To play an Electronic Chess Game at Home you need a quality Chess Computer
To play an electronic chess game at home regularly on your own chess computer is quite fascinating and helps to learn finding good routine chess moves fast and disciplines your chess thinking over time.
Computer Chess Sets - 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 for many years myself.
Keep this in mind if you buy low level chess computers.
A higher level computer can always play at easier levels, but you can outgrow a novice level computer for beginners fairly fast. If this happens you need to buy a better one. So why not buy a high level and good quality computer in the first place?
My Opinion
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, thousands of times for the next ten years to come, 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 chess sets 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 it.
Buy a good one and you will enjoy every electronic chess game for the next ten years or longer without regret.
