Collector's Corner..On Dedicated Chess Computers...

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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

In this information rich Internet age, it is unusual indeed to find a dedicated computer where little information is available
Perhaps one of the last of the dedicated chess computers with virtually no known information is the The Conic brand
Conic International Ltd.was a Hong Kong based company that released several computers during the early 1980's
due up for testing was the Conic 7013...An auto sensory endorsed by Victor Korchnoi ,and considered somewhat rare by collectors worldwide...it is one of the few computers inducted into the hollowed halls of the" Ultra Rare"
the manual indicates that Korchnoi "fully approved "the chess program in the computer(whatever that means)
one of the few dedicated computers to have no SS rating i cannot even say for certain who the programmer was

i did find a link of a Conic which participated in the 1981 World Championships and it seems the programmer was a Stephen Chen but i am not sure about that

from the ICGA website..

http://www.grappa.univ-lille3.fr/icga/person.php?id=468
(the above site seems to be down quite often so try the link several times)

the manual also mentions the computer can handle up to 6250000 positions per move before the memory is exhausted

Image

Image

interested in trying to discover the true rating for the computer i decided to play a game against it with the black pieces at its 3 min per move tournament level
the Conic does not ponder while the player is on the move and it was out of book at move 6

[White "Conic Korchnoi"]
[Black "Steve B"]
[Time Control "3 Min/Move"]


1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 h6 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Qh5 Be6 9.Nge2 O-O 10.Nf4 c6 11.Bd3 Qd7 12.Nxe6 Qxe6 13.O-O Nd7 14.b3 c5 15.Nxd5 cxd4 16.Qf5 Qxf5 17.Bxf5 dxe3 18.Bxd7 Bxa1 19.Ne7+ Kh8
20.Rxa1

the computer has not played too badly at this point and material is even with R+P for B+N
i imagine the computer was expecting me to play PXP+ here
but instead i uncorked the Eprom melting..

20..e2!

[fen]r4r1k/pp1BNpp1/7p/8/8/1P6/P3pPPP/R5K1 b - - 0 21[/fen]

Korchnoi must now lose material


21.Re1 Rad8 22.Bg4 Rfe8 23.Nf5 Rd1 24.Bxe2 Rxe1+ 25.Bf1 Ra1 26.a4 Ree1 27.Ne3 Reb1 28.g3 Rxb3 29.Kg2 Rxa4 30.Be2 Rb2 31.Bd3 Raa2 32.Kg1 Rxf2 33.Bc4 Rab2 34.Ng4 Rfc2 35.Bf1 Rc1 36.h4 Rbb1 37.Nh2 a5 38.h5 a4 39.Kf2 Rxf1+

[fen]7k/1p3pp1/7p/7P/p7/6P1/5K1N/1r3r2 b - - 0 40[/fen]

a double exchange sacrifice to clear the way for the A pawn to Promote
Korchnoi's King is outside the" square of the pawn" and cannot prevent the pawns coronation

40.Nxf1 Rxf1+ 41.Kxf1 a3 42.Ke2 a2 43.Ke3 a1=Q

FINAL POSITION

[fen]7k/1p3pp1/7p/7P/8/4K1P1/8/q7 b - - 0 44[/fen]


unlike in the current correspondence game where i am losing to Mark Uniacke and i refuse to resign
i am happy to resign for the Conic in this position


Based upon the above game and taking my own strength into the equation ..i would opine that the Conic Korchnoi is rated about 2950-3025 Elo

Fair And Unbiased Assessment Regards
Steve
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Post by Steve B »

The Conic Korchnoi has 6 levels of play ranging from immediate response to 28 minutes per move avg(which is described in the manual as "Professional Strength")

wanting to test this claim i took the White pieces for one last game before i stored the computer away deep below the surface of the Earth in the subterranean depths of the hidden storage bunkers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10261668@N ... 923818675/

the Conic of course is kept in the Final Bunker along with all of my other Ultra Rare computers:

Image

i set the computer to its "Professional" level

Conic Korchnoi PRO was out of book at move 4

[White "Steve B"]
[Black "Conic Korchnoi PRO"]
[Time Control "28 min. per move!]


