Has the Sphinx Comet CXG-902 really an elo of 1800?

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paulwise3
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Has the Sphinx Comet CXG-902 really an elo of 1800?

Post by paulwise3 »

Today I acquired the Sphinx Comet, expecting to have a machine of 1800 elo. However, both at 15 secs/move as in 30 secs/move the Europa A (elo 1700) won easily. Also, there is a dutch leaflet in the user manual stating an elo of 1500.
In the 30 secs/move game it made a horrible blunder, and even up to level B4 (10 minutes/move) it sticks to that move (Comet plays black):
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Be6 6. Nxd5 Bxd5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8. Nf3 e4 9. Nh4 e3 10. O-O exf2 11. Rxf2 Nc6 12. e4 Qxe4??? 13. Re2 Bc5+ 14. Kf1 Qxe2 etc.

On the site of the spacious mind it states an elo of 1800. Also, on some other sites it is sometimes stated that it is a clone of the CXG Legend. Can anyone explain?

Regards, Paul
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paulwise3
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Post by paulwise3 »

Forgot to mention that I selected the Normal mode level
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pr1uk
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Post by pr1uk »

I thought the Legend was around 1750 and yes i see on The Spacious Mind (great site) it does indeed say 1800. As for the dutch leaflet in the user manual stating an elo of 1500 maybe that was the Manufacturer ELO ?
More tests needed and maybe someone else as one and as had different results the different playing styles does look interesting.
King Performance Chess Computer M830
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paulwise3
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Post by paulwise3 »

Yep, it is the manufacturer elo. In the 2 games I played so far it played a nice positional style, but with tactics their seems to be a horizon problem.
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Post by spacious_mind »

Paul:

You are correct, I just tested it and it does seem to be weaker than 1800. It plays a lot of the moves the same as the Advanced Star Chess which originally made me think it was the same as the ASC, it is not.

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Nick
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paulwise3
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Post by paulwise3 »

Nick: Thanx for your post. On another forum I found a discussion about the Krypton Comet and the Sphinx Comet. An owner of the Sphinx confirmed there that it's elo cannot be more than 1500. That is what the dutch manufacturer leaflet also stated.
In the meantime, I will ask some relations if they know more. When I get more info, I will let you know.

Regards, Paul.
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Post by Steve B »

paulwise3 wrote: In the meantime, I will ask some relations if they know more. When I get more info, I will let you know.
you actually have family relatives that own a Sphinx Comet?
jeez i wish my relatives could manage to learn how to play Tic Tac Toe ..let alone chess

:shock: Regards :shock:
Steve
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Sargon1972
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Post by Sargon1972 »

Hello ,

Well the Comet is the Enterprise S program to mine opinion :o

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

Kr,Hans
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paulwise3
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Post by paulwise3 »

Steve: My relatives don't do more then rummikub ;-). In dutch, a relation can mean also a friend, a colleage or even a business contact.
Only recently I was infected bij the chesscomputer collectors virus, and got in contact with some great collectors. Hans is one of them! And one of the others appears to have more documentation about this Comet! I will let you know if it becomes available.

Paul.
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Post by Steve B »

paulwise3 wrote:Steve: My relatives don't do more then rummikub ;-). In dutch, a relation can mean also a friend, a colleage or even a business contact.
Only recently I was infected bij the chesscomputer collectors virus, and got in contact with some great collectors. Hans is one of them! And one of the others appears to have more documentation about this Comet! I will let you know if it becomes available.

Paul.
Hi Paul
i was foolihg around(Joking)
thanks for the offer but i already own the Sphinx Comet in its box with Manual

https://www.flickr.com/photos/10261668@ ... 923816793/

Comet Landed Regards
Steve
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paulwise3
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Post by paulwise3 »

Hm, you are fooling around again, deliberately misunderstanding my poor English ;-). But if you own the Comet, maybe you know more about processor type, speed, Rom and Ram?
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Post by Steve B »

paulwise3 wrote:Hm, you are fooling around again, deliberately misunderstanding my poor English ;-). But if you own the Comet, maybe you know more about processor type, speed, Rom and Ram?

No Sorry
i checked the manual and box but as usual with the lower rated computers no technical data is mentioned
i guess i could open it up but i have no interest in doing that

Thanks Regards
Steve
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Post by Mentat »

paulwise3 wrote:Hm, you are fooling around again, deliberately misunderstanding my poor English ;-). But if you own the Comet, maybe you know more about processor type, speed, Rom and Ram?
Hi Paul. I just went over the recent posts and saw your question. I'd go along with Hans who said that the Comet is most probably the old Enterprise S program, which was later superseded by the Advanced Star Chess (tactically excellent program by Kaare Danielson). Since you state that the Comet plays positionally sound games but has problems with the horizon, it must be inferior to the ASC which is rated approx. 1650 or so. This should further imply that your Comet cannot be rated higher than 1450-1500, as stated. I remember from the early days of chess computers that I read in one of the issues of the Computerschach und Spiele magazine about the Advanced Star Chess being a significantly better machine than the Enterpriise S, and this was illustrated by some examples. Unfortunately I have kept only 1998-2005 issues of the CSS and can't find the particular article.

As an aside, your English is just great and so much better than the Dutch idiom of our dear forum friend. Let him chew on that regards :-)

Djordje
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paulwise3
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Post by paulwise3 »

Hi all,
Since 25-1-2015 there is a document available about the Sphinx Comet, stating it must be a clone of the Enterprise S. One significant difference is that the Comet has 4 playing styles. Unfortunate for a lot of you, the language is mostly dutch and german. If that is a great barrier for you, I am willing to translate it.
See http://www.schaakcomputers.nl/hein_veld ... 04-1996%20[A-2465]%20CXG%20-%20Sphinx%20Comet.pdf

As I stated in another thread, I like it's (standard) playing style. It's a nice machine to play a quick game with.

PS: Nice to know also: I read somewhere on http://www.schach-computer.info that this 4kb rom program of Kaare Danielsen is considered to be the best 4kb program that exists.

Regards, Paul.
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paulwise3
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Post by paulwise3 »

Recently I am playing some matches (30 secs/move) at home, one of them is Novag Carnelian II - CXG Sphinx Comet. The results confirm the difference in strength between the two, assuming it is indeed the same program as the Enterprise S. So far the Comet scored a lot of losses and a few draws by move repetition. As I am playing a match of 20 games, both machines show their strengths and weaknesses in full ;-).
One thing in particular struck me: it seems that the Comet does ponder, as it gives a lot of immediate answers during the game. That is something that is nowhere documented! Very interesting.

Pondering 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...
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