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I am always using my wife's PDA to play chess on. There is no more relaxing way to play chess against a machine than to kick back on the couch. So to get her PDA back, she got me TouchChess for my birthday. Very thoughtful, but unfortunately the screen was very hard to make out. I really wanted to keep this gift, but I just couldn't distinguish the pieces. I thought I would get used to it, but it was too frustrating. Anyone that plays chess regularly knows that you have to be able to see the board at a glance, not struggle to tell your bishops from your pawns, etc. I tried all different lighting situations too. I would very much warn you not to try this game until they improve the screen.

This little chess computer is exactly what it says it is, and it's exactly what I wanted. I'm not a super strong chess player (around 1400UCF) so obviously even not-so-strong chess computers/software provide all the challenge I need to keep me entertained. If I were to assign a maximum strength rating, I'd say (with my limited qualification to do so) it could perform probably no better than 1600UCF. It has 72 levels of play, so it has a fairly wide range of strength for beginning to intermediate players. So if you're looking for something to make you a better chess player, you may be better served by some good chess software or a more expensive tabletop chess computer. But if you're looking for someone to play a good game of chess anywhere you go, this is exactly it.

The interface is pretty solid. It uses a Palm Pilot-like stylus for it's user interface. Being able to simply touch the piece I want to move and it's destination is extremely easy. I don't generally have a problem seeing the display indoors. Direct sunlight can affect it a bit, but the LCD knob on the top allows me to adjust the strength of the display. The LCD menu system is perfectly reasonable, but not totally intuitive, so reading the manual is necessary. You can undo moves, set up your own positions on the board, and it even has a simple rating system it uses to try and rate your play.

This is the smallest chess computer on the market, and what made it most attractive to me was it's price. ...you really can't beat the value. So for its reasonable price, it can fit in my pocket, its ease of use, and it provides me a good chess challenge, I recommend this product.

There is a lot to like about this handheld chess game. But, do not waste your money unless you plan on using it only in well lit places. The LCD is almost impossible to read (so much do that I've had to look for a different handheld chess unit). In this day and age, I don't think its asking too much to expect a better display. My recommendation is to wait for a better product. But its your decision.

If you're looking for the best handheld chess, and you don't mind operating it with a touch screen (who would?) then get it now!

No, its not perfect, certainly not, but there aren't too many other options out there, and in any case - this one is the best.

I'll go from the bad to the good. The weaknesses are the display and the engine. The LCD display tends to look clear only at an angle and with sufficient light, otherwise you might see too many parts of the LCD lighting up, including those who shouldn't, so the digit display part would show 8's instead of what it should show. There is a contrast control that helps, but anyhow - the display could be better, its not bad, but not too good either.
The second problem is the playing strength. I know its a very small unit and they couldn't exactly put a Pentium processor inside (as the price also suggests), but still... I would expect a little better. I'm an 1300-1350 player, and unless it takes 20 seconds per move I can beat it many times. Let's put it this way: if you're a beginner, it should beat you quite easily. But if you're a club player, or something close to that - expect a decent challenge at best, unless you want it to think 5 minutes for every move, and even then it doesn't reach a rating of over 1450-1500.

Now to the strong parts: the touch screen is fun and easy to use, there are plenty of controls starting from undo/reply move all the way to letting you enable to disable the opening book, selective search, and other options.

A few neat features include 32 mate-in-2 problems, which require creative thinking, 16 great games (which can test your skills), and 8 other board positions for training. You could also practise one of 32 openings. There are 73 playing levels, which mostly differ by the time the computer uses. The computer can show you plenty of information, starting from threat warnings, hints, possible moves for a piece, the best move it considers, playing status, depth of search and more. Of course 2-player and computer vs. computer modes are also available. Setting up your own board position is also possible, but don't count on the computer to let you solve difficult problems. The unit includes a small speaker (beeper?) which can be partially disabled (it always beeps on errors, but that's not too bad).

All in all its a very cute toy, and I'm saying "toy" because its a toy... it lacks a better engine and thus I wouldn't consider it as a serious opponent, other than that its fun to play and use, and I don't regret having it for a single moment.

This is not a bad little chess computer, it is just the interface that is its downfall. Everytime I wanted to quit a game a start a new one the game would cut off. The start and off areas are above each other. In addition, the manual is almost non-existant. The Saitek cosmic, even though a little more expensive is much better, although both models suffer from lack of a back light. The Saitek model uses a touch screen, but also uses menu keys and a message area at the bottom of the screen to make a much better package. It also uses standard chess notation when giving hints etc. The excalibur model just flashes pieces.