1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.e3 c6 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 O-O 8.O-O
Nbd7 9.Re1 Qa5 10.Bd2 Qh5 11.e4 Be7 12.h3 b5 13.Be2 Bb7 14.Ne5 Qh4
15.g3 Qxh3

it is interesting to see the Black Queen already trapped and after only 15 moves

[fen]r4rk1/pb1nbppp/2p1pn2/1p2N3/3PP3/2N3Pq/PP1BBP2/R2QR1K1 w - - 0 16[/fen]

in order to save the Queen from capture Black must allow my Knight to decimate the Black King side plundering and pillaging at will

16.Nxd7 h5(if 16..Nxd7 then 17.Bg4 and the Queen is toast) 17.Nxf8 Kxf8 18.Bf1 Qg4 19.Qxg4 hxg4
20.e5 Ng8 21.Be2 Rd8 22.Be3

FINAL POSITION

[fen]3r1kn1/pb2bpp1/2p1p3/1p2P3/3P2p1/2N1B1P1/PP2BP2/R3R1K1 w - - 0 22[/fen]

i am up a Rook for a pawn

so much for "Professional Strength"

having already spent about 12 or so hours on this game i decided to just end it here

even i could win this one regards
Steve
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Post by spacious_mind »

Hi Steve:

Well it might not play too strong but it still looks like a good looking machine.

Do you also have machine guns and guards ? :P

Well I thought that was conical !

best
Nick
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Post by Robert Weck »

Hi Steve,
Steve B wrote:The Conic Korchnoi has 6 levels of play ranging from immediate response to 28 minutes per move avg(which is described in the manual as "Professional Strength")

wanting to test this claim i took the White pieces for one last game before i stored the computer away deep below the surface of the Earth in the subterranean depths of the hidden storage bunkers
you got it repaired? Great! Or is that another one?


good news regards,
Robert
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Post by Steve B »

Robert Weck wrote:Hi Steve,
Steve B wrote:The Conic Korchnoi has 6 levels of play ranging from immediate response to 28 minutes per move avg(which is described in the manual as "Professional Strength")

wanting to test this claim i took the White pieces for one last game before i stored the computer away deep below the surface of the Earth in the subterranean depths of the hidden storage bunkers
you got it repaired? Great! Or is that another one?


good news regards,
Robert
hi Robert

it was repaired.. but sadly.. it needed the combined components of two Conic Korcnoi's to make one working one

what remained of the first was a mere shell of its former self and was not worth the shipping costs to send it back to me

the ravaged carcass of the first Conic has been buried with high honors and 24 gun salute as befits such a rare computer

RIP Regards
Steve
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Post by Robert Weck »

Steve B wrote:it was repaired.. but sadly.. it needed the combined components of two Conic Korcnoi's to make one working one

what remained of the first was a mere shell of its former self and was not worth the shipping costs to send it back to me

the ravaged carcass of the first Conic has been buried with high honors and 24 gun salute as befits such a rare computer

RIP Regards
Steve
sad to hear that, but one working is better than two defective... :wink:


Robert
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Post by Steve B »

Continuing with the endless testing of the old dedicated computers ..
the Elite Avante Guarde V6 was due up next ..for its check up ..from the neck up..

its rating is about 2075-2100 Elo

whats nice about all the EAG computers starting from V2 on up is that they have
the ability to store positions into Ram which had a wide downward swing in
evaluations..to Learn" from its mistakes so to speak

the V6 has 512 k Ram for this feature
it runs on a 68020 processor at 20 Mhz

the Elite AG V6:

Image

just to see if everything was still in working order i set up a quickie(5 min Blitz)

i took White

[White "Steve B"]
[Black "Fidelity EAG V6"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 Bf5 4. Nf3 Bxb1 5. Rxb1 Qa5+

[fen]rn2kbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/q2p4/2PP4/4PN2/PP3PPP/1RBQKB1R w Kkq - 0 1[/fen]
EAG immediately goes for the win of a pawn at the price of development


6. Bd2 Qxa2 7. Qc2 Nd7
[fen]r3kbnr/pp1npppp/2p5/3p4/2PP4/4PN2/qPQB1PPP/1R2KB1R w Kkq - 0 1[/fen]
so the EAG has his pawn..
white develops in earnest....

