Millennium The King Performance M830 chess computer
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- Опубликовано: 16 окт 2020
- With "The King Performance" Millennium had the opportunity to produce the best (affordable) chess computer on the market today.
Did they succeed?
Almost...
Oh, would The King Performance (MKP) just sport the wooden auto-sensory of the ChessGenius Exclusive (MCGE)... I would prefer it even to a DGT Revelation.
Of course, in order to achieve the optimum (mass) market price of 349€ Millennium could not put the wooden board into this unit. However, Millennium, please consider building this integrated unit with the ChessGenius Exclusive board and maybe an integrated battery option for 599€. I think it should sell, because there is no alternative at this price point. Only Pewatronic and DGT offer similar solutions, but at a much higher price point.
If you are considering The King Performance, here are some important things to know:
- The annoying sound and backlight can be turned of (see video)
- The pressure sensor board works ok
Evaluation:
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Price 3 ($150-500)
Strength 4 (Master)
Usability 4 (comfortable)
Collectability 2 (common)
Overall score 65 out of 100
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For the full explanation of the evaluation system see the description section of:
• Choosing a Chess Compu...
Update Novembre 2020:
Thank you, Beeco76, for sharing the phenomenal news about an update of The King software!
In the next firmware release many features have been added / improved upon, e.g.:
- ELO level
- Adaptive level
- Lichess integration
- Resigning / Remis
This update will definitely make the MKP the best available chess computer on the market at this point.
Firmware and update tool will be available here:
computerchess.com/downloads/
very nice machine.
Great video! I like the look of this machine but couldn't live with having to press pieces down to move. Could you play this computer against your montreal 68000 in classical and make the video...that would be awesome
Thank you! I would love to do that, but I sold the Montreal (and some other machines I featured) on an impulse in order to get ready to buy a Revelation II. However, after having realised (before buying) that the Revelation display cannot be turned off, I really regret selling... The Montreal was my favourite. The pressure sensor board of the King Performance is not bad, though. With the Roma (Montreal) program you have a predecessor of ChessGenius. The King has a very different playing style and would be a good addition to your collection. Be it in form of the MKP, The King Element, Tasc R30 or Mephisto Montreux...
Maybe James Avery could do a Lang vs de Koning match, if you ask him nicely ? 😊
I heard it gets annoying pressing down on the squares. How is this in your experience? Also does this set warn you for bad moves? Great video and love the music!
Thank you! Pressing down is no deal breaker (at least not for me), since the pressure sensors are working well and don't require a lot of force. If you intend to play a lot of Blitz, then I would consider the Millennium Exclusive, however. An auto-sensory board is a lot nicer, no contest. Yes, there is a trainer mode, indicating "bad move", for instance. And you can always check for a better move. See: computerchess.com/download/m830-manual-long-eng/
@@followyourpassion8378 ok thank you that is clear to me
@@fearfulgb123s8 Great. I forgot to mention, the direct competitor of the King Performance would be a DGT Centaur. It does not require pressing down, however, playing levels are somewhat restricted.
@@fearfulgb123s8 If you are looking to buy one chess computer that does it all, the King Performance is an excellent choice. If you later want to analyse your games in more depth or play online with it, you can just buy a ChessLink.
Thanks for that. Your video gives me a very good idea of what it would be like to use the computer. I'm still very torn between the King Performance and the DGT Centaur. The price of both is acceptable. They both have pros and cons. The Millennium should have an internal battery and I with the DGT allowed you to download games and have the possibility of using it for online games. My biggest problem at the moment is that I the DGT is available locally but I would have to import the Millennium
I prefered the (wooden) aesthetics of the MKP to the cool/modern look of the Centaur. Also I like the feeling of achievement, when jumping to the next (fixed) level. The program (The King) of the MKP is interesting to play against. However, the mechanics of playing were more enjoyable on the MCGE. Have you also considered buying a DGT Smart board and using it with your PC? It should cost less than a Centaur. A copy of Fritz should be included, the moves can be announced via speech, so you don't necessarily need a clock (DGT3000). www.digitalgametechnology.com/index.php/products/electronic-boards/smart-board/554-dgt-smart-board?mavikthumbnails_display_ratio=3.375
You could later always buy a DGT PI for playing without your PC. You can check out my video of the DGT PI.
