Chess robots have come a long way over the years. The latest ones can move multiple pieces at once and run Stockfish. Chessnut even has its own chess robot (the Chessnut Move) which is one of the most advanced models on the market. These robots have been around for decades though. The Milton Bradley Grandmaster is from the early 80s. It doesn’t have a strong engine but can move the pieces using a robot arm under the board and magnets. It also has a hint and auto play mode.
The Chessnut Evo is one of the strongest chess computers money can buy. It has Maia, Lc0 and Stockfish engines for you to choose from. You can use it to play online or against bots. It is also possible to pursue a career mode or install third party apps on its 12.3-inch Android tablet. It has smart piece recognition, so you can set up positions without a whole lot of effort. In this video, we put the Grandmaster to the test against Stockfish.
The MB Grandmaster was marketed as the Phantom in the UK. Its 6502 16KiB program was developed by Mark Taylor. It is a bit noisy but still works after all these years. The only downside is the underlying hardware that keeps it from running modern engines. For a chess robot that was built in late 1982, it is very impressive though.