8. Bd3 Ngf6 9. O-O Qa6

[fen]r3kb1r/pp1npppp/q1p2n2/3p4/2PP4/3BPN2/1PQB1PPP/1R3RK1 w kq - 0 1[/fen]
the V6 realizing the Queen will be trapped moves away, but my pieces are all
pointed right at her

10. cxd5 Qb6 11. dxc6 bxc6

[fen]r3kb1r/p2npppp/1qp2n2/8/3P4/3BPN2/1PQB1PPP/1R3RK1 w kq - 0 1[/fen]
i have regained the pawn..Black has not Castled and the attack is all mine

12. Rfc1 Rc8 13.e4 Ng4 14. h3

[fen]2r1kb1r/p2npppp/1qp5/8/3PP1n1/3B1N1P/1PQB1PP1/1RR3K1 w k - 0 1[/fen]
not D5 yet because of the Q and N attack on F2

..14 Nh6 15. d5 c5 16. Be3 e6 17. dxe6 Qxe6 18. Bc4 Qb6 19. Qd3
Bd6 20. Bb5 Qc7 21. e5 Be7

22. e6!
[fen]2r1k2r/p1qnbppp/4P2n/1Bp5/8/3QBN1P/1P3PP1/1RR3K1 w k - 0 1[/fen]
clearing the E5 square for the N


..22 fxe6 23. Ne5 Rd8 24. Nxd7 a6 25. Nxc5+
axb5 26. Qxb5+ Kf7 27. Nxe6 Qd6 28. Nxd8+ Rxd8 29. Rd1 Qxd1+ 30. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 31. Kh2 Bd6+ 32. g3 Ra1 33. Bxh6 gxh6

[fen]8/5k1p/3b3p/1Q6/8/6PP/1P3P1K/r7 w - - 0 1[/fen]

the smoke of battle clears and i am up a Q and 4 Pawns to Blacks RB and a pair
of doubled Pawns
all i have to do is run the B pawn up the file

34. Qb7+ Be7 35. b4 Kf8 36.
b5 Ra2 37. Kg2 Rb2 38. Qc6 Kg7 39. b6 h5 40. b7 Bf6 41.
Qd7+ Kg6 42. Qe8+ Kh6 43. b8=Q Rxb8 44. Qxb8 1-0

FINAL POSITION

[fen]1Q6/7p/5b1k/7p/8/6PP/5PK1/8 w - - 0 1[/fen]


the rest..as they say...was a matter of Technique Regards
Steve
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Post by Steve B »

This posting marks the 75th chess computer i have tested since i began this thread back in April on the "nameless Forum"

To Celebrate the occasion and since i was Feeling a bit sadistic ..
i decided to match the Fidelity CC10 (due next for testing ) against the strongest dedicated chess computer ever released for sale..the Resurrection II-Rybka (2.2)

While no rating has yet been established for the Res II i can say that more then 100 games have been already played by the SSDF with further testing ongoing..suffice it to say it will be the highest official rating ever given to a dedicated chess computer by the SSDF ..and then some

the rating for the well known Fidelity CC10 is 1140(SS)
a huge seller for Fidelity it was programmed by Ron Nelson and released in 1978
it was the third computer Fidelity released for sale and it was made of glorious wood like the previous two computers(CC1,CC3)
for the next two years Fidelity would release a wide range of models all made from plastic ...returning to wood again in 1980

it under went several program revisions ..most notably a revision to allow the CC10 to Castle which it would not do in its first released version.as i purchased the CC10 when it was first released..sadly it does not Castle and we shall soon see...

the CC10:

Image

as indicated by its name the CC10 had ten levels of play..i set the computer to its highest playable level 8(11 min.per move)
the two longer levels are a mate in 2 level(6)and a 24 hour per move level(7)

to even things out a bit i configured the ResII with the following parameters:
LEVEL-1 second per move
NO BOOK
Pondering -OFF

at 1 second per move the ResII reports search depths of 4 ply

[White "Fidelity CC10"]
[Black "Resurrection II"]

1.e4 Nc6 2.Nc3 e5 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 O-O 6.Be2 h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.a4
d6 9.Qc1 Bd7 10.Rg1

[fen]r4rk1/pppb1pp1/2np1q1p/2b1p3/P3P3/2NP1N2/1PP1BPPP/R1Q1K1R1 w Q - 0 10[/fen]
and the dreaded Castling bug rears its ugly head
sigh..
10.Nb4 11.h4 a6
12.b3 Bc6 13.h5 d5 14.exd5 Bxd5 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.Rh1 Qb6 17.g4 Bxf2+

[fen]r4rk1/1pp2pp1/pq5p/3np2P/P5P1/1P1P1N2/2P1Bb2/R1Q1K2R w Q - 0 18[/fen]
the CC10 dosent even defend against a 1 move threat
i think the CC3 played better in my Matches against Legacy Hiarcs then the CC10 does here
one thing really nice about the ResII is that you can save a game and along with all of the moves it will also save the Scores after each move
here the ResII is showing ....+2.59

18.Kf1 Bg3 19.Kg2 Qf2+ 20.Kh3


[fen]r4rk1/1pp2pp1/p6p/3np2P/P5P1/1P1P1NbK/2P1Bq2/R1Q4R w - - 0 20[/fen]
interestingly Whites last move and next are both forced and still the CC10 took about 3 minutes to make its move
at least it does manage to avoid being mated ...

