DGT Centaur Chess Computer with 40 x 40cm Sensor Board, LED Move Indicators, Weighted Pieces, E-Paper Display, and Rechargeable Battery

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.

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.

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!

Unfortunately, I had to return my board after many weeks of intensive testing and playing, due to freeze ups that happened occasionally. However, to clarify, I did not buy this board brand new (amazon was selling a used one), so I knew there was a risk involved. I do have another board, which was purchased brand new, and that one never had any issues. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyway, now back to functionality of this board. I think it's the perfect trainer for anybody to improve your chess! I did test it very intesively against online BOTS and varios players of different levels and here are my findings. Its internal computer adjusts the moves accordingly to your playing style and level. After my testing, the rating of the 3 levels is as follows: Level 1 (friendly mode): Accuracy mostly between 70-90%, so it puts the rating somewhere between 1000-1700 ELO (online rating), I would say. The board will easily stand its ground against most players in that range. Where it get's very weak is the end game (rating of its end game is probably around 1000 if not less). Yes, you should beat this friendly level relatively easily, as long you don't mess up opening and middle game badly. This level does not however blunder pieces. It just chooses weaker moves, to give you a chance. It's up to you to take advantage of that. I am not some expert, but I can beat this level 9 out of 10 games. Level 2 (challenge mode): Accuracy is higher, somewhere 80-95% most of the time. this one is the one I really like. It doesn't make many weird/weak moves. It's pretty solid. I would say the rating of level 2 is somewhere 1700-2200 (if not higher). It's endgame is also more solid compared to Level 1. THis one is the best mode, as it plays slightly above your level and pushes you to better results. It doesn't make perfect moves and from time to time, it does give you a slight chance, but it sure does not blunder or make weird/weak moves. First I kept losing, then i started getting close to winning and drawing. Then I drew a game and then finally I won a game with over 90% accuracy. :-) That game took me about 3 days and I took my time thinking through every single move to ensure I choose good moves every single time. Felt great to actually beat this board! :-) Level 3 (Expert): well, this one is above 90% accuracy, mostly 95% or somewhere there. ELO 2800-3000. THis one is probably meant for GrandMasters to practice against. Most players will get beaten within 30-40 moves at the most. However, it's weaker than Stockfish. SO this makes it actually more human like. Again, mostly only for GM's to play with and practice. I tried this level a few times and did lose. However, I am not a GM, so no surprice there...Was a great exercise though as well! I love its clean modern sleek design. Pieces are plastic, but weighted. They feel good when you move them on the board. They slide little bit on the board, which makes it nice smooth when you play. I like that. I would NOT change to pieces for anything (I know some people change it for wooden pieces). I think these white and black pieces match the modern sleek design perfectly!! Another thing I really like is the function that you can just turn it off in the middle of the game and walk away and come back anytime later (hour, day or months later if needed) and the board will remember where you stopped and you can continue playing from there. Thats great, as there is no pressure to having to finish the game during one and the same session. Plus, this is FULL SIZE tournament board. Yes, you need some space on your desk for it, but it's nice to have a full size. So much easier to move pieces and just see the whole game. When boards are small, it's a pain to play (constantly knocking other pieces over by moving a piece etc). Full size is the way to go! The simplicity is the lovely thing about this board. You just turn it on and play (no connecting to some app or needing software on your computer). Just perfect standalone chess board, that is ideal for your training and exercise! - Some people complain that they can't beat it. Well, read some books, get some basic fundamentals, and you should beat the friendly level 9 out of 10, if you are 1200 and higher! - Some people complain that they can't play online against others with this. Well, yes it would be a nice bonus to have that feature, but again the simplicity of having this standalone machine without having to log into some app or software, has its beauty. I really do love this board and have enjoyed it a lot. I can only recommend it! If i didn't have one, I would definatelly buy one without any hesitation. I am giving it 4 out of 5 starts, although I feel like it should be 5 stars. 4 starts only because its not perfect (perfect would be if it had online option and possibility to export PGN files). But otherwise I think this board is close to perfect. I do love it..:-)

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.

