Mephisto Phoenix Chess Computer Module

Will be a great learning tool for improving your game. You can play any level and also get hints and also the computer lets you know when a move is good or bad and also your chances of winning the game. There is also a ELO rating for your progress. Only thing is you can’t save a game yet which hopefully in the near future they will have an update for that. Final thought is this is the best computer for learning and having lots of fun.

This unit combines modern chess technology with chess programs from the eighties and nineties. The four engines are, in my view, good for the analysis of matches and tournaments. One thing worth mentioning is that you can' t turn off the machine with a game in progress and then come back to it later since there is no save game feature.
This photo shows the final position of the 9th match game between Capablanca (White) versus Corzo (Black) played in Havana in 1901. Capablanca has just played g7 which forced Corzo to resign. The Shredder v13.5 chess engine, of the Mephisto Phoenix chess modul, was utilized for the analysis. The actual mode is indicated as “HUMAN-ANALYSE”. This is an example of the capabilities of the Phoenix.
Thanks.
The service I received from Chess House when purchasing this item was excellent.
Dave Mamula

You get 4 top chess programs PLUS 20 retro programs from Mephisto, TASC and Kasparov (Saitek). Shredder, Stockfish, HIARCS and Komodo are surprisingly tough. I'm amazed at how well they perform with the Raspberry PI processors. I've played some test games with all 4 programs against the Mac versions of HIARCS, Shredder and the iPad version of Stockfish (SmallFish) and the Phoenix version hold their own.

Over 20 years ago I had the Kasparov RISC and the Mephisto Berlin Pro. Both of them provided tough challenges for me and it really brought back happy memories with the Phoenix containing both programs and they played basically stronger than they did in the original models.

Another big plus in the Phoenix is that it can connect to the Internet and download upgrades. An upgrade was installed today just before I wrote this review.

Minor points are that you can't offer the program a draw or resign. Also it doesn't store a game but I got a feeling the Millennium Team will include that in a future upgrade. Also hoping that they can get the rights to more classic programs from Fidelity, Saitek/Kasparov, Novag and Chessmaster.

FYI--I bought the original Fidelity Chess Challenger 1 back in 1977. You could only play on the White side and the rank/file notation was reversed. It only had one level which was 5 seconds a move and was a pushover to beat. Fast forward 45 years and the Phoenix is light years advanced from that original model. It's a great product and I can't praise the folks at Millennium who resurrected Mephisto.

If you can't get the whole package the Phoenix works with the Exclusive board. It's worth it!

Was this not promised in spring 2023? Winter of 2024 still not available?

Complete system with WiFi very strong engine and play

Just received my unit today and been loving it so far. I was on the fence for some time due to the price tag. But now that I have it I love it!

I downloaded the new Version 401A OS with it comes the ability to download new emulations. I had a Fidelity E/A 2265 which I bought in 1989. At the time my USCF rating was 1687 and it provided a fight on low time controls with thinking for much more time. After about 10 years it stopped working. I always wanted to replace that computer, but never did. Well I downloaded the emmulation, and after 3 attempts (my fault) it worked! I am delighted to have another E/A 2265 after all these years. I am still disappointed that save a game is not really available, but I must give Phoenix props for making this wish come true. 4 stars. If you want 5 stars fix the save game omission, and come up with a better system to handicap Stockfish. Make it so I can play Stockfish at 1800 ELO, and it feel natural. Can you limit how many moves Stockfish considers for each move that seems to work for "The King" program. If these 2 things are done than the Phoenix will be what I wanted - and should have received from the start!

