GoChess Mini - AI Electronic Chess Board Game, Light Up Chess Set for Adults & Kids for All Skill Levels with Online Play App - Perfect as a Gift for Smart Board Games Lovers

I got this board yesterday, and my kids and I played 3 hours of chess last night, just enjoying the new board! So, what makes a chess set good? (Particularly, what makes an electronic chess set good?)Look and feel:The board looks every bit as good as the pictures. The pieces are gorgeously modern, and the board has a nice contrast to it. It's easy to tell where things are. The Queen and Bishop ARE a little "samey", so you have to pay attention. Still, it's a great set. The size is perfect. It's a "mini" board, but tournament boards are massive. This board is over a foot in either direction, and the pieces are a nice height (pawns are about 1.5inches tall, the King is a little under 3 inches). So this is not a mini board as in a travel board or tiny set. It's a respectable size. The pieces are plastic but they don't feel it. They have a very heavy weight and holding them you'd swear they were metal, they feel extremely premium. They have felt bottoms so setting them onto the board doesn't feel like it will scratch the board surface. Honestly, if this were a completely non-electronic set, I would still be fairly pleased with the set just on how it feels.The Electronics:But this isn't a non-electronic set, and I didn't buy it just for the looks. The board connected with my Android phone perfectly fine and very easily. The app has a lot of options. I DO wish that like the Chessnut Go's new app, this board allowed you to play Maia directly (a new neural engine chess bot), but you can challenge Maia via the app by connecting to LiChess and challenging one of the three Maia bots to a game.Overall, the built-in engine to the app uses a 32 level difficulty setting, and it seems to be a pretty good spread of challenge - I can beat lower levels pretty easily, and it makes blunders and falls into traps often enough. However, on the later levels, I'm getting smoked. So I think there's plenty of room at least at my skill level.Where the board REALLY shines is OTB play with someone else. I got this board in part because I love playing my kids, but I am pretty far beyond them, especially my 8 year old. So... I'm using this board to help teach them chess. You can set in the app a rough ELO for the app assist during face-to-face games, and that controls the move suggestions (pink circles). For a lower ELO, the suggestions are less helpful, and for the higher levels (ok, technically, mid-levels, don't judge), it helps my kids play to my level. It's a great leveling tool, but my only caveat is that you can't enable it for one side only, so if my kids want ELO1800 suggestions, that means I get them too.The board lights themselves are gorgeous and obvious. You could play this in almost any lighting and you won't have trouble seeing the LED circles. The board will list out moves that you can make, along with moves you should not make (blunders in red), moves you should make (suggestions in pink) and moves that are OK (a sort of teal color). The app allows you individually to turn these off, so if you wanted to just see blunders to help you spot them, or just suggested moves, you can customize your experience.The app and board are fairly fast and responsive. I don't know that I'd use this for bullet chess (3 minutes for instance). But for a 5 minute game with the AI, I didn't have any trouble with waiting on moves or taking too much time.My ONE major complaint here is with the app: you MUST leave the app open, on screen, and the screen turned on, to use the lighting on the board. Even pulling down the notification bar to see a text will turn off the board LEDS until the app is back on screen. It would be fantastic if the app could be minimized or the screen turned off, and still keep the board connected and the game running, but I get why that's necessary.All in all, final thoughts, the board looks gorgeous, feels premium, the LEDs are both easy to read and really helpful, the app overall works great and has a lot of customization that will allow anyone from an 8 year old beginner to a grandmaster (thanks to LiChess and Chess.com) to enjoy this board. Worth every penny!

This chess board is such a fun way to play chess! The light-up board makes it easy to see where to move, and the app integration takes the experience to the next level. Whether you're a beginner or more advanced, this board is perfect! My kids were super excited about this. It motivates them to learn how play chess.It feels high-quality and makes a great gift for anyone who loves board games or tech gadgets. Highly recommend for both kids and adults!

As a chess player, I had high expectations for the GoChess Mini, and I must say it doesn’t disappoint. The compact design is impressive, providing a fully functional smart board without sacrificing quality or precision.One of the standout features is the seamless connection with the GoChess app. The LED lights are a subtle but powerful addition, making it easy to follow moves, explore openings, and enhance gameplay. Although I was initially concerned about the smaller size compared to traditional tournament boards, the GoChess Mini proved to be practical and highly portable—perfect for analysis sessions or travel games.The app’s integration with online platforms and Lichess allows playing against strong opponents worldwide, including AI simulations at different levels.The option to save and study games is something I hope they’ll expand further—having a way to import or export PGNs directly to the board would be ideal for advanced study. But overall, it’s clear that this product was designed with both beginners and experienced players in mind, making it a great tool for sharpening chess skills.Update a few months later: My kids took a few chess lessons at our local library and are now using the board to play (with AI hints). I challenged them to figure out why the AI is advising them to make a move and before they pick up a piece, where they think the AI will want them to move it to. It's been a great learning tool for them. Still very happy with my purchase!

Liked it, but it needs to work without the app. Also, for this price, I would expect each piece to have a unique magnetic ID, but they're all the same (i.e., the board doesn't know if you put a queen in the king's spot or any other piece).Looks like it works great with the app, but got it for a my four-year-old who we don't want on a phone. The board is sleek and nice, but it should have a feature to automatically play against AI if no phone is connected.

This isn’t just some fancy toy, it’s the real deal. The GoChess Mini plays with you, teaches you, lights up your next move, and connects with Chess .com and Lichess.After just a short time using it, I’ve already picked up things I hadn’t noticed in years of casually playing online. It helps you understand the game better.I also love the high quality of the product and its top-notch design, it feels solid and looks great on the table.Puzzles are supported as well, and I’m still exploring other cool features. Can’t wait to keep learning with it..So far, I see it as a real game changer.