Chess Wizard and Perfect Chess

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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

I thought I would give Chess Wizard IQ V a game against DOSBox Colossus X running Dynamic and Max.

Image

I always found Colossus X a little bit buggy but figured I would give it a try at this enhanced speed.

[Event "Test Match"]
[Site "Alabama"]
[Date "2017.02.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Chess Wizard IQ V, 30S."]
[Black "DB Colossus X, 30S."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B05"]
[WhiteElo "2032"]
[BlackElo "2032"]
[Annotator "SM"]
[PlyCount "152"]
[EventDate "2017.02.25"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 e6 6. O-O dxe5 7. Nxe5 Bf5 {Chess Wizard IQ V out of book} 8. c4 {DB Colossus X out of book} Nb4 9. Na3 N8c6 10. Nb5 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Be7 12. Qxd8+ Bxd8 13. Rd1 Nc2 14. Rb1 Nd4 15. Bd3 Bxd3 16. Rxd3 Nxb5 17. cxb5 a6 18. bxa6 Rxa6 19. a3 Ra5 20. Bf4 Rd5 21. Rbd1 c6 22. Be3 Bc7 23. f4 O-O 24. Rxd5 exd5 25. Kf2 f6 26. e6 Re8 27. f5

[fen]4r1k1/1pb3pp/2p1Pp2/3p1P2/8/P3B3/1P3KPP/3R4 w - - 0 27[/fen]

Everything until now was fairly even. But here Colossus X plays 26. ... Bxh2? As I said I always thought this program had some kinks in it. The search to not play 27. ... Bxh2 cannot be that much.

Anyway the game continued.

Bxh2 28. g3 g6 29. Re1 Kg7 30. Bd2 h5

[fen]4r3/1p4k1/2p1Ppp1/3p1P1p/8/P5P1/1P1B1K1b/4R3 w - - 0 31[/fen]

Hier IQ V showed that it wasn't much better by playing 31. fxg6? 31. Kg2 is so obvious I really don't know how IQ V could miss it.

31. fxg6 h4 32. gxh4 Kxg6 33. h5+ Kf5 34. h6 Be5 35. Rh1 Kxe6 36. h7 Rh8 37. Ke3 Bxb2 38. a4 c5 39. Be1 Kf7 40. Kf3 Kg6 41. Bf2 c4 42. Rd1

[fen]7r/1p5P/5pk1/3p4/P1p5/5K2/1b3B2/3R4 w - - 0 42[/fen]

In this position Colossus X just needed to push the pawn to c3! But as I said it plays some crazy moves.


f5 43. Rxd5 Rxh7 44. Rd6+ Kh5 45. Be3 Bh8 46. Rd5 Rf7 47. Kf4 Kg6 48. Bd4 Bxd4 49. Rxd4 c3 50. Rc4 Rh7 51. Rxc3 Rh4+

[fen]8/1p6/6k1/5p2/P4K1r/2R5/8/8 w - - 0 52[/fen]

After Colossus X had lost all its advantages, in this position IQ V just needed to play 52. Kg3! to have a final chance at drawing the game, but of course it did not know that and played 52. Ke5? which loses again.

52. Ke5 Re4+ 53. Kd6 Rxa4 54. Rb3 Ra7 55. Ke5 Ra5+ 56. Ke6 f4 57. Rxb7 f3 58. Rb2 Rf5 59. Rf2 Kg5 60. Kd7 Kh4 61. Ke6 Kg4 62. Rf1 f2 63. Kd7 Kf3 64. Rb1 Ke2 65. Ke6 f1=Q 66. Rxf1 Rxf1 67. Kd5 Ke3 68. Ke5 Rd1 69. Kf5 Rd5+ 70. Kg4 Rc5 71. Kg3 Rg5+ 72. Kh4 Kf4 73. Kh3
Kf3 74. Kh2 Rc5 75. Kg1 Rh5 76. Kf1 Rh1# 0-1

