Wikispaces : chessprogramming - items matching description

Blitz Monster

GerdIsenberg — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 12:40:27 GMT

Home * Engines * Blitz Monster

Blitz Monster was an experimental version of Novag's Super Constellation or its successor Constellation Expert ^[1] ^[2] by David Kittinger, competing with three entries at the WMCCC 1985 in Amsterdam. During the Hong Kong human Blitz tournament March 1984, Super Constellation got 19/28 only playing Black, with 5 points versus International Masters in the 2355 to 2474 range, and was spontaneously called Blitz Monster ^[3].

External Links

Blitz Monster's ICGA Tournaments

References

^ Novag Constellation Expert from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
^ Hans-Peter Ketterling (1987). Neuigkeiten aus Nürnberg. Europa-Rochade, 03-1987, 04-1987, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (German)
^ Interview with Peter Auge (pdf), Erwerbsquelle: 10-1985, Zeitschrift Schachcomputer (Herausgeber Florian Piel) hosted by Hein Veldhuis (German)

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Blitz Monster	Jan 8, 2016
Chess Monster	Jun 21, 2017
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Super Constellation	Oct 1, 2016
Turbostar	Jan 8, 2016
USOCCC 1986	Dec 1, 2017
WMCCC 1985	Feb 6, 2018

Up one level

Bogol

GerdIsenberg — Mon, 02 Jan 2017 09:55:38 GMT

Home * Engines * Bogol

		Bogol, a series of exclusive dedicated chess computers, developed and manufactured in the early 80s by the German Omikron Electronic GmbH ^[1]. It was Germany's second chess computer in 1981/82 after the Mephisto by Hegener & Glaser, and was supported by the West German Federal Ministry of Education and Science ^[2], but only released in small quantities and prototypes. The computer's name was in remembrance to chess grandmaster Efim Dmitriyevich Bogolyubov. The 6502 processing unit with a program by Olaf Schinkel and the sensory chessboard were seperate units, connected via cable. The Bogol 5.0 prototype, which had reversed square colors, played a strong European MCC 1982 represented by the Omikron team of Martin Suhl and Gerd Krey. Despite missing the first round and losing by default, Bogol managed 4 out of 7 ^[3] ^[4] . According to Hans-Peter Ketterling, the Bogol 5.0 was never realeased to the market, apparently due to its close relation to another chess computer ^[5] .
Efim Bogolyubov ^[6]

Photos



Bogol 5.0 Prototype with reversed square colors ^[7] ^[8] ^[9]

European MCC 1982, Bogol - La Regence operated by Kevin O’Connell ^[10] ^[11] ^[12]

External Links

02-1981 Omikron - BOGOL 3.5 (Prototyp), pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis
09-1982 Omikron - Bogol ASB 5.0 (Prototyp), pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis
10-1982 Omikron - Bogol ASB 5.5 (Prototyp), pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis
Omikron Bogol 5.0 from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)

References

^ OMIKRON ELECTRONIC GMBH HALLERSTR. 70 20146 HAMBURG
^ 10-1982 Omikron - Bogol ASB 5.5 (Prototyp), pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis, Source: Zeitschrift Schachcomputer (Herausgeber Florian Piel) Edition 3, 10-1982
^ Tony Harrington (1982). Advance to the fore. Personal Computer World, December 1982, pdf hosted by Mike Watters
^ Tony Harrington (1983). The third European Microcomputer Chess tournament. Creative Computing, Vol. 9, No. 1
^ Hans-Peter Ketterling (1987). Zehn Jahre Mikroschachcomputer. Europa Rochade, in 09-1982 Omikron - Bogol ASB 5.0 (Prototyp), pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis
^ Efim Bogoljobow, 1925, during USSR-championship, Reproduction of a reproduction in a book, Efim Bogolyubov from Wikipedia
^ Flickr: Fotostream by Chewbanta
^ 09-1982 Omikron - Bogol ASB 5.0 (Prototyp), pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis
^ Hans-Peter Ketterling (1982). Jetzt kommen die Kings. DM 11-1982
^ Flickr: Fotostream by Chewbanta
^ Photo in: Tony Harrington (1983). The third European Microcomputer Chess tournament. Creative Computing, Vol. 9, No. 1
^ Re: Back from Brazil by Steve Blincoe, Hiarcs Forum, September 12, 2007

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Bogol	Jan 2, 2017
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
European MCC 1982	May 22, 2016
La Regence	Jul 23, 2015

Up one Level

Boris

GerdIsenberg — Mon, 25 Dec 2017 18:54:06 GMT

Home * Engines * Boris

		Boris, an early dedicated chess computer, which appeared in February 1978, designed and manufactured by Applied Concepts ^[1] and marketed by primary distributor Chafitz. Already in March 1978, Boris played Second West Coast Computer Faire Microcomputer Chess Tournament in the "microcomputers with less than 8K of memory class" ^[2]. The name was likely in dependence on the given name of Boris Spassky, who lost the Chess World Championship 1972 from Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik. Boris ran on a Fairchild F8 8-bit microprocessor with only 2.5 KiB ROM and 256 byte RAM. David Lindsay was hired to program the machine ^[3], and two further Boris models with Lindsay programs appeared in 1979, the first travel chess computer Boris Diplomat ^[4] ^[5], where Lindsay holds a patent ^[6] on the Chess piece font ^[7], and the Boris Master ^[8].
Boris ^[9]

Photos

Bobby Fischer calling

Photos

Arleen and Steve Chafitz, Boris is King ^[10] ^[11]

Bobby Fischer calling

Steve Chafitz on a call from Bobby Fischer ^[12]:

Just to rewind a bit, one evening when I was home having dinner, I got a call from Bobby Fischer. He was excited about our electronic chess game "Boris" and I realized that if he was interested in our electronic chess game that there was a major market out there. We increased our development of electronic games and yes, we hired the brightest and the best programmers in the country to develop programs for our games.

Co-Author

The ICGA site mentions Rex Kent as author of Boris Experimental which played the 1st World Microcomputer Chess Championship 1980 in London ^[13]. However, Boris X was already the work of Kathe and Dan Spracklen, and additionally with modifications by John Aker and Terry Fredrick. Rex Kent operated Boris at the PCW-MCC 1978 ^[14]. It is a bit unclear whether Kent was operator or co- or book-author of the early Boris otherwise credited to David Lindsay.

Boris 2.5

In 1979, following the development of the original Boris when more advanced programs were required, Arleen and Steve Chafitz contracted Kathe and Dan Spracklen to be their chess programmers for their Chafitz modular game system as well the Applied Concepts Great Game Machine ^[15]. Their Sargon 2.5 program appeared as Chafitz Sargon 2.5 MGS module ^[16], and in 1980, as Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5 ^[17], also called Boris Sargon 2.5 ^[18] or simply dubbed Boris 2.5. John Aker and Terry Fredrick, affiliated with Applied Concepts, were involved in improving the Sargon and Boris program ^[19].

Boris Handroid

		Boris Handroid was the first but very rare electronic chess robot from 1980 ^[20], with 64 Hall effect sensors to recognize pieces, and three servomechanisms to control the cartesian robotic arm. The Handroid program, adapted by Terry Fredrick ^[21] was also based on Sargon 2.5 by Kathe and Dan Spracklen.
Handroid ^[22]

Boris Experimental

Boris Experimental (Boris X) was the further development of the Boris 2.5 aka Sargon 2.5 program, but no longer by the Spracklens, who after their experience no longer worked for Chafitz, but for Samole's Fidelity Electronics. John Aker continued the job.

WMCCC 1980

The Sargon based Boris Experimental played the 1st World Microcomputer Chess Championship, September 4-9, 1980, in London, where it only lost versus later champion and Sargon based Challenger X, blundering an endgame a piece up ^[23], and became second with 4 out of 5!

[Event "WMCCC 1980"]
[Site "London, United Kingdom"]
[Date "1980.09.05"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Chess Challenger"]
[Black "Boris Experimental"]
[Result "1-0"]
 
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Bc5 6. c3 Nf6 7. d4 exd4 
8. e5 Qe7 9. cxd4 Bb4+ 10. Kf1 Ng8 11. Bf4 Na5 12. a3 Nxb3 13. Qxb3 Ba5 
14. Nc3 Bb7 15. d5 O-O-O 16. Rc1 f6 17. exf6 Nxf6 18. d6 Qe6 19. Qxe6 dxe6 
20. dxc7 Rd7 21. Ng5 Re8 22. Re1 h6 23. Nxe6 Rde7 24. b4 Bb6 25. a4 Rxe6 
26. Rxe6 Rxe6 27. axb5 axb5 28. Be3 Bxc7 29. Bd4 Bc6 30. f3 Bd6 31. Na2 Bd5 
32. Nc3 Bc4+ 33. Kf2 Bxb4 34. Rb1 Bd6 35. Nxb5 Bxh2 36. Nc3 Bd6 37. g3 Kd7 
38. f4 g6 39. Kf3 Nd5 40. Ne4 Be7 41. Rb7+ Kc6 42. Rb2 h5 43. Rc2 Kb5 44. Rb2+ 
Bb4 45. Be5 Bd3 46. Nd6+ Kc5 47. Rb3 Bc2 48. Nb7+ Kb6 49. Rb2 Rc6 50. Nd6 Bd1+ 
51. Ke4 Kc5 52. f5 Nc3+ 53. Kd3 gxf5 54. Nxf5 Nd5 55. Bd4+ Kb5 56. Be5 Kc5 
57. Bd4+ Kb5 58. Be5 Ka4 59. Ra2+ Ba3 60. Kd4 Nc3 61. Ra1 Nb5+ 62. Ke3 Bc2 
63. Kf4 Rc4+ 64. Kg5 Rg4+ 65. Kf6 Rc4 66. Kg5 Rg4+ 67. Kf6 Kb3 68. Rh1 Bxf5 
69. Kxf5 Nd6+ 70. Ke6 Rg6+ 71. Kd5 Nc4 72. Bf4 Rb6 73. Ke4 Rb5 74. Rd1 Bb2 
75. Re1 Be5 76. Rb1+ Bb2 77. Re1 Be5 78. Rb1+ Ka4 79. Rxb5 Bxf4 80. Rc5 Kb4 
81. Rxc4+ Kxc4 82. Kxf4 Kd5 83. Kg5 Ke4 84. Kxh5 Kf5 85. g4+ Ke4 86. g5 Kf5 
87. g6 Ke6 88. Kh6 Kf6 89. g7 Kf7 90. Kh7 Ke6 91. g8=Q+ Ke5 92. Kg6 Ke4 
93. Qc4+ Ke5 94. Kg5 Kd6 95. Kf6 Kd7 96. Qc5 Kd8 97. Ke6 Ke8 98. Qe7# 1-0

Controversy

ACM 1980

Boris X was also registered for the ACM 1980. A brief description is given in the tournament booklet with Applied Concepts CEO Alan Mead as representative ^[24] :

BORIS EXPERIMENTAL, Alan Mead, Applied Concepts, Garland, Texas

The program uses alpha-beta pruning with recently developed and improved search heuristics. The program runs in 8k of program space and has nine levels of play including two tournament levels. The tournament level play is expected to be 100 points stronger than the present BORIS 2.5 program.

