Automated Chess - Losing to a Ghost

Square Off - the app-connected computer chess board that moves its own pieces.
Manufacturers Website squareoffnow.com
Affiliated Amazon Links US: amzn.to/2NXASKW
Amazon UK: amzn.to/2Nbim26
Amazon DE: amzn.to/32BlgRg
FAQs
WHAT'S INSIDE THE BOARD?
A few people queried why I didn't show the inside workings. It honestly just didn't cross my mind. I imagine everyone here can already picture exactly what will be inside without having to see it. It's going to be a small circuit board attached to something that looks a bit like a flatbed X/Y plotter arm with a magnet on the end.
I thought about going back and adding a section in to show the internals for the sake of completeness - but I couldn't see a way to open it non-destructively.
However if you really really are desperate to see the insides - then just search for 'Inside Magic Chessboard' on youtube - but you'll almost certainly wish that you hadn't bothered.
Q) How does it deal with castling?
A) You can see this (twice) in the video - watch the section with the streamed game.
Q) How does it deal with pawn promotion
A: Answer from here: www.chess.com/...
“When you are promoting a pawn the app pops up with four choices Queen (the board comes with two), Rook, Knight, Bishop. You pick your promotion and it recognizes it from there.”
Q) How does the little horse ‘jump over’ the other pieces?
A) There’s no anti-gravity technology employed - but you can see the Knight manoeuvring around pieces at 8:53
Q) Where did you get that phone stand
A) It was included in the box - it’s the same as this one on Amazon (affiliated link) amzn.to/32Gnpez
Q) That wasn't Check Mate in McMullet & Blowhard?
A) It wasn't a real beard either.
CORRECTION: It’s approx 30 years since I last played chess, not 20 as stated in the video.
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All links are Affiliated where possible.
When you click on links to various merchants posted here and make a purchase, this can result in me earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network & Amazon.
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[@Techmoan]

You'll find links and a bit more information in the Video Description Text Box. *Read this too if you think you want to know WHAT IS INSIDE THE BOARD?*

[@BillyEilish]

Thanks, man!

[@Hacks4AllVideos]

Here at my channel we love technology and you're one of the most important channels!

[@dmitriarkhangelski6023]

#suggestion watch agadmator's videos on youtube and you'll quickly learn how to beat the board 😉

[@StoutProper]

Techmoan can it make the knights jump?

[@StoutProper]

Techmoan and how does it castle?

[@RockBottomRiser21]

Imagine buying this, not telling your roommate what it does and they just come home to chess pieces moving on their own.

[@TheAechBomb]

especially if it could play against itself

[@aljowen]

@@TheAechBomb You can get it to stream other peoples games, so in theory you could just leave it whirring away to itself like some sort of moving ornament.

[@stuart959]

@@aljowen I was thinking this would go great in an eccentric person's house self playing games while atop a self playing piano.

[@TheTruthKiwi]

Haha that would be quite amusing. Build a table so the top of the board is flush for more realism and to deaden the sound somewhat. An expensive and possibly labour intensive prank but it'd be worth it :p

[@Brutaltronics]

If only it worked without the app

[@plainblocks2]

Just imagine the chessboard beeping in the dead of night when you're sleeping, waking up to chess pieces facing your room.

[@traxler4855]

Like your imagination

[@isaacwillisbooks]

thought actually horrified me!

[@AtticusStount]

Doesn't that happen to you?

[@MoofEMP]

jumanji except it's a chess set

[@bogartwilley]

Dude I just spent like 15 minutes if my life hype as hell for a dream I know full well I'm too poor to ever grasp.... And you ruin it with shit so scary and creepy the entire "Puppet Master" franchise is asking how to be creepy You sir deserve a prize.... Imma burn this $0.89 checkers now though, the seed of fear is already planted

[@johnk3841]

12:07 *White moves* Techmoan (as black): Oh the Sicilian defense lmao

[@TheRaven123]

The checkmate at 12:18 isn't even checkmate, c6 is hanging

[@randomperson6215]

Yea lol people who pretend to play chess be like that

[@guille3283]

@@TymexComputing exactly what I wanted to comment lol

[@Techmoan]

@@guille3283 *17:53*

[@IrisGalaxis]

@@TymexComputing How come?

