Dubious performance of Mephisto (Saitek) Master Chess

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mauben
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Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 7:38 pm

Dubious performance of Mephisto (Saitek) Master Chess

Post by mauben »

I recently bought a Mephisto Milano "upgraded" to Nigel Short and played the N Short against the Mephisto Master Chess in three 30secs/move games. The Master Chess went under almost immediately in all the three games, and managed to lose the 3rd very badly, in my view. I did not care to play a 4th game.

Both boards were on their "defaults", and on the Master I continuously checked the power save option as it has a tendency to switch to ps-2.

Okay, games can be lost, but 3 out of 3 with the Master never having a chance looks strange. A 5MHz 8-bit should in principle struggle against a 20MHz 32-bit.

Years ago I bought my nephew an Exclusive + Senator board and played a 30 secs/move game against the London 68020/12. To my (then) surprise, the Senator with black was able to bring a passed pawn to 2nd rank and the London resigned. That kind of outcome looks outside the performance envelope of my Master Chess.

This is the 3rd shameful game (for the MC):

[Event "16:15"]
[Site ""]
[Date "2017.06.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mephisto Master"]
[Black "Mephisto N Short"]
[Result "0-1"]
[BlackElo ""]
[ECO "B12"]
[EventDate "2017.06.23"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann/Advance Variation"]
[WhiteElo ""]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Ne2 e6 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.h5 Bh7 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 c5 10.c3 Nc6 11.Be3 Qb6 12.Qd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Bb4 14.Nc3 Rc8 15.O-O Ba5 16.Rac1 Nge7 17.a3 Qb3 18.Qc2 Qxc2 19.Rxc2 O-O 20.Nb5 f6 21.exf6 Rxf6 22.Rfc1 Bb6 23.Nd6 Rcf8 24.Rd1 Nf5 25.Ndxf5 exf5 26.Ne2 f4 27.Bc1 f3 28.gxf3 Rf5 29.Ng3 Rxf3 30.Be3 Bc7 31.Rc3 Bxg3 32.fxg3 Rxg3+ 33.Kh2 Rff3 34.Re1 Rh3+ 35.Kg2 Rfg3+ 36.Kf2 Rg4 37.Rg1 Rxg1 38.Kxg1 Rxh5 39.Kf1 Rh1+ 40.Ke2 Rh2+ 41.Kd1 Rxb2 42.Rc5 Rb3 43.Kd2 Rxa3 44.Rxd5 Ra2+ 45.Kc3 Rc2+ 46.Kb3 Re2 47.Bc1 g5 48.Rd6 Re6 49.Rd7 Re7 50.Rd6 Kh7 51.Kc4 Re4 52.Rd7+ Kg6 53.Rxb7 Na5+ 54.Kd5 Rxd4+ 55.Kxd4 Nxb7 56.Ke5 h5 57.Ke4 h4 58.Bxg5 Kxg5 59.Kf3 a5 60.Ke4 a4 61.Kd4 Na5 62.Kc5 a3 63.Kb5 a2 0-1 (I "resigned" the Master Chess).

Both boards are brand-new-like, the Master Chess having been literally unused (pressure sensors are even too sensible) with no signs of having been ever opened.

During middle game analysis, the NS usually stopped searching at 7-0, while the Master Chess went through the full 8th ply. Towards the endgame the Master Chess easily went to 10th ply, and the NS stayed 1 or 2 plyes behind.

My doubt is if the hardware of the Master Chess could have been "dumbed down" in some way. I do not know, like slower clock-rate, limited ram, or whatever. Or should I buy a "proper" Milano Pro ?

Best thanks to all,

Mauro
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spacious_mind
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Location: Alabama
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Post by spacious_mind »

Hi Mauro,

Make sure that you have Master Chess set to PS0. If it is on PS2 (Power save mode) then it will not play as well. Also Nigel Short even though it is only 6502 5MHz it is a very good program and often it has surprised computers that are faster than it.

Best regards
Nick
mauben
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Posts: 53
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 7:38 pm

Post by mauben »

Hi Nick,

I thank you for your reply.

Actually I set ps to 0, then I have to check again because the Master Chess for unknown reasons after a few moves switches ps to 2 on its own (and I reset it to 0).

The NS proved to be better than the Milano, but only in the "second half" of the games (opening and early middlegame are copycats).

A 2017 Elo list gives Master Chess 2163 elo points and NS 2028. The Master's game quality shown so far does not look like 2163 at all.

Anyway, it is as it is. I am still stuck in the mid 1600's, so both crush me in minutes.

Best regards,

Mauro
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ricard60
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Location: Puerto Ordaz

Post by ricard60 »

mauben wrote:Hi Nick,

I thank you for your reply.

Actually I set ps to 0, then I have to check again because the Master Chess for unknown reasons after a few moves switches ps to 2 on its own (and I reset it to 0)
If this is happening maybe this is an explanation of some looses of master chess in some won games.

Mysterios Master chess regards
Ricardo
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paulwise3
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Posts: 1505
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:56 am
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands

Post by paulwise3 »

mauben wrote:Hi Nick,

I thank you for your reply.

Actually I set ps to 0, then I have to check again because the Master Chess for unknown reasons after a few moves switches ps to 2 on its own (and I reset it to 0).

The NS proved to be better than the Milano, but only in the "second half" of the games (opening and early middlegame are copycats).

A 2017 Elo list gives Master Chess 2163 elo points and NS 2028. The Master's game quality shown so far does not look like 2163 at all.

Anyway, it is as it is. I am still stuck in the mid 1600's, so both crush me in minutes.

Best regards,

Mauro
Hi Mauro,

I heard that the Master Chess has a bug, in that it resets the power save option after you change the level setting. So be alert for that behaviour. Also you can try to set it's opening book to active or tournament.

I will try to replay the game with mine.

Best regards,
Paul
2024 Special thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12741
2024 Special results and standings: https://schaakcomputers.nl/paul_w/Tourn ... 25_06.html
If I am mistaken, it must be caused by a horizon effect...
mauben
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Posts: 53
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 7:38 pm

Post by mauben »

Thanks All for your inputs.

Best regards,

Mauro
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