Appreciate the occasional Electronic Chess Game at Home to improve Chess Thinking
To play an electronic chess game at home regularly is quite fascinating and helps to learn finding good routine moves fast and disciplines your chess thinking over time.
Chess Computer - buy only Quality!
If you consider buying a chess computer go for quality and don't just buy any computer with plastic chess pieces and sensory chess board. This is my opinion based on reality. I had a computer with sensory chess board from Novag for many years.
I don't like chess computers that have sensory chess boards, because if you make a move you must press each time on two squares, the starting square and the destination square. Let's say you move the bishop from b2 to e5. You must press the square b2 and then the square e5 and place the bishop to e5. If you have to do this all the time this will make up for thousands of times for the next ten years to come and this will be annoying. This was annoying for me anyway.
Squares: And if you press too hard on to a square it might damage this particular square and the computer is ruined and you have to send it in to get it fixed. This happened to me once.
Playing strength: Buy a chess computer with at least 2000 Elo. If you buy a weak computer at around 1800 and lower, it will not play proper positional moves but will play inferior setups. It will still win against you on a tactical basis, but you don't learn the right strategy as it does not play correct opening setups and has no idea about the right plan. It just calculates better than you and sooner or later it will win a pawn or a piece and you lose.
Most computer are too small and have plastic pieces. This is no fun to play with. To enjoy an electronic chess game I want big pieces and a big board like in a chess club and I like to play with wooden pieces not plastic.
Keep in mind: There are certain things in life where you should buy only quality. For example don't save money on:
Shoes, because you walk with them for many months to come
Guitars, because you have a guitar all your life and if you have to listen to a bad sound everyday you will regret everyday that you bought a cheap guitar.
Beds, because you sleep in it everyday for many years
Chess Computers, because you probably have it for many, many years and if you save money here and buy lower quality you will regret it everyday you use the computer.
It is just not worth it to buy a cheap chess computer. Buy a good one because you will be able to enjoy every electronic chess game with it for the next ten years or longer.