I let Colossus X complete the Rook and King against King ending just to make sure that it knew how :)

Well, Novag Zircon II is rated at Schachcomputer.Info at 2032 ELO so Colossus X has to be on par after this win against IQ V. The endgame skills of both computers however I would probably rate at closer to 1600 ELO after this performance :)

Best regards
Nick
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Post by Martin Hertz »

I've tested two positions of the game, to see if colossus does play better moves if much faster:

[fen]4r1k1/1pb3pp/2p1Pp2/3p1P2/8/P3B3/1P3KPP/3R4 w - - 0 27[/fen]
Colossus avoids the move in ply 9 after 6 seconds.


[fen]7r/1p5P/5pk1/3p4/P1p5/5K2/1b3B2/3R4 w - - 0 42[/fen]
In this posiotion colossus needs 12 seconds and ply 9 to play the correct move.

The much higher speed helps a lot, but there is a problem regarding the max ply of colossus thats limited to 12 ply only.
In late endgame positions the 12 ply sometimes needs only a few seconds at GHz speed. So it's not possible to go deeper
than 12 ply, that makes colossus even at very high speed weaker in endgames than necessary.
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Continuing with the Never-ending Aquamarine story.

Novag Aquamarine Milenio 2

Image

Milenio 2 is an 8 MHz program with 16 K ROM and 768 Byte RAM. I would say it is the same program as Opal Plus.

And here is another one....

Novag Aquamarine Iniciacion

Image

Aquamarine Iniciacion has the same specs as Novag Onyx which you can read here:

http://www.spacious-mind.com/html/onyx.html

But it is in metallic silver whereas Novag Onyx is grey.

There is more....

Novag Aquamarine Maestro

Image

Aquamarine Maestro has 119 Levels 8 MHz, 4 KB ROM and 768 Byte RAM so it is probably the same as Aquamarine Premier Plus.

Where there is one there has to be a two .....

Novag Aquamarine Maestro II

Image

Yep you guessed it, there is also a Aquamarine Maestro II !!

Here is an oldie which is a little bit rarer to find:

Novag Supremo Limited Edition

Image

The Novag Supremo Limited Edition has a wood veneer finish compared to the Novag Supremo which you can view here:

http://www.spacious-mind.com/html/supremo.html

The specifications seem to be the same, therefore nothing extra other than the Limited Edition sticker.

Best regards
Nick
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Dave C
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Name Game

Post by Dave C »

Hi Nick,

From a marketing standpoint why the name Aquamarine has been so over used is a mystery. I would expect names like: The Knight or Checkmate or even Grandmaster to be used more often.

If collecting sub-categories the aquamarine series should be very popular.

blue-soldier....regards,
Dave
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spacious_mind
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Re: Name Game

Post by spacious_mind »

Dave C wrote:Hi Nick,

From a marketing standpoint why the name Aquamarine has been so over used is a mystery. I would expect names like: The Knight or Checkmate or even Grandmaster to be used more often.

If collecting sub-categories the aquamarine series should be very popular.

blue-soldier....regards,
Dave
Hi Dave,

I have no idea why the name Aquamarine, but it seems to be a range that they thought interesting. :)

Best regards

Nick
Nick
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Here is a list of all my Novag Chess Computers. I think it is 116 in total.

