This electronic chess game can teach players how to achieve check-mate in eight moves, a feature that earned it the Hammacher Schlemmer Institute’s Best rating. The game was play-tested by the University of Chicago Chess Team and found to be superior to other models because of the quality of its instructional mode. The team’s players indicated that its hints function was the easiest to follow of all the play-tested models–it offers a comprehensive coaching system that includes eight built-in classical mate studies, allowing players to select between hint, training, and referee modes. This game has a United States Chess Federation rating of 2,320, an opening book of 8,900 half-moves, and 112 training and tournament levels, yet despite the game’s “Master” rating, the chess team found it to be the easiest to use for registering moves and initial setup. The chess team also found the game’s take-back function that allows beginners to correct weak or wrong moves to be a key feature, along with its convenient carrying case and game piece storage compartment. Hand-carved wooden Staunton pieces. Requires six C batteries. Chessboard 9″ sq. (4 lbs.)