But Boris X, despite registered, finally did not play the ACM 1980. Kathe Spracklen had filed a protest, claiming Boris X is too similar to Sargon 2.5, and requested mutual comparison of the source code. After John Aker admitted that Boris X was a revamped Sargon 2.5, Boris was rejected ^[25] ^[26].

ACM 1981

At the 12th ACM 1981, Boris X was mentioned in the booklet again, now with a long list of its authors and Applied Concepts representatives ^[27], but again, did not participate, likely also because David Slate was already competing with Nuchess:

BORIS EXPERIMENTAL, John Aker, Alan Mead, Terry Fredrick, John Jacobs, David Slate, Larry Atkin (c/o AM, Applied Concepts, Inc. 207 N. Kirby, Garland, Texas 75042), Great Game Machine (at site)

Publications

Boris assembly manual (pdf) hosted by Alain Zanchetta
Editor (1978). What's New? Computer chess; Microchess 1.5; Boris, BYTE, Vol. 3, No. 10, pp. 193, pdf from The Computer History Museum » MicroChess
Editor (1978). Black-box war. Personal Computing, Vol. 2, No. 11, pp. 17 » Chess Challenger
Harry Shershow (1979). Chafitz' Big Move in Computer Chess. Personal Computing, Vol. 3, No. 9, pp. 59 » Sargon
Michael Ham (1980). Modular Game System and Boris / Sargon 2.5. Personal Computing, Vol. 4, No. 7, pp. 79 » Modular Game System
Editor (1980). Boris on the Move. Personal Computing, Vol. 4, No. 8, pp. 77 » Applied Concepts
David E. Welsh (1980). Rating Boris 2.5. Personal Computing, Vol. 4, No. 10, pp. 78
Editor (1980). The battle of Boris 2.5 vs Sargon 2.5 Personal Computing, Vol. 4, No. 10, pp. 83 » Applied Concepts, Chafitz
David E. Welsh (1980). Rating Boris 2.5 - Part II. Personal Computing, Vol. 4, No. 11, pp. 87
Harry Shershow (1981). Two New Units In Aktion. Personal Computing, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 91 » MCC 1980, John Aker, Morphy
Applied Concepts - Boris Diplomat (pdf) by Hein Veldhuis

Forum Posts

The old Boris chess computer by Truman Collins, rgcc, January 25, 1996 ^[28]
Collectors Corner. Chafitz Chess Computers..The Early Years by Steve B, Hiarcs Forum, March 30, 2008

External Links

Boris Experimental ICGA Tournaments
Boris is King by Daniel Collin ^[29]
Applied Concepts Boris from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Chafitz Boris from The Spacious Mind
Chafitz Boris from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chafitz Boris Master from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chafitz Boris Diplomat from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Other F8 games - Boris Diplomat by Sean Riddle - playable in MESS
Directly coming from the 21st Century: the Boris HANDroid by Rob van Son, ChessEval, February 2014

References

^ Patent Application filed 2nd March 1978 Inventors: Rod Barclay, John A. Cunningham, Alan B. Mead, Joseph T. Spaits
for Applied Concepts, Inc. from Patents from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Larry Wagner (1978). Results of First Microcomputer Chess Tournament. Silicon Gulch Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 4, May 10, 1978, pg. 9
^ Collectors Corner. Chafitz Chess Computers..The Early Years by Steve B, Hiarcs Forum, March 30, 2008
^ Applied Concepts - Boris Diplomat (pdf) by Hein Veldhuis
^ Chafitz Boris Diplomat from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Professional Profiles for Innovators of D255247, Lindsay, David including employment histories, technology specializations, innovator rankings/ratings, residence addresses, co-workers, Chess piece font from PatentBuddy
^ Boris Diplomat character's from Boris is King by Daniel Collin
^ Chafitz Boris Master from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Boris Electronic Chess Computer, Applied Concepts, from The Computer History Museum
^ Ft.Boris | Flickr - Fotosharing by Chewbanta
^ Boris is King by Daniel Collin
^ e-End – Secure Electronic Data Destruction and Computer Electronics Recycling, Frederick MD
^ Rex Kent's ICGA Tournaments
^ David Levy (1978). The PCW Microcomputer Chess Championships, Personal Computer World 11/78, pdf from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Welcome to the Great-Game Machine Workshop
^ Chafitz Sargon 2.5 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5 Electronic Chess Computer from The Spacious Mind
^ Boris Sargon 2.5 by Tom Luif
^ Terry M. Fredrick - Resume
^ Schachroboter from Kurt´s Schachcomputer Homepage by Kurt Kispert (German)
^ Terry M. Fredrick - Resume
^ Boris Handroid from Kurt´s Schachcomputer Homepage by Kurt Kispert (German), Photo by Rolf Bühlers
^ London 1980 - Chess - Round 3 - Game 1 (ICGA Tournaments)
^ The Eleventh ACM's North American Computer Chess Championship, pdf from The Computer History Museum
^ Applied Concepts - Morphy Edition Master Chess (module) (pdf) by Hein Veldhuis
^ Evan Katz (1981). The Eleventh North American Computer Chess Championship. Personal Computing, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 87
^ The Twelfth ACM's North American Computer Chess Championship, pdf from The Computer History Museum
^ Truman Collins (1995). A Trip Down Chess Computer Memory Lane. Computer Chess Reports, Vol. 5, No. 3-4 Addendum, pp. 33
^ Boris is King website address has been changed ! by Boris is King, Hiarcs Forum, May 31, 2017

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
More Links
ACM 1980	Dec 25, 2017
ACM 1981	Jan 19, 2018
Alan Mead	Mar 23, 2014
Applied Concepts	Dec 25, 2017
Arleen Chafitz	Jun 5, 2017
Boris	Dec 25, 2017
Byte Magazine	Nov 20, 2016
Chafitz	Dec 25, 2017
Chafitz Modular Game System	Dec 25, 2017
Chess Challenger	Dec 27, 2017
Chess Champion Pocket Chess	Sep 19, 2014
CPWTIPC 1981	Oct 12, 2013
David E. Welsh	Dec 25, 2017
David Lindsay	Jun 5, 2017
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Fairchild F8	Jul 31, 2015
Gerhard Piel	Nov 29, 2012
Great Game Machine	Dec 20, 2017
Harry Shershow	Dec 27, 2017
John Aker	Dec 26, 2017
John Jacobs	Jul 8, 2011
MCC 1980	Dec 27, 2017
MCCT 1978	Dec 22, 2017
MicroChess	Jul 14, 2015
Mike Johnson	Jan 7, 2016
Morphy	Dec 25, 2017
PCW-MCC 1978	Dec 9, 2012
Personal Computing	Dec 27, 2017
Playing Strength	Mar 31, 2018
Rex Kent	Jan 8, 2016
Robots	Feb 20, 2018
SABA Videoplay 20	Sep 19, 2014
Sargon	Dec 25, 2017
Steve Chafitz	Aug 2, 2013
Stockholm MCCT 1979	Oct 12, 2013
Stockholm MCCT 1980	Sep 5, 2017
Terry Fredrick	Nov 21, 2012
The Penrod Memorial Microchess Tournament	Dec 22, 2017
Tiny Chess 86	Dec 24, 2017
Truman Collins	Feb 5, 2012

Up one level

Cassia Chess Mate

GerdIsenberg — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 15:27:36 GMT

Home * Engines * Cassia Chess Mate

		Cassia Chess Mate, (Toytronic Chess Electronics, CXG Computachess I) a dedicated chess computer released in 1979 by Hong Kong based manufacturer Cassia by Eric White and Ken Cohen, forerunner of White and Allcock, the computer also shipped as Toytronic Chess Electronics ^[1] ^[2]. Cassia Chess Mate and relatives, such as the CXG Computachess I in 1981 were clones of Ron Nelson's Fidelity Chess Challenger 10 ^[3] ^[4]. While the CXG Computachess I was stopped from shipping into the US, it seems the Chess Mate was further shipped to Europe ^[5], according to Ron Nelson, with an operating manual logo looking like the CXG Computachess one ^[6].
Chess Mate Box ^[7]

Publications

Cassia - Chess Mate, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch)
Toytronic - Chess Electronics, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch)
CXG - Computachess (black and silver edition), pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch)

Forum Posts

Re: Ron Nelson by ChessChallenger, Hiarcs Forum, December 24, 2015
Re: Ron Nelson Chess Challenger 10 by ChessChallenger, Hiarcs Forum, January 24, 2016
Re: Ron Nelson Chess Challenger 10 by Steve Blincoe, Hiarcs Forum, January 24, 2016

External Links

Toytronic Chess Electronics from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)

References

^ Toytronic Chess Electronics from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Toytronic - Chess Electronics, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch)
^ Cassia - Chess Mate, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch)
^ Re: Ron Nelson by ChessChallenger, Hiarcs Forum, December 24, 2015
^ CXG - Computachess (black and silver edition), pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch)
^ Re: Ron Nelson Chess Challenger 10 by ChessChallenger, Hiarcs Forum, January 24, 2016
^ Image cropped from Re: Ron Nelson Chess Challenger 10 by ChessChallenger, Hiarcs Forum, January 24, 2016

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Cassia Chess Mate	Dec 8, 2016
Chess Challenger	Dec 27, 2017
Chessmate	Dec 12, 2016
Commodore ChessMate	Jan 26, 2016
CXG Sensor Computachess	Jun 23, 2017
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Eric White	Jan 27, 2016
Newcrest Technology	Jan 26, 2016
Ron Nelson	Feb 4, 2016

Up one Level

Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5

GerdIsenberg — Sat, 09 Sep 2017 09:25:54 GMT

Home * Engines * Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5

		Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5, the first commercial dedicated chess computer with an Auto Response Board (ARB) incorporating a 6502 processors running the mighty Sargon 2.5 program by Dan und Kathe Spracklen. The Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5, manufactured by Applied Concepts and distributed by Chafitz and Sandy Electronic, was launched in 1980 to became a milestone for electronic chess computers and starts the era of sensory board chess computers ^[1]. The computer participated at the ACM 1979, and the WMCCC 1980, competing with four other Sargon incarnations and finished 8th of 15 with 2½ out of 5 ^[2]. After the Spracklens started their collaboration with Fidelity Electronics, the development of the computer was continued by John Aker at Applied Concepts ^[3] ^[4]. The machine had an exchangeable program module, with subsequent cartridges available ^[5].
ARB ^[6]

Photos

ACM 1979, Kathe Spracklen and Dan Spracklen, Sargon 2.5 ^[7]

Publications

John F. White (1981). Survey-Chess Games. Your Computer, August/September 1981
John F. White (1982). Review-Morphy V Champion. Your Computer, January 1982

Forum Posts

ARB Sargon 2.5 Auto Response Board by Sunny, Schachcomputer.info Community, August 30, 2011 (German)

External Links

Sargon's ICGA Tournaments, covers ARB
Applied Concepts ARB + modules from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Applied Concepts ARB + 4.0 module from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5 Electronic Chess Computer from The Spacious Mind
Chafitz/Applied Concepts/Destiny | Photo collection by Chewbanta
Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chafitz ARB Sargon 3.0 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German) credited to John Aker
Chafitz ARB 4.0 50 S from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Sargon immer noch Marktführer:: Mikros noch ohne Großmeister-Format, Computerwoche, November 28, 1980 (German) » WCCC 1980, Chess Challenger

