About Brunoy Échecs and Our Comparison Method
Brunoy Échecs is an independent editorial site devoted to electronic chess boards and chess computers. It compares devices model by model, using the manufacturers’ technical specifications and the documentation of the gaming platforms. It is not a club, an association or a shop.
What You Will Find Here
The site began as a single page devoted to the question “DGT or Millennium?” Readers’ questions almost always concerned specific devices: should you prefer the DGT Centaur or The King Performance, does the Chessnut Air work with Chess.com, what is an old Mephisto found in an attic worth? So we reorganised the content by brand, by model and by use.
- Model pages: DGT Centaur, DGT Pegasus, Square Off, The King Performance, with their strengths, their limitations and a head-to-head with their closest rival.
- Range pages: DGT, Millennium and Chessnut, with a table that tells the versions apart.
- Use pages: adult beginners, children, online play on Lichess and Chess.com, boards whose pieces move by themselves.
- History page: the chess computers of the 1970s to the 1990s, sought after on the second-hand market.
The general guide (what an electronic chess board is, which basic criteria matter) is not rewritten here: we point to guides that are already complete and concentrate on model comparisons.
Our Method
1. The facts come from manufacturers and platforms
Each specification (connectivity, piece detection, engine, battery life, compatibility) is taken from the manufacturer’s official page, its manual or the help pages of the platform concerned (Lichess, Chess.com). When a piece of information is not published by the manufacturer or could not be confirmed, we leave it out, or we mark it as not disclosed.
2. Dates and history come from reference sources
For older computers, we rely on encyclopaedias and databases specialising in the history of chess computers. An uncertain date is worded cautiously (“in the early 1980s”) rather than invented.
3. Prices are guides, not promises
The prices of electronic devices change often: sales, new versions, exchange rates. When we give a price, it is an approximate range observed on a given date, with the note “indicative price observed”. Always check the price at the time of purchase.
4. No invented reviews
We publish no fictitious numerical ratings and no made-up customer testimonials. Our assessments cover what can be verified: features that are present or absent, the way the board connects, board design, and fit for a given use.
Links and Independence
Some pages contain links to Le Palais des Échecs, a French shop specialising in chess sets, where the model in question is listed or where one of its guides usefully complements ours. These links influence neither the choice of models compared nor our assessments: many of the devices covered here (Chessnut, Square Off, ChessUp, older computers) are not sold by that shop in any case.
Reporting an Error
Has a manufacturer updated its software, has a compatibility changed, is a specification inaccurate? Our pages are reviewed regularly and corrected as soon as an official source confirms the change. The update date appears at the top of every page.