Phantom Chess unboxing and review (betatest)

[@pilou40k]

Early backer here, I cannot believe we are finally getting the boards :)

[@bobbyvandam74]

Thanks for the video Ivo. I actually very much like the bare metal rings. Makes it look like a high end quality chessboard.

[@ivosenden]

I must say I overcame my initial disappointment. I do like how they look now. 👍🏻

[@bobbyvandam74]

@@ivosenden Good to hear! Not all chess sets needs to look the same. This makes this one unique! Enjoy your board. I'm still on the fence for this board or the GoChess one.

[@paulmalone1208]

The mark on the board probly the result of a fall would explane no power. A bit of brown shoe polish should tip up the mark on the adge. Good video.

[@All-Awesome]

I have owned a few autonomous moving chessboards in the past, and i'm now skeptical about purchasing future models due to the fact that my boards broke down due to wear and tear overtime. These are mechanical, and so may require maintenance to sustain their longevity. I was really a fan of autonomous boards, and decided to just stick to LED boards instead due to this reason. They are nice to play with though.

[@destroyerofsimps6574]

Just wait for chessnut to come out with their own version which I heard they are working on. I trust them to get it right.

[@gumtree7177]

The damage part if you can get a local artist that is a great colour match you probably won’t see the difference once they paint there.

[@braviafeed]

Outstanding review!

[@ivosenden]

Thanks 🙏🏻🙂

[@GerardoM]

Thank you for the useful review. :)

[@willtheconq4572]

It actually doesn't look as bad as I worried. The delay suggested it would be full of cut corners, but it seems to mostly do what was promised. Hopefully, they'll address the issues of the battery coming loose and causing internal damage.

[@ivosenden]

Absolutely. I am quite fond of the design. As for the battery, they said they're going to add a clamp to secure the battery in stead of the glue that is keeping it in place on the beta units.

[@technikportal]

Thanks for your testing and showing us, but it seems the mechanism is very loud during playing, isn't it?

[@ivosenden]

The mechanism is certainly noticable, it's not completely silent. However, I find it by no means too loud. It's a subtle humming when it moves. You can configure it to move in different speed settings, where the slowest speed is the most silent one.

[@technikportal]

@@ivosenden Thanks, I am curious about testing mine hopefully in near future!

[@N0Pr0ductions]

Level 1, because my brain is stupid 🤣

[@ephreaym]

Would you say the noise is too loud? And is that something that they’re working on? I really like the concept. But I’d love it when it’s silent. It makes more magical.

[@ivosenden]

No, in my opinion the noise is absolutely not too loud. The camera makes it sound louder than it is in reality. Yes, you hear the mechanism inside, but it is a subtle sound and almost a bit soothing. I usually play chess with some soft jazz playing in the background and then you can hardly hear it anyway. It's not something that can be changed anyway, because these are the mechanics as they are.

[@ChessTurner]

Thank you so much for great video

[@gumtree7177]

Veneer is real wood just not solid wood Veneer is thin wood. I hope I get mine soon but I need sms notice so hard to get communication with them

[@henryjraymondiii961]

The "version" does not need to be better--- the assembly is obviously being mis-managed. Perhaps not enough supervision (effective supervision where you fire those who are affraid to get rid of those who screw up). Hopefully, the manufacturer does NOT expect the average consumer to do cable testing and evaluation of things like an electrical connection wire going through an assembly that has a rubber pully and cable like a bike chain right through in between the moving construct, where it absolutely should not be placed in the first place.😐

[@talananiyiyaya8912]

I think I'll wait for v2. This could be done much better by more skilled engineers.

[@ZacBelcher]

what happens when the opponent captures a piece does it just knock it over

[@ivosenden]

No, it will first move the captured piece to the side of the board and then move it's own piece in place. That way, it always keeps track of where every piece is located.

[@Poupilebrave1]

Thanks Ivo for the hard work, video looks great. You mentioned creating your own « user manual », would you be willing to share it once done? :)

[@ivosenden]

Yes, I have already written one. But it is based on the current 0.0.3 firmware and app. I expect a lot of changes in this phase of the project so it won't be accurate for long. I have shared it with Wonder Substance and suggested to cooperate on the official user manual.

[@kevingirling8129]

Have you beaten it yet? I bought a chess computer (Vonset Chess) and I have yet to beat it 😂

[@ivosenden]

@@kevingirling8129 I wasn't able to beat it without help, which frustrated me. Turned out there was a bug in the software, where Stockfish level 1 actually was playing on Stockfish level 4 or 5. This has been resolved though and now I can play with much more confidence. 😉

[@kevingirling8129]

@@ivosenden chess computers are nowhere near human. I struggle with mine, it is unpredictable and sometimes does moves I struggle to understand. I was taught to carefully move your opening pieces, slowly building up a defensive/offensive strategy, aiming for more dominated squares until finally unleashing an attack where losses are in my favour. A chess computer won't do this consistently. It will surprise me with attacks that exchange pieces in moves that I wouldn't have contemplated till later in the game. You need a different approach to playing a human. It is almost clinical in its approach. I can't knock it though, as it wins consistently. I am getting better at knowing what it is likely to do next. However, I miss the human factor, it is no real substitute for another person.

[@kevingirling8129]

It has taught me respect though 😂

[@gumtree7177]

Did you get plenty of sms notice of when it’s coming?

[@ivosenden]

I got a tracking number once the parcel was in Europe and then I could trace it.

[@rezphilosophy]

so creepy, i love it, ill purchase 3

[@JoopHbR]

This is not usable for a bullet or blitz-games; one does lose too much time with moving pieces. 30 moves of ones opponent can easily cost one minute

[@ivosenden]

That is correct. There are adjustable speeds, but even then I wouldn't recommend it if you like a high speed game. Unless you have a human opponent for that

[@ZacBelcher]

Pretty good beta

[@gumtree7177]

Wow sure hope everyone does not have to do and fix a brand new set. Thats a worry for sure.

[@cristianmiranda8637]

it's still really noisy for the price compared to the square off Neo videos.

[@ivosenden]

My camera tends to enhance low volumes and objects close to the microphone. On video the board absolutely sounds more noisy than in real life, to be honest.

[@Neruomir]

That can be reduced with using quality "silent" stepper drivers and motors as those are usually to culprit in cheap and loud 3d printers. Tightening everything including the belts to reduce vibration also helps.

[@Neruomir]

It's not a chess computer per definition as it does not have any onboard chess logic outside a microcontroller dedicated for the stepper motors and magnets and an onboard Bluetooth module. Its a borderline brainless robot dependent on external gcode commands from a computer/smartphone. In short its more related to a 3d printer than your phone or pc.

[@ChessExperiment-zd9ey]

Great video. I'm trying to put one together. Here's the video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2fQlK1mjZZop7s It would help me a lot if you give details of the board. In my case I used acrylic and it has warping issues. what material and thickness did they use on the board? Thanks and regards from Argentina.