Monroi Chess Recorder

it would be a nice tool for me , i just recently played a tournament and looking back to analyze my games only 2 of them were annoted correctly. i cant be the only one who does this.

We can only hope a competitor comes along and knocks the price down.  Since MonRoi seems to be paying USCF & FIDE for exclusive rights that day will probably be put off a long time.  In the meantime, its just too expensive.  If I'm given one I'll take and use it but that's the only way I expect to ever see one.

It seems that the children do very well with this product.  I am not willing to purchase one of these at the current price bu when it drops to ~200 I will think about it.  I have 2 scholastic chess players.  One notates well and it does not interfere with his game.  The other has a touch of OCD so having to notate perfectly interferes with his games.  This will allow him to do it without the distraction.  I can then finally analyse his game against tough players (he currently only notates with 400 below him) The other children that I have seen use it around his age say it is very easy to use.  I do hope that they either drop their prices or a competator comes up with a cheaper version SOON.

There is a real market for this in Australia. Unfortunately the product can only be sourced from Canada. I tried to order one but changed my mind when I saw that the postage was a whopping $US100.10

Can I ask how? Where I am from this is generally impossible . . . there aren't that many seasons! Or is his school year-round?

The rest of what you said is essentially true. But while there are many factors contributing to obesity, it is reasonable to associate the sudden massive increase in average caloric intake and massive decrease in average excersize with the sudden epidemic of obesity. That is, although not all cases of obesity are caused by overeating and underworking, many are, and these are probably the cause of the recent increase in obesity levels.

Im the same as everyone else- cool, but waaay to pricey.

its basically a stripped down palm pilot. how much is a basic one of those thats a few years old? Im guessing not nearly 400..

if they cut the price in half theyd get maybe 35-40 times more people buying.. no joke, thats a lot more! and theyd still be making a big profit off each one

....chessboard

[EDIT] Sure as hell limits my social life :)

Yeah your phone can probably already do the same job. Pity they have to be turned off.

But seriously, for that price, are you saying the thing doesn't have a camera to watch the board and record moves itself?

Since when was recording moves with a stylus any easier than with a pencil?

from what Ive seen they are like a stripped down version of an older palm pilot. if the price wasnt bad enough when it came out it sure is insulting its the same now.

Fischer had horrid handwriting and still somehow got by, so I think we are all fine

So is all it does record your moves?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Yes my son has had one for a long time, he loves it. I am getting his old one he is geting a new one. Only thing is it is hard to talk to Monrio will not anser my emails.

The Monroi PCM's primary function is the easy logging of chess moves and times using a graphical and colored touch screen interface. This basically answers ExtraBold's question in an earlier post about the benefit over using the traditional pencil and paper to record moves.

When configured to a base server within the tournament grounds, the moves are submitted wirelessly and securely to the server and can be used to display ongoing games to spectators at the tournament and on the Internet.

ericmittens already mentioned in an earlier post that the wireless system is sometimes finicky. FYI, tournament organizers still prefer the SERIAL DGT chessboards compared to the USB and Bluetooth versions. Neither system is perfect.

The device can be used as a stand-alone logger wherein the data is saved to the built-in memory or an inserted SD Card.

The collected games can be saved in PGN file format then added to the chess database of choice in the players's PCs. Players also have an option to broadcast their Monroi PCM data as mentioned by rootworm earlier.

As a training tool for match tournaments, players can load the games of their opponents into an SD Card then access the database of games using the Monroi PCM for study purposes. Of course, the choice of games for study depends entirely on the user.

Because the PCM does NOT have its own chess engine, one must use other means such as Deep Shredder or Fritz for iPhones, Pocket Fritz for Windows Mobile phones, Hiarcs for Palm PDAs or PC-based chess engines with netbooks and tablets.

I am reminded of the beginnings of the chess database for the PC with Kasparov's brilliant suggestion and the execution of the keystone founders of Chessbase. The first advantage that Kasaprov saw was the SPEED in pulling all the games of players compared to having a team with access to all the chess books and publications at the time.

Now chess databases are used by every serious tournament player and student for match preparations and opening theory study. Some attach powerful chess engines for analysis or use it with interactive chess training videos.

The Monroi PCM and the DGT chessboard also offer the same advantages of SPEED but this time in accurate data collection during an actual game as well as real-time delivery of the action to the spectators. The collected data also allows the ready integration into the chess databases for future use of everyone who wants to use the information.

Who needs these additional gadgets aside from tournament organizers? The serious and casual players who need efficient and precise tools for their chess study.

I agree that losing pencils and paper will not hurt as much as losing PCMs. The same is true from losing cheap paperbacks rather than a Kindle, or a typewriter rather than a laptop, or a bus or train pass rather than a car.

Everyone pays for convenience. All we have to do is take care of our tools and materials and they will serve us well for a long time.

No way. I can record my games precisely and efficiently with pen and paper, so I don't need a monroi at all.

Paying a few hundred dollars to expedite transferring the game to a home database is something the individual figures out the value of. For me the price is a deal breaker. You could cut the price in half and it'd still be so for me.

Some people are through and through gadgeteers. They buy for non-chess reasons.

Others with inability/disability have their reasons to use one, naturally.

The price point of the Monroi PCM is set to deter impulse buyers. The same goes for those who want to own their own DGT chessboards. Nearly every forum that brings up these two chess paraphernalias would complain about the costs or the devices' performances during competitions.

The Monroi PCM is definitely nice to have; however, unless you absolutely need it for your tournaments and personal chess study, you do not have to get one.

And should you get one, I'm pretty sure that you would protect it as well as you have been caring for your $500 eyeglasses.

To be clear, Monroi reserves the rights to the exclusive Internet broadcasts of live games to the official websites of the tournament host. This is designed to legally prevent unoffiical websites from linking the live games to their own domains and draw away the traffic from the official tournament sites.

This exclusivity has been practiced by nearly all major tournament organizers for the past few years. Everyone wants to be the sole source of realtime data for an ongoing match. 

Naturally the games can be distributed to everybody after the match is over, especially to the players.

You probably meant the DGT electronic chessboard and chess pieces set. The cheapest new set that I've seen went for $750 without shipping.

$750... for a 99-cent chess set...

We can expect the Monroi company to come up with an upgraded version, but I doubt that they would drop their street price.

DGT has evolved from serial to USB and Bluetooth, but the original base price remained the same while the newer models sold at much higher price points. Their compatible chess clocks have been updated, but their prices did not change much.

No, a friend of mine bought one for about ZAR130 (about 15 USD) from Esquire in Midrand.

But it's crap :(