Blacksails911 said this (I think he was talking to me):
Hi, I guess I was bidding against you on the Vegas gambit (sorry about that). I stopped bidding at around 600. I need a stronger dedicated, my MM IV does not put up enough opposition (I was a 2400 FIDE in another life). Any recommendations? I hate playing vs software. Where can I get a decent standalone around 2300 strength? Maybe somebody on here wants to sell something? I own an exclusive board and would love to get some stronger cartridges for it.
I can't speak to cartridges. I go for self-contained units. As far as I know, nothing self-contained hits the (subjective) 2300 mark. I'll suggest these options, in order of strength:
Mephisto Milano - in theory, about 60 ticks stronger in ELO than your MM IV, but it's a variant of the same Schroder program, which might feel boring.
Fidelity Designer 2265 or 2325 - the first shows up more often than the second. Both boards are stronger than your MM IV (1980 to 2070 ELO), but they are somewhat rare. Variants appear in Fidelity wooden boards. Limited feature sets.
Mephisto Explorer Pro - a Morsch product, widely and cheaply available (100 USD) in an amusing and unique housing, plays at roughly 2050 ELO. Nice features, small pieces. Approximately equal to Mephisto Chess Challenger and the older GK 2100, but more fun.
Mephisto Master - again, widely available for a reasonable price (200 USD is about right), and kickass strong (2100 ELO on the low side.) Don't be fooled by numbers. This machine is devastating.
Novag Star Diamond - a bit hard to find, expensive, reputed to have a human style, ELO rating ranges from 2100-2150. Stronger than Novag Citrine, an auto-sensory board that is a bit cumbersome on setup, but a joy to play (active ELO rating 2050).
Mephisto Atlanta - hard to find, not cheap, but the best Morsch program available, and the strongest battery-operated dedicated ever made. ELO ranges from 2150 to 2267. A beast.
Apart from this, leaving TASC R30 aside, you're looking at Saitek RISC 2500 and the Mephisto Montreux for de Koning programs. Basically they're clones. Both are strong (2200 to 2250 ELO), both are rare, and both are pricey, but both are worth it, in my opinion.
Excepting the Montreux, I own all the machines mentioned above. I just snagged the Berlin Pro in the auction we're discussing, but...that's partly because I'm hung up on the strongest machines by different programmers. Until this week, I had nothing by Richard Lang - programmer of the Berlin Pro. I have his Chess Genius app on my phone, which is similar to the brain of the Berlin Pro. For me, the opponent is maddeningly difficult - a pure liquidator.
- R.
"You have, let us say, a promising politician, a rising artist that you wish to destroy. Dagger or bomb are archaic and unreliable - but teach him, inoculate him with chess."
– H.G. Wells
Your best chance will be these Phoenix modules though, when pressed for time... Pricey, but up there when it comes to playing strenght in a exclusive board.