[@henrybooks7193]

“Play with friends” *”well I don’t have any friends”*

[@maj113]

-_-

[@RandomU2ber]

Friends don't deserve an awsome guy like this 😇

[@lidominic6307]

not only do you need a friend, they also need to have this 2000 dollar board

[@wisenotwise2676]

@@lidominic6307 yooo my phone is literally free and I can download chess and play it for free

[@picketf]

@@lidominic6307 from what I understood from their website 2 people can play on 1 board using 2 phones each one inputing their moves without touching the board or like he did, lifting and setting down again the pieces and it will update the moves to both paired phones.

[@mx2000]

This must be this "auto-chess" that the kids are talking about...

[@InvidiousIgnoramus]

@@trollop_7 That's the joke, dude.

[@markedone6667]

@@trollop_7 ----The-Joke---> Your (*_*) head

[@88oscuro]

@@trollop_7 r/whooosh

[@NullByte_-mm4dn]

i'm dumb explain please i don't get it

[@More_Row]

NullByte4532 _ Auto chess is also a popular game mode in mobas specifically Dota, and League Of Legends (team-fight tactics is the same thing. So the joke is the OP heard kids talking about auto chess and thought it was this. (Only it’s a joke so he does actually know.)

[@brumach527]

Can you leave it playing against itself? it would be an wesome decoration piece

[@TimperialBroadcastingAgency]

outstanding_move.jpg

[@imhulki463]

Wow, that is such a genius idea

[@yusuf_kizilkaya]

that's genuinely one of the best ideas I have heard in a while

[@Trisin-m3i]

Woah, it would be like a harry Potter

[@scottrastyles2592]

That's basically what the streaming button does

[@altEFG]

"I don't have any friends" - Techmoan, the most relatable tech youtuber, 2019

[@sbrazenor2]

🤣

[@paulintalabot4132]

It's a trick :The Mechanical Turk is hide under the table with a magnet.

[@luciuscaeciliuslucundus3647]

references references

[@ecos2ndchannel352]

Blessed references 😂😂😂

[@maj113]

Spelling spelling

[@luciuscaeciliuslucundus3647]

@@maj113 L-I-N-G L-I-N-G (I spelled ling twice as requested)

[@maj113]

@@luciuscaeciliuslucundus3647 lul tho thats not what i meant

[@luke-alex]

8:33 "It's like a game of chess this, isn't it?" Haha!

[@sklefenz]

9:25 "No human, you're not allowed to take my pieces"

[@ryan00101101]

It was a legitimate unstoppable spear against the queen.

[@HAL.9000]

I’m afraid I can’t do that...

[@GreyHulk2156]

14:41 - There's something charming about seeing that last white pawn finding his way home. :)

[@polski_dezerter]

mesmoraising

[@StephenBoyd21]

I'm sorry Dave, I can't let you move your Bishop.

[@ian_b]

"Open the chess game Hal"

[@rachmatzulfiqar]

I read this in hal's voice, What is this trickery?!??!

[@tonyellen_]

@@rachmatzulfiqar LOL If you're nerdy you automatically read a sentence that starts with those three words in Hal's voice!! Did the same d*amn thing myself!

[@burzummmmm]

Erb

[@HAL.9000]

I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.

[@Syncromatic]

The “intelligence scene” felt like a live action adaption of one of the puppet skits xD

[@DLWormwood]

Felt? What felt? I only saw flesh...

[@patrickmccurry1563]

@@DLWormwood Really? All I saw was wig and beard.

[@donaldklopper]

I got the same vibe

[@P7777-u7r]

I swear ive seen the "im playing against a grand master and he send me his moves on the telegram" in a movie somewhere but i havent been able to find what one

[@VauxhaIIOpel]

rip puppet skits

[@SneakyMango]

*When you see your queen move on it's own* *_NONONONONONONONO_*

[@clairmoon06]

lmaoooo

[@chillegaming1837]

XXXXXXXXXDDDDDDDDD

[@AutPen38]

Eric Rosen: "Oh no, my queen!"

[@zwete]

It should have voice control, and it would be like wizard chess.

[@elvis_mello]

I would guess it shouldnt be that hard to program something able hack this app and make it understand speech I mean, who would hack a chess app? Why secure it?

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@elvis_mello yeah I remember being able to "Knight to D5" or whatever in the OSX chess app with voice control in 2008, and speech recognition is even better today, so it shouldn't be that hard if someone really wanted to inject some of their own code. Maybe easier to do with the Android version than the iOS version. In practice it did get a bit old after ten minutes though.