My Novag Collection

2 ROBOT
ACCORD
AGATE
AGATE PLUS
ALLEGRO
ALLEGRO 15 MHZ
ALLEGRO 4
ALTO
AMBER
AMETHYST
AMETHYST PLUS
AMIGO
AQUAMARINE INICIACION
AQUAMARINE 16 MHZ
AQUAMARINE MAESTRO
AQUAMARINE MAESTRO II
AQUAMARINE MILENIO
AQUAMARINE MILENIO II
AQUAMARINE PREMIER
AQUAMARINE PREMIER PLUS
AQUAMATINE SIGLO XXI
AQUAMARINE SIGLO XXI RISC 26.6 MHZ
AQUAMARINE RISC II 20 MHZ
AQUAMARINE RISC II 26.6 MHZ
AQUAMARINE STILE
ATENA
BELUGA
BERYL
BERYL PLUS
BRAIN MATCH
CARNELIAN
CARNELIAN II
CHESS CHAMPION DELTA-1
CHESS CHAMPION MK 1
CHESS CHAMPION MK 3
CHESS CHAMPION MK II
CHESS CHAMPION MK II ALT
CHESS PARTNER 2000
CITRINE
CONDOR
CONSTELLATION 3.6 MHZ
CONSTELLATION EXPERT
CONSTELLATION FORTE B
CONSTELLATION JUNIOR
CONSTELLATION QUATTRO
CORAL
CRYSTAL
DIABLO 68000
DIAMOND
DIAMOND II
DISNEY MAGIC CASTLE
DYNAMIC S
EMERALD
EMERALD CLASSIC
EMERALD CLASSIC PLUS
ESCORT
GRANITE
JADE
JADE II
JASPER
JASPER SPECIAL
MENTOR 16
MICRO CHESS
MICRO II
MICRO III
OBSIDIAN
OCTO
ONYX
OPAL
OPAL II
OPAL PLUS
PEARL
PERFECT CHESS
PICCOLO
PORTAL
PRELUDE
PRELUDE SIEMENS
PRESTO
PRIMO
QUARTZ
RUBY
SAPPHIRE
SAPPHIRE II
SAPPHIRE II DELUXE W/UNIVERSAL BOARD
SAVANT
SCORPIO 68000
SECONDO
SECONDO JEUX NATHAN
SENSOR DYNAMIC
SOLO
STAR AQUAMARINE
STAR BERYL
STAR DIAMOND
STAR OPAL
STAR RUBY
STAR SAPPHIRE
SUPER CONSTELLATION
SUPER EXPERT A
SUPER EXPERT C
SUPER FORTE A
SUPER FORTE B
SUPER FORTE C
SUPER NOVA
SUPER SENSOR IV
SUPER VIP
SUPREMO
SUPREMO LIMITED EDITION
TOPAZ
TOPAZ II
TOUCH
TOURMALINE
TOURMALINE PLUS
TURQUOISE
VIP
ZIRCON
ZIRCON II

The only ones that I think I am missing are the following:

CHESS CHAMPION POCKET CHESS
CONSTELLATON 2 MHZ
CONSTELLATION FORTE A
ROBOT ADVERSARY
SAVANT II
SAVANT ROYALE
SUPER EXPERT B
UNO

And some peripherals that I am missing:

DISTRIBUTOR BOX
SUPER SYSTEM CHESS BOARD
ELECTRONIC CHESS BOARD LIMITED EDITION
TV INTERFACE

And that would complete what I know of with Novag and their Perfect Chess Brand.

I have had many opportunities to get the Robort Adversary and Savant II but I struggle with wanting them since they are so faulty... so I have never really gone out of the on them.

Best regards
Nick
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Here is a photo of Aquamarine Siglo XXI.

Novag Aquamarine Siglo XXI

Image

Best regards
Nick
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Fernando
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Post by Fernando »

spacious_mind wrote:Here is a list of all my Novag Chess Computers. I think it is 116 in total.

