What was your first chess computer?

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Sargon1972
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Post by Sargon1972 »

Hello Guys,

Mine first chess computer was the Mephisto Mondial for mine birthday from mine Parents
The first wood one was the Mephisto Academy what i buy new in 1989 by Jan Louwman , the second wood one was a small step ahead ....second hand but it was the Mephisto TM Vancouver it still have the sticker from Jan Louwman computachess i believe ,all 3 I still have .
Mine wife do not complain.....well not much haha
And when she do, i put mine foot down :roll:
I hope Paul is a little inspired,how i have put mine collection away , i never have long to search for a Chess Computer, Chess Mann .Power Supply ore Manual
Computers are stored in storage cabinet ,with a paper on each one on Brand what is in it , then i have all Chess Mann +Power supply in a small box marked with sticker like Meph .Berlin Pro also then the Power Supply itself have a Sticker ,so no mistakes when more standing out there
And i put them away , Manuals are in Maps on Brand
Emergency system backup , on mine laptop a PDF where all is exact in what storage cabinet from 1 to 4
Some in Original Box like the Renaissance Sparc is standing beside this storage ,clean ,little warm. And some in Suitcase,s also with sticker on it what is inside like Galileo Analyst D 6mhz
I have this done some years ago, a LOT of work but i am glad i have done it , now when a new chess computer come , go in PDF and so on
No more "anger" where is this and so on :wink:

Solid System regards,Hans
Hello
I am from Netherlands and many years involved with computerchess
It,s a way of life i suppose :p

Kr,Hans
steffen
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Post by steffen »

In Germany we had another chess hero named Robert Hübner. He was extremely strong and not just a few people say that he could have become World Champion if he had had better nerves.

Our generation became motivated a lot by his appearances and success. Here on the countryside there didn´t exist many chess clubs - some 10 kilometres away and times hadn´t been as mobile as nowadays.

So a chess computer was the solution.
My 1st chess computer was the Chess Champion MK I. I think back in 1979. It did cost DM 249.
I then met my friends in order to play a tournament. We were 5 chaps and one computer. The MK I became 4th.
Then, I guess in 1982, still being a pupil, I saw an Applied Concepts MGS with 3 modules here around offered in a local paper. The seller had built a wooden housing with a chess board for the modules, using 2 reed switches for every field on the chessboard.
Later, in the mid 80´s, being a poor job beginner, I purchased a Novag Solo, a Kasparov Pocket Chess and a Mephisto Mini in the big stores in Munich where I had been living at the time being. Every day I walked close to the Hegener & Glaser (Mephisto) store in Munich, but never entered it. I played some tournaments with the small ones (which I could surely win), but also with the MGS and the Colossus on the C64. That was good fun!
Then, I think in 1992 or 1993, I acquired a Kasparov Travel Champion. This one was really strong and hard to beat.
Then I moved from one town to another one. The MGS had no more been working for many years, so my brother decided to put the wooden housing into the waste container. Fortunately I had saved the modules...
Several years later, I think in 2003, I began looking for a chess computer for my MGS-modules. I knew the computer had been wooden, so I acquired a Chafitz ARB. I was very surprised that the modules would not fit. I started surfing around in the net, found Kurt´s schachcomputer.at site which had been a very very good source. The very 1st chess computer website! Long before others started. Then I telephoned a collector and he told me about my mistake. So I had to purchase an MGS in order to get my modules run... This is how it started.

My girlfriend and me drove to the Kaufbeuren chess computer tournament in 2004.
Early 2005 I invented the very 1st online chess computer tournament which is nowadays named differently.
And as I hadn´t been able to wait one year for the next Kaufbeuren tournament I organized in 2005 the Klingenberg (in this first year still in the neighbor city Erlenbach) chess computer tournament around half a year after Kaufbeuren. We started with 7 chaps. This year we are far above 20 participants.
So nowadays we have Klingenberg in April and Kaufbeuren in October. And since 2013 also a 2nd, a bit smaller, one in Klingenberg in the month of June.
So in 3 weeks we are going to play our 15th chess computer tournament in Klingenberg. We are happy so say that we have become many good (chess computer) friends over this long period.

That´s the story :)
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

steffen wrote: Then, I guess in 1982, still being a pupil, I saw an Applied Concepts MGS with 3 modules here around offered in a local paper. The seller had built a wooden housing with a chess board for the modules, using 2 reed switches for every field on the chessboard.

That´s the story :)
So even way back in 1982 they were modifying schachcomputers??
:P

Great History Steffen
Long Time Collecting Regards
Steve
steffen
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Post by steffen »

Steve B wrote:
steffen wrote: Then, I guess in 1982, still being a pupil, I saw an Applied Concepts MGS with 3 modules here around offered in a local paper. The seller had built a wooden housing with a chess board for the modules, using 2 reed switches for every field on the chessboard.

That´s the story :)
So even way back in 1982 they were modifying schachcomputers??
:P

Great History Steffen
Long Time Collecting Regards
Steve
You´re right. Nearly 4 decades...

Modifying just the hardware, Steve ;)
Master Modder regards :)))
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Lars Sandin
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Location: Sundsvall, Sweden

Post by Lars Sandin »

Great stories and very nice reading!

My first foray into the wonderful world of chesscomputers, was when I recieved the CXG (Newcrest Tech.) Portachess (marketed here in Sweden under the girlname "Klara") by my parents as a christmaspresent sometime back in the beginning of the eighties (81-83?). I still remember fondly when I first was able to beat the computer on the eight and strongest level. It took a day to play it out and I was at home from school with a flu if my memory serves me correctly. 8)

Some years passed and my next chesscomputer was the CXG Super Enterprise which I bought at a family-vacation in Borås (when the store "Hobbex") only existed in that town. Nowadays this store is a nation-wide store and is present in most larger cities in Sweden. Well, the computer was marketed as having a rating in excess of 2100 (or was it 2200)? A huge disappointment followed when I got home and was able to beat it rather than having my butt kicked. :?

A friend introduced me to the SSDF in 1990 and I quickly sold my overrated (by the CXG-Company) Super Enterprise for the Novag Super Expert C. This was a magnificient computer and the chesscomputer which really ignited the "chess-computer spark" in me. Even though I bought a Pentium 90 MHz back in 93, and started testing with this machine for the SSDF, I never lost my interest in the dedicated chesscomputers and have tested manually since then.
Lars Sandin, SSDF
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fourthirty
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Post by fourthirty »

An Atari CXL4009 ROM cartridge was my first. Does that count? :)

Image

My Saitek Kasparov Pocket Plus Trainer was my first "dedicated" (I started collecting late). Sadly, it is now in the silicon graveyard. He was a good travel companion, which was eventually replaced by Palm Pilot chess and then HIARCS on my iPhone.

Greg
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