ruclips.net/video/LH1KFAoJy7I/видео.html
I dislike the large chunky plastic pieces of the DGT, and the board is clearly quite fragile. DGT have so far not updated the software to fix small usability issues, the “undo” in particular can be tricky. But most importantly, you simply don’t get a sense of achievement when you beat it as you don’t know whether it just reduced it’s level of play at some point and allowed you to win - it would be cool if it gave you an approximate ELO or an accuracy score at the end (like Chess.com). I find some of my vintage wooden electronic chess sets more rewarding. But it’s really annoying that this Millennium board is not auto-sensory - we’re not in 1987 any more!!
@@RikMaxSpeed You make some valid points. Maybe DGT will release a wooden version of the Centaur as the rumour goes. However, Beeco76 doesn't think it's likely.
What do you think about the Millennium ChessGenius Exclusive (MCGE)? ruclips.net/video/iYx511a-RHE/видео.html
You can get your ELO rating, if you connect it to the HIARCS app.
Of course, my dream machine would be the MCGE in the form factor of the Millennium King Performance (MKP).
Great video thank you.
I'm just starting out in chess and I'm looking to buy the king performance or maybe the chess genius exclusive. However, I'm just wondering out of interest, now you have reviewed and played them both, which out of the millennium king performance and the chess genius exclusive would you buy/recommend? All things and factors considered.
Also, is the king program more suited to beginners?
Thank you!
Of course, it really depends on what your goals are (for instance, online or offline play, competing vs exploring chess by yourself, ...). If money was not the issue, I would opt for the Exclusive board along with a Chess Classics Elements module module:webshoparea.de/millennium/toysvideokonsolen/m828/millennium-chess-classics-exclusive-schachcomputer
This module contains both The King and ChessGenius. And the Exclusive board allows for more natural play than The King Performance. However, if you don't mind pressing down the pieces on the squares, the King Performance is hard to beat and a lot more compact (less cables..). If you are under 40, you might want to look at the pure online board options from Millenium, DGT, ... or even skip the board altogether and use a tablet. There is so much online material available e.g. at chess.com. The King and ChessGenius are especially enjoyable for those, who know (or remember) that those were the best programs around some 30 years ago.
You were just asking about 2 specific solutions, did you also check this one: ruclips.net/video/LH1KFAoJy7I/видео.html
@@followyourpassion8378 Cheers for replying.
The king performance seems the better option as it's cheaper and less cables however, it's press to move and not auto recognition. The exclusive, with it being auto recognition, would be a lot better for setting up positions and studying etc than the KP. Would I be right in saying this? I haven't really looked at the DGT 3000 as I think all the DGT boards are tournament size aren't they? The millennium boards are smaller in size which is better for me.
@@gavwild5067 you are absolutely right. The King Performance offers the best value by far. As for setting up positions - setting up endgames (e.g. King and Rook) works fine. When you want to play online you can always add the optional ChessLink module.
@@gavwild5067 I prefer wooden pieces myself, but the DGT centaur might be worth a look.
Great video! Actually there were a few bundles of the Millennium Exclusive and The King Element. The first one is called "The King Exclusive Chess960 Edition" and is limited to 250 pieces.
The second one is called "Millennium The King Exclusive Lasker Edition" and is limited to 150 pieces.
Yes, the MCGE is a great machine, too. I only have the standard edition, though: ruclips.net/video/iYx511a-RHE/видео.html
However, what I really would like to see is the MCGE in the form factor of the MKP with integrated battery. Since Millennium anounced a cooperation with Ruud Martin, something like that might come to pass. Also DGT seems to be developing a wooden version of the DGT Centaur. So, good news for us chess computer aficionados.
@@followyourpassion8378 Thanks for your kind reply.
I heard about the cooperation between Phoenix Chess Systems and Millenium as well.
I don't think that we'll see a successor of DGT Centaur in 2020 or early 2021, because DGT just launched an inofficial second edition of the Centaur. This second edition has a improved surface and white LED's. I uploaded a short video clip of the second edition right here: ruclips.net/video/0Cx8wZ9B7X0/видео.html
@@followyourpassion8378 New firmware update for KIng Element and King Performance incoming! Update will be free! Some new features: Adaptive Play, Elo-Level, computer can offer a draw, user can change brightness of the display.
You can find more details in a German computer chess forum: www.schachcomputer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=6294
This is really welcome news!!! Thanks for sharing. Hats off to Millennium for active life-cycle management.
@@Beeco76 Today I wanted to do a video on the update, but my virus scanner found malware inside the update tool... Do you have any intel regarding the update and this issue?
Hello,
Please, what are the strength equivalent ELO values of
Level Normal 0 to 9 ?
Level Simple 0 to 7 ?
Level Tournament 5mn time (=2400 ?)
thanks for answer
I didn't evaluate it firsthand, I am afraid, but there has been done an estimation by Eric W. in the HIARCS forum. EASY level 0...7 corresponds to 850...1900 ELO. So each level up would mean an increase of 150 ELO.
hiarcs.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=93602&sid=ce178e333d52b9b567db1abfa4c2b8ea
At full strength the unit might be above 2400 ELO.
So maybe NORMAL ranges from 0...9 = 1100...2450 ELO.
You will be able to set ELO levels directly with the new firmware update.
@@followyourpassion8378 Got mine updated. The ELO levels are quite fun, as you can adjust them from 1000-2050 in 150 point increments. The four adaptive levels work quite well, also. A2 is similar to the Centaur's "Friendly" mode, and A3 is similar to the Centaur's "Challenging" mode.
@@tracymiller1149 Thanks a lot for sharing! Did you run into any problems installing the update tool?
@@followyourpassion8378 No problems. Initially, the update kept showing errors and not completing, but it was because my USB port on the top of my computer tower was finicky. When I plugged the cable into a USB port on the back of my tower, the update proceeded smoothly.
Yeah I thought about buying this one but instead bought the Square Off Chess Computer. I was afraid at first that I would not be challenged enough, but getting to level 13 of 20 it is a challenge for me to beat the AI.
Some of these CPUs I feel do not play up to their actual projected rating. But the more expensive ones do.
Level 13, is that around 2200 ELO? If so, you are right, not many traditional chess computers will satisfy your needs, especially in Blitz modes. The King Performance should probably be able to challenge you in tournament mode. In my opinion, Square Off is not a chess computer in the traditional sense, since the chess program is not running on a dedicated hardware, but on a smart phone. Of course, this distinction is only relevant for chess computer fans/collectors.
@@followyourpassion8378 Actually, mine says that it is playing at an elo of 1836 at level 13. And level 20 supposedly plays at an elo rating of 3380. I know it uses the Stockfish engine which is a pretty strong engine.
What gave me a reluctant feeling at first was that there was more effort put in into making the pieces move rather than the strength of the computer. But so far it has been challenging at the higher level.
How to update the firmware of the King Performance ? Thank you
I think, the new firmware and the update tool have yet to be released.
1. Open the Update Tool on your PC.
2. Press the power button on the computer unit, to display ‘USB Mode’.
3. Click on ‘Connect’ in the Update Tool window.
4. Click in the ‘Available Firmware’ line of the Update Tool. From the drop-down menu,
select the desired version of the chess program.
5. Click on ‘Send-> Clock’. While the program is being installed, the message ‘Programming’
is shown in the Update Tool display and on The King’s LCD screen. The process is likely to
take several minutes.
@@followyourpassion8378 you right, I am not able to find the update tool yet. Do you think it will be released by the end of november ?
@@LuigiVo That is the date that has been communicated on the chess computer forum, where the release has been announced. I am really looking forward to it. It's probably best, if you register your e-mail with Millennium in order to be notified immediately, when the software is available. I have updated the Millenium ChessGenius Exclusive once. That was a very straight forward process.
@@followyourpassion8378 thank you 👍
May I ask you, between DGT Centaur and the Millennium The King Performance what would be your choice, considering the new features of the next November update ? Thank you