20..Nf4+ 21.Qxf4 Bxf4 22.Rag1 Qxe2 23.Ne1 f5
24.gxf5 Rxf5
[fen]r5k1/1pp3p1/p6p/4pr1P/P4b2/1P1P3K/2P1q3/4N1RR w - - 0 25[/fen]
here the ResII..thinking for 1second..without pondering on Whites last move .. announces a forced mate in 5..

25.Rg4 Rxh5+ 26.Rh4 and RESIGNS
0-1

FINAL POSITION
[fen]r5k1/1pp3p1/p6p/4p2r/P4b1R/1P1P3K/2P1q3/4N2R w - - 0 26[/fen]

the CC10 can see forced mates in two so here the CC10 resigns flashing the I LOSE light

well i guess the CC1O is working but i am not so sure if that is ...

Good Or Bad Regards
Steve
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Post by Steve B »

Time to turn back the clock over 25 years to a time long forgotten ..
a Golden Age where men were men and computer chess was played by dedicated computers

into the examination tables walks the Destiny GGM Steinitz Edition 4
sadly the very last computer released by the proud Applied Concepts company which soon went out of business after its release
rated 1496 Elo it was one of the few computers released by the company that could indicate a position evaluation and it had user adjustable time controls

its opponent is the Ultra Rare Scisys Courier V
so rare that i know of only one other collector that owns one
so rare in fact that i do not even remember how i acquired it
little is known about this computer and i cannot find anything in the literature about it
what is known is this....
it had the same housing as the Travel Mate II(Indeed the casing is marked as such)
it could not ponder on the opponents move
it had 8 rather unusual levels such as 6 seconds per move and 35 minutes per move

trying to match these two is not easy as the levels offered by both are not very similar
i choose level 3 for Herr Steinitz which is 1 min per move Avg,while the Courier V was set to level 4 which was an odd 50 seconds per move average

in the Game S was out of book at move 3 and typically reached search depths of 4 Ply
the CV had White

a word of caution..the chess that follows is not pretty..but it should be remembered that even the worlds fastest Olympic Athletes stumbled and fell when they first learned to walk.
this was the early days of commercial chess programming and without baby steps like these we would not have today the powerful chess engines like Hiarcs soon to be rated 4000 Elo or better

The Steinitz Edition 4 Module:
Image

the Great Game Machine(GGM )housing:
Image

The Scisys Courier V:

Image

the first recorded game for the Scisys Courier V on the net(and perhaps anywhere):

[White "Scisys Courier V"]
[Black "Destiny Steinitz"]
[TimeControl "about 1 minute per move-"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nbd2 Nc6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Ne5 Nxe5 6.dxe5 Ng4
7.Bb5+ c6 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxg4 Bxc2 10.Qd4 Qb6 11.Qf4 e6 12.O-O Bd3 13.Rd1
Qb4 14.Qg5 h6 15.Qf4 Qxf4 16.exf4 Bc5 17.Nb3 Bc2 18.Rd2 Bxb3 19.axb3 a5
20.h4 b6 21.h5 O-O-O 22.Ra2 Kb7 23.g3 d4 24.Ra1 d3 25.g4 Bb4 26.Rd1 d2

[fen]3r3r/1k3pp1/1pp1p2p/p3P2P/1b3PP1/1P6/1P1p1P2/R1BR2K1 w - - 0 27[/fen]
A brutal position for the Courier V..the pawn thrust to the second rank is like a knife thrust in the neck
Herr Steinitz was showing a PV of +4.54 here
27.Kh2 dxc1=Q 28.Raxc1 Bd2 29.Ra1 Bxf4+ 30.Kh1 Bxe5 31.Rxd8 Rxd8 32.Kg2
Rd3 33.b4 axb4 34.Ra2 Rd2 35.Kf3 b3 36.Ra3 Rxb2 37.Ke3 Bd6 38.Ra4 Bc5+
39.Kf4 Rxf2+ 40.Kg3 b2

[fen]8/1k3pp1/1pp1p2p/2b4P/R5P1/6K1/1p3r2/8 w - - 0 41[/fen]


My ResII tells me this is a mate in 7 ..while the Steintz does not announce this,encouragingly it does make all correct mating moves

41.Ra2 b1=Q 42.Rxf2 Qe1 43.g5 Qxf2+ 44.Kg4 Bd6 45.gxh6 Qg3# 0-1

FINAL POSITION
[fen]8/1k3pp1/1ppbp2P/7P/6K1/6q1/8/8 w - - 0 46 [/fen]

Glory Days Regards
Steve
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Post by spacious_mind »

Steve B wrote:
The Scisys Courier V:

Image
Steve:

Courier V looks great!
Nick
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Post by Steve B »

Even small hand held portables must be examined and tested from time to time to insure they are healthy and not contagious to the other computers in my collection

i haven't tested the little Excalibur LCD Computer Chess in quite some time and so i tossed in on the examination table for its annual physical
the LCDCC is a cute little unit with LCD pieces and i guesstimate its rating at around 1350-1400 Elo

Image
taking my cues from the Rybka-Ehlvest matches played earlier this year i decided to give the LCD pawn odds but rather then remove one pawn at a time..game by game.. as we dance across the board.. i went for it all by removing ALL my pawns in one shot
the time control was 60 seconds per move/Avg.. and i took the White pieces


[White "Steve B"]
[Black "Excalibur LCD Chess"]
[Time Control "1 minute per move/Avg."]


REMOVE ALL WHITE PAWNS
STARTING POSITION

[fen]rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/8/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1[/fen]

1. Bc4 e6 2. Qf3 Bb4+ 3. Bd2 Be7 4. Qg3 g6 5. Nc3 d5 6. Nb5 Kd7 7. Bc3 Nf6 8. Rd1 Na6
9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Bxd5 exd5 11.. Rxd5+ Kc6 12. Rxd8 Rxd8 13. Nxa7+ Rxa7 14. Qf3+ Rd5 15. Qxf6+ Be6
16. Nf3 Kb6 17. Rxh7 Rf5 18. Qb2+Rb5 19. Qf6

[fen]8/rpp2p1R/nk2bQp1/1r6/8/5N2/8/4K3 w - - 0 19[/fen]
i have gained back some material being down now only -3(Q for R+N+4Pawns)
however like Ehlvest i was not above going for the Repetition as soon as i could

LCD saw no reason to repeat and played on..


19.. Rb1+ 20. Kf2 Nc5 21. Rh4 Ra2+
22. Kg3 Raa1 23. Qc3

[fen]8/1pp2p2/1k2b1p1/2n5/7R/2Q2NK1/8/rr6 w - - 0 23[/fen]
now i was starting to like my position and i had dreams of pious glory if i could win this

23.. Bd5 24. Rb4+ Rxb4 25. Qxb4+ Kc6 26. Nd4+ Kd6 27. Nb5+ Kc6
28. Nd4+ Kd6 29. Nb5+ Kc6 30. Nd4+

FINAL POSITION
[fen]8/1pp2p2/2k3p1/2nb4/1Q1N4/6K1/8/r7 w - - 0 30[/fen]

DRAWN
Awaking from my dreams to the harsh reality of the cruel world outside i took another cue from Ehlvest and grabbed the draw by repetition

Ehlvest Has Left The Building Regards
Steve
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Post by Steve B »

while i am on the subject of Excalibur i thought i would test another one so i made an appointment with the Karpov 2294 to come in for its annual physical

the unusual name for the computers derives from the fact that Excalibur entered it for a CRA Rating(USCF) and it came in with a rating of 2294 after 40 rated games
the computer is in reality the Novag Emerald Classic Plus but with an Excalibur Badge and it is really about 1960 Elo in strength
one thing i like about the packaging of the 2294 is that it was sold with a nice wooden piece set(similar to the Citrine pieces but smaller) and a nice leather pouch for the pieces..i always appreciate little extra's like that

i escorted the 2294 into the examination room asked it to undress and then bend over across the examination table
donning my proctological examination gloves ..i removed the battery compartment cover and inserted 6 new fresh C batteries

In the Exam room next door was the similarly rated Tiger Grenadier(also 1960ish)
the Tiger brand name is not held in very high regard by collectors but the Grenadier is a bit special because it contains the only program Chrilly Donninger(Of Hydra and Nimzo fame)ever wrote for a dedicated chess computer

also interesting about the Grenadier is that it has an "action chess" button which if pressed immediately sets up a game to be played at Blitz 30 minutes

having the button right in front of me i decided to play the game at that time control and give the G the first move

In the Game the G was out of book by move 3!
both computers reached typical search depths of 7 ply with the G searching about 4000 positions per second

the Karpov 2294:

Image


The Grenadier

Image


[White "Tiger Grenadier"]
[Black "Excalibur Karpov 2294"]
[TimeControl "Game 30 Min"]

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nd5 Bc5 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Bd3 d6 7.O-O Nxd5
8.cxd5 Nb4 9.Bc4 Bf5 10.a3 Nd3 11.Qb3 Nxc1 12.Raxc1 Bg4 13.d4 Bb6 14.Bd3

[fen]r2q1rk1/ppp2ppp/1b1p4/3Pp3/3P2b1/PQ1BPN2/1P3PPP/2R2RK1 w - - 0 14[/fen]

Whites last move was one diagonal too short
in fact i double checked its display screen to make sure it hadn't played 14Be2 instead
from here on in Black decimates the White King side and gobbles up several pawns

14.Bxf3 15.gxf3 Qg5+ 16.Kh1 exd4 17.Rg1 Qh4 18.Kg2 dxe3 19.fxe3 Qg5+ 20.Kh1
Qxe3 21.Rgf1 Rae8 22.Rc3 Qd2 23.Qc2 Qh6 24.Qg2 Re3 25.Be4 Rxc3 26.bxc3
Re8 27.Qg4 Qe3 28.Qf5 g6 29.Qg4 Qxc3 30.Qd7 Kf8 31.Qa4 f5 32.Qc2 Qxa3
33.Bd3 Qa5 34.Qb2 Qxd5 35.Qh8+ Kf7 36.Qxh7+ Kf6 37.Bb1 Qc4 38.Qh3 Kg7
39.Rd1

[fen]4r3/ppp3k1/1b1p2p1/5p2/2q5/5P1Q/7P/1B1R3K w - - 0 39[/fen]
Karpov is just up 4 pawns for nothing here
this game reminds me of the Hydra-Adams match two years ago in which Adams was beaten like a small child
the difference here of course is that the Grenadier is on the losing end as is not running on 1000+ processors

39.c6 40.Qg3 Qe2 41.Rc1 Bf2 42.Qg2 Bd4 43.Qg3 Qe3 44.Rd1 Be5 45.Qg2
Rh8 46.h3 Rh5 47.Bd3 d5 48.Be2 Qh6 49.Bf1 Qe3 50.Be2 Qh6 51.Bf1 Qf4
52.Rd3 Qc1 53.Rb3 b6 54.Rd3 Rh8 55.Kg1 Re8 56.Rd2 Qc5+ 57.Kh1 a5 58.Re2
Qd4 59.Rc2 Qa4 60.Re2 Qh4 61.Rc2 c5 62.Re2 Re6 63.Rd2 d4
64.Re2 g5 65.Kg1 Qf4 66.Kh1 c4 67.Rf2 d3 68.Rd2 Bc3 69.Rd1 Re3 70.Rb1
Rxf3 71.Qg1 Bd4 72.Qg2 g4 73.hxg4 Be5 74.Re1 Qh6+

[fen]8/6k1/1p5q/p3bp2/2p3P1/3p1r2/6Q1/4RB1K w - - 0 75[/fen]
here the 2294 announces a Mate In 4
75.Qh3 Rxh3+ 76.Kg1

Rh1+ 77.Kg2 Qh3+ 78.Kf2 Qg3# 0-1

FINAL POSITION

[fen]8/6k1/1p6/p3bp2/2p3P1/3p2q1/5K2/4RB1r w - - 0 79[/fen]

it would be interesting to know if the program in the Grenadier bears any relationship to the program in Hydra or Nimzo

sadly however we will never know .. Regards
Steve
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Steve B wrote:Even small hand held portables must be examined and tested from time to time to insure they are healthy and not contagious to the other computers in my collection

i haven't tested the little Excalibur LCD Computer Chess in quite some time and so i tossed in on the examination table for its annual physical
the LCDCC is a cute little unit with LCD pieces and i guesstimate its rating at around 1350-1400 Elo

Image
taking my cues from the Rybka-Ehlvest matches played earlier this year i decided to give the LCD pawn odds but rather then remove one pawn at a time..game by game.. as we dance across the board.. i went for it all by removing ALL my pawns in one shot
the time control was 60 seconds per move/Avg.. and i took the White pieces
Steve:
What is the Model # on your LCD? I have # 375 and #375-1. 375 has all the squares and board outlined with a black grid. 375-1 has no black grid but is numbered 1-8 and A-H bottom and left of the board display. I have a suspicion that 375-1 plays a little stronger from what I saw in my tournament (won it's group) I played 375 earlier for a couple of games in my tournament but it didnt give me the sense of being as good. I might have to play them head to head.

ps... I agree Karpov seems to be a nicer finish to the Emerald Classic Plus. Btw Excalibur Mentor has the same board finish as the Karpov 2294 but is of course a Mentor 16 clone of Novag's.

Have you ever actually played back Karpov and Classic Plus to ensure they clones and not just look alikes? (making a note to do that someday)


All the best
Nick
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Post by Steve B »

spacious_mind wrote:
I have a suspicion that 375-1 plays a little stronger from what I saw in my tournament (won it's group) I played 375 earlier for a couple of games in my tournament but it didnt give me the sense of being as good. I might have to play them head to head.
hi Nick
you were right about the 375-1!

i just now received this from a very reliable source

The 375-1 was a software upgrade of the 375.
In addition the program was designed to be a universal chip that was used in
multiple products like Touch Chess, King Arthur and Chess Station.

The software improvement was the addition of adding killer moves to the
beginning of the list of moves under consideration.
Principle Variation move, Killer moves (2), captures, and finally
non-captures.
This change gave a significant speed up and probably raised its chess rating
by 100 points.


as to the Karpov 2294 ....
I dont own the ECP but i asked this same source at the time of the 2294's Release and it was confirmed they use the same program

however independent confirmation is always of course welcome




Best Regards
Steve
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Steve B wrote:
spacious_mind wrote:
I have a suspicion that 375-1 plays a little stronger from what I saw in my tournament (won it's group) I played 375 earlier for a couple of games in my tournament but it didnt give me the sense of being as good. I might have to play them head to head.
hi Nick
you were right about the 375-1!

i just now received this from a very reliable source

The 375-1 was a software upgrade of the 375.
In addition the program was designed to be a universal chip that was used in
multiple products like Touch Chess, King Arthur and Chess Station.

The software improvement was the addition of adding killer moves to the
beginning of the list of moves under consideration.
Principle Variation move, Killer moves (2), captures, and finally
non-captures.
This change gave a significant speed up and probably raised its chess rating
by 100 points.


as to the Karpov 2294 ....
I dont own the ECP but i asked this same source at the time of the 2294's Release and it was confirmed they use the same program

however independent confirmation is always of course welcome




Best Regards
Steve
Hi Steve

Excellent ! Thanks a lot for the new tidbits of information. :)

Perhaps your friend can help me find answers to this question.

Does he know the differences between Igor, Ivan, Alexandra and Ivan II?

I know that Igor and Ivan PONDER and Alexandra and Ivan II do not. I played recently a little mini tournament between these 4 and the order of ranking was:
1) Igor
2) Ivan
3) Alexandra
4) Ivan II

As expected the two that Ponder came 1 and 2. However since the opening book was 100% identical for all 4 and the level settings for Igor and Ivan or Alexandra and Ivan II are the same there is a quick tendency to say that Igor and Ivan are the same and Alexandra and Ivan II are the same. However without doing positional tests my game experience told me that.
1) Igor is the strongest and stronger then Ivan
2) Alexandra is stronger then Ivan II
3) Igor and Alexandra play the nicest chess
4) Ivan and Ivan II play a weaker chess

So taking Ponder away and any other differences my first impression is to say that Igor and Alexandra have similar software configurations and and Ivan and Ivan II have similar software configurations, but all 4 have the same base program but somehow set up differently.

I am having some discussions about this with a friend and I will be doing some positional tests shortly to see if this helps to clarify the differences.

So anyway it would be nice to know what you or your friend know about these 4 programs as well as perhaps also Grandmaster, Mirage, DTTC and Touch Chess II which are all likely closely related with regards to the chess software.

ps. It looks like I now have to find space for # 375 in my tournament since it is different :P

All the best
Nick
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