Which chess computers can sense the identity of the pieces?

I'd like to buy a chess computer to study endgames. Does anyone know of any chess computers that can quickly sense the identity of pieces placed on the board, rather than having to press lots of buttons. Reliability is important too and the ability to replace parts that might break after a few years use. If it was magnetic that would be an extra bonus.

Only two manufacturers have chess piece recognition at the moment: Millennium Chess Exclusive Series and any of the DGT electronic boards and sets. Neither one is magnetic. 

Millennium comes with a modular Dedicated chess computer, the Exclusive or The King, depending on which of the series you buy. DGT offers the DGT Pi, a chess clock with a built-in Raspberry Pi that powers their chess engine.  
You can buy an entire set separately if you lose or break a chess piece. The boards are not user serviceable as far as I know. 

Thank you chessroboto and sound67. It'll take me a while to compare those 3 options although it looks like just 2 options as I'd really like to use a tournament size board. I've just been having a look at certabo.com and like the way you can buy the chips (they appear to be adhesive discs) and stick them onto your own chess pieces. I didn't understand the suggestion on the site you could use one of your own boards. It looks like you need one of their boards to sense the chips and inform you what the computer wants to move via the LEDs. It looks like you need a PC or Mac or one of their computers to run an engine. It mentioned connectivity to a phone but not whether that could replace the need to be running a PC at the same time. Although not a priority it would be nice if it allows you to play games on live chess on chess.com. 

The DGT boards have plenty of information about connecting to chess.com which seems good http://www.digitalgametechnology.com/index.php/news/599-chesscom-online-chess

and moves made by an opponent or the computer are shown on the clock or spoken instead of LED lights on the board. Still lots to compare.... like the price!

If you have a phone connected to the Certabo you don't need a computer.

Certabo needs the software to memorize the pieces with the chips. Only after the handshake initializes will software know the specific piece. DGT and Millennium use unique hardware identifiers to identify each piece.

Like DGT and their DGT Pi, Certabo also sells a chess computer from their website. It is upgradable which makes it future-proof.

What I like about the Certabo board is the cool blue LED on each square. I can concentrate on the game on the board nstead of needing to pay attention to the screen or the chess computer module.

I will have to admit that the entry level Certabo board, called Vittoria, looks and feels “rough" and the contrast of the squares is "light" compared to any of the wooden DGT boards. Granted I have not handled the more expensive Certabo boards called Curzio Maple or the Fazio Brown or White. However, The pictures on the website already show that the square contrasts are much more prominent compared to the entry level board.

Thank you so much, chessroboto, sound67 and jjupiter6,

The DGT Revelation board that can sense pieces is about 5 times the cost of a Certabo board https://www.dgtshop.nl/index.php?route=product/product&path=61&product_id=51

and I love the idea of only having to use my phone - thank you JJupiter6 and sound67. Great advice chessroboto to go for one of the more expensive Certabo boards. I'm just going to have a look at how long the warranty lasts and what process you have to follow if it needs to be returned due to a fault depending on whether you buy it directly from the site or from a UK supplier. 

JJupiter6, it sounds like you have a Certabo board. What is it like playing live chess on chess.com with it? I don't mind if some time is wasted as I want to reduce the amount I stare of a screen. Do you lose a lot of games due to them freezing or losing a connection? Do you recommend buying their pieces with the chips already attached? Have you had any problems with it? 

I got mine from Certabo.com directly. 
The pieces that they offer are unweighted but they come with the chips pre-installed and they’re hidden by felt.

If you’re particular with the chess pieces that you play with, I strongly recommend that you use your own set. Just remember that you’ll need to figure out how to install the proprietary Certabo chips under each piece. 

Thanks chessroboto, I like the idea of the chips being hidden by felt but will have a look again to see if the Certabo pieces look like quality pieces. I've just found the other Certabo discussions on this forum including https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/certabo-electronic-chess-board

which will take some reading!

I have the Certabo pieces and they are on the budget end of the scale for quality. They work fine, but are definitely not luxury pieces.

I have played on chess.com but use a different website (Starting with L) for online play. Over the last year the software has improved immensely and the response time is very quick. I don't play blitz but I would say it's not quick enough for that - yet.

@garfield9 I believe DGT's Centaur uses magnets for detecting pieces.  See this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7cRZuIhYyg&feature=emb_logo

However, I think you might be referring more to something like DGT's eBoard (bluetooth or USB versions).  A unique coil is in each piece and the board can detect the piece, where as Centaur detects a piece but doesn't know which one it is.

DGT Centaur does not use magnets. In fact you can use foil under ANY piece to be used as an alternative for the Centaur. I’ve done it myself. There has been a long discussion on it in a forum post here. 

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/dgt-centaur-wooden-pieces?page=1

@chessroboto agree.  I misstated.  Thanks for the clarification and link.

I had a look at the Millenium boards today. The only difference between the Millenium Exclusive and Millenium King I could see was that the Exclusive allows you to play Chess960. They're both 40cm boards which I think is big enough so I thought I'd try to compare the Millenium King with a Certabo board. I did wonder whether peering over a board, bathed in whatever signals pass between the pieces and the board. might have health effects akin to holding a mobile phone next to your ear... If anyone knows what kind of signal goes between the pieces and board please let me know.

Connecting to chess.com - Certabo can, Millenium King can't yet but can be used to play online chess using their app.

Time taken to detect pieces - no idea which is faster

Quality of the board - Certabo has a variety of boards the cheaper ones appear to be cheaper  due to their small size and may also be a bit on the rough side compared to a Millenium board. 

Software - Milleniums appear to come with an engine of much lower Elo but one that uses a full opening book making it easier to practice openings. I'm not sure if the lower Elo is a consequence of it using a full opening book. Each appears to allow you to change the engine. Presumably an engine with a high Elo must take into account strategical ideas better so might encourage a better understanding of positions when studying your games. 

The computer bit: Appears to be built into the Milleniums with a little screen whereas the Certabo relies on an app on your phone (would be my choice) or computer. I like the idea of perhaps less to go wrong with the board ie. if a processor is having to work hard and heats up in a Millenium board surely it will fail eventually. 

Using any pieces: The Certabo allows any pieces to be used. Indeed each board comes with the discs containing chips that can be stuck to any pieces. It doesn't say the diameter of these so I assume you can choose which discs you are given when buying from the site. I would like to use my Dad's old pieces which would need the mixture of 25mm and 30mm chips. 

Square sizes: Certabo boards have 35, 45 and 55mm squares whereas Milleniums have 40mm squares. My preference would have been 50mm to enable it to fit on a little table I have - might have to get a 55mm square board and find a bigger table I guess.

Warranty/ ease of sending back to manufacturer for repairs if necessary: I've not had a chance to compare these

Cost: Milleniums appear cheaper but chess is a passion so I'm happy to pay the little bit extra for a Certabo if definitely better (but not five times the cost for a DGT board)

Maintenance: both have LEDS which surely will eventually fail but neither appear to be replaceable. It would be nice to know their estimated lifespan or the lifespan of any other key components.

User feedback: Chessroboto and jjupiter6 appear really happy with their Certabo boards whereas Sound 67 who has a Millenium King board would now choose a Certabo board. It would interesting to know why Sound 67 would prefer a Certabo. 

I hope this thread helps others having the same dilemma and thank you to everyone who has given their time so far to help me.

You should consider the Millennium King Exclusive while you're still doing your research.

https://computerchess.com/en/the-king-exclusive-chess960-edition-2/

It has the Millennium Exclusive piece-recognition board and pieces, the stronger King Module which now has the chess960 which was introduced in the King Performance. (When the King Module was first released as a separate upgrade option, it did not have Chess960 yet.)

That's three technologies in one package.

Thank you sound67. Is it possible you could explain what you think are the pros and cons of Certabo v Millenium King please and why you said above you would choose a Certabo. Chessroboto and JJupiter, what made you choose the Certabo instead of the Millenium King?

Your first paragraph suggests the Millenium is faster than the Certabo in recognising when a piece has moved.

Is the MIllenium as future proof as the Certabo. It does seem Certabo are more proactive in development given they have enabled play on Chess.com.

Does this blue LED make it easier to notice when an opponent or the computer has moved compared to the Millenium?

Many thanks

Since I do not play blitz with the Millennium or Certabo, I cannot say which brand has faster piece recognition.

Although the Millennium's firmware can be updated by connecting to a PC via USB, it does not overhaul the engine. The chess engine module is not built-in the board, so it can be replaced such as The King which was developed and released after the Millennium Exclusive was first released to the market. We can only hope that Millennium continues to innovate and produce stronger chess engines with a larger and updated opening book database.

The DaVinci chess computer that is sold on Certabo is a custom software that runs on Raspberry Pi. You can download the latest version from their website and run it off your own Pi hardware, or you can purchase their own build which comes with a touchscreen and a custom case. Either way, you can update to the latest version yourself.

I am unsure about the development team behind the Certabo. You can send an email or post a chat message on certabo.com, and you can expect a response from the developer for the Certabo himself, Pietro Mandurino.

Finally, regarding the lights on the squares, I will admit that the cool blue LEDs of the Certabo board catches my attention better. The blue LEDs are bright regardless of the room lighting so there is no confusion when the computer is telling you which piece it wants you to move.

Each square on the Millennium Exclusive board has four white LEDs around it which are smaller and dimmer, and the blinking LEDs are only confusing when the computer wants you to move its piece to an adjacent square since the squares will share two LEDs between them.