[@3DJapan]

@@elvis_mello Well, I guess people could bet on a chess game so you'd expect the game to not allow cheating.

[@the_hanged_clown]

@@3DJapan because it's impossible to bet on games where one can't cheat

[@allanadam4553]

It needs to throw a tantrum when you beat it, flying pieces and swearing as well

[@peterhoulihan9766]

"I don't have any friends" -Techmoan 2019 tearsforfears.mp3

[@runouno]

*All around me are familiar faces*

[@Blankult]

Me neither

[@KC9UDX]

@@runouno worn out faces

[@jmtrad1906]

he should call 8 bit guy to play. i just hope he don't bring his glock 19 to end the game.

[@giulianodenardi7654]

Geri's Game imitating life

[@mortoopz]

Heh, funnily enough, the surrounded king was not in checkmate. C6 is safe.

[@RichardCJohnson]

Mort OOPz Ha! Came here to say that too, but thought I’d check if someone else had 😁

[@erikbroome5699]

What is even funnier is that the situation is impossible to achive if you follow the standard rules of chess since the Black King is attacked by no less than 5 different pieces. Either the King moved into check or didn't move out of check last move (both cases illegal).

[@m0rdresh]

My Grand Kingdom Set just arrived. I have many chess setups (DGT Centaur, DGT E-Board, etc.), I must say the feeling while playing on the Square Off with the pieces automatically moving is really something else. It's difficult to explain experiencing it over just reading or viewing it on KZbin. It really does feel you are playing against someone sitting across from you, it delivers what it sets out to do.

[@brawk1]

I've watched you for 7 years and just want you to know that what you're doing is an absolute inspiration. This world is better with you in it.

[@redpheonix1000]

So I'm guessing the way this works is that each piece has a bit of metal underneath, and the way the board moves the pieces is with a couple of stepper motors for X and Y axis (the noise you hear when it operates), then enables an electromagnet to grab the piece, then moves to where it needs to go and releases it. That would be quite simple and ingenious! Try grabbing a piece while it's moving and see if it's harder to pull, or try sticking a magnet to the bottom of the pieces! Or you could, of course, just pop the screws off ;)

[@Techmoan]

*There’s a bit more information about this in the video description text box.*

[@ApostolisKourtis]

For a moment I was sure that the table was the chess set

[@tubeMonger]

Looked more like a board to me.

[@ooferrell]

I did too... which makes me question that terrible choice of color on that table LOL. It looks like that table is from an old-school Diner

[@demogorgonzola]

6:14``I don't have any friends`` ...

[@TheStanHill]

So relatable!

[@litigioussociety4249]

You don't make too many friends, when you invite people to play chess.

[@demogorgonzola]

@Mr. Dank I'm using "double gravis" (grave accent signs - ` ) to make original statement from the video stand out more and later normal quotation marks in the body of my comment when needed. It's handy in cases when comment has quotes from somewhere else of mentions titles (like books and movies).

[@XeonProductions]

I thought maybe he meant he didn't have any friends that had that same $200 chess set.

[@robindp]

Matt, last I checked...you have 849K friends! :)

[@TheRausing1]

Really really cool, very much reminds me of the film ‘Jumanji’ in the way the pieces move. In that film, one of the characters back in the 60’s says, “it must be magnets or something”, while in the 90’s, they say “must be microchips or something”. Just an interesting thing.

[@danielrivero8811]

My favorite part about the video is how 12:17 is literally not even checkmate 😭

[@petrkarasek6657]

?

[@AuxenceF]

@@petrkarasek6657 the king can take the c6 pawn and be fine

[@YippingFox]

@@Temerold_se He is actually in check 5 times. (both knight, two pawns (c4 & d4) and the bishop.)

[@Almagells]

Not fine, but there is no checkmate in one or two

[@OrangeHarrisonRB3]

Teacher: "Explain your use of 'literally.' What makes it different from a figurative checkmate? -2pts"

[@binface9]

"I'm hoping much of this packaging, is packaging" That's a gift for the [YTP] guys right there

[@gustavgnoettgen]

"Ah yes, you opened with the Fibonacci sequence..." 🤣 Like my own attempts to play this game. Me: (moves pawn) Her: (moves the same pawn on her side) Me: (appreciatively) "Interesting move..."

[@enricorov]

"...oustanding."