I realize that the DGT Centaur is rather expensive. It is worth the money because it provides a readily available opponent that will satisfy your need for a game of chess anytime and with skill and patience. You can play a game as rapidly as you want and if the demands of the day require you to step away, the Centaur will be waiting to resume the game. The set is large enough and attractive enough to leave set up just as if you were expecting a human opponent. I have been playing only in the "Friendly" mode, and I can win if I'm careful. I have some understanding of chess but I am not rated and I doubt I would be rated very highly. My first thought was to have Centaur set on "Expert" play Magnus Carlson using my iPhone app. I soon discovered that that has been done and reported on YouTube. Centaur does rather well. If you want a permanent record of your game, you'll have to write down the moves. Of course if you are playing seriously, you would do that anyway. Centaur displays the moves but does not have storage for games played. The instruction manual is complete and easy to follow. Why not just get out my old Kasparov "Conquistador" set? Kasparov has features the Centaur does not. But the Centaur can give me a good game and, as I said, it's large enough and attractive enough to be put out the same way I would set up my good wood set. You can't go wrong with this set and I think to do better you will have to spend much more.

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!

#1.LOOKS - personally, I love the looks of the set . modern yet not gaudy . #2. FUNCTION-Works way better than the squareoff, don't ask me how I know. 3. Use - very user friendly. - has many options like take back , play by positions, hint, analysis, change computers move , sound and brightness levels . - friendly mode , challenging, and expert . - ELO of 3000 supposedly in expert . 4. Comes with user manual, 2 year warranty, and extra queens for promotion. ADDRESSING the so called out negatives. 1. Some complaints stem from the esthetics . - the bottom is open.. - Has anyone ever questioned an egg being round? Those little domes on the base are individually stronger than you could imagine. I also believe that the designer may have also had the cooling feature in mind . Some sets have a temperature monitor because the set can overheat . This may have totally eliminated that issue. - Also some folks don't like the black and white squares.. - Well this is something you'd have to live with, as well as the size and construction of the pieces . - Personally, I think the pieces feel solid and look respectable. Malfunction (??) .. never had any myself. - Some had an issue with the castling and en-passant moves . All I can say is read the manual. You're not doing it right. The brain of this thing is Amazing. It genuinely plays like a human opponent. But trust me, it will whip you silly when you mess up. I've left the hint mode on and after making my mental move decision , I glance down to see what it suggests. Then I move accordingly. This allows it to be a training feature . There's many other ways to enjoy this set , and I've not had a single user issue. All in all , I can only tell you how I feel. If you have a need for internet use , and online games , then this won't be a good fit. But , remember this - No connectivity issues. No plug into an outlet issues. No extra costs involved like in some sets , where you have no internal battery and have to use your cell phone to hook it to another app . Some sets , you must purchase a wifi adapter , that's crazy. And last but not least, after charging her up , (took about 4 hours ), I've played about 8 games already , and shut it off and on over a 4 day period, and it's still showing over half full on the battery indicator. - But you can also play with it plugged in and charging too. I just wouldn't do it after it's fully charged, since battery cycle life is something to watch out for. BOTTOM LINE - I'm giving it 5 stars . If you do your research ahead of time and know what you're looking for in a set , then you should be 100% as happy as I am .

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.

Je n'ai le DGT Centaure que depuis peu mais si vous avez un petit niveau comme moi (entre 1300 et 1500 Elo sur chess .com) cet échiquier ne vous fera pas de cadeaux, 25 parties et pas gagner un seul foie... Ce produit est clairement adapté aux joueurs de club mais pas à des joueurs occasionnels comme moi. Après plusieurs mois, j'ai pu comparer avec les robots de chess et à mon avis le niveau minimum du Centaur est autour de 1600 Elo... Je trouve cela dommage...

Lo llevo usando un par de días. Me encanta. Respuesta rápida y clara a través de las luces. Lo que menos me gusta, las piezas de plástico. Sorprende un poco que no puedes elegir el nivel, sino que se supone que lo va adaptando el computador, pero la experiencia de juego es muy buena y es verdad que se va adaptando a tu nivel. Al principio yo no ganaba nada y, poco a poco, he ido ganando. Recomendable. Actualización. Lo llevo usando dos meses y es fantástico. Cuanto más lo uso, más me gusta. La experiencia de juego es increíble.

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.