Having had this computer (2 of them) for almost 6 months I can give a better review now. I like the retro programs. The emulations are just about perfect. I own many of the originals that they emulate, and have performed many tests to confirm the accuracy. The emulations are from my tests spot on. In particular the Tasc R30 2.5 seems to be perfect. Even the evaluations are perfect. I limited the games to 3 ply games against a common opponent - the chess genius after allowing the same opening via takebacks the reponses were identical after multiple games. As far as the modern engines I am not pleased with the handicaps they seem artificial. If I set stockfish to 1700 it plays the opening like a grandmaster and it plays the middle game like a 2000 rated player for most of the game then it makes a few moves like an 800 rated player. The millennium king handles the handicap much more naturally by limiting the number of moves for the search at each level. If this can be done with stockfish that would be fantastic! Maybe in a future update. As for analysis the stockfish engine is fantastic as you would expect. The lack of saving the game feature is disappointing to say the least, and should be rectified in a future update - I hope so. I feel this was a mistake to release this type of device without that feature from the get go. I read somewhere that this was not added because of a concern about the flashcard. This would have been rectified by allowing us to copy the software on a backup flashdrive I understand the concern of people pirating the software, but for the customer this would haved solved a major flaw that keeps this from being the state of the art Chess computer they intended to deliver. I preordered 2 of these unites because I live 1/2 the year in a different location. I would not have done that had I known then what I know now. If you are somone who is on the fence I would say wait to see if this is corrected in a future update. My recommendation is if your not Magnus or Ding buy the King element - it is plenty strong for me, and much much more user, and cost freindly. If on the other hand you always wanted a Tasc R30, or Mephisto London 68030 this would be a perfect solution at a more reasonable cost - for me I already have the old machines so I am somewhat disappointed overall. Hopefully a future update will solve these problems! The older machines do seem to be better made as mine are approximately 30 years old and still function well, the wood cabinates seem to be real wood. I have had more then a few problems with the Millennium boards if not for Chess house being the great service people they are would have been major problems. So one last bit of advice if you do decide to purchase these products buy from Chess house they are the best in price, and even better at customer service!

This works so well with my Millennium Supreme 55 and is easier to use and more straightforward than connecting to the pc I was using. I also love the large library of retro engines. I do find the interface confusing at times and awkward to use. The lack of a way to add additional engines like what you can do with a dgt pi is very disappointing.

Having only received this module a few days ago, I don't yet have in depth experience with it. I am using it with the Exclusive chess board.

It seems fairly intuitive to operate. I didn't need to read the manual to get it connected to my wifi or to play a quick game. One thing that I really appreciate is the take back mode. You tap the "Back" button once and then on the board, take back as many moves as you need, with each successive take back being illuminated by the LEDs on the squares. When finished, simply tap that button again and the game can resume. Couldn't be easier.

One thing I haven't figured out yet is pawn promotion. I assumed that Black wanted a Queen. When I did that, the square kept flashing the LED's in a round-robin fashion. The game continued, but at every square the Queen landed on, that square flashed the LEDs in round robin fashion. I am sure I didn't do something right, and will eventually figure it out.

I would say this module is addictive. As much as I enjoy the Classics module that I also have, the idea of not having to push buttons for everything and the way take back moves works, just makes for a smooth flow of a game and especially for studying. I haven't tried setting up a position yet, but that looks to be just as easy as take backs.

So far, I haven't tried the vintage games, but do want to try the TASC R30 game since I always wanted one of those.

I have no regrets buying this module and will get a lot of use from it.

I didn't realize that the power button on the back does not shut the module off. I was perplexed. I noticed that the Supreme Chessboard came with AC plug but no where on the board to plug it in. It also came with a on/off switching device. So I tried something. I attached the switching device to the AC wire and then I plugged that into the module. Lo and behold the switching device shuts off the module. The system looks great. I got used to the Revelation II. So it will takes some time to get used to this machine. I' m impressed how fast Chess House got this new computer to me. I thought it would be longer because of the computer chip shortage.

This is a premium product considering the price that we paid for it, but a lot of 'essential accessories' like the sleeve for storing the module, stylus and even the connection cable omitted from the package.
The hardware running on rapsberry pi has a lot potential but at the moment the feature included in the module is half- baked and underwhelming to say the least. I would like to see similar function available in the Millennium Chess Classics like:
- game saving and loading function straight from the module
- less refine takeback and forward function
- option to change the move notation (at the time of writing, there is only one notation type available, which I don't like)
- the opening book description is too concise
- less refine user interface compared to the Millennium module

Overall, I do not think this is an upgrade from my other Millennium Chess Classics Module.
I wish that there are updates in the future to address to all of our concerns.

The chess computer is probably strongest one available. it gives you a ton of features, but it is missing one big one. It does not allow game saves. If you start a game, you better leave plenty of time to finish.

