Chessville - Product Reviews - DGT Projects Electronic Chess Board

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The DGT Projects
Electronic Chess Board
Reviewed by Kevin Bidner

This is it, this is the one.

If you like slow games, and play on the internet, this is the article you print out and leave around to “hint” to your family as to what to leave under the tree for you this year.

The internet was a breakthrough for the chess world, allowing us to find and play opponents of similar strength from around the world any time of day or night. Now the DGT PROJECTS board takes this breakthrough one step farther, allowing the user to play internet chess using a real chessboard. Nothing replaces pushing real wood down a real board, so now we can have the best of both worlds, the convenience of internet play, and the “old world” real feeling of OTB (over the board) play!

How It Works
The DGT Projects board looks like any standard chess set with a standard Staunton set of pieces. While nothing fancy (they are now bringing out “higher end” pieces), they certainly get the job done. The board has either a USB or Serial connector coming off the side, connecting it to the computer. After initial setup, and when using compatible software you move a piece on the board, it moves the same piece on the screen, simple as that.

The chess pieces have a tiny transmitter giving the location and identity of each piece; the board, drawing its power from the computer, has sensors that take the information and transmit it through USB or Serial connection back to the computer. You will need a matching software program to receive the information, but due to the fact that this technology has been out for a while, you will have no problem finding suitable programs to work with the software.

Most of the chess programs on the market have an interface, and most of the internet chess services also have an interface that works with the DGT Projects board. Personally I have used Blitzin (for play on ICC), Arena (FICS) and Fritz 7 (playchess.com), and all worked flawlessly.

For internet play, this setup offers a great bonus to anyone who plays longer games. You make a move, it enters the move directly into the chess software, your opponent moves, you can either see it on screen, or turn up the volume and the software will call out the move.

There is a matching chess clock that plugs into the board, the Digital XL.

The clock is digital and of tournament quality. In the next version of the software (supposed to be ready within a week or two) the clock will display the time remaining on your internet game, as well as displaying your opponents last move.

The main uses for the board are:
1) Internet play; 2) Play against a human opponent while recording the moves; 3) Play against your computer program or practice play; 4) Study, such as entering moves into a chess program; 5) Live broadcast of games (the DGT Projects board is currently used around the world for this purpose.)

What Is It Like?
For any serious chess player, playing with the DGT Projects board breaths new life into playing over the internet, besides being more fun, it feels just …. more real! It is one step closer to the feeling that your opponent is there in the room with you. Besides, some of us get so used to playing on-screen that we almost need an adjustment period when playing back on a real board, so being able to play with a real set for internet games is a great bonus, not only for the great feeling of playing over the board, but also for the continuity of “spatial recognition” that will develop the same “feel” for both internet and OTB play. On any games longer than blitz I would say that playing with the DGT PROJECTS board was fun, exciting, and a far better experience than straight up play on the screen. Definitely a worthwhile investment for anyone that loves chess.

The only problem with the board is on faster games, like blitz or bullet. First, you lose a second or so with each move as the system translates the move, second you lose a little more time because you have to make your opponents move when it is called out, losing another second or two. Not so important in longer games, but a definite difficulty when time pressure is part of the game.

Conclusion
My general overview is that this product is well worth it if you play longer games on the internet, or have any of the other uses listed above.

The product is sold world-wide (see www.dgtprojects.com for a list of dealers) and retails for approximately $495.

Now, go ahead and print out this article and leave it where you know it will be “noticed”!!