Dedicated Chess Beauty Contest

[paulhuk]

It is seemed a bit quiet here to so I decided to spice things up with a dedicated chess computer beauty contest. The basic question is which dedicated system is the most attractive to drool over. Subjective I know but stimulating nonetheless. There are three contenders in my book that have given me the hots over the years.

The first in the line up is the 'sexed up' version of the Chafitz Sargon 2.5 ARB board sporting better communication skills, a faster temperament and special vital statistics of 4.0. A stunning board and piece ensemble that sets those fingers alight itching for a quick mating attack.

Our second contestant is the lovely Fidelity Elite Premier. Shy and petite against the voluptuous Chafitz, the Elite harbours not one but two smouldering hearts of passion beating in unison beneath those delicate and slender wooden curves. Beguilingly lovely? Yes!! But this is no wall flower. Definitely one of the most gorgeous and seductive entrants here today and not for the faint of heart.

Finally, we have a bit of a dark horse. More masculine than feminine with sleek ultra modern lines and a powerful command and control charisma. Enter the Revelation II. This beauty is more dominatrix than demur and one crack of her processing power will send even the most arrogant among us cowering into the kitchen for a soothing cup of tea.

So which of these stunning entrants will take home the ultimate prize of 'The Worlds Most Beautiful Dedicated Chess Computer?' Or are the other possible competitors yet to be revealed?:shock:

Paul H

[xchessg]

It is seemed a bit quiet here to so I decided to spice things up with a dedicated chess computer beauty contest. The basic question is which dedicated system is the most attractive to drool over. Subjective I know but stimulating nonetheless.

Hi,

I agree on the ARB board, a real beauty. About the rest not at all!.

As a club player, I prefer tournement sized boards. And then I very much prefer them as sober as possible. In this respect, the Saitek Renaissance takes away clear first prize: Clean, sober lines, all electronics nicely covered up, but providing a wealth of info if desired. Mephisto Bavaria fits in as well, and the nice piece recognition adds a lot to the value, but too bad about the limited number of modules that work with it (I'd kill for a Shröder or - while we're dreaming - De Koning compatible module set). Mephisto München can act as replacement (for Bavaria), but not more. I find the Renaissance working (registering moves) very nicely (although a reed contact board) almost as good as the Bavaria, while the München reminds me too often that is "only" a reed contact board. About the sober line thing: I prefer the more discrete Led outlay of the Renaissance, and the Led holes in the Mephisto's rather more disturbing, as well as the printed letters on the Mephisto board...

No, it's the Renaissance for me! Too bad that Saitek settled for the Spracklens, while we could have had Hiarcs in that beauty. In those days I was dreaming about young girls, now I am dreaming of the Chess computers we could have had...

Xavier

[Lars Sandin]

My top-three (out of those I have) is:

1. Saitek Renaissance - Beatifully wooden board with a magnificent display hidden beneath a wooden panel which makes it easy to transform to a nice piece of furniture when not in play. The small minus would be the pieces which isn't up to the same standard as the rest of the machine. But all in all a winner!

2. Novag Diablo 68000 - Could of course also be the Super Expert board, which shares the same exterior as the Diablo. A wonderful computer from the hay-days of Chess computers and buttons - think of it as a chess playing version of the Technics SL-P999 Cd-player. It's more geeky looking than the Renaissance for better or worse, but in my personal (more geeky oriented) view, it is certainly one of the best looking chess computers of all time!

3. The Fidelity Prestige - Beautiful board, nicely carved pieces, nice layout for the buttons and the marvellous red LED-panel which oozes of Fidelity and retro-beauty!

Honorary placement will of course go to Ruud Martin and DGT's Revelation II, which is a modern chess computer in a stylish format and with several nice pieces-sets to chose from, one could design it according to own preference.

[Steve B]

Well all of the computers mentioned above could certainly win beauty contests

i would add to the list:
the CXG Sphinx 50 and the drop dead gorgeous Peri Epsilon

it stands to reason that no one listed a plastic computer but i think in the "Plastic Category" a nod should go to the Scisys Sensor chess..
has a sort of "sexy" appeal to it with the Recessed Leds
the kind of computer you would expect to find in the Playboy Lounge

Miss Universe Regards
Steve

[spacious_mind]

Well a lot of top contenders are already mentioned. Renaissance is beautiful but so is Galileo which I personally prefer because of it's lack of LCD screen. So is Diablo and SEC. Steve's Sensor Chess is a great choice as well. I love the Scisys Sensors and their modules. Heck even the old DDR Chess-Master and Diamond have their charm.

Here are my top 3:

1) Top of my list has to be my first really expensive purchase which was the Portorose with Bavaria board (Nostalgia). The board plays like a dream.


2) Second choice for me is Novag's Universal Board with Sapphire II. This board is functional allowing you to plug many Novag Computers in to it as well as play some of the old chess engines via a serial cable connected to an old computer. It is brilliant.

3) Fidelity's Avantgarde series has to make the list as well. They are so much fun to play and look great.

With plastics I would agree with Steve on the Sensor Chess and Saitek's Blitz for it unusualness.

I am just looking at a CXG Advanced Portachess with it's burgundy color and unusual side latches on the lid. It looks really luxurious. Prodigy Destiny as well. I would include these two on portables for looks.

Grrrrr... how can the beautiful dark mahogany Saitek Corona not make my list?

best regards,

Nick

[SirDave]

The portable beauty that makes my heart go pitter-patter is the Novag Jade II. Novag absolutely outdid itself both aesthetically and functionally: 16 LEDs with not 1, but 2, LCDs with a great opening book and challenge, all in a very pocketable size. Forgetting chess for the moment, it's also a gadgeteer's dream machine.

Miss Toddler Universe Regards,
Dave

[Larry]

Accuse me of having no taste, but for appearance the humble
Fidelity Excel machines are pretty much as good as a chess computer gets.
The perfect size, not too big for those little tables on a plane. The
earlier LED displays are nicer than the later LCD's. If the Excels were
auto sensory they would be the ultimate chess comp.
L

[Monsieur Plastique]

The portable beauty that makes my heart go pitter-patter is the Novag Jade II. Novag absolutely outdid itself both aesthetically and functionally

I agree. These machines (along with the Amigo) were amongst the best looking plastic dedicated machines I have ever seen. I am not sure that the engineering under the skin was up to the aesthetic qualities though. The sensor boards were not as good as those of the later Novags.

I think from a more objective point of view, the Saitek Mephisto Maestro portable trumps the lot. A beautiful looking machine, best build quality of any dedicated machine I've ever seen this side of the German-built wood Mephistos and capped off with a really nice leatherette (imitation of course) wallet to keep it in pristine condition. Not only that, but the versatile little machine doubles as a move recorder for games with other computers or even with humans, since it has a full 200 ply takeback in both human versus computer and human versus human modes, with the ability to replay the entire game from the beginning (well, from the second ply onwards to be pedantic about it and assuming the game does not exceed 200 ply).

Even though I've owned one of these little gems for years and pull it out quite regularly, I still just sit there and do nothing but admire the design, the materials used, the finish, the overall concept. And I think to myself...what is the genius who designed this thing doing now?

But I also rate the Mark V as arguably the best engineered overall with an extremely purposeful look about it. What I would give to find an unmolested factory carton full of those...

[SirDave]

Here's my 2nd favorite entry in the portable chess beauty contest, bending the rules a little (the Novag Star Opal with wood pieces):