Chess Pro app v travel chess sets
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Put the free version on my iPad a week or so ago. Liked it so much that I sprung for the full version albeit on sale at half price. As a trainer I’m finding it very useful. As a replacement for my electronic travel machine this app is much easier to use and very easy to see. Searched the forum to see other opinions but only found something that I wasn’t sure was about this app. Anybody using it?
Apr 13, 2018
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#2
I find that physical sets are more fun than a touch screen any day. Books over engines forever! Engines can be useful, however.
I have the Chess Pro app on my phone, and I think it is an excellent app. As you say, it is very easy to use. It's easy to play against another person or against the app (many elo levels to choose from), and it's also really easy to set up positions on. Whoever developed it did a great job, I think, because I am not digitally native yet I had zero difficulty using it. Having said all of that, I prefer a real set. Dragging pieces across a screen is just less satisfying to me. Given a choice I will always choose a good travel set over a screen. One great thing about the app, though, is that I always have my phone with me, which I cannot say about my travel set.
Playing with real pieces is indeed preferable. How do you manage the various playing options when using chess.com? My story is I play live very little so the only times I set up one of my boards is when working with an annotated game book.
SmokeJS wrote:
Playing with real pieces is indeed preferable. How do you manage the various playing options when using chess.com? My story is I play live very little so the only times I set up one of my boards is when working with an annotated game book.
I'm not sure what you mean by managing the various playing options on chess.com. I definitely use about 1% of all that chess.com has to offer, so that keeps things simple. I pretty much just play daily chess here, and use the tactics trainer, and read the forums for info about chess, and watch the occasional video or do a lesson, and I've done a little vote chess. I am not very good, and want to get to the point of being not terrible, and daily chess gives me a lot of time to think about my next move. I think that when I get up to certain level of confidence I will start playing some more "normal" (with a clock) games here on chess.com. When that time comes I will then have to figure out the various playing options. There are a few people who will play a game with me in real life now and again, and for that, I use a real set 98% of the time. I really wish we had a chess club in my area, but there isn't, so chess.com is great for finding people to play against.
As I rarely play in person my chess needs are served by apps and Chess.com so most of my playing is on electronic boards. I don’t transpose much to a real set. So when traveling I’m quite used to playing on a machine. My experience is finding those tiny pegged pieces when I’ve dropped them between the seats on an airplane creates challenges I no longer miss!
I know what you mean, SmokeJS. I have a set like that, and the little pegged pieces can be annoying. The travel set I use most is the milled letter one with magnetic pieces. Here's a picture taken by Rsava of the set he has, that I borrowed from another thread:
I really like this little set. It's small and easy to throw into your carry on bag, the board will fit on your airplane tray table with room to spare for your beverage, the pieces are big enough to handle easily, and the pieces stay on the board securely due to the magnets.