References

^ Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Kevin O’Connell (1980). World Microcomputer Chess Championship. Personal Computer World, November 1980
^ Chafitz ARB Sargon 3.0 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Aker, John from Schachcomputer.info Wiki
^ Applied Concepts ARB + modules from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Flickr - Fotosharing | ARB by Chewbanta
^ Gift by Monroe Newborn, hosted by The Computer History Museum

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
ACM 1979	Apr 3, 2017
Boris	Dec 25, 2017
Chafitz	Dec 25, 2017
Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5	Sep 9, 2017
Chafitz Modular Game System	Dec 25, 2017
Computerworld	Sep 9, 2017
CPWTIPC 1981	Oct 12, 2013
Dan Spracklen	Jan 17, 2017
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Great Game Machine	Dec 20, 2017
Kathe Spracklen	Dec 25, 2017
Module	Sep 1, 2017
Sargon	Dec 25, 2017
Stockholm MCCT 1980	Sep 5, 2017
WCCC 1980	Dec 25, 2017
WMCCC 1980	Dec 25, 2017

Up one level

Chafitz Modular Game System

GerdIsenberg — Mon, 25 Dec 2017 17:25:03 GMT

Home * Dedicated Chess Computers * Module * Chafitz Modular Game System

		Chafitz Modular Game System (MGS), a dedicated chess computer module system manufactured by Applied Concepts and distributed by Chafitz, otherwise identical in construction with the akin Great Game Machine. The MGS had exchangeable modules with programs from multiple authors, Sargon 2.5 by Dan and Kathe Spracklen, Boris 2.5 based on Sargon 2.5 improved by John Aker and Terry Fredrick, Morphy by John Aker, the opening module Gruenfeld by Larry Atkin, David Slate and John Jacobs, the endgame module Capablanca by Atkin and Slate, and the Steinitz module by Atkin, all 6502 based. There were also other game modules available, such as Checkers ^[1] , and the Othello program Odin by Peter W. Frey and Larry Atkin.
MGS With Sargon 2.5 Module ^[2]

Sargon at WMCCC 1980

The Chafitz Modular Game System with the Sargon 2.5 program incorporated, participated at the First World Microcomputer Chess Championship 1980 in London, competing with four other Sargon incarnations and finished 7th of 15 with 2½ out of 5 ^[3], losing the last rounds from runner-up Boris Experimental and tournament winner Chess Challenger, both with Spracklen programs as well.

Modules and Manuals

^[4]


MGS Manual		MGS Sargon 2.5		MGS Boris 2.5

External Links

Sargon's ICGA Tournaments, covers MGS
Chafitz/Applied Concepts/Destiny | Photo collection by Chewbanta
Chafitz Modular Game System Electronic Chess Computer from The Spacious Mind
Chafitz Boris 2.5 Module Electronic Chess Computer from The Spacious Mind
Chafitz Sargon 2.5 Module Electronic Chess Computer from The Spacious Mind
Chafitz Capablanca Module Electronic Chess Computer from The Spacious Mind
Boris Sargon 2.5 by Tom Luif
Chafitz Modular Game System from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chafitz Sargon 2.5 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chafitz Capablanca Edition from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chafitz Grünfeld Eröffnungsmodul from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chafitz Morphy Encore from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chafitz Steinitz Edition from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Modular Game System III + Steinitz Edition-4 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)

References

^ Applied Concepts - Borchek (championship checkers module) (pdf) by Hein Veldhuis
^ Flickr - Fotosharing | MGS With Sargon 2.5 Module5 hosted by Chewbanta
^ Kevin O’Connell (1980). World Microcomputer Chess Championship. Personal Computer World, November 1980
^ Chafitz/Applied Concepts/Destiny | Photo collection by Chewbanta

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Applied Concepts	Dec 25, 2017
Boris	Dec 25, 2017
Chafitz	Dec 25, 2017
Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5	Sep 9, 2017
Chafitz Modular Game System	Dec 25, 2017
Chess 7.0	Jul 13, 2015
CPWTIPC 1981	Oct 12, 2013
David Lindsay	Jun 5, 2017
David Slate	Jul 19, 2016
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Great Game Machine	Dec 20, 2017
John Aker	Dec 26, 2017
Larry Atkin	Jan 7, 2016
Module	Sep 1, 2017
Morphy	Dec 25, 2017
Personal Computing	Dec 27, 2017
Peter W. Frey	Dec 25, 2017
Sargon	Dec 25, 2017
Steinitz	Nov 10, 2014
Stockholm MCCT 1980	Sep 5, 2017
WMCCC 1980	Dec 25, 2017

Up one level

Chess 2001

GerdIsenberg — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 12:40:52 GMT

Home * Engines * Chess 2001

		Chess 2001, a dedicated chess computer developed by Intelligent Software based on their experimental development program Intelligent Chess Software, which in turn was based on Richard Lang's Cyrus ^[1], written in Z80 assembly language. The computer had a 16 KiB ROM, and a 2 KiB RAM, the Z80 processor ran at 4 MHz in the customary version. The machine was manufactured by Newcrest Technology and released for sale in early 1984 as CXG Chess 2001. It was further sold in the USA as the ComputaChess Champion and in Australia as Hanimex HCG1900 ^[2].
Chess 2001 ^[3]

Tournaments

Chess 2001 played a strong European MCC 1983, becoming runner-up behind Advance 3.0, and two Chess 2001s at 8 MHz competed at the WMCCC 1983 in Budapest ^[4], finishing 6th and 8th out of 18 competitors.

Selected Games

WMCCC 1983, round 7, Chess 2001 - Prestige Challenger ^[5]

[Event "WMCCC 1983"]
[Site "Budapest, Hungary"]
[Date "1983.10.19"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Chess 2001"]
[Black "Prestige Challenger"]
[Result "1-0"]
 
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.d3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bd2 O-O 7.e4 d6 8.Qa4 Bd7 
9.Be2 Nd4 10.Qd1 Nxe2 11.Qxe2 Qe7 12.O-O a5 13.Rfc1 a4 14.Nb5 Bxd2 15.Qxd2 
Bg4 16.Qe3 c6 17.Nc3 Be6 18.b3 Ng4 19.Qd2 a3 20.d4 f5 21.exf5 Bxf5 22.Re1 e4 
23.Rad1 Bh7 24.d5 c5 25.h3 Nf6 26.Nh2 b6 27.Nf1 Bg6 28.Na4 Bh5 29.g4 Bf7 
30.Nxb6 Rab8 31.Na4 Nh7 32.Qe3 Qh4 33.Qg3 Qxg3+ 34.Nxg3 Ng5 35.Kg2 Bg6 36.Nc3
Rfe8 37.Re3 Rb6 38.h4 Nf3 39.h5 Bf7 40.Ngxe4 Ng5 41.Nxg5 hxg5 42.Rxe8+ Bxe8 
43.Ne4 Bd7 44.Kf3 Kh7 45.Nxg5+ Kh6 46.Nf7+ Kh7 47.Re1 Kg8 48.Re7 Bc8 49.Ng5
Kf8 50.Ra7 Bb7 51.Ne6+ Kg8 52.g5 Kh8 53.Rxa3 Kh7 54.Ra7 Kg8 55.g6 Rb4 56.Nd8
Kf8 57.Nxb7 Rb6 58.Ra8+ Ke7 59.h6 Kf6 60.h7 Kxg6 61.h8=Q Rxb7 62.Kg4 Rb8 
63.Qxb8 Kh6 64.Qxd6+ Kh7 65.Kf5 g5 66.Qg6# 1-0

Publications

CXG - Chess 2001 - pdf with various articles and references collected by Hein Veldhuis

External Links

Intelligent Chess Software's ICGA Tournaments (includes Chess 2001)
Chess Computers - The UK Story from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
CXG Chess 2001 from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
Computa Chess HCG1900 Electronic Chess Computer from The Spacious Mind
Hanimex HCG 1900 from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
2001: A Space Odyssey (film) from Wikipedia

References

^ Richard Lang - Question & Answer Interview given to a German magazine in 2003, pdf hosted by Mike Watters, Chess Computer UK
^ Chess Computers - The UK Story from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ 8.CXG-CGL: Flickr by Chewbanta
^ CXG - Chess 2001 - pdf with various articels and references collected by Hein Veldhuis
^ Budapest 1983 - Chess - Round 7 - Game 4 (ICGA Tournaments)

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Caesar	May 22, 2016
Chess	Jan 21, 2018
Chess 2001	Jan 8, 2016
Chess 2013	Nov 6, 2013
Cyrus	Jul 22, 2014
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
European MCC 1983	May 22, 2016
Intelligent Chess Software	Jan 8, 2016
Intelligent Software	Dec 11, 2012
La Regence	Jul 23, 2015
Newcrest Technology	Jan 26, 2016
WMCCC 1983	Jun 5, 2017

Up one level

Chess Challenger

GerdIsenberg — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 12:49:08 GMT

Home * Engines * Chess Challenger

		Chess Challenger, or Fidelity Chess Challenger, was a series of dedicated chess computers produced and market by Fidelity Electronics. The Chess Challenger 1 was the first commercial chess computer of its kind in 1976, invented by Sidney Samole, with a program by Ron Nelson, developed for an Altair 8800 Microcomputer with an Intel 8080 CPU. Further versions of Nelson's program run on a more advanced Z80 CPU, great commercial success was the Chess Challenger 7 ^[1] in 1979. Ed English, an early game programmer affiliated with Fidelity Electronics in 1979/80, improved the alpha-beta implementation to double the playing speed ^[2].
Sensory Chess Challenger, 1982, 6502 ^[3]

Photos

Chess Challenger Prototype, 1976, 8080 ^[4] .

Sargon becomes Challenger

In 1980, when Dan and Kathe Spracklen started to collaborate with Samole, a 6502 Version of Chess Challenger was built for a Sargon III port. The 6502 was better suited for Sargon than Z80. Excerpt from their oral history how it went with Fidelity ^[5] :

So, that’s about the time we started looking at Fidelity again. We got in contact with Sid Samole, who was the President of the company, and he said, “Well, come out and see us and bring your- what you got out there and show it to us.” And so we got on a plane and flew out to Miami, and showed off our program to him. And they had their chief engineer, Ron Nelson, look at it, and they were impressed. And so they offered us a big contract, basically, to go to work for them, basically, fulltime. And we didn’t have to go to Miami. We could stay in San Diego.

They had the Chess Challenger 1, I think, out at the time, or 2, and they were looking for something better. Our program, that we brought with us, just shellacked their program. We had a little tournament there, in Miami, just a little, between us, on our- the one we brought with us. And they were impressed.

And we continued to sell both through, or Sargon, through Hayden. So Fidelity didn’t mind that. The said that’s cool. They didn’t see it as a competition with them.