My Novag Collection

2 ROBOT
ACCORD
AGATE
AGATE PLUS
ALLEGRO
ALLEGRO 15 MHZ
ALLEGRO 4
ALTO
AMBER
AMETHYST
AMETHYST PLUS
AMIGO
AQUAMARINE INICIACION
AQUAMARINE 16 MHZ
AQUAMARINE MAESTRO
AQUAMARINE MAESTRO II
AQUAMARINE MILENIO
AQUAMARINE MILENIO II
AQUAMARINE PREMIER
AQUAMARINE PREMIER PLUS
AQUAMATINE SIGLO XXI
AQUAMARINE SIGLO XXI RISC 26.6 MHZ
AQUAMARINE RISC II 20 MHZ
AQUAMARINE RISC II 26.6 MHZ
AQUAMARINE STILE
ATENA
BELUGA
BERYL
BERYL PLUS
BRAIN MATCH
CARNELIAN
CARNELIAN II
CHESS CHAMPION DELTA-1
CHESS CHAMPION MK 1
CHESS CHAMPION MK 3
CHESS CHAMPION MK II
CHESS CHAMPION MK II ALT
CHESS PARTNER 2000
CITRINE
CONDOR
CONSTELLATION 3.6 MHZ
CONSTELLATION EXPERT
CONSTELLATION FORTE B
CONSTELLATION JUNIOR
CONSTELLATION QUATTRO
CORAL
CRYSTAL
DIABLO 68000
DIAMOND
DIAMOND II
DISNEY MAGIC CASTLE
DYNAMIC S
EMERALD
EMERALD CLASSIC
EMERALD CLASSIC PLUS
ESCORT
GRANITE
JADE
JADE II
JASPER
JASPER SPECIAL
MENTOR 16
MICRO CHESS
MICRO II
MICRO III
OBSIDIAN
OCTO
ONYX
OPAL
OPAL II
OPAL PLUS
PEARL
PERFECT CHESS
PICCOLO
PORTAL
PRELUDE
PRELUDE SIEMENS
PRESTO
PRIMO
QUARTZ
RUBY
SAPPHIRE
SAPPHIRE II
SAPPHIRE II DELUXE W/UNIVERSAL BOARD
SAVANT
SCORPIO 68000
SECONDO
SECONDO JEUX NATHAN
SENSOR DYNAMIC
SOLO
STAR AQUAMARINE
STAR BERYL
STAR DIAMOND
STAR OPAL
STAR RUBY
STAR SAPPHIRE
SUPER CONSTELLATION
SUPER EXPERT A
SUPER EXPERT C
SUPER FORTE A
SUPER FORTE B
SUPER FORTE C
SUPER NOVA
SUPER SENSOR IV
SUPER VIP
SUPREMO
SUPREMO LIMITED EDITION
TOPAZ
TOPAZ II
TOUCH
TOURMALINE
TOURMALINE PLUS
TURQUOISE
VIP
ZIRCON
ZIRCON II

The only ones that I think I am missing are the following:

CHESS CHAMPION POCKET CHESS
CONSTELLATON 2 MHZ
CONSTELLATION FORTE A
ROBOT ADVERSARY
SAVANT II
SAVANT ROYALE
SUPER EXPERT B
UNO

And some peripherals that I am missing:

DISTRIBUTOR BOX
SUPER SYSTEM CHESS BOARD
ELECTRONIC CHESS BOARD LIMITED EDITION
TV INTERFACE

And that would complete what I know of with Novag and their Perfect Chess Brand.

I have had many opportunities to get the Robort Adversary and Savant II but I struggle with wanting them since they are so faulty... so I have never really gone out of the on them.

Best regards

Oh, my Lord, with what a bunch of madmen I associated myself...
Festina Lente
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Post by spacious_mind »

Fernando wrote: Oh, my Lord, with what a bunch of madmen I associated myself...
Yep, lol... and I just realized I forgot one... maybe there is more and I need to look through storage...lol

Mickey's 4 -in 1 Computer

Image

Disney regards..
Nick
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Fernando
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Post by Fernando »

I believed I was mad............
Festina Lente
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

spacious_mind wrote:
I just realized I forgot one... maybe there is more and I need to look through storage...lol

Mickey's 4 -in 1 Computer


Disney regards..
you are probably missing this very rare Novag Disney
The Magic Castle in the Red Box..more common of course is the Castle in the blue box

Image

Seeing Red Regards
Steve
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Steve B wrote:
spacious_mind wrote:
I just realized I forgot one... maybe there is more and I need to look through storage...lol

Mickey's 4 -in 1 Computer


Disney regards..
you are probably missing this very rare Novag Disney
The Magic Castle in the Red Box..more common of course is the Castle in the blue box

Image

Seeing Red Regards
Steve
Hi Steve,

Yep, I am missing that one.

