Chessnut Evo

[larryadler]

Chessnut has announced a new chess computer. What are your opinions?

https://evo.chessnutech.com/

[gordonr]

Looks good but I lose some confidence when they sometimes can't even set the pieces up correctly

[X__Gandalf__X]

Thanks. Paid $1 for VIP.

[Santito]

The concept is nice, however, if it is the same as having an Android Tablet near the board, I don't think it would be a great added value to me. It does not bother me to have an extra cable for the tablet or PC. I would like something like a Chess Operating System (COS) concept, something like the Mephisto Phoenix, where you can choose from the beginning the operating mode (For example picochess mode, online mode,..., etc). The developers could add to the COS their paid and free engines and apps. Just my two cents.

Best regards,

Santiago

[Murat]

I also paid 1$ for a chance of getting it 43% off from release price.

The wooden body worries me a little bit. Should have been plastic (sorry Steve) in this case.

Ideally the tablet part could have been magnetically attached and removable.

This is a company that is still unable to fix their own android and windows app so I can
play black from the bottom without turning the board with Chessnut air.

So not holding my breath regards.

Murat

[larryadler]

Hi,

maybe I don't see this, but how I can pay this 1$?

Regards,
larryadler

[Murat]

@larryadler

Did you sign up with your email?

[Steve B]

The wooden body worries me a little bit. Should have been plastic (sorry Steve) in this case.

i can understand your concern

After all of these years i am still waiting for someone to release a small hand-held portable chess computer.. in wood
if a company announces they will release that then id pay $1.25 for a chance at 52.3% off

what a strange offer this is $1 for 43% off is..

A Marketing Gimmick Or A Hoax? Regards
Steve

[TomFurga]

There was a discussion on this site about the reliability of the Maia ratings.
Has it now been improved?
In the Android Playstore you can find Chessify with LcO, Maia and Stockfish. Yesterday I had Shredder (Auto Adjust Strength) play 10 games and got an elo of 1835 for that Maia 1100.

[larryadler]

@larryadler

Did you sign up with your email?

Yes, and recived an email with link to the early kickstarter page and fb group.

EDIT: ok, I re-enter e-mail on their web page and the 1$ option is active for me. Thanks

Regards,
larryadler

[Yarc]

I couldn't resist and have pledged for the Evo. Watched all the YouTube videos of the pre-release version and think it looks quite stylish and has some very nice features especially for learning/training. This will be my first venture into a neuronal dedicated chess computer. I will make a post after receiving it with my opinions, but until then here are some of my initial thoughts about it:

1. I am not a big fan of chess boards that use a smartphone as the computer. I know there is nothing wrong with this, and the boards I've seen on YouTube look to be very nicely made and of course, the advantage of the software being on a smartphone/tablet is that it's easy to update and has masses of performance and memory! Also, how different is this really to using say The King Element that's connected to the board via a cable as opposed to Blu-Tooth? Not much really, and a wireless connection is actually better as no cables to get in the way! The Chessnut Evo is no different, it's just that it comes with a tablet attached to the board. That being said, I see a dedicated machine as being that, not requiring a phone to be paired, or a laptop etc. plugged in. I like having a unit that you just turn it on and it works it's magic by itself, but maybe I'm stuck in the past?

2. The Chessnut Evo looks to be solidly made with a wooden board but plastic pieces. However, having been spoilt by the piece recognition of the Millennium boards I like that the Evo has the same.

3. I was not so excited that it comes with Stockfish, it seems everything has this engine these days. It wouldn't surprise me if the washing machine had a version embedded within However, for sheer strength for analysing my games to see all my blunders, then it's useful and I wouldn't need a PC program to do that. I can be mortified by the results from the Evo itself!

4. What is of interest is the included MAIA engine that's better than many programs for human-like play. It seems to be able to make the human move in a given position over 50% of the time.

5. Also, it has Leela Chess Zero, and other downloadable engines - actually sets of neuronal weights for Leela Chess Zero giving an assortment of playing styles and abilities.

6. Of interest is the ability to use Chessnut servers via the Evo to create your own personalities by providing a list of games. This is intriguing and provides plenty of scope for people to create a vast array of personalities. The downside is the cost of using this service, but still an exciting feature.

7. The only slight negative I can see at the moment is the rechargeable battery that is not currently easy to change. Chessnut said that if it needs changing to use heat to left the tablet display and then access to the battery is possible. Not sure how many people would like to do that. There has been a bit of an outcry about this and so they are investigating how the case design could be modified, but this is quite an undertaking considering that they are geared up for production.

Anyway, I'm quite excited about this new machine. I still very much like my Millennium board and King element, but the Evo will provide a different style of play with it's MAIA engine.

Ray

[Santito]

Hi friends, I found this video. Maybe this is the previous Chinese version of Chessnut Evo?

https://youtu.be/T9pab-E9MPQ?si=xU6dckyV5ua3flwk

And Genifox is the previous Chinese version of Chessnut?

https://youtu.be/Wcxx-aCeYOM?si=_AtAH1ZMIprgol0G

Regards,

Santiago