WMCCC 1980, MCC 1980

The immediate success was the lucky win of the 1st World Microcomputer Chess Championship, September 4 to 9, 1980, in London. Chess Challenger with a 6502 CPU, notably winning last three of five rounds against three of four other Sargon incarnations! While the ICGA tournament site states a Z80A CPU ^[6], Kevin O’Connell reported the World Microcomputer Chess Champion was equipped with a MOS Technology processor, despite newest Fidelity computers were shipped with Z80/Z80A ^[7]. As further confirmed by Fidelity Electronics' Vice President Myron Samole in an Personal Computing interview, the Champion Sensory Challenger, which also won the MCC 1980 at September 5 to 7 in San Jose, California had a program written around the 6502 chip ^[8].

German Chess Challenger brochure with Prof. Heinz Haber endorsement ^[9]
Chess Challenger Sensory Voice ^[10], a Z80 based Nelson Program as Micro Champ? ^[11]

WCCC 1980

The Chess Challenger which played the WCCC 1980 end of September in Linz and finished last was presumably an older Z80 based computer with a Nelson program ^[12]. Fidelity's flagship end of the 70s, with World Champion 1980 advertisement was the Chess Challenger Sensory Voice. The first 6502 based computer with a Spracklen program commercially available appeared in 1981 as Champion Sensory Chess Challenger ^[13] .

ACM 1980

The strong third place at the ACM 1980 in October was again a great success, only losing to Belle in the last round ^[14]. Description given from the ACM booklet with mentioned authors Dan and Kathe Spracklen, Ronald Nelson, Frank Duason ^[15]

This marks the first appearance in an ACM tournament for this popular machine. Chess Challenger is written in assembly language for a 6502 microprocessor. It has 20k bytes of memory and executes about 1,000,000 inst/sec. A book of about 1,000 moves is used. The program uses the alpha-beta algorithm with iterative deepening.

Name Confusion

Using the same name at almost the same time for programs with different authors and CPU architectures caused some confusion by potential customers, not to mention tournament organizers. Accordant to their product lineup and nomination, and caused by former tournament rules, permitting multiple, but different named entries from the same author, and commercial availability of participating computers, Fidelity Electronics somehow was "forced" to continue the naming obfuscation in further tournaments, where Fidelity computers with Spracklen programs participated as Fidelity X, Challenger-X, Elegance, Elite, Private Line, and Sensory.

Chess Challenger X

ACM 1986

In 1986, at the 17th ACM North American Computer Chess Championship, Fidelity showed up with a huge experimental, parallel machine, named Chess Challenger X. Authors were Ron Nelson, Dan Spracklen, Kathe Spracklen, and Danny Kopec as Book author. It had a Z80 controller, and 16 or more 68000 16-bit processors. The controller was written in C, the 16 or more Spracklen programs in assembler ^[16].

Chess Challenger X scored 50%, losing from Recom and Belle. Notably, in the same tournament, another Fidelity computer programmed by the Spracklens with a Kopec book took part, as Fidelity Experimental with a 68020 processor. It did not score better in that strong field and finally placed 10th.

ACM 1988

At the ACM 1988, the new experimental version of a 68030 based micro called Chess Challenger X showed a remarkable performance. Mentioned authors from the tournament report by Monty Newborn and Danny Kopec ^[17] were Dan and Kathe Spracklen as well as Ron Nelson. The 32-bit program, written in 68030 assembly language, drew Deep Thought and won versus Waycool, the current World Champion Cray Blitz, and HiTech. Chess Challenger X was likely the forerunner of the commercial available Fidelity Elite Avant Garde V9 ^[18] . One year later, at the WCCC 1989 in Edmonton, a similar machine, presumably with a further developed program, played under the name Fidelity X and finished sixth.

CC Clones

Publications

1978 ...

Editor (1978). Black-box war. Personal Computing, Vol. 2, No. 11, pp. 17, November 1978 » Boris
Don Gerue, Russ McNeil (1979). Chess Challenger-10 wins Microchess Tourney. Personal Computing, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 63 » The Penrod Memorial Microchess Tournament
John Larkins (1979). Inside Chess Challenger. Personal Computing, Vol. 3, No. 11, pp. 78
Editor (1979). Misadvantages of a Chess Traveler. Personal Computing, Vol. 3, No. 12, pp. 75

1980 ...

Sidney Samole (1980). Genius Offspring. Changing Times, refers Personal Computing, February 1979
Evan Katz (1980). Chess Challenger's Voice comes out of Both Sides of its Mouth. Personal Computing, Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 80
Harry Shershow (1981). The MyChess-CSC Confrontation at San Jose. Personal Computing, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 79 » MCC 1980, Interviews with David Kittinger and Mike Samole
John F. White (1981). Survey-Chess Games. Your Computer, August/September 1981
John F. White (1982). Review-Morphy V Champion. Your Computer, January 1982
John F. White (1982). Review-Chess Computers. Your Computer, March 1982

2000 ...

Rob van Son (2002). De schaakcomputer daagt u uit!. Computerschaak, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch)

Forum Posts

1998 ...

Re: Old chess challenger 7 algorithms by Fernando Villegas, CCC, April 06, 1998
Something More About Chess Challenger 7 by Fernando Villegas, CCC, April 06, 1998
Fidelity Sensory Chess Challenger 8 by Jim Phillips, CCC, September 20, 1998
Fidelity Chess Challenger 7 by Joseph R. Coppola, CCC, January 21, 1999

2000 ...

Instruction Book For Fidelity Chess Challenger by John Burton, CCC, February 22, 2000
What was Chess Challenger 7 thinking? by Rich Van Gaasbeck, CCC, March 06, 2002
I Think I have Chess Challenger 7 search depths correctly now by Rich Van Gaasbeck, CCC, March 08, 2002
Fidelity Sensory Chess Challenger 8 by Eric Guttenberg, CCC, February 20, 2005
Chess Champion Sensory Challenger Asked by Fernando Villegas, CCC, March 06, 2006

2010 ...

Fidelity World Champion Challenger by Larry, Hiarcs Forum, December 03, 2013
Ron Nelsons dedicated chess computers by mclane, Hiarcs Forum, April 26, 2015
Re: Ron Nelson by ChessChallenger, Hiarcs Forum, December 29, 2015
Re: Ron Nelson by Chessmaster Ireland, Hiarcs Forum, January 02, 2016
Re: Ron Nelson Chess Challenger 10 by ChessChallenger, Hiarcs Forum, January 24, 2016
Re: Ron Nelson maybe will come here... by Ron Nelson, CCC, February 03, 2016
Fidelity Chess Challenger 3 Components by ChessChallenger, Hiarcs Forum, February 03, 2016

External Links

Challenger's ICGA Tournaments
Fidelity Electronics from chesscomputers.org
Fidelity Champion Sensory Challenger Electronic Chess Computer from The Spacious Mind
Fidelity Chess Challenger 1 from Adam's Computer Chess Pages, May 30, 2012
Fidelity from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Sargon immer noch Marktführer:: Mikros noch ohne Großmeister-Format, Computerwoche, November 28, 1980 (German) » WCCC 1980, WMCCC 1980

Chess Challenger Voices

hosted by Tom Luif

Editions

Year	Product Link(s) ^[19] ^[20]	Author(s)	Processor	Tournaments
1977	Fidelity Chess Challenger 1 Fidelity Chess Challenger (CC1) Fidelity Chess Challenger 1	Ron Nelson	8080
	Fidelity Chess Challenger 3 Chess Challenger 3, CC1 vs CC3	Ron Nelson	8080, 2 MHz
1978	Fidelity Chess Challenger 10	Ron Nelson	Z80, 4 MHz
1979	Fidelity Chess Challenger 7	Ron Nelson	Z80
	Fidelity Chess Challenger Voice	Ron Nelson	Z80, 4 MHz
1980	Fidelity Voice Sensory Chess Challenger	Ron Nelson	Z80, 4 MHz
	Fidelity Decorator Challenger	Ron Nelson	Z80, 4 MHz
1981	Fidelity Chess Challenger Mini Sensory	Ron Nelson	80C50, 6 MHz
	Fidelity Champion Sensory Chess Challenger	Dan and Kathe Spracklen	6502, 2 MHz	WMCCC 1980, 1st
1982	Fidelity Super 9 Sensory Chess Challenger Fidelity Super 9	Dan and Kathe Spracklen	6502, 2 MHz
	Fidelity USCF Special Edition Fidelity USCF Special Edition	Dan and Kathe Spracklen	6502, 2.5 MHz
1986	Chess Challenger X	Dan and Kathe Spracklen Ron Nelson, Danny Kopec	Z80, 16 x 68000	ACM 1986, 7th
1988	Chess Challenger X	Dan and Kathe Spracklen Ron Nelson	68030	ACM 1988, 2nd

References

^ Chess Challenger 7 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Ed English | LinkedIn
^ Sensory Chess Challenger, 1982 from The Computer History Museum
^ Chess Challenger Prototype from World Chess Hall of Fame and Sidney Samole Chess Museum, see Sidney Samole and Fidelity Electronics from chesscomputers.org
^ Gardner Hendrie (2005). Oral History of Kathe and Dan Spracklen. pdf from The Computer History Museum
^ 1st World Microcomputer Chess Championship - ICGA Tournaments
^ Kevin O’Connell (1980). World Microcomputer Chess Championship. Personal Computer World, November 1980
^ Harry Shershow (1981). The MyChess-CSC Confrontation at San Jose. Personal Computing, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 79-81
^ Grand Master Voice 1980 Brochure | Flickr - Fotosharing by Chewbanta
^ Fidelity Chess Challenger Voice from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Fidelity CC Sencory Voice was a Z80 based Nelson program, and not the 6502 based Spracklen program which won the WMCCC 1980
^ Sargon immer noch Marktführer:: Mikros noch ohne Großmeister-Format, Computerwoche, November 28, 1980 (German)
^ Fidelity CC Champion from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ "Belle" wurde auch US-Champion 1980: Frecher Schachzwerg beweist Kaltblütigkeit, January 23, 1981, Computerwoche 3/1981 (German)
^ The Eleventh ACM's North American Computer Chess Championship, pdf from The Computer History Museum
^ The ACM's Seventeenth North American Computer Chess Championship and The Sixth World Microcomputer Chess Championship from The Computer History Museum, pdf
^ Monty Newborn and Danny Kopec (1989). Results of The Nineteenth ACM North American Computer Chess Championship, in The Twentieth ACM North American Computer Chess Championship from The Computer History Museum, pdf
^ Fidelity Elite Avant Garde V9 from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Fidelity from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
68030	Jun 7, 2016
ACM 1980	Dec 25, 2017
ACM 1981	Jan 19, 2018
ACM 1986	Dec 5, 2017
ACM 1988	Dec 5, 2017
Alexander Bitman	Jun 2, 2015
Applied Concepts	Dec 25, 2017
Boris	Dec 25, 2017
Cassia Chess Mate	Dec 8, 2016
Chafitz	Dec 25, 2017
Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5	Sep 9, 2017
Chafitz Modular Game System	Dec 25, 2017
Chess 2001	Jan 8, 2016
Chess Challenger	Dec 27, 2017
Chess Partner 2000	Jun 21, 2017
Computerworld	Sep 9, 2017
CPWTIPC 1981	Oct 12, 2013
CXG Sensor Computachess	Jun 23, 2017
Dan Spracklen	Jan 17, 2017
David B. Goodrich	Nov 9, 2015
Dedicated Chess Computers	Feb 20, 2018
Douglas Penrod	Dec 22, 2017
Ed English	Jun 30, 2013
Elegance	Jan 8, 2016
Elite	Oct 1, 2016
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Eric White	Jan 27, 2016
European Microcomputer Chess Championship	May 22, 2016
Excel	Dec 5, 2016
Excellence	Mar 23, 2014
Fernando Villegas	Aug 15, 2016
Fidelity	Jan 7, 2016
Fidelity Electronics	Dec 1, 2017
Fritz	Feb 26, 2018
Gedeon	Jan 8, 2016
Joseph Sugarman	Jun 19, 2013
Kai Himstedt	Jun 28, 2016
Kathe Spracklen	Dec 25, 2017
MCC 1980	Dec 27, 2017
MCCT 1978	Dec 22, 2017
Newcrest Technology	Jan 26, 2016
PCW Microcomputer Chess Championship	May 22, 2016
PCW-MCC 1978	Dec 9, 2012
PCW-MCC 1979	Dec 23, 2017
Personal Computing	Dec 27, 2017
Peter Reckwitz	Dec 9, 2015
Peter-Ingolf Gericke	Sep 5, 2014
Private Line	Jan 8, 2016
Rob van Son	Dec 27, 2017
Ron Nelson	Feb 4, 2016
Sargon	Dec 25, 2017
SC 1	Dec 9, 2013
SC 2	Oct 4, 2014
Sensory 9	Jan 8, 2016
Sidney Samole	Dec 27, 2017
Stockholm MCCT 1979	Oct 12, 2013
Stockholm MCCT 1980	Sep 5, 2017
Stockholm MCCT 1981	Oct 12, 2013
Terry Everett	Dec 1, 2017
The Penrod Memorial Microchess Tournament	Dec 22, 2017
United States Open Computer Chess Championship	Dec 2, 2017
USOCCC 1986	Dec 1, 2017
VEB Mikroelektronik Erfurt	Oct 27, 2013
Viktor	Jan 8, 2016
WCCC 1980	Dec 25, 2017
WMCCC 1980	Dec 25, 2017
WMCCC 1981	Apr 3, 2017
WMCCC 1983	Jun 5, 2017
WMCCC 1988	Oct 27, 2016
World Microcomputer Chess Championship	Jan 7, 2016