[@vylbird8014]

Easy enough to program the machine for banter. Simply have it score the player's moves using the same algorithm it uses to make it's own, calculate how this ranks compared to other possible moves, and look up the appropriate response in a table of pre-recorded one-liners. The lowest-scoring lines would have to include a lot of creative insults of course, especially as you'll need to include variety to keep the banter from getting repetitive.

[@gustavgnoettgen]

@@vylbird8014 ok but where is the easy part?

[@VectraQS]

Every game I play inevitably turns into a Four Knights opening. Probably because I don't actually know any openings.

[@john_hunter_]

It would be cool if you could let it stream random games while you aren't using it.

[@imouse3246]

He didn't say, but I wonder if it can replay the great games of the past?

[@KnightsWithoutATable]

@@imouse3246 This would be a really cool feature and there is no reason that you could do it with the hardware since all of the logic is being controlled by the phone. You would just have to write an app that interfaced with the board and told it the moves to make and when. I could see it play them in sequence at a set speed that was adjustable and at a replicated time of the actual match.

[@fordtechchris]

That would be awesome just running on your coffee table while friends are over

[@stevieg7403]

This is an absolutely fantastic bit of kit. Problem with Chess, I play 99% of my matches via a phone or pad so when you come across a game or an actual chessboard I find I’m completely lost. This will allow you to still play online chess while visually playing over the board chess, I’m testing

[@ashtimbog]

make the pieces 3D. It's easy on lichess you just change the piece type

[@dirtyker]

That’s cool and all but that company needs to start making Jumanji

[@odieabdlrheem1847]

wija boards

[@A_Simple_Neurose]

@שחר א. luigi boards?

[@hodd.]

All of these replies fill me with fear

[@bogartwilley]

I wish we could get a legit Jumanji

[@leechowning2712]

Why. Someone already has. It the only excuse for 2020.

[@kinamiya1]

This is kind of creepy tbh the slow movement of the chess pieces it just looks like you are playing with a possesed chessboard

[@Soul_Alpha]

That's what I was thinking, looks like something demonic going on there like a Ouija board.

[@ClayMann]

I just thought it looked incredibly cool. A bit sad that it has to be so big. I'd love to see inside what's going on.

[@ErebuBat]

TIL slow=demonic fast=okay

[@rusky2655]

Ozzmand yeah look up scp 1875

[@rusky2655]

This is literally scp 1875

[@coasterairtime]

6:58 "It's quite magical!" 7:30 "What is this witchery? It took my Rook, I am loosing already??!"

[@whynotanyting]

The box taking the rook away was pretty funny. Does the box flip the table over if it loses?

[@UnicaLuce]

@Mr. Dank all towards you :)

[@MrTeddy12397]

when it loses it detonates a small 1kg plastic explosive charge inside the board. on the human player's side of course

[@tomf3150]

Would be fun if the magnet moving the pieces was doubled with a strong electromagnet that send pieces flying away.

[@jur4x]

@@MrTeddy12397 1kg? I don't think it maaters at that point on which side of the board that charge is.

[@IlBiggo]

Board be like (╯ರ ~ ರ）╯︵ ┻━┻

[@johnny2tons]

"It's like being slapped by a computer for being stupid." Love it!

[@SpudGun200]

“You would need a time machine...” BUT you do have a time machine.

[@warrennotestine2906]

I already knew you would say that.

[@raymondo162]

that will probably explain itself at some point in the past

[@RCAvhstape]

It's all wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.

[@anononomous]

I wouldn't be surprised if the time machine was used to bring back one of the retro boards pictured in the video for the sake of comparison at some point 🙂🤞

[@benjaminmiddaugh2729]

I call mine a clock.

[@powerpc127]

I'm having a strong Jumanji flashback watching this. I didn't think it would be as nerve wracking as it was.

[@alexandergoldthorpe4585]

Imagine how cool it would be if the pieces all moved at once when resetting. That would look magical...

[@AtheistOrphan]

Just remembered: For numpties like me my MB Phantom had a ‘Hint’ button which would wobble the piece it suggested you move!

[@6581punk]

Wobbling stuff is now (c) and patented by Apple :)

[@g67785]

Why does this amaze me so much. From the time the computer moved the first pawn all I could say was "holy sh*t."

[@10p6]

I made an automatic Chess game like this 30 years ago, using a similar principle to Etch-a-Sketch, but replacing the knobs with stepper motors and using electromagnet.

