If you fancy yourself at chess – or you’re an absolute beginner then you should take a look at ChessUp – it is a smart connected chess board that’s like having your own personal instructor.
Tech Guide had a chance to go hands on ChessUp at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
When you touch a piece, the board lights up and shows you all your possible moves.
It even colour codes the squares to show you the best options.
You can play against another person or the device itself and it even has built-in lessons so no matter what skill level you’re at, every day can still be a school day.
You’re able to learn opening tactics, endgames and much more.
The device has built in AI, so it makes a pretty smart opponent if you want to take it on.
The pieces are also touch sensitive so all you need to do to see your available moves is gently touch the top of the piece to see the squares light up.
The light indicators offer three different colours with green being the best move, blue the next best and red indicating your peace may be in danger.
ChessUp can also remember every move of your game to let you go back and review where you might have gone wrong.
It’s also possible to play against opponents around the world in real time thanks to its integration with chess.com and Lichess. You’ll always find someone to play against.
Another interesting aspect of ChessUp is being able to choose the level of assistance you receive based on the talent of your opponent.
It’s almost like a golf handicap where you can still make an uneven match competitive.
The device itself has a rechargeable battery so it doesn’t always need to be plugged into power which means you can take your games anywhere.
ChessUp from Bryght Labs is available now for pre-order with units arriving to customers in April.
It is available from the pre-order price of $US329.
There are also a range of accessories including a carry bag, checkers pieces, a phone stand and piece bag.