Up one level

Chess Champion Mark IV

GerdIsenberg — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 10:35:53 GMT

Home * Engines * Chess Champion Mark IV

		Chess Champion Mark IV, (Chess Champion Super System Mark IV) a dedicated chess computer manufactured and released by SciSys in 1981 as successor of the Chess Champion Super System III. The computer had a 6502 CPU @ 2MHz with a 12 KiB Philidor Software program written by Mike Johnson, and was superseded by the Chess Champion Mark V later in 81 ^[1] . Chess Champion Mark IV participated at the CPWTIPC 1981, where it lost the last round by default because the computer was stolen after round 6 ^[2] .
Chess Champion Mark IV ^[3]

Publications

Chess Champion Super System MK IV (pdf) by Hein Veldhuis

External Links

References

^ Chess Champion Super System IV from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Kevin O’Connell (1981). MicroChess - Paris Tournament. Personal Computer World, August 1981
^ 5.Scisys/Saitek | Flickr - Fotosharing by Chewbanta

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Chess Champion Mark IV	Dec 9, 2012
Chess Champion Mark V	Sep 7, 2017
Chess Champion Super System III	Sep 17, 2015
CPWTIPC 1981	Oct 12, 2013
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Mike Johnson	Jan 7, 2016
Novag Micro Chess	Jan 16, 2013
Philidor Software	Sep 18, 2014
Saitek	Jun 11, 2016

Up one level

Chess Champion Mark V

GerdIsenberg — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 09:52:12 GMT

Home * Engines * Chess Champion Mark V

		Chess Champion Mark V, a dedicated chess computer manufactured by Scisys-W Ltd. Hong Kong from 1981. Primary author of a Z80 based development version was David Broughton, while the translation to the 6502 production version was done by Mark Taylor ^[1] . Both programmers were recruited into Levy's and O’Connell's company Philidor Software which was closely related to Winkler's Scisys-W Ltd. who manufactured and traded most of their computers until in summer 1981 Levy and O’Connell decided to loosen their relationship with SciSys and founded their new software company Intelligent Software ^[2] ^[3]. In September 1981, the Chess Champion Mark V won the commercial group of the 2nd World Microcomputer Chess Championship in Travemünde, West Germany. The Mark V had an LCD-board, a striking, futuristic design and many new features. For instance, it could play simultaneously on up to 12 internal boards. The initial success could not be sustained with a strong upgrade. The Chess Champion Mark VI ^[4] ^[5] module that followed a year or two later was only marginally stronger than the Mark V. A piece recognition sensory board was planned and patented but after much delay SciSys released a flawed auto sensory board instead. The Mark VI and sensory board were a commercial flop ^[6] .
Chess Champion Mark V ^[7]

SX Algorithm

The Chess Champion Mark V was mentioned to use the first version of the SEX Algorithm then called SX Algorithm , which used fractional plies for extensions and reductions ^[8] ^[9] :

Our first attempts to formalize this idea were in 1981 when one of us (David Broughton) replaced the usual integer depth (which simply controlled the maximum ply depth) with an integer SX. The SX parameter started out at the root node with some positive value, in a similar way to maximum depth, but instead of being decremented by one at each ply it would be decremented by a number determined by the type (or category) of move just made in the tree. When SX was decremented below zero this signaled the end of the search, except for the usual terminal node evaluations.

While they started the first iteration of an ID framework with a SX-value of 10, which was incremented by 7 or 8 in further iterations, the depth decrement SXDEC was determined by static move properties, varying from 3 for the first check, to 7 for further tactical moves such as captures and attacking moves, up to 21, 24 or even 34 for non-tactical and apparently loosing moves. Those latter high decrements and reductions gave the Mark V the characteristic of a Shannon Type B program, which caused some tactical oversights with quiet moves involved, but made the program a strong mate solver for that time.

Publications

Editor (1982). March 1982-News - Experts confounded as machine out-thinks Grandmaster Nunn. Your Computer, March 1982
John F. White (1982). Review-Chess Computers. Your Computer, March 1982
Max Bramer (1982). Chess - Chess Champion Mark V’s ability at solving chess problems. Computer & Video Games, April 1982, pdf hosted by Mike Watters
David Levy, David Broughton, Mark Taylor (1989). The SEX Algorithm in Computer Chess. ICCA Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1

External Links

Chess Champion Mark V (ICGA Tournaments)
Chess Champion Mark V from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Chess Computers - The UK Story from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Scisys and Novag : The Early Years from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
SciSys Chess Champion Mark V from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German, parts in English)

References

^ David Levy interview from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki
^ Chess Computers - The UK Story from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Tony Harrington (1983). Intelligent Software. Personal Computer World, April 1983, pdf hosted by Mike Watters
^ Chess Champion Mark VI + Sensor Board from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ SciSys Chess Champion Mark VI from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
^ Chess Computers - The UK Story from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Chess Champion Mark V from 5.Scisys/Saitek | Flickr - Photo Sharing! by Chewbanta
^ David Levy, David Broughton, Mark Taylor (1989). The SEX Algorithm in Computer Chess. ICCA Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1
^ ICCA1989 12 1 part.jpg from Schachcomputer.info Wiki

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Aubervilliers Rapid Open	Mar 25, 2017
Chess Champion Mark IV	Dec 9, 2012
Chess Champion Mark V	Sep 7, 2017
CPWTIPC 1981	Oct 12, 2013
David Broughton	Jan 7, 2016
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
European MCC 1981	May 22, 2016
European MCC 1982	May 22, 2016
Intelligent Software	Dec 11, 2012
Mark Taylor	Jan 7, 2016
Max Bramer	May 20, 2014
Milton Bradley Phantom	Apr 18, 2016
Philidor	Jan 7, 2016
Philidor Software	Sep 18, 2014
Saitek	Jun 11, 2016
SEX Algorithm	Nov 25, 2014
Stockholm MCCT 1981	Oct 12, 2013
Vega	Jan 8, 2016
WMCCC 1981	Apr 3, 2017
World Microcomputer Chess Championship	Jan 7, 2016

Up one level

Chess Champion MK I

GerdIsenberg — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 11:20:03 GMT

Home * Engines * Chess Champion MK I

		The Chess Champion MK I was Novag's first dedicated chess computer released in September 1978. It had a Fairchild F8 8-Bit processor running at 1.78 MHz, with 2 KiB ROM and 256 byte RAM. The program was a clone of the Data Cash Systems Inc. CompuChess program, which was developed by David B. Goodrich & Associates ^[1] , while other sources assume David Levy was involved in the development ^[2] ^[3] . Since the cloned software was already more than a year old, it was a weak program even for that early time. Additionally the program could only play with Black, accepted illegal moves, and could even play without Kings. With its strongest level 6, it usually replied not until several days with a move found ^[4]. It was marketed in the US by JS&A, and in Germany by Horten ^[5] and Quelle in different outward variations ^[6].
Chess Champion MK I ^[7]

Karpov Challenge

Legal Actions

Data Cash Systems vs JS&A

Karpov Challenge

The MK I was sold in the USA by Joseph Sugarman's company as JS&A Chess computer. They challenged World Champion Anatoly Karpov and offered him $50,000 and a percentage of each unit sold. Karpov first rejected, and later accepted to endorse the game, but offered to let JS&A spend the money on advertisement to spread the word ^[8] ^[9] .

Legal Actions

Data Cash Systems vs JS&A

In 1979 Data Cash Systems took legal action against JS&A for breach of copyright ^[10] , which failed because it transpired that the copyright had not been adequately protected in terms of USA law ^[11] ^[12] ^[13] ^[14].

Karpov's Endorsement

In the meantime Peter Auge had made his own arrangements with Anatoly Karpov, presumably with connections to FIDE president Florencio Campomanes and Alfred Kinzel, president of the German Chess Federation ^[15] ^[16], who was also involved the weak computer was distinguished in Germany with a "King's Diplom" ^[17]. Karpov appeared as advisor on the original Novag MK I boxes ^[18] ^[19]. The internals of Karpov's Novag advertisement salaries, not only for the MK I, but also subsequently the Chess Champion MK II ^[20], and Chess Champion Super System III ^[21], went public during the World Chess Championship 1985 when a first Spiegel article appeared in September 30, 1985, which according to Karpov was discrediting him, and the disturbance of the Jungwirth case ^[22]^[23] was allegedly one reason he lost the title to Kasparov, losing three of nine games short after in October 1985. Karpov's former German representative Helmut Jungwirth ^[24] was impeached of misappropriation of Karpov's salary afterwards ^[25]. Accordant to a further Spiegel article ^[26], Peter Auge had transcribed 22 checks to Jungwirth, in total $446,177.50 from December 8, 1978 to January 17, 1981. Jungwirth claimed he paid Karpov partly cash and was also endowed for other services, which Karpov categorical denied at a hearing of witnesses in Berlin ^[27].

