Chessnut Go/Air Vs. Chessup2 for learning

I'm enjoying my iPad to study chess and I'm learning a lot. However, I'm staring at screens all day long and I enjoy the calming and tactile experience of a good book and a physical chessboard for example.

So my main reason for getting an electronic chessboard is:

1. Analysis of puzzles and games (mine and famous ones)
2. Play against bots at my level or slightly above and as I progress harder and harder ones
3. Study positions and follow on the board whatever line/concept a chess book is covering. 

I don't exclude playing actual games as well against online opponents, but I'd say it's 30% of the reason why I'd get one.

I'm wondering which of the two Chessnut Go/Air or the Chessup2 would work best for my use case of trying to improve at chess.

Thank you.

Hi there,

I have no idea how old this post is - I found it through google and there doesn't seem to be a date / time stamp that I can see. But I'm trying to decide between the "Go" and the "2," too.

Or maybe one now and one later...

I like to play annotated games from books on an actual board while sitting in an armchair or even in bed. And I travel a lot. So the "Go" looks like a great option for these things as well as playing onine games against humans (I dislike the bots because they don't play like real people).

But the "2" apparently now has some sort of AI lessons, which sound intriguing, and it's colored suggested / best moves sound like a really good way to learn. I wonder if that feature is functional while playing a real game, and if so, surely that would be cheating!

Anyway, I hope people with experience with these boards will reply...

I own the Chessnut Air+.

I'm like you and I don't like to stare at a screen.

I responded to a similar post like yours a few week ago where I list the Chesscom features I use the most while using my Chessnut Air+.

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/chessnut-go-vs-chess-up-2#comment-112240206

If you have any questions, I'll try my best to answer them.

I don't own the ChessUp 2 board so I can't comment on their AI bots, but I have played the Chessnut Maia bot and the Leela Chess Zero (Lc0) bot. I was impressed by their very human like play.

Also Chessnut has community Lc0 "weight files" you can download and use that contain various trained neural network parameters that determine the style of the bot play. I've downloaded a few of these "weight files" and I was very pleased and surprised by their play.

I have both but ChessUp2 is better. I bought it along with a copy of Levy Rozman's "How to win at chess" and my Elo on Chess.com on my other profile ive been using it on has gone up to 1215 in like a month from 550, its weird

Thanks much for the replies. Very helpful!

At the moment, I don't have anything useful to add, but I may post my own experience later on...

From my experience Chessnut is much better for game analysis as it has much wider functions and it is also very faster for playing online.

I have been following some threads related to these topics and have seen players comment about something like compatibility with different devices. So, considering the compatibility with your list of devices you are planning to play on.

Do you have both boards, or just the Chessnut?

Chessnut is faster than chessup for online play, problem is they are both travel size boards and not suitable for standard play. Chessnut also has the larger board which is almost tournament size. The price may be too high for some people though. Also the chess pieces are not very good quality and so I am considering changing them. Another e-board which is even better than both aesthetically and in regard to function is the Tasc System; however, it does not connect to internet by default as it was made back it the 1990s. I had to spend a bit of money and time to add special softwares to Tasc system to enable it for online chess but the result is surely well worth it. It is much more efficient than the new Millenium King Performance and it can also connect to Playchess.com and Fritz 19 via the same softwares. The Tacs System is one of the best chess computers ever produced in the world but it is extremely rare nowadays. Both the board and chess pieces are made of quality wood and they almost meet stadard tournament size.

Chessnut Go has a smaller board and is magnetic.

Both have piece recognition.

Chessup2 is able to play without phone and WIFI, Chessnut Go can't.

I usually connect my Chessnut Go to my Fedora Linux system, and record games that I play through from books in Lucas Chess software. The only issue that I have with the Go, or any other chess set (electronic or not) is my cat infestation.

I have three large cats that love to bat, or run off, with my pieces. If fact, I am still looking for a black pawn from my Chessnut Go.

Once again, I appreciate all the comments. For now, I bought a GO. Haven't started playing online with it yet, but soon...

Cats and chessboards! Don't get me started! Not long ago I was missing a bishop from my favorite, expensive and no longer available, chess set for weeks. Finally found it caught in the dusty audio/video cables behind a cabinet. But the culprit also snuggles against my legs at night. And he has only three legs, so I can't get too mad at him.

Awww. I am glad you finally found your missing bishop. I found my black pawn late last night. And no, I am not mad at all. I love all my fuzzy buddies, and I just adjust my habits - as to not leave any set unattended or unprotected.

The problem of preventing a cat from moving or stealing chess pieces has been discussed before, but I don't believe we all agreed on a solution.

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/chess-board-that-prevents-cat-from-moving-pieces

Cats and chess are the best combination sometimes. I love stroking my new fuzzy buddy (my old one recently died) whilst I play chess, my room is literally filled with cat stuff and plants and a bookshelf full of chess books

I own both the chessup2 and the Chessnut go. After much research and internal debate, I purchased the Chessup2 first. I liked the fact that it had onboard Wi-Fi and once set up could connect to Chess.com on its own. I have found it to work very well. They are actively updating the software on an ongoing basis and I think any features that are lacking will almost certainly be added. As of right now, it connects on its own to Chess.com, but you have to use either the ChessUp APP or another APP to connect to other platforms. Support for other platforms is coming very soon. I personally like the board and pieces. They have nice weight but no magnetic attachment. The board is light enough that spinning it without disrupting the pieces can be accomplished with minimal care. The size is a nice mix of playable and portable. After a month of use I bought a ChessNut go when they offered it for about half the price of the Chessup2. It is even more travel friendly and I love that it includes a nice case. The board and pieces are a little smaller and the pieces are lightly magnetic. I can play comfortably with the board on my lap or on a table or even an ez chair arm. I don’t mind that I have to use my phone because let’s face it, we all have our phones with us at all times. I use the Chessnut go more often simply because it is a little more travel friendly. The Go’s pieces are proportioned very well to the board and it is very playable. They both function very well and do everything I need them to. You can not go wrong with either.

That’s awesome. Did you enjoy that book? Any ideas what you feel helped to make that rating jump?

The best move...