DGT Revolutionary Chess Computer?
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mphlips76
Apr 27, 2019
0
#21
Cool. At $399 I’ll wait for some user reviews. I like the idea of it.
It uses Stockfish as its engine. I'll pass for now, and will wait and see what the future holds for it.
Shipping has gone well. New batch of Centaurs available from about 29 July 2019. from Doska Chess (UK). £324 GB pounds to USA by priority Fedex, all-inclusive. Doska Chess (founded 1978).
To clarify, the future Millennium King board is a PLASTIC board, in case people think it is wooden. Yes, that is why it is a similar price to the Centaur. The selling point about the Centaur is not its highest strength, which is irrelevant, but its ability to adjust to the player's strength, an appeal to the average player. Both the Centaur and (later) the Millennium board (not a DGT product) available from Doska Chess UK, as ever.
Renegade80 wrote:
To clarify, the future Millennium King board is a PLASTIC board, in case people think it is wooden. Yes, that is why it is a similar price to the Centaur. The selling point about the Centaur is not its highest strength, which is irrelevant, but its ability to adjust to the player's strength, an appeal to the average player. Both the Centaur and (later) the Millennium board (not a DGT product) available from Doska Chess UK, as ever.
I'm really curious about the settings they have for Stockfish to allow it to purportedly play in a lower rated, yet realistic, manner.
It is a special version of the Stockfish to enable adaptive playing.
Renegade80 wrote:
It is a special version of the Stockfish to enable adaptive playing.
If this is a proprietary version/adjustment to Stockfish, then I think anyone who wants to buy it in order to have a playing partner should probably wait from some independent reviews from the "first adopters."
Jul 26, 2019
0
#28
DrChesspain wrote:
Renegade80 wrote:
It is a special version of the Stockfish to enable adaptive playing.
If this is a proprietary version/adjustment to Stockfish, then I think anyone who wants to buy it in order to have a playing partner should probably wait from some independent reviews from the "first adopters."
And if that's the case, the purchaser should also have access to the modified Stockfish source code per GPL3. 
EscherehcsE wrote:
DrChesspain wrote:
Renegade80 wrote:
It is a special version of the Stockfish to enable adaptive playing.
If this is a proprietary version/adjustment to Stockfish, then I think anyone who wants to buy it in order to have a playing partner should probably wait from some independent reviews from the "first adopters."
And if that's the case, the purchaser should also have access to the modified Stockfish source code per GPL3.
Since I'm not a patent attorney, I have no idea if one can patent a unique, software add-on to an open source program.
There are six reviews at Chess House, and they are currently on back order until 20 August. Here’s a link:
https://www.chesshouse.com/products/dgt-centaur-chess-computer
https://www.chesshouse.com/products/dgt-centaur-chess-computer
Yes, the new Millennium King Performance board has a plastic board with a wooden frame. Available from September/October from Doska Chess at about the same price as the Centaur. The Centaurs can be shipped to the USA from tomorrow (30 July) for £324 GB pounds including priority Fedex shipping.
Jul 29, 2019
0
#32
I’m very excited to share that I met with the CEO of DGT last week. He allowed me a hands on demo of the centaur. It’s a great machine. My assessment of the product is that it’s something more for the masses/casual players. I own quite a few different chess computers and this by far is one of my favs. It’s sleek, modern, and very approachable. Can’t wait until the rest of the market gets their hands on it!
sound67 wrote:
If the negative reviews are from the site I'm thinking of, its a bunch of old men who are sceptical of anything new. They were falling over themselves to pile on and bag it, yet none of them owned it.
I thought about getting one of these a few months back, but decided to pass:
1. No tournament mode (Even my 1978 Chess Challenger 10 had one). Too restricted in terms of levels.
2. Ugly as hell. But that wouldn't have put me off.
3. Only Stockfish.
4. Smallish display with no backlight,
5. Weak, cheap processor.
Most reviews I've read on the nerds' boards so far are mixed to negative. Suggested rating of ELO 2,900 also seems unrealistic, as the Centaur was heavily defeated by machines rated below 2,900 in early tests.
Now, for dedicated chess computer aficionados, the forthcoming Millennium King Performance (from November, tba) seems like a much more enticing option:
They listened to the consumers and will finally integrate The King module into the board. Too bad they seem to have decided against otherwise modewrnized hardware.
But the options (levels, interactivity) are so much greater, and it will cost the same as the Centaur.
Even if the restrictions on the Centaur are deliberate and part of the concept, a much smarter alternative would have been the one adopted by many apps on Android, Windows etc - A "noob settings" option, WITH the restrictions in place, and "advanced settings" for more discerning computer chess fans. That could not have been too difficult, programming-wise.
sound67 wrote:
Carry on then.
You're wrong: either about the site (which I linked above) or the people, or both. They're exploring all new engines that are being used on DGT PI computers, e.g. In contrast, there are RABID attacks on other boards against anyone who so much as raises even the faintest doubt about the Centaur (maybe launched by the company, but I think they're better than that).