I have been playing chess for forty years. Not seriously, not competitively, just the kind of chess that happens when you find someone willing to play: occasional games with friends, a few games with my son when he was growing up, the odd game at the chess club I attended for about two years in my forties before work made it impractical. I know the rules thoroughly. I understand the principles. I have never, in forty years, made a serious effort to improve.
My name is Gerald Ashby. I am sixty-seven years old, a retired civil engineer from Exeter, and I retired eighteen months ago with a list of things I had been meaning to do properly for decades. Chess was on the list. The problem with chess, as a hobby for someone who wants to improve, is that it requires an opponent. A good opponent, ideally one who is better than you, available when you want to play, and patient enough to play at your pace. Human opponents of that description are not always easy to find.
The Retirement Project
I had been looking at chess computers for a few months before I made a decision. The options ranged from basic machines that I suspected would not provide a meaningful challenge to dedicated chess computers that were considerably more expensive than I wanted to spend. I wanted something in between: a machine that could play at a level that would genuinely challenge me, that had enough difficulty levels to grow with me as I improved, and that had some teaching functionality rather than just playing moves.
I found the Lexibook Chessman Elite Electronic Chess Game at ALTOE. The spec addressed everything I had been looking for. 64 difficulty levels with an Elo 1800 rating system, which covers the range from beginner to strong club player and gave me confidence that I would not outgrow it quickly. 16 LED lights to track moves horizontally and vertically, which is the feature that makes electronic chess boards genuinely usable rather than requiring you to remember which square the computer moved from. A training mode that tells you if your move is optimal or lets you try again, which is the teaching functionality I had been looking for. HINT, TAKE BACK (up to 2 moves), MOVE, VERIFY, and SET UP functions. Support for advanced rules including en passant and pawn promotion. Battery powered or 9V adapter.
At £70.47 it was a considered purchase that I thought about for about a week before ordering. It arrived within a few days.
The First Sessions
I started at a difficulty level I estimated would be competitive but not overwhelming, about level 20 of 64. The machine played at a level that was clearly better than my casual play but not so far beyond me that the games were one-sided. I lost the first four games. I used the HINT function occasionally when I could not see a good move. I used TAKE BACK twice when I made an obvious error and wanted to understand what I should have done instead.
The training mode was the feature that made the most difference. When I made a suboptimal move, the machine indicated it and gave me the opportunity to try again. Over the first few weeks, I began to recognise the patterns of moves that the training mode flagged as suboptimal, which meant I was learning rather than just playing. That distinction matters. Playing chess without feedback is practice. Playing chess with feedback is improvement.
Fourteen Months On
I have been playing on the Lexibook Chessman Elite almost every day for fourteen months. I am currently playing at level 35 of 64 and winning more games than I lose at that level, which represents a meaningful improvement from where I started. I have worked through the opening principles more systematically than I had in forty years of casual play. My endgame has improved considerably, partly through the training mode and partly through the VERIFY function, which I use to check my position assessment.
The LED move tracking has been essential. Without it, keeping track of the computer's moves on a physical board would require a level of concentration that would detract from thinking about the game itself. With it, the move is indicated clearly and I can focus on my response.
I rejoined the chess club in January, which I had left twenty-five years ago. My first game against a club member, who I was told was a solid intermediate player, lasted about forty minutes and I won. He asked how long I had been playing. I told him forty years. He asked where I had been practising. I told him at home, against a machine. He said that explained it.
My son, who I used to beat easily when he was learning the game, visited in March and asked for a game. He is now considerably better than he was as a child. The game lasted an hour and a half and ended in a draw, which I consider a significant result given where I was fourteen months ago.
The Verdict
If you play chess and you want to improve rather than just play, you need an opponent who will challenge you consistently, give you feedback, and be available when you want to play. The Lexibook Chessman Elite is that opponent. The 64 difficulty levels provide a genuine progression path, the training mode provides the feedback that turns play into improvement, and the LED tracking makes the physical board genuinely usable. At sixty-seven, I am playing the best chess of my life. That is what I was looking for.
Find the Lexibook Chessman Elite Electronic Chess Game at ALTOE. Listed in Latest Products, Toys & Games, Games, and Board Games.
Find the opponent who is always available. Start improving rather than just playing.
— Gerald Ashby, Exeter
0 commenti