[@saraha180]

That's clearly exactly how this works internally. It's basically a plotter with a magnet instead of a pen.

[@rodmunch69]

Interesting, but I made an automatic chess game like this 31 years ago. You're ripping me off.

[@GRBtutorials]

And what AI did you use 30 years ago? Because otherwise it doesn’t make much sense to make an automatic chess game

[@anononomous]

@@GRBtutorials Chess computers (either programmes or boards) were pretty common and affordable 30 years ago. AI (albeit very specialised and not nearly as strong as today) is not a new thing.

[@tomokokuroki2506]

Kickstarter product that actually works? That in of itself is a miracle.

[@user-ht4xt2sh9m]

until it breaks within the first few months

[@Trekeyus]

Tell that to Palmer luckey. The Oculus was a smash success on Kickstarter. The Pebble smartwatch was a smash success. There are several other examples of products that do exactly what they're supposed to.

[@russellthorburn9297]

I'd be very curious to see how it manages a capture of a piece, by a knight, that is completely surrounded by other pieces. Would it move some pieces out of the way temporarily and then replace them?

[@georgiishmakov9588]

a piece can pass between two other pieces easily.

[@M4rcLL]

12:15 "That is checkmate!" O R I S I T ? (actually not lol)

[@jeremydumanski7584]

Kc6 and you're out of check hahaha

[@Jamato-sUn]

Muppet segment in the middle of the video was unexpected :D

[@MercuriusORG]

Make it snappy cracked me up 😆

[@drxoomg]

It has become its own muppet

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@J-sUn >>> The REGULAR MUPPETS look MORE REALISTIC...😝😝😝😝😝😝😝

[@bobblum5973]

"In our line of work we expect the unexpected...". How to make a video about chess entertaining, in typical Techmoan fashion. I was half expecting to see the muppets at the end, critiquing the live-action segment!

[@video99couk]

You can be like Tony Hancock with this thing. "I've got friends all over the world, all over the world . . . none in this country, but friends all over the world."

[@mikeos1]

Facebook to a T!

[@Tahngarthor]

Techmoan: "I don't have any friends" KZbin: Yes you do >.>

[@silenceofthehills7610]

KZbin is anything but a friend.

[@Tahngarthor]

@@silenceofthehills7610 I'm sorry, I forgot not everyone around me was clever enough to realize that I'm talking about KZbin the community, not youtube the company.

[@lavishlyDecorated]

That's fucking sad.

[@wellesradio]

@@Tahngarthor "the community" is even scarier.

[@MrPruske]

super cool. I've always wanted one like this myself, nice to see that they made the pieces small enough in reference to the board for the knight to squeeze by with its movement

[@ERIC-65]

But wait, you didn't take it all apart to show us how it works!

[@Techmoan]

*There’s a bit more information about this in the video description text box.*

[@NenadKralj]

(: there is no need to fix if it works :)

[@virtuafighter3]

There is already a video on KZbin that takes this apart. (There is not much to see - it looks like a plotter / scanner mechanism).

[@ERIC-65]

@@virtuafighter3 Oh yes, thank you, I have seen this by now!

[@gcewing]

It's remarkable that they've managed to fit the dwarf into such a small space.

[@moogthedog2816]

I remember as a small child, so we're talking 35-40 years ago, on a Christmas outing to Hamley's in London. They had an electronic chess set that moved the pieces for you on display on the top floor. Again, very expensive, but it was magical.

[@bmbpdk]

"The content is allways smaller than the packaging" You can apply that to many thing in life.

[@Henchman1977]

The board could make an interesting discussion piece for parties... Have it set up and streaming in a prominent area... Would be really cool watching the pieces move around the board by themselves....

[@Zorgot.]

holy hell this board is so amazing I was expecting to be like one of those boards that just tells you where the computer wants to move a piece but no this one does it by itself that's amazing I want one now

[@kh23797]

My first drop by and I just subscribed. As an old Brit, hearing you Americans talking in inches rather than metric takes me right back to 1960's Britain. We were supposed to put aside all our schooling in the Imperial system (miles, yards, feet, inches, pounds, ounces, etc.) and to think decimal and metric thenceforward. But we old'uns still think in the old units a lot of the time and happily flip-flop between the two systems.

[@medes5597]

As a chess player, I covet this for the ability to stream as much as anything.

