Best Smart Chess Boards (2026): Chessnut, Millennium

can play chess Be challenging, fun, and sometimes frustrating. Garry Kasparov called the game “mental torture”. With virtually unlimited 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 with anyone online or offline, let alone participate in a variety of chess events.

I’ve been testing smart chess boards for the past month with the help of my chess-mad ex, and these are my top picks.

The smart chess boards I recommend most

For your starting bet, I’m recommending the Chesnutt Pro. With a classic wooden design, the Chesnut Pro feels like a regular board, but there are smarts hidden within. Beechwood pieces are beautifully weighty, which is an important but often underestimated quality. They feel great in the 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 well made, with subtle red LEDs hidden in the corner of each square that light up to show moves. I like that it looks like a regular board when you’re not playing online. There are discreet controls along with a USB-C port on one side and Bluetooth connectivity to connect it to your computer, laptop or smartphone. There is no need to press down with each move, as each piece has a sensor chip inside that is automatically recognized.

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 Chesnut app features AI opponents, but they are a bit weak and lack variety. It’s not great, but you don’t have to use it, and you can connect to a variety of online services with little change (check out Graham’s programs for some better options). Online play was a bit glitchy at times. Sometimes there’s a slight lag, and we have to click to reconnect for every game. Battery life is quite good (we got seven to eight hours), although it does take a while to recharge (it’s best to leave it overnight).

If you obviously don’t want to spend that much, the Chesnut Air ($250) is a far more affordable option. It is also wooden but much smaller (33 cm or 13 inches), has light pieces and visible LEDs. The Air+ ($400) is similar in shape but has better-weighted wood pieces and micro LEDs on board. Functionally, both give you the same experience as the Pro.