Novag Chess Champion MK 1, German Edition, Box with Karpov Endorsement
and "King's Diplom" from the German Chess Federation ^[28]

Publications

Novag - Chess Champion MK I (with Spassky packaging) pdf by Hein Veldhuis
Novag - Chess Champion MK I (A) (with Karpov packaging) pdf by Hein Veldhuis
Betriebsanleitung Schach Computer Chess Champion MK I
Partner für einsame Anfänger, Der Spiegel 40/1978, October 02, 1978 (German)
Horten macht's möglich: Schach-Computer für 250 Mark, October 13, 1978 Computerwoche 42/1978 (German)
Boris Spassky testete den "Chess-Champion MK 1 " von Horten: Der kleine Großmeister in der Aktentasche October 27, 1978 Computerwoche 44/1978 (German)
Schachcomputer: Markt und Müll, Der Spiegel 49/1979, December 03, 1979, (German) pdf
Anatolij Karpow, Der Spiegel 1/1987, December 29, 1986, (German) pdf
Toljas teure Sprüche, Der Spiegel 33/1988, August 15, 1988, (German) pdf
Die Affäre kostete mich den Titel, Der Spiegel 52/1988, December 26, 1988, (German) pdf

External Links

Scisys and Novag : The Early Years from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Chess Champion MK I from MESS Wiki! (Multi Emulator Super System)
Novag MK 1 by Hein Veldhuis
Novag MK 1 Folder by Hein Veldhuis
Chess Champion Mk 1 by Tom Luif
Novag Chess Champion MK I from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
Novag Chess Champion MK 1 from Kurt´s Schachcomputer Homepage by Kurt Kispert (German)
NOVAG MK 1 from Museo Computadoras (Spanish)
CHESS CHAMPION MK1 first German release with Boris Spassky as advisor, from My Chess Computers - Prehistory
CHESS CHAMPION MK1 French release with Karpov on the box, from My Chess Computers - Prehistory

References

^ CompuChess from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki
^ Scisys and Novag : The Early Years from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Chess Champion Mk 1 by Tom Luif
^ Novag - Chess Champion MK I by Hein Veldhuis, Dutch and German pdf
^ Horten macht's möglich: Schach-Computer für 250 Mark, October 13, 1978 Computerwoche 42/1978 (German)
^ Novag Chess Champion MK I from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
^ Chess Champion Mk 1 by Tom Luif
^ Karpov Accepts - Popular Science March 1979 - Google Books
^ The Adweek copywriting handbook: the ultimate guide to writing powerful ... - Google Books by Joseph Sugarman
^ DATA CASH Systems, Inc. v. JS&A Group, Inc., et al.
^ Scisys and Novag : The Early Years from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Data Cash Systems v. JS&A Group - The IT Law Wiki
^ Data Cash Systems, Inc. v. JS&A GROUP, INC., 480 F. Supp. 1063 - Dist. Court, ND Illinois 1979 - Google Scholar
^ Data Cash Systems, Inc. v. JS&A GROUP, INC., 628 F. 2d 1038 - Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1980 - Google Scholar
^ 125 Jahre Deutscher Schachbund, May 11, 2002, ChessBase Events (German)
^ Risse im Netz, Der Spiegel 44/1985, October 28, 1985, (German) pdf
^ Schachcomputer: Markt und Müll, Der Spiegel 49/1979, December 03, 1979, (German) pdf
^ Novag Chess Champion MK 1 from Kurt´s Schachcomputer Homepage by Kurt Kispert (German)
^ Novag - Chess Champion MK I by Hein Veldhuis, Dutch and German pdf
^ CHESS CHAMPION MK II with Karpov on the box, from My Chess Computers - Prehistory
^ Scisys and Novag : The Early Years from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Der Fall Jungwirth - Schachweltmeisterschaft 1985 from Wikipedia.de (German)
^ Die Affäre kostete mich den Titel, Der Spiegel 52/1988, December 26, 1988, (German) pdf
^ Weißer Bauer zieht, Der Spiegel 19/1976, May 03, 1976, (German) pdf
^ Anatolij Karpow, Der Spiegel 1/1987, December 29, 1986, (German) pdf
^ Toljas teure Sprüche, Der Spiegel 33/1988, August 15, 1988, (German) pdf
^ Haftstrafe für Helmut Jungwirth, Hamburger Abendblatt, December 01, 1988 (German)
^ Novag Chess Champion MK 1 from Kurt´s Schachcomputer Homepage by Kurt Kispert (German)

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Chess Champion MK I	Jul 31, 2015
Chess Champion MK II	Jul 30, 2015
Chess Champion Pocket Chess	Sep 19, 2014
Chess Champion Super System III	Sep 17, 2015
CompuChess	Jul 31, 2015
Computerworld	Sep 9, 2017
David B. Goodrich	Nov 9, 2015
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Fairchild F8	Jul 31, 2015
Joseph Sugarman	Jun 19, 2013
Novag	Aug 19, 2015
Peter Auge	Jul 13, 2017
SABA Videoplay 20	Sep 19, 2014
Stockholm MCCT 1979	Oct 12, 2013

Up one level

Chess Champion MK II

GerdIsenberg — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 14:49:14 GMT

Home * Engines * Chess Champion MK II

		Chess Champion MK II, Novag's second dedicated chess computer released in 1979. It had a 6502 compatible 6504 8-Bit processor running with 1 MHz, 5 KiB ROM, and 320 bytes RAM. The program was based on Peter Jennings' Microchess 1.5.
Chess Champion MK II ^[1]

Publications

Schachcomputer: Markt und Müll, Der Spiegel 49/1979, December 03, 1979, (German) pdf

External Links

Scisys and Novag : The Early Years from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Novag MK 2 by Hein Veldhuis
Ch. Champ. Mk II (rectang.) by Tom Luif
Novag Chess Champion MK II from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
Novag Chess Champion MK II from Kurt´s Schachcomputer Homepage by Kurt Kispert (German)
NOVAG MK II - A from Museo Computadoras (Spanish)

References

^ MK II from Novag | Photo collection by Chewbanta

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Chess Champion MK I	Jul 31, 2015
Chess Champion MK II	Jul 30, 2015
Chess Champion Super System III	Sep 17, 2015
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
MicroChess	Jul 14, 2015
Novag	Aug 19, 2015
Peter Jennings	Mar 18, 2016
Stockholm MCCT 1979	Oct 12, 2013

Up one level

Chess Champion Pocket Chess

GerdIsenberg — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 09:43:12 GMT

Home * Engines * Chess Champion Pocket Chess

		Chess Champion Pocket Chess, (Chess Traveler) a dedicated travel chess computer by SciSys and identical by Novag, first released in 1980, also licensed by other vendors under various brand names, such as Acetronic Chess Traveller, Prinztronic Chess Traveller, Ingersoll Chess Traveler and Tandy Computerized Chess ^[1] ^[2]. The Chess Champion Pocket Chess has a four digit 7-segment LED display, a small pegboard without sensors, and a keypad to enter moves. The Intercontinental Traveler, released in 1982 by SciSys and Novag as well, had an LCD. The Philidor Software program, written by Mike Johnson under assistance of David Levy ^[3], ran under a Fairchild F8 3850/3851 compatible 3870 controller using 2 KiB of ROM and comfortable 320 Bytes of RAM, since the internal 64 bytes of the 3870 were expanded by an external 256x8 static RAM chip ^[4]. Thanks to Sean Riddle, the Acetronic Chess Traveller is playable under the Multi Emulator Super System MESS ^[5].
Chess Champion Pocket Chess ^[6]

Publications

Hans-Peter Ketterling (1981). Computer auf dem Vormarsch - VI Teil. Europa-Rochade, 04-1981, in Novag & SciSys – Chess Champion Pocket Chess, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch and German)

External Links

SciSys

Chess Champion Pocket Chess from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Chess Champion Pocket Chess by Tom Luif
SciSys Chess Champion Pocket Chess from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
SciSys Intercontinental Traveler from The Spacious Mind
SciSys Intercontinental Traveler from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)

Novag

Novag Chess Champion Pocket Chess by Tom Luif
Novag Chess Champion Pocket Chess from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)

Acetronic

Acetronic Chess Traveller by Tom Luif
Acetronic - Chess Traveller
Other F8 games - Acetronic Chess Traveler by Sean Riddle - playable in MESS

Prinztronic

Tandy

Tandy Computerized Chess from The Spacious Mind
Tandy Computerized Chess from ChessBin.com by Adam Berent
Tandy Computerized Chess by Tom Luif

References

^ Chess Champion Pocket Chess from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Klone from Schachcomputer.info Wiki
^ Hans-Peter Ketterling (1981). Computer auf dem Vormarsch - VI Teil. Europa-Rochade, 04-1981, in Novag & SciSys – Chess Champion Pocket Chess, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch and German)
^ 3539-1CD 256x8 static RAM Datasheet (pdf)
^ Other F8 games - Acetronic Chess Traveler by Sean Riddle - playable in MESS
^ Image from Chess Champion Pocket Chess from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Chess Champion Pocket Chess	Sep 19, 2014
Chess Partner 2000	Jun 21, 2017
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Fairchild F8	Jul 31, 2015
Mike Johnson	Jan 7, 2016
Novag	Aug 19, 2015
Philidor Software	Sep 18, 2014
SABA Videoplay 20	Sep 19, 2014
Saitek	Jun 11, 2016

Up one level

Chess Champion Super System III

GerdIsenberg — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 10:27:22 GMT

Home * Engines * Chess Champion Super System III

		Chess Champion Super System III, (Chess System III, Super System III, ChessMaster) Novag's third dedicated chess computer released in 1979, at about the time that the Novag / SciSys split took place. After the early sales period different SciSys and Novag versions of the Super System III emerged, the early Chess System III, the later SciSys ChessMaster, and the Chess Champion Super System III by Novag ^[1]. The chess computer had a 6502 CPU with a Philidor Software program written by Mike Johnson, supported by David Levy with expertise in search heuristics, also providing the opening library. The program and book was stored in 8 KiB of ROM, and used 1 KiB of RAM. It was a kind of modular system with a computer unit, and optionally, a pluggable printer and the very first LCD-chessboard.
Super System III with LCD Display ^[2]

Oversight

During the 1980 Chess Tournament in Bad Kissingen, Germany ^[3], sponsored by Horten, a German department store chain and primary German Novag distributor ^[4], Anatoly Karpov played 25 Super System IIIs in a simultaneous exhibition. In one game he was rather lucky that the program, a rook up, uncorked 32... Rfd8 overlooking mate in one, instead of Qb8 ^[5] ^[6]:

[Event "Karpov Simultaneous"]
[Site "Bad Kissingen"]
[Date "1980.01.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anatoly Karpov"]
[Black "Super System III"]
[Result "1-0"]
 