Best regards
Nick
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

spacious_mind wrote:
Steve B wrote:
spacious_mind wrote:
I just realized I forgot one... maybe there is more and I need to look through storage...lol

Mickey's 4 -in 1 Computer


Disney regards..
you are probably missing this very rare Novag Disney
The Magic Castle in the Red Box..more common of course is the Castle in the blue box

Image

Seeing Red Regards
Steve
Hi Steve,

Yep, I am missing that one.

Best regards
Dont worry about it Nick
its not a chess computer
only a game board
:P

Castle Lite Regards
Steve
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Steve B wrote:
spacious_mind wrote:
Steve B wrote:
spacious_mind wrote:
I just realized I forgot one... maybe there is more and I need to look through storage...lol

Mickey's 4 -in 1 Computer


Disney regards..
you are probably missing this very rare Novag Disney
The Magic Castle in the Red Box..more common of course is the Castle in the blue box

Image

Seeing Red Regards
Steve
Hi Steve,

Yep, I am missing that one.

Best regards
Dont worry about it Nick
its not a chess computer
only a game board
:P

Castle Lite Regards
Steve
LOL... ok... I actually thought I saw one in a red box recently.
Nick
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Well I found another one:

Novag Piccolo 15 MHz

Image

According to Schachcomputer.Info it came out in 1986. Whereas the slower Piccolo came out in 1985. It's hard to say for sure though because the box and the manual say 1985, but I think that is because they used the original packing for it.

Also my first Piccolo has Serial # 720409
My 15 MHz Piccolo has Serial # 728668

That makes a difference of 8259 units. Not that much really. Maybe it didn't sell that well. 1986 for the 15 MHz may not be an absolute fact either. Both could have come out in 1985.

My normal Piccolo which doesn't have the 15 MHz sticker on it based on Schachcomputer.Info should be 6 MHz.

http://www.spacious-mind.com/html/piccolo.html

I am going to have to search it out sometime and double check it. It could be that Novag sold them as well without the sticker at 15 MHz.

Also what is inconsistent is the levels.

The manual (original) says:

Level 2 - 1-10 seconds
Level 3 - 1-15 seconds
Level 4 - 5-45 seconds
Level 5 - 1-2.1/2 min.
Level 6 - 2-3 min.
Level 7 - 1-15 min.
Level 8 - 5-20 min.

However with the 15 MHz version there is an insert sheet which states:

DUE TO TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENTS, FOLLOWING CHANGES AND ENHANCEMENTS WERE ACHIEVABLE:

Level 2 - 1-4 seconds
Level 3 - 1-6 seconds
Level 4 - 2-18 seconds
Level 5 - 1 minute
Level 6 - 1-2 min.
Level 7 - 1-6 min.
Level 8 - 2-8 min.

That indicates that the 15 MHz Piccolo is 2.5 times faster than the original.

What would be confusing to me is what is posted for speed at Schachcomputer.Info:

Takt
6 MHz; ab 1986: 7,5 MHz (Quarzoszillator 15 MHz).

This doesn't calculate. If you have to halve the Oscillator speed then the original should be 3 MHz in order to fit with what the revised level times indicate. Either this or 6 MHz and 15 MHz would be correct as well if there is no need to halve it.

Anyway the moral of the story is that not everything that you read is always as it seems.....

ps... What is sad really is that the increased speed has no benefit to it as for Active chess - 30 seconds per move you would still use level 4 and it just moves faster. For Tournament level 6 the same problem.

Best regards
Nick
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