Dedicated Tournament

[Steve B]

[White "Master"]
[Black "Obsidian"]
[Result "1-0"]


1. d4 d5 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Bg5 h6

[fen]rnbq1rk1/ppp1bpp1/4pn1p/3p2B1/3P4/5NP1/PPP1PPBP/RN1Q1RK1 w - - 0 7[/fen]

I bet your chess computer doesn't play...

7. Bh4?!

you got that right
i gave this position to the Novag Constellation Expert (5Mhz) 1 Min.Per Move Avg.
it will play 7.Bf4 scoring the position +.39 in its favor

[fen]r1q2k1r/1