* Record, store and review your games.
* Replace pen and paper with stylus and Chess Manager.
* Carry your favorite game collection in the palm of your hand.
Professional Tournament Manager
* Take your Tournament global!
* Wireless and easy to set-up.
* Broadcast all of your matches live.
* Get PGNs and bulletins instantly.
* Save time and money.
* Attract media and sponsors.
This device has been endorsed by FIDE, the USCF, European Chess Union, etc.
It was debut in the United States at my Susan Polgar National Open Championship for Girls in Corpus Christi, TX in January 2006. It took about 10-15 minutes for the technician to explain to the girls. 20 girls used it for the entire 6 rounds. They all loved it!
There has been a lot of discussion about this new high tech device. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of misrepresentation by the folks who oppose it. What is your opinion? 
How much does it cost?
If you have to ask for the price, you can’t affoard it. 🙂
(Only) 359 US$ for the Personal Chess Manager.
This will obviously be the new wave of chess.
I am sure the price will come down as volume picks up. but the price is reasonable for many tournaments now. certainly tournaments like the WWCC and Melody Amber would be able to transfer the games to the internet with high reliability and for a very reasonable cost.
this would have been great for the US Championships. so many games to keep track of every round.
On ICC the times for each player are always way off the mark. Hopefully this will bring the times into sync with the real times at the game.
My daughter used it in Texas. It was very simple to learn. It actually only took her about 5 minutes to learn how to use it. She said it’s easier to use than an I-Pod. I understand that the price is up there. However, I think it’s worth the money.
James
I think the MonRoi is a great idea. However, the price is more than registering for the World Open!!!
One way to get the price down would be if they sold software that would work on the standard Palm/Windows CE platforms. So many of us already have a PDA. I understand that these PDAs would not then sync with that hub they are selling, but I think most people would like to have an automated PGN platform and we aren’t as worried about our BEAUTIFUL games being published instantaneously 🙂
I like the idea. It’s the 21st century. Good to have new tech.
Well, this is all fine. But why not letting the board itself keep track of the moves? The DGT Sensor Board is already here, for $429.95 a competitive alternative to the MonRoi, I think. At least until the price drop.
I think Henry has a very important point. The Monroi system is proprietary – a closed system. I dont know the pricing for the base unit (that the handhelds can communicate with) but as Henry stated a simple application for Palm or Pocket PC would work well for the individual player recording their game.
Games could easily be transferred in PGN for example to any other device via USB cable or bluetooth technology.
I find the price very high for a device that serves NO other purpose…
Paul,
I just read your writeup about the chess cruise on chessbase.com. You mentioned Canada, Mexico, Ireland and USA but you forgot there was a guy from France!
Sorry, I didn’t know. Do you know his name?
Thanks for letting me know!
Paul
It looks like a great product, but cost if the biggest obstacle right now.
– Enrique
Nice toy but price will definitely keep me from this. Its:
1. almost as much as an iPod
2. Not made by apple.
3. only does chess.
4. yay!
MonRoi is portable, wireless, rechargeable battery-operated, and capable of recording, storing, and viewing past and real-time games. It can store over 80 games in the unit itself, and millions more with the use of an SD card. It is $359.
What about iPod? Ipod does not have the same functionality? It does not have a high-quality large color display, no wireless capabilities. First iPoDs were $399.
Calculate how many hours per year did you spend entering chess moves into an electronic format? Did you ever loose you paper score book (and it was really important for you to have those score sheets)? Did you ever spend time trying to understand your own hand-writing or your next opponent hand writing?
Take a look at the alternative: electronic chess boards are heavy, not particularly portable, require an independent power source and a network cable. They can store only one game at a time, and cannot be used for anything else other than to transmit chess games. Cost is over $500. Calculate shipping each time you need to transport the board.
MonRoi is the only hand-held product which is tamper-free, fully secure and can be used in tournaments. It uses patent pending technology. No other PDA can be used- because standard PDAs would allow cheating. With a stanard PDA within 2 to 4 hours with Wi-Fi you would discharge the battery (before the game would end).
Since the last comment (anonymous)mentioned electric chess boards which I wrote about earlier, I think I have to answer. The point is, that you don’t have to think about the notation at all, just think of the game, like when you play over the internet or against your computer. The collection of moves is up to the board and computer, and writing down scores manually should be optional. You don’t have to collect more than one game at a time on the board.
This is my dream, but unfortunately these boards are a little too expensive for clubs. In bigger tournaments this is not a problem, however, where they already are in use.
The logic of not being able to use a standard PDA because it allows cheating fails if you are allowed to carry the MonRoi with you during the game when you leave the board. You can show the position to friends, or even (in tournaments w/o wireless) analyze by moving pieces in the loo.
If you require the device to remain at the board during the game, MonRoi or PDA using move input software are equally secure.
The better solution, of course, is the DGT board or something like that, that records the moves as you play them.