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 Bc5 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.d3 Be6 
8.a3 a5 9.h3 Qe7 10.Rb1 Bf5 11.Bg5 Kh8 12.Nd5 Qd8 13.b4 axb4 
14.axb4 Ba7 15.Ra1 h6 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Qd2 Kh7 18.Nh4 Be6 19.Be4+ 
Kg7 20.g4 Nd4 21.Kh2 Nb3 22.Qb2 Nxa1 23.e3 c6 24.Nc3 d5 25.cxd5 
cxd5 26.Bg2 d4 27.Nb5 Qb6 28.Nxa7 Qxa7 29.f4 dxe3 30.fxe5 fxe5 
31.Qxe5+ Kg8 32.Ng6 Rfd8 33.Qh8# 1-0

r4rk1/qp3p2/4b1Np/4Q3/1P4P1/3Pp2P/6BK/n4R2 b - - 2 32

Publications

Novag - Chess Champion Super System III pdf by Hein Veldhuis
Schachcomputer: Markt und Müll, Der Spiegel 49/1979, December 03, 1979, (German) pdf
John F. White (1981). Survey-Chess Games. Your Computer, August/September 1981

External Links

Chess Computer

Chess Champion Super System III from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Scisys and Novag : The Early Years from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Novag SS 3 by Hein Veldhuis
Novag Chess Champion Super System MK III from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)

Misc

References

^ Scisys and Novag : The Early Years from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Close UP Of SSIII LCD Display | Flickr - Fotosharing by Chewbanta
^ Bad Kissingen 1980 - 365Chess.com Tournaments
^ Horten macht's möglich: Schach-Computer für 250 Mark, October 13, 1978 Computerwoche 42/1978 (German)
^ Chess Champion Super System III from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Anatoly Karpov vs Super System III from chessgames.com

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Chess Champion Mark IV	Dec 9, 2012
Chess Champion MK I	Jul 31, 2015
Chess Champion MK II	Jul 30, 2015
Chess Champion Super System III	Sep 17, 2015
Chess-Master	Sep 7, 2017
Chessmaster	Jan 21, 2018
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Intelligent Chess	Apr 14, 2013
MCC 1980	Dec 27, 2017
Mike Johnson	Jan 7, 2016
Novag	Aug 19, 2015
Philidor Software	Sep 18, 2014
Saitek	Jun 11, 2016
Supra	Jul 24, 2016

Up one level

Chess Partner 2000

GerdIsenberg — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 12:38:57 GMT

Home * Engines * Chess Partner 2000

		Chess Partner 2000, a dedicated chess computer developed by Philidor Software, manufactured by SciSys, and distributed by SciSys and Novag in 1980. The computer has a Fairchild F8 processor, 4 KiB ROM and 320 Byte RAM and ran a program by Mike Johnson ^[1], and was the second Sensory Board chess computer to be produced, six months after the the Fidelity CC Sensory Voice ^[2]. Chess Partner 2000 played the Chess Programs World Tournament in Personal Computers in Paris.
Chess Partner 2000 ^[3]

Publications

Hans-Peter Ketterling (1981). Computer auf dem Vormarsch - VIII Teil - Chess Partner 2000. Europa-Rochade, 11-1981, in Novag - Chess Champion Chess Partner 2000, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch and German)

External Links

Chess Partner 2000 by Mike Watters
SciSys and Novag : The Early Years by Mike Watters
Novag Chess Partner 2000 by Tom Luif
Novag Chess Partner 2000 from The Spacious Mind
Scisys Chess Partner from blitzchess.fr by Eric Belot
Ismenio's chess computer collection - Chess Partner 2000
SciSys Chess Partner 2000 from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
Novag Chess Partner 2000 from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
Testbericht "Chess Partner 2000":: Schachcomputer ergreift Eigeninitiative, December 12, 1980, Computerwoche (German)

References

^ Novag - Chess Champion Chess Partner 2000, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis (Dutch and German)
^ Chess Partner 2000 by Mike Watters
^ 4.Novag: Flickr by Chewbanta

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Chess Champion Pocket Chess	Sep 19, 2014
Chess Partner	Jun 21, 2017
Chess Partner 2000	Jun 21, 2017
Computerworld	Sep 9, 2017
CPWTIPC 1981	Oct 12, 2013
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Fairchild F8	Jul 31, 2015
Mike Johnson	Jan 7, 2016
Novag	Aug 19, 2015
Philidor Software	Sep 18, 2014

Up one level

Chess-Master

GerdIsenberg — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 09:53:08 GMT

Home * Engines * Chess-Master

		Chess-Master, a dedicated chess computer series manufactured in the 80s by VEB Mikroelektronik „Karl Marx“ Erfurt, East Germany, in West Germany sold by Radiophon. Chess-Master ran on an 8-bit U880 CPU, which was an unlicensed Z80 clone, and had 10 KB ROM and 2 KB RAM. The chess program was initially written by Dieter Schultze and Rüdiger Worbs. Automatic piece recognition was implemented with Hall effect sensors under each square of the chessboard, while pieces had two reverse directed permanent magnets with different compensation embedded, so that a cyclic running multiplexed I/O program, also polling the keyboard, could recognize the pieces ^[1] ^[2] . Chess-Master played the 3rd World Microcomputer Chess Championship 1983 in Budapest, running on a 2.5 MHz processor, searching 12 - 15 nodes per second ^[3], and competed with Fidelity Sensory 9 for the title of the best commercial entry ^[4].
Chess-Master ^[5]

Chess-Master Table

The Chess-Master Table was a rare piece of jewelry. Only approximately 10 issues were build for special purposes - for instance, one Chess-Master Table was dedicated to Fidel Castro, a gift by Erich Honecker ^[6] ^[7] .

Chess-Master Table ^[8] ^[9]

Chess-Master Diamond

		Chess-Master Diamond, the improved Diamond version was contributed by Rüdiger Worbs and Wolfgang Pähtz ^[10] , and was released in 1987 ^[11] .
Chess-Master Diamond ^[12]

Video Chess-Master

		The Chess-Master program was further ported to the KC 85/2 personal computer (an Amstrad CPC clone) by Wolfgang Pähtz.
Video Chess-Master Screen ^[13]

Publications

Dieter Schultze, Rüdiger Worbs (1986). Schachcomputer Chess-Master CM, rfe, H1, S 19-21 ^[14]
Christian Posthoff, Günter Reinemann (1987). Computerschach - Schachcomputer. Berlin: Akademie-Verl., ISBN-13: 978-3055002281, with cooperation of Rainer Knaak, Michael Schlosser, Rainer Staudte, Rüdiger Worbs, available from Wernis Schachlade - Computerschach
Rainer Hinkeldein, Rüdiger Worbs (1988). Schachcomputer Chess-Master Diamond. rfe, H5, S 316-312
Hans-Peter Ketterling (1988). Nürnberger Messeneuheiten - VEB Mikroelektronik Erfurt - Chessmaster Diamond. Europa-Rochade 03-1988, 04-1988 ^[15]
Thomas Mally (1989). Dinosaurus Hi-Tech - Chess Master “Diamond” nicht ganz Lupenrein. Modul 1/1989 ^[16]
Karsten Bauermeister (1999). Deutsch-Deutsche Geschichte(n). Computerschach und Spiele. No. 5, October-November 1999, pp 32-33 (German)

External Links

Chess-Master's ICGA Tournaments
Rft/VEB Erfurt Chess-Master Electronic Chess Computer from The Spacious Mind
Chess Master by Tom Luif
Chess Master Diamond by Tom Luif
CM, Schachcomputer in der DDR from Wikipedia.de (German)
Chess-Master from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chess-Master Schachtisch from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chess-Master Diamond from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
Chess-Master Diamond from Kurt´s Schachcomputer Homepage by Kurt Kispert (German)
OEM und Sonstiges - Schachcomputer "ChessMaster" from Robotron-net.de (German)
Schachcomputer from robotrontechnik.de (German)

References

^ OEM und Sonstiges - Schachcomputer "ChessMaster" from Robotron-net.de (German)
^ Chess-Master circuit diagram hosted by Robotron-net.de
^ Frederic Friedel (1984). Move from the East. Report of the WMCCC 1983, Personal Computer World, January 1984
^ David Kittinger (1984). Report from Budapest. Computer Chess Digest Annual 1984 pp. 34
^ CM, Schachcomputer in der DDR from Wikipedia.de (German)
^ VEB Mikroelektronik Erfurt from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
^ Karsten Bauermeister (1999). Deutsch-Deutsche Geschichte(n). Computerschach und Spiele. No. 5, October-November 1999, pp 32-33 (German)
^ Kombinat Mikroelektronik Erfurt (KME) from Wikimedia Commons, Photo by Erdmann Schleinitz
^ Chess-Master Schachtisch from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Chess-Master Diamond from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Chess-Master Diamond from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
^ Kombinat Mikroelektronik Erfurt (KME) from Wikimedia Commons, Photo by Erdmann Schleinitz
^ KC-Archiv: gute Spiele(3)
^ OEM und Sonstiges - Schachcomputer "ChessMaster" from Robotron-net.de (German)
^ VEB Mikroelektronik Erfurt - Chess-Master Diamond, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis
^ VEB Mikroelektronik Erfurt - Chess-Master Diamond, pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Chess-Master	Sep 7, 2017
Chessmaster	Jan 21, 2018
Dieter Schultze	Jan 8, 2016
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Hans-Peter Ketterling	Nov 23, 2016
Karsten Bauermeister	Sep 6, 2015
Labirint 64	Dec 21, 2017
Philippe Fabiani	Sep 15, 2016
Piece Recognition	Sep 8, 2017
Rüdiger Worbs	Jan 8, 2016
SC 1	Dec 9, 2013
SC 2	Oct 4, 2014
Sensory 9	Jan 8, 2016
Superstar	Jan 8, 2016
Thomas Mally	Dec 30, 2017
VEB Mikroelektronik Erfurt	Oct 27, 2013
WMCCC 1983	Jun 5, 2017
Wolfgang Pähtz	Mar 6, 2015

Up one level

ChessMachine

GerdIsenberg — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 15:01:09 GMT

Home * Engines * ChessMachine

		ChessMachine, a chess playing entity by TASC, extending an IBM PC with a pluggable ISA card containing an ARM2 RISC processor and RAM from 128 KiB up to 1 MiB, to upload and run two bundled chess programs, either Gideon by Ed Schöder, the World Microcomputer Chess Champion of the WMCCC 1991 and as Chessmachine WK the World Computer Chess Champion of the WCCC 1992 ^[1], and The King by Johan de Koning. The PC had its own control program, and a GUI to interact with the machine, both developed by TASC developer Marc Derksen. The ChessMachine was manufactured and sold between 1991 and 1995 as RISC successor of The Final Chesscard.
ChessMachine ^[2], World Champion 1992 ^[3]

Forum Posts

Interview with world champ chess programmer (long) by Kees de Graaf, rgc, February 05, 1993
Commercial Chess Programs by Michael Valvo, rgc, July 19, 1991 » Fritz, MChess, Zarkov
ChessMachine information? by O. Veli, CCC, November 03, 1999
Some food for thought by Spacious Mind, Hiarcs Forum, November 11, 2013 » Stockfish vs. Tasc CM32 512K The King 2.2