[@espurious]

If you get the really expensive board it comes with a Twitch partnership contract

[@gustavrsh]

Must be fun to watch championships with this

[@RavenLuni]

Nice. I agree about the phone issue though - everyone and their dog is obsessed with f***ing apps.

[@andreiandrosoff1327]

I think companies are drawn into using apps because it's a both "cool" and "cheap" way to add advanced functionality. It's not because they actually think it's cutting edge or good design.

[@UberAlphaSirus]

internet based software is the current media nowadays and wifi , bluetooth are new redundant parallel and serial ports. What does piss me off is not having stand alone apps, that require an active server, login and cloud shit.

[@rs0389]

Even older people are...

[@Spookspek]

The pressing could have been prevented with RFID chips in individual pieces...

[@yuriythebest]

Indeed, though they'd have to make an individual RFID scanner under every position. Currently it seems there is a printer-esque moving thing underneath with a magnet.

[@95rav]

A similar device has been around since at least 1978 (sans Bluetooth etc), which operated the same, and could definitely play against itself. In that year, I was watching such a machine in demo mode playing itself. It was in a display window at a games/ magic/ novelty shop. As I watched it, a young girl stood there, fascinated, watching it too. She excitedly called to her father "Look, dad, the things move by themselves" - at which point, he slapped her and said "What have I told you about lying?" A moment later, a piece moved by itself. The man just said "Oh...", looked at me embarrassed, took the girl by the hand and walked off quickly. Never outright dismiss a child's imagination or invisible friends.

[@rontaylor1958]

The most fun you can have alone........almost !

[@burgersnchips]

Doc Man Plus with this, the better you are the longer you last!

[@HartfordHD125]

You may well be remembering "The Master Game" which was on BBC in the 1980's. It was usually presented by Jeremy James and William Hartston, and featured Grandmasters such as Nigel Short, Viktor Korchnoi, Robert Byrne, Vlastimil Hort and many others.

[@NortelGeek]

"I wanted stuff to happen, and that's what's happening." - _Techmoan_

[@FrottyZaoldyeck]

Recently started playing chess again and now this video hits :D

[@Soul_Alpha]

Your device knows what you do even when you aren't on it.

[@enzoperruccio]

@Soul Alpha You know what else knows everything I do? Your mum.

[@AndrewWilsonOz]

I always wanted the Tandy Electronics robot arm chess set, that they sold here in Australia. I cost as much a PC back in the 1980's.

[@Sharklops]

I had the Armatron they sold and loved that thing. Did they also just strap that to a board and call it a chess robot?

[@AndrewWilsonOz]

@@Sharklops You know, they might have just actually done that! :)

[@garretttharp4142]

i laughed way too hard when I saw the king completely encircled

[@theGoogol]

"Handcrafted chessboard with rosewood finish" That's the first handcrafted vacu-formed plastic chessboard I've ever seen.

[@kodessa]

i'd watch this guy live stream him re-learning chess with this board.

[@tiikoni8742]

Oh yes, the grand masters' secret Fibonacci sequence opening :-)

[@euphony5552]

Glad to see you've found a place for your nixie clock

[@goodsocksproductions9397]

"play with friends. I don't have any friends...." That's a mood

[@boneyween]

When the pieces started moving by themselves I giggled like a child. For once I don't want to know what's inside of it - it would ruin the magic.

[@ИраклийАрчвадзе]

Poltergeist played with you.

[@99nerka]

"Don't have any friends" Don't worry guy doing Techmoan vs 8bitguy have you covered :P

[@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886]

What an eerily beautiful machine to watch in action. Wonderful. It would make a great gift for Chess lovers.

[@Dresdentrumpet]

Loved your little skit about chess in movies. That is the way I always remembered it being in movies.

[@Charky_Creations]

At least with android, even if the app got taken down, you could sideload the APK and use the local play mode that way. It might also be possible for someone to modify that and connect it through a 3rd party server for the online functions. Not sure there's anything option like that for iOS, though!

[@MatthewCobalt]

Other than jailbreak and downloading AppCake? Yeah, no.

[@BillyEilish]

I think I used to restore apps using their IAP through iTunes. (No jailbreak required).

[@DevReaper]

Worst case, you still have a usable chess board, even if the app is gone and the battery is dead!

[@kyynis]

That's if they don't run the actual chess calculations on server side...

[@Charky_Creations]

Tbh it wouldn't set anyone back too much to buy a cheap android tablet just for the chessboard. If you can afford that much money for a chess set, you can spare 15 quid for a second hand kindle ;)

[@StephenCole1916]

"The Sicilian Defense" line reminds me of the term being used in the movie "Raise the Titanic"...

[@k1lg0re50]

Thank God for Southby! ;-)

[@ZGryphon]

It also sounds like, but isn't, one of the nuclear war strategies the WOPR models in _WarGames._

[@Cacowninja]

Pixar: I got an animation where an old man plays chess by himself. Techmoan: Hold my King.

[@bartz0rt928]

I'd be interested to see how it works (although I understand if you don't feel like opening it up, considering the price). I'm guessing, hall effect sensor and electromagnet on a cartesian gantry? Shouldn't be too difficult to build an interface for it if the app ever stops working, but it would of course be nice if the creators considered that possibility themselves.

[@filanfyretracker]

Wizard's Chess. Also let the wookie win.

[@jasonong252]

This remind me of Harry Potter's magic chess set.

[@jrsc01.]

Live watching your videos, love also your comedic cutaway gags also! Look forward to watching your videos, is great seeing tech that I didn't know existed or I remember from yesteryear! Thanks Mat.

[@MagicPlants]

This is absolutely the coolest game gadget I've seen in decades... So cool!!!

[@robiulahmed]

That checkmate thing had me literally laughing out loud!

[@pauljensen5699]

Play play against the 8-Bit guy with his Armitron.

[@ian_b]

I am actually haunted by a chess playing ghost. It's awful, I wake in the night and hear the ghostly, echoing words "pawn to King 4" and much as I try to ignore it, in the end I can't help it, I move too and then I'm up all night losing at chess.

[@HanduBananu]

Chess has now moved to the streaming world where it is seeing a resurgence in popularity. It probably will never be back to the Bobby Fisher vs Boris Spassky days but you have many of the top players actively streaming their games and tournaments getting high viewer counts.

[@Everett-xe3eg]

This is absolutely amazing and I want to buy one

[@Jerry-rf8bn]

I find this fascinating. Now, I just have to convince my frugal mind that I can afford to purchase this chess game.

[@swagtoniokrat7875]

I like the machine in the bg that looks like the thing from steins;gate, plus it displays the time from the video lol

[@philmccracken6134]

Nixie clock, a must-have. x)

[@Kenjiro5775]

I had, and still have, the Chess Challenger from the ad you showed in the beginning of this video. It kicked my butt every time I played it, but it did make me a better player against my friends. I would have gone into hock for a chess computer that moved the pieces back then.

[@defiraphi]

I have a electronic chess from the brand Mephisto : Alaska . It uses the similar sound when you press the pieces to the board . You can choice between 8 difficulty levels . You can even remove the beep sound . As it works with four AAA batteries . I bought it in the 90's for less than 50€ . Still have it today .

[@wakko9243]

Surprisingly, 12:18 is not checkmate. The King can capture the pawn on c6

[@Techmoan]

It’s a comedy sketch - the beard wasn’t real either.

[@doondoon859]

This position is also not attainable through normal play, since there is no way to have two knights checking the king at the same time. Still, super funny, comedy well done.

[@SimonCoates]

Mat playing 4D Chess 🤔

[@user2C47]

What would the 4th dimension be? Some type of variable related to each piece?

[@SimonCoates]

@@user2C47 - it's not that sophisticated - it's just a meme.

[@RedLink27]

I have to say man, I love your content. It's from the heart, informative, well put together and is just plain fun to watch. Keep at 'er!

[@crescentfresh8001]

Okay, this thing really is cool as hell. The required app thing sucks, but I love the look of the board and the mechanical whirs.

[@Malkmusianful]

"The level below rusty"

[@rajgill7576]

"I don't have any friends" Damn are you OK bro moan once for yes

[@cewbalshatti9535]

Absolutely brilliant concept and looks really good. Only thing I didn't like was how slow, man I would never use this for blitz.

[@drziggyabdelmalak1439]

It's quite cool. I was wondering how the Knight would jump, but you showed that. What happens when a pawn reaches its final square - how do you know what piece it wants in exchange?

[@annoyingbstard9407]

That is brilliant! Although I'd only buy the version that allows you to accidentally knock all the pieces on the floor and start again.