perfect.

The best chessboard

Excellent

Excellent product!

I purchased the GoChess mini (not from Amazon) and I am really impressed with the board and its features. The quality of the board packaging pieces and App is superb. This is a quality product. What has really impressed me is the GoChess Support. I have had a couple of issues that I presented to the GoChess team. Issue number 1 was that the Android App would take time to reflect the actual battery %. Increasing in chunks (minor issue it gets there eventually). Issue number 2 is that battery life is approx 4-5 hours, I believe that the web site states it should be more like 10 hours. GoChess are aware of these two issues and about to bring out a new update of software to address the % battery glitch and options to optimize the LEDS to give more control over the LEDs to achieve the stated 10 hours of battery life. Their communication on these subjects to me was very quick and courteous. I had a couple of concerns before buying the board and one was the modern pieces and how identifiable they would be. Personally I have had no issues with identifying the pieces. There have been comments in forums re the size of the Bishop I cant see anything wrong and it scales for me perfectly with the other pieces. It is really clear on the website that there is no individual piece recognition. Generic piece recognition placement is achieved through magnets (the same in all pieces)so you are responsible for placing the pieces in their correct position. The pieces themselves are not magnetic. I have had no issues with this approach occasionally when first setting the board up you may have to move a piece slightly for it to be recognised initially as a piece. During play it may very rarely miss your move, once every 3-4 games so keep an eye on the clocks to see whose turn it is and that your move has been recognised. The LEDs will also help with this as they will not change to the opposing side until the move is recognised. Lack of individual piece recognition was not an issue for me in fact this approach makes it much less prone to faults that I see other boards have with individual piece recognition, less to go wrong in my opinion. Not having individual piece recognition will take longer to set the board up for puzzles, not a concern for me. The board responded quickly to online moves on chess.com and Lichess and I did not notice any perceivable lag. I have been playing Rapid chess for 10/15 mins. I would not really want to play 3 min Blitz just because of the physical logistics of trying to move the opponents pieces, a common issue with any eboard. I have had zero issues with bluetooth connectivity and the board was found for the first time on a number of different Android phones (android 12 and 14). I had a couple of wifi issues on my end that dropped the internet for a couple seconds but caused no issue with the gameplay. I did also note other issues that have been put out there concerning playing AI. It sometimes does not identify blunders (Red circle) on lower AI settings. At the moment there is also no game review. I believe that probably both of these will be addressed very shortly. I think the App has a great simple interface and I had no problems playing Lichess or Chess.com games or face to face (OTB) via the app and board. I could share PGNs for Liches, GoChess AI and Face to Face to clipboard on an Android device or share via multiple apps within Android including Gmail. Once on Gmail I could copy and paste into the likes of Chess.com or Lichess. Playing chess.com on the app is very much like playing full blown on the main chess.com app with most options available including playing the bots. The PGN for chess.com is not available via the app and can be copied from within the chess.com account. The Lichess part of the app is stripped down in comparison to chess.com and no option to play bots. It is a very different experience playing on a real board than a flat screen and way more enjoyable. I think that GoChess have a really excellent board/pieces and app and would give this 10/10.

Le jeu d’échecs est parfait, les pièces modernes sont très jolies et agréables à manipuler, une fois connecté au smartphone tout fonctionne parfaitement, les parties contre l’IA correspondent au niveau annoncé

Je suis triste de ne pas voir les pièces bouger toute seule comme sur la vidéo du kickstarter. Je ne sais pas si c'est moi qui ait mal compris le fonctionnement ou si la fonctionnalité n'est pas disponible pour le moment ou si elle ne le sera jamais. J'avais beaucoup d'espoir de voir cette fonctionnalité sur mon GoChess. J'ai acheté ce jeu pour que mes enfants apprennent et que cela évite les dispute et la triche entre eux. Je suis content pour cela car le jeu est vraiment top sur la partie technique l'IA et les lumières sont top. Autre problème c'est le plateau de jeu qui n'est pas de niveau, je dois mettre le quick start guide en dessous pour que le plateau ne bouge pas, dommage. Autre point négatif c'est l'obligation d'avoir un téléphone allumé à côté pour jouer. J'ai dédié un vieux téléphone au GoChess pour que les enfants jouent sans avoir besoin d'utiliser mon téléphone personnel. J'ai écrit à Particula concernant la fonctionnalité des pièces qui bougent toute seule en espérant que ce soit moi qui n'ait pas compris comment cela fonctionne.

Well designed pieces. Good sized chess board and pieces. The app is easy to connect with third party chess apps and once connected to the board all we have to do is play and enjoy!

As a chess player, I had high expectations for the GoChess Mini, and I must say it doesn’t disappoint. The compact design is impressive, providing a fully functional smart board without sacrificing quality or precision. One of the standout features is the seamless connection with the GoChess app. The LED lights are a subtle but powerful addition, making it easy to follow moves, explore openings, and enhance gameplay. Although I was initially concerned about the smaller size compared to traditional tournament boards, the GoChess Mini proved to be practical and highly portable—perfect for analysis sessions or travel games. The app’s integration with online platforms and Lichess allows playing against strong opponents worldwide, including AI simulations at different levels. The option to save and study games is something I hope they’ll expand further—having a way to import or export PGNs directly to the board would be ideal for advanced study. But overall, it’s clear that this product was designed with both beginners and experienced players in mind, making it a great tool for sharpening chess skills. Update a few months later: My kids took a few chess lessons at our local library and are now using the board to play (with AI hints). I challenged them to figure out why the AI is advising them to make a move and before they pick up a piece, where they think the AI will want them to move it to. It's been a great learning tool for them. Still very happy with my purchase!

Väldigt nöjd, känns bättre att spela mot folk över nätet på ett fysiskt shackbräde än på en skärm. Även om du förlorar lite tid då du flyttar även åt motståndaren, så kanske inte lämpar sig så bra till att spela blitz matcher. Brädet och pjäserna är väldigt fina, och även att de är av plast, så känns det inte så. De har en matt finish och bra tyngd. Var först tveksam om jag skulle gilla hur de ser ut innan jag fick dem, har en nästan futuristisk look, framförallt hästen. Men tycker faktiskt att det passar väldigt bra till brädet i och med led-ringarna som lyser upp och visar vad och vart motståndaren vill flytta. Du kan även sätta på hjälplysen för bästa drag när du spelar mot datorn, eller mot någon i familjen om en av er är mycket bättre än den andra, txe spel mot barn eller barnbarn. Du väljer vilken styrka eller Elo hjälpen ska vara på. Kan även använda lysen som bara visar möjliga drag du har, bra för den som inte kan reglerna men vill lära sig hur de olik pjäserna rör sig. Haft några buggar när man inte ser dragen på appen, dragen har fortfarande fungerat och visat rätt på brädet hela matchen dock, detta har hänt ett fåtal gånger. Jag har även hört av mig till företaget om förslag på funktioner i appen, och supporten har varit väldigt vänlig och svarat extremt snabbt, även på helger! Annars funkar appen kanon. Lätt och smidig att koppla till mobilens bluetooth, och att komma igång och koppla till ditt lichess och eller chessdotcom konto. Jag drar av en stjärna då pjäserna är lite chippade på baskanterna, se sista bilden. Tror detta kan vara spår efter gjutningen då det återfinns på alla. Lite surt på ett så dyrt set, men i övrigt supernöjd.