External Links

References

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
3rd Computer Olympiad	Jul 25, 2017
ACM 1991	Nov 25, 2017
ACM 1993	Oct 30, 2017
Acorn Archimedes	Dec 17, 2016
ARM2	Dec 16, 2016
ChessMachine	Feb 26, 2018
Computer Olympiad	Mar 6, 2018
Cumulus	Jan 7, 2016
Dan Spracklen	Jan 17, 2017
Ed Schroder	Feb 26, 2018
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Fritz	Feb 26, 2018
Gideon	Feb 26, 2018
Johan de Koning	Jul 3, 2017
Kasparov Sparc	Jan 17, 2017
Kathe Spracklen	Dec 25, 2017
Marc Derksen	Jul 27, 2015
MChess	Feb 26, 2018
Mephisto Montreux	Jan 8, 2016
Mephisto Polgar	Sep 1, 2017
Mephisto Risc	Sep 1, 2017
Michael Valvo	Feb 26, 2018
Module	Sep 1, 2017
Rebel	Feb 25, 2018
Shannon Trophy	Jul 7, 2017
Stockfish	Apr 7, 2018
Tasc	Sep 7, 2017
Tasc R30	Sep 7, 2017
Tasc R40	Sep 7, 2017
TascBase	Dec 7, 2016
The Final Chesscard	Apr 7, 2013
The King	Jan 21, 2018
The Spacious Mind	Jan 18, 2017
Titan	Jul 3, 2018
WCCC 1992	Feb 26, 2018
Wil Sparreboom	Apr 7, 2013
World Computer Chess Championship	Mar 6, 2018
Zarkov	Feb 26, 2018
Zugzwang (Program)	Dec 19, 2016

Up one level

Commodore ChessMate

GerdIsenberg — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 19:16:50 GMT

Home * Engines * Commodore ChessMate

		Commodore ChessMate, (Commodore CHESSmate) a dedicated chess computer by Commodore with a program based on MicroChess by Peter Jennings, released in 1978. The computer was built in KIM-1 technology and had a MOS Technology processor of the 6502 family, the 28 pin 6504 could only address 8 kibibytes, where the chess program was persistant in 5 kibibytes of ROM, and used only 320 bytes of RAM ^[1] . For user interaction, it had a membrane keyboard, four seven-segment displays, and four further status LEDs. Commodore ChessMate played the Second West Coast Computer Faire Microcomputer Chess Tournament in March 1978, where it became runner-up behind Sargon ^[2].
Commodore ChessMate ^[3]

External Links

DigiBarn: Peter Jennings and his MicroChess, Kim-1, and other wondrous artifacts
Secret Weapons of Commodore: The Commodore CHESSmate by Cameron Kaiser
Commodore Info Page - Articles: The beginning
Ismenio's chess computer collection - Commodore CHESSmate
CHESSmate vs. Videopac C7010 | A Commodore Geek's Blog, February 17, 2012 » Videopac C 7010
Commodore Chessmate from Wikipedia.ru (Russian)
Chessmate from Wikipedia.de (German)
Commodore Chessmate from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
Commodore CHESSmate (German)
Commodore CHESSmate – C64-Wiki (German)
Computermuseum Mannheim - Commodore (German)
Commodore Chessmate | Geschichten eines Sammlers (German)

References

^ Computermuseum Mannheim - Commodore (German)
^ Larry Wagner (1978). Results of First Microcomputer Chess Tournament. Silicon Gulch Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 4, May 10, 1978, pg. 9
^ archive.computerhistory.org - /projects/chess/related_materials/physical-object/, The Computer History Museum

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Cassia Chess Mate	Dec 8, 2016
Chessmate	Dec 12, 2016
Commodore ChessMate	Jan 26, 2016
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Kasparov Chessmate	Sep 6, 2015
KIM-1	Oct 9, 2014
MCCT 1978	Dec 22, 2017
MicroChess	Jul 14, 2015
Peter Jennings	Mar 18, 2016
Videopac C 7010	Oct 9, 2015

Up one Level

CompuChess

GerdIsenberg — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 14:05:25 GMT

Home * Engines * CompuChess

		CompuChess, an early dedicated chess computer with a Fairchild F8 8-Bit processor running at 1.78 MHz, with 2 KiB ROM and 256 bytes RAM, developed by David B. Goodrich & Associates from September 1976 until April 1977, manufactured by Data Cash Systems Inc. and market by a company called Staid Inc., also of Largo, Florida, available from November 1977 ^[1]. In 1978, an exact copy of the ROM appeared in the Novag Chess Champion MK I and Sugarman's JS&A computer ^[2], the ROM produced by the same manufacturer General Instruments Corporation, who informed Data Cash Systems on that incident in June 1978 ^[3]. Since Data Cash Systems didn't adequately protect their copyright, they lost their court case vs. JS&A Group ^[4] ^[5] ^[6], and then their appeal ^[7].
CompuChess ^[8]

Quotes

by David Levy and Monroe Newborn ^[9] ^[10]

... In 1977 the first dedicated chess computers came on the scene. One of these, called CompuChess, had a short lived future under its own name but a much more successful existence in pirated form. The chess playing program in Compuchess was copied by a Hong Kong manufacturer who marketed a product containing the program under the name “Chess Champion MK I.” The copy was exact - no attempt had been made to hide the fact by changing some of the program code. The Chess Champion MK I was an enormous marketing success and the manufacturer was able to buy a 57-foot yacht on the proceeds. Litigation followed, but in those days there was little or no copyright protection available to those who owned computer programs and the suit eventually fizzled out, after lawyers on both sides had no doubt benefited substantially ...

Namesake

CompuChess (PC) ^[11]

Publications

David Levy, Monroe Newborn (1991). How Computers Play Chess. Freeman & Co. ISBN 0-7167-8121-2
Data Cash Systems - CompuChess pdf by Hein Veldhuis
Data Cash Systems - CompuChess The Second Edition pdf by Hein Veldhuis

External Links

References

^ CompuChess from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki by Mike Watters
^ Scisys and Novag : The Early Years from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ CompuChess from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki by Mike Watters
^ DATA CASH Systems, Inc. v. JS&A Group, Inc., et al.
^ Data Cash Systems v. JS&A Group - The IT Law Wiki
^ Data Cash Systems, Inc. v. JS&A GROUP, INC., 480 F. Supp. 1063 - Dist. Court, ND Illinois 1979 - Google Scholar
^ Data Cash Systems, Inc. v. JS&A GROUP, INC., 628 F. 2d 1038 - Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1980 - Google Scholar
^ Compuchess Closeup | Flickr - Fotosharing by Chewbanta
^ David Levy, Monroe Newborn (1991). How Computers Play Chess. Freeman & Co. ISBN 0-7167-8121-2
^ also quoted in Data Cash Systems - CompuChess The Second Edition pdf by Hein Veldhuis
^ CompuChess - Play 3D chess, download free online chess games by Inertia Game Studios - UK based Casual Games Developer

What links here?

Page	Date Edited
Chess Champion MK I	Jul 31, 2015
Chess Champion Pocket Chess	Sep 19, 2014
CompuChess	Jul 31, 2015
David B. Goodrich	Nov 9, 2015
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
Fairchild F8	Jul 31, 2015
Joseph Sugarman	Jun 19, 2013
MCCT 1978	Dec 22, 2017
Novag	Aug 19, 2015
Peter Auge	Jul 13, 2017
SABA Videoplay 20	Sep 19, 2014
Stockholm MCCT 1979	Oct 12, 2013

Up one level

Conchess

GerdIsenberg — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 17:29:48 GMT

Home * Engines * Conchess

		Conchess, was a brand name of 6502 module based dedicated chess computers by the German company Consumenta with a program by Ulf Rathsman supported by Johan Enroth. Consumenta's owners, Peter-Ingolf Gericke and Klaus Heyne hired Ulf Rathsman immediatly after his runner up success with Princhess at the WMCCC 1981 in Travemünde for their project. The computers were developed by LOPROC ^[1], Germany, and manufactured by Wallharn Electronics, Ireland. After Consumenta went bankrupt in 1983, Conchess continued under the aegis of Johan Enroth. Princhess, running on a Conchess computer became tied World Microcomputer Chess Champion 1984 in Glasgow, where also two Conchess computers competed with Lars Hjörth as co-author. At the WMCCC 1985 in Amsterdam, Rathsman's new program Plymate as well as Princhess competed running on dedicated Conchess computers. Their respectable second place in the Commercial team champiomhship was somehow dwarfed by Richard Lang's success with his Mephisto Amsterdam program, yielding more or less in the cessation of Conchess computer manufacturing.
Conchess Monarch ^[2]

Conchess Designer

The designers of the "Swedish-made" chess computer Conchess, Ulf Rathsman and Johan Enroth, 1982 ^[3]

Publications

Tony Harrington (1983). Good Looking, Sensitive and Intelligent. Personal Computer World, March 1983

External Links

Conchess' ICGA Tournaments
Conchess from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
Conchess Ambassador from ChessComputers.org
Conchess from Wikipedia.de (German)
Conchess from Schachcomputer.info - Wiki (German)
Conchess Monarch from Kurt´s Schachcomputer Homepage by Kurt Kispert (German)
Conchess Modulvarianten from Kurt´s Schachcomputer Homepage by Kurt Kispert (German)

References

^ LOPROC Computer und Logikprozessor Systeme GmbH Feldafing - Branchenbuch meinestadt.de
^ Conchess from Chess Computer UK by Mike Watters
^ Den "svensktillverkade" schackdatorn Conchess konstruktörer, Ulf Rathsman och Johan Enroth, Image from Tidskrift för Schack utges av Sveriges Schackförbund, No. 9, November, 1982, pg. 285, pdf

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Page	Date Edited
Aubervilliers Rapid Open	Mar 25, 2017
Conchess	Sep 4, 2017
Engines	Mar 10, 2018
European MCC 1982	May 22, 2016
Johan Enroth	Sep 11, 2017
Lars Hjörth	Sep 5, 2017
Mephisto MM II	Sep 1, 2017
Module	Sep 1, 2017
Personal Computer World	Apr 12, 2013
Peter-Ingolf Gericke	Sep 5, 2014
Plymate	Jan 7, 2016
Princhess	Sep 3, 2017
Rainer Neuhäusler	Apr 16, 2013
Stockholm MCCT 1981	Oct 12, 2013
Tony Harrington	Sep 26, 2014
Ulf Rathsman	Jan 7, 2016
WCCC 1983	Jan 20, 2018
WMCCC 1984	Dec 31, 2017
WMCCC 1988	Oct 27, 2016

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Blitz Monster

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Bogol

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Boris

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Bobby Fischer calling

Co-Author

Boris 2.5

Boris Handroid

Boris Experimental

WMCCC 1980

Controversy

ACM 1980

ACM 1981

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Cassia Chess Mate

Table of Contents

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Chafitz ARB Sargon 2.5

Table of Contents

Photos

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Chafitz Modular Game System

Table of Contents

Sargon at WMCCC 1980

Modules and Manuals

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Chess 2001

Table of Contents

Tournaments

Selected Games

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Chess Challenger

Table of Contents

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Sargon becomes Challenger

WMCCC 1980, MCC 1980

WCCC 1980

ACM 1980

Name Confusion

Chess Challenger X

ACM 1986

ACM 1988

CC Clones

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