I am quite impressed with this chess computer. Yes the manual is still not great. This computer is so good that someone will probably write a book for it though and Chess House is there to help too. It is very intuitive to use and I really like the Analysis Mode, which is extremely helpful for me studying from books. I have had no trouble getting it to connect to WiFi either. And having 4 engines is great. Five stars.

As far as this computer goes if someone is trying to quantify the performance/price ratio look elsewhere. This is a specialty item and generally speaking there's a premium on items like this. As far as the execution of the computer there are some things that are going to have to be addressed with updates such as the lack of ability to offer a draw or resign a game this may not be a big deal unless you're playing and collecting a rating from the computer. I also think that the ELO scores assigned to certain levels in stockfish all way off. I'm not a very strong player and generally speaking I play it about 1600 to 1700 on my millennium King exclusive it feels as though I'm playing a 1600 or 1700 rated player on stockfish it feels like the the player I'm playing is much weaker. Of course all this can be addressed in a software update and I'm sure it will be. From what I understand ruud Martin is very responsive to constructive criticism. We will see. I will say that the computer has worked flawlessly it always turns on and works as expected. And at full strength it is easily the strongest chess computer I've ever owned. I own a tasc r30, quite a few mephisto and millennium products, and this computer wins 10 out of 10 times even on very low time controls with ponder turn it off. This of course is as you would expect the best software on modern hardware to perform. So you may ask would I buy it again I answer would be yes I would. As far as chess house goes if you've ever dealt with them in the past you know what emphasis they put on customer satisfaction. So if you're spending $2,000 on a chess computer or any amount for that matter I would buy from them without hesitation.

The price of this computer module is $1645 CAD. Plus the is duty. Mine was $75 CAD. This does NOT include the chess board.
This is a VERY expensive module. For this price I was expecting the most advanced, state of the art, incredible feature packed computer module ever created. Years ahead of it's time. I was expecting to be totally amazed.
Well I am amazed. I'm amazed that this module was released and I can't even save a game. I can't even pause a game! The clock just keeps going! I am amazed that this unit takes 30 seconds to boot up - my laptop boots up faster. I am amazed that there is a fan that starts 5 minutes after a game begins so you can listen to that while trying to concentrate. I am amazed that they hid the power button at the back on the bottom next to the cables. I am amazed at how difficult it seems to get this unit to connect to WiFi - it should be automatic. I am amazed at how poorly written the manual is. Come on. I'll stop whining now, but I could go on!
Yes it is a beautiful looking module with 4 incredible chess engines to play, but for this price, not worth it. The King / Chess Genius combo is a much better value, and much less frustrating to use.
Sorry to complain, but I am so very amazingly disappointed.

I have real mixed feelings about this unit. It is well made, fairly easy to use, super strong and highly adaptable. The manual walks you through enough of the features that it shouldn't take too long and too much messing around to be comfortable with navigating though the computer's features. It has a convenient reset to restore all the features to original if you mess it up.

It is missing a key feature that really affects how I use a chess computer. I like to have a game going that I am playing over a period of several days. All my other computers allow me to play the way I like. I make a few moves, turn off the computer, turn it back on and play a few more moves, etc. This one has no save game function. Here's what Millennium said about the issue:
"Leave the position on the board and reload it using the position settings mode.
Make sure you load the correct profile/settings beforehand if you want to continue the game with the same engine/settings, etc.

you will lose the clocks, but with the UCI system we can't keep the clocks without writing permanently, and that would destroy the memory cards. That's why we don't do that."

They really need to add a save game function. Otherwise, it's like a very fancy DGT Pi that flashes moves on your board. They have features to customize the playing style in more ways than practically anyone will want. But you can't save a game and return to it later?

The classic computer engines emulations is nice. It's a real walk down memory lane for me. They copied the style of display from the 1980's and 90's. That is kind of fun for about 2 minutes. Then it gets annoying and the cuteness wears off as you try to navigate through an unnecessarily difficult system. Also, they used two-letter abbreviations for the 20 emulations, so have the manual handy to find out which is which.

So, overall, it's a shame that they missed the mark, but got so close. I just expect to have a unit with at least all the basics covered and be easy to operate, especially at this price.