// WIRED US/UK — INTELLIGENZA ARTIFICIALE
Best Smart Chess Boards (2026): Chessnut, Millennium
Playing chess can be challenging, fun, and at times frustrating. Garry Kasparov called the game “mental torture.” With virtually limitless possibilities, chess offers unparalleled depth, and you could easily fill a library with books on how to play it. The internet has opened up a wealth of potential competitors, and smart chess boards enable you to play anyone online or off, not to mention dabble in a variety of chess programs.
I’ve been testing smart chess boards for the past month or so, with the help of my chess-mad eldest, and these are my top picks.
For my opening gambit, I’m recommending the Chessnut Pro. With a classic wooden design, the Chessnut Pro feels like a regular board, but there are smarts hidden within. The beechwood pieces are beautifully weighted, an important but often underestimated feature. They feel great in hand, and the set includes a pair of extra Queens. This is a full tournament-size board (55 cm or 21.7 inches), so you’ll need space for it.
The board is very nicely made, with subtle red LEDs hidden in the corner of each square that light up to show moves. I love that it looks like a regular board when you’re not playing online. There are discreet controls on one side with a USB-C port and Bluetooth connectivity to hook it up to your computer, laptop, or smartphone. There’s no need to press down with each move, as every piece has a sensor chip inside that’s automatically detected.
We used the Chessconnect Chrome browser extension to play matches on Chess.com and Lichess.org, and it was quick and easy to get up and running. The official Chessnut app features AI opponents, but they're a little weak and lack variety. It isn’t great, but you don’t have to use it, and you can link up to different online services with a bit of tinkering (check out Graham’s Programs for some better options). Online play was occasionally a little glitchy. Sometimes there’s a slight lag, and we had to click to reconnect for every game. Battery life is quite good (we got seven to eight hours), though it takes a while to recharge (best to leave it overnight).
If you understandably don’t want to spend that much, the Chessnut Air ($250) is a far more affordable option. It’s also wooden but much smaller (33 cm or 13 inches), with lighter pieces and visible LEDs. The Air+ ($400) is the same size but with superior weighted wooden pieces and subtle LEDs on the board. Functionally, both give you much the same experience as the Pro.
Folks seeking a built-in AI computer might consider the Chessnut Evo ($630). It has a large screen on one side, but plastic pieces and a more modern look. I prefer a board that can hook up to my devices, since you can always upgrade them, and compatibility with services and programs is likely to be much wider. There’s the extra step of connecting, but the risk with an all-in-one device like the Evo is that you are reliant on the manufacturer for updates. It’s also not as nice to play in-person games on, or even for your own training and analysis, because of the plastic construction and the screen at the side.
In some ways, the Millennium Supreme T2 surpasses the Chessnut Pro. It’s another classy, real wood, tournament-size board. The high-quality, heavily weighted wooden pieces are slightly bigger than my top pick. I prefer the Chessnut set, but I can see why some folks may prefer these. They come with two silky, drawstring bags for storage and a pair of extra Queens.
The board is also wooden and good-looking, but it is thicker and heavier than the Chessnut Pro, so you don’t want to have to move it around much. The LEDs work well to indicate moves, but neither of us like that they are visible in the corner of the squares even when off. The board connects to your devices via USB or Bluetooth, and the pieces have sensors inside for automatic recognition that works flawlessly.
The Millennium was very easy to set up with the Chessconnect browser extension and proved slightly more responsive, with eve