Thanks for posting this detailed review. I am considering getting an electronic board in 2026 and value your opinion. I am glad you tried and like the new site chessiverse.
Review: Chessnut Air Plus
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Now that I have had it a few more days, I am still very happy with the purchase. Most of my play has been on chessiverse but I have played some games using the Chessconnect app here on chess.com as well.
If I have any regrets it is these:
1) That I didn't get this sooner.
2) That I didn't spend the extra money and get the pro version.
On the other hand, I am sure that the portability of the air plus is going to come in very handy.
Dec 25, 2025
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#4
How does the chessiverse bots compare to playing chess.com bots using the chessnut board Madratter7?
If there is a way to play chessiverse bots and have take back of moves, I can't find it. With the chess.com bots, you can definitely do so using the app on the phone. Neither is as simple as the takeback mechanism when playing the bots on the Chestnut app where you simply make the moves backwards.
Other than that the experience is very similar either way. I cant say that I have a strong preference for the bots on the one site or the other once you get to a high enough level. I have seen some pretty ridiculous moves by the lowest level bots on chessiverse. I like having the variety by using the bots from both sites. I haven't played many of the lowest level bots on chess.com so they may be equally bad.
I find downloading the games a little better on the chessiverse site.
Dec 25, 2025
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#6
Thanks Madratter 7 for the info. I have thought about playing at the chessiverse site, but haven't gotten around to it.
I have to say with further use that:
1) This is pretty worthless for me and blitz. I accidentally started a blitz game on noctie.ai and got flagged despite the increment. I just can't think and move the pieces fast enough. Then again, blitz is hardly my forte.
2) I think I probably am stronger when playing with the 3D pieces. I think I am pretty adept with online 2D pieces but I just find 3D more comfortable and easier to take in the relationship between the pieces. Then again, I grew up with 3D pieces so that is perhaps not very surprising.
3) So far I have not had any moves misregister, despite occasionally knocking down pieces and needing to stand them back up. The Chessnut is doing a good job with the error handling in these situations.
As mentioned in a previous thread, I have been thinking about picking up an electronic chess set. I was torn about whether I would get enough use from one to be worth it, and I was also torn about what model to get. Mostly I was looking at the Chessnut Air, the Chessnut Air Plus, and the Chessup 2. I also gave some consideration to other models such as the DGT Pegasus.
This was one of those times that paralysis by analysis actually worked in my favor. I got a fantastic price on a Chessnut Air Plus, and that was enough for me to get off the fence and actually buy something. I had wanted a wooden set since I strongly prefer wood over plastic. The price difference between the Air and Air Plus got low enough that it became an easy decision. At the same time the Chessup 2 is plastic, rather garish for my tastes, and as it turned out, considerably more expensive.
I got free next day shipping and waited rather impatiently for the Air Plus to come. It showed up yesterday early enough in the evening for me to try and use it.
Unfortunately, the operative word was try. I absolutely could not get it to Bluetooth connect to either my PC or my Android Phone. After spending way to much time trying, I gave up and dug out my ancient Ipad. Fortunately, that connected right away so I knew I didn't have a dud unit. Some further reading, watching you tube, and just plain experimenting finally enabled me to connect to both the PC and Android Phone as well. In my opinion, the "Quick Guide" leaves a lot to be desired.
In case anyone else has trouble with this:
1) Absolutely do NOT try to pair it with your PC. This they actually do mention in the "Quick Guide" towards the end. You need to connect through either the Chessnut Windows App or some other capability such as Graham's Drivers.
2) They do mention that for your Android phone you will need to turn on location services. They fail to mention you will also need to enable "Nearby Devices" in the App permissions.
I was also rather put out that a) the Chessnut App for Windows is not available in the Windows Store. Furthermore, when you do find it and you go to install it, it is unsigned. Now I totally understand why somebody like Graham O'Neil doesn't pay to get the verified signing for windows. But for a commercial company it doesn't give me warm fuzzies.
All in all, the onboarding experience was less than good. In fact, it was downright frustrating. However, by this morning, I had it working with all three device types, working with the Chessconnect app, and working with Fritz and Chessbase.
In terms of the physical quality of the board, pieces, and the way they were boxed, I have no complaints. I knew this was a study size set and I didn't expect it to match the quality of my full size House of Staunton set. I would have preferred a little more heft to the pieces. I was surprised at how the minor difference in size between my Mephisto Exclusive board and the Air Plus was very apparent. But although the board and pieces are smaller, the Air Plus is FAR more portable than the Mephisto Exclusive. And in practice, having played a good many games on the board today, I find the Air Plus quite usable.
For playing with the board, I tried all of the following:
1) Fritz 20 with Graham's Drivers.
2) Maia with the Chessnut App.
3) Chessiverse with Chessconnect.
Of them, my favorite ended up being Chessconnect. Your Mileage may and probably will vary.
There are some little things that can be annoying with any particular method. For example, as best I can see, there are absolutely no take backs with Chessiverse. This is both a blessing and a curse since it removes any possibility of temptation. And I really wish you could step through a Chessbase game without having to use the arrow keys on a keypad.
After a solid day of using the Air Plus, I am happy I bought it. I did find using it, especially with the Chessiverse bots, very engaging.