Best Smart Chess Boards (2026): Chessnut, Millennium

Playing chess can beryllium challenging, fun, and astatine times frustrating. Garry Kasparov called the crippled “mental torture.” With virtually limitless possibilities, chess offers unparalleled depth, and you could easy capable a room with books connected however to play it. The net has opened up a wealthiness of imaginable competitors, and astute chess boards alteration you to play anyone online oregon off, not to notation dabble successful a assortment of chess programs.

I’ve been investigating astute chess boards for the past period oregon so, with the assistance of my chess-mad eldest, and these are my apical picks.

The Smart Chess Boards I Recommend Most

For my opening gambit, I’m recommending the Chessnut Pro. With a classical woody design, the Chessnut Pro feels similar a regular board, but determination are smarts hidden within. The beechwood pieces are beautifully weighted, an important but often underestimated feature. They consciousness large successful hand, and the acceptable includes a brace of other Queens. This is simply a afloat tournament-size committee (55 cm oregon 21.7 inches), truthful you’ll request abstraction for it.

The committee is precise nicely made, with subtle reddish LEDs hidden successful the country of each quadrate that airy up to amusement moves. I emotion that it looks similar a regular committee erstwhile you’re not playing online. There are discreet controls connected 1 broadside with a USB-C larboard and Bluetooth connectivity to hook it up to your computer, laptop, oregon smartphone. There’s nary request to property down with each move, arsenic each portion has a sensor spot wrong that’s automatically detected.

We utilized the Chessconnect Chrome browser hold to play matches connected Chess.com and Lichess.org, and it was speedy and casual to get up and running. The authoritative Chessnut app features AI opponents, but they're a small anemic and deficiency variety. It isn’t great, but you don’t person to usage it, and you tin nexus up to antithetic online services with a spot of tinkering (check retired Graham’s Programs for immoderate amended options). Online play was occasionally a small glitchy. Sometimes there’s a flimsy lag, and we had to click to reconnect for each game. Battery beingness is rather bully (we got 7 to 8 hours), though it takes a portion to recharge (best to permission it overnight).

If you understandably don’t privation to walk that much, the Chessnut Air ($250) is simply a acold much affordable option. It’s besides woody but overmuch smaller (33 cm oregon 13 inches), with lighter pieces and disposable LEDs. The Air+ ($400) is the aforesaid size but with superior weighted woody pieces and subtle LEDs connected the board. Functionally, some springiness you overmuch the aforesaid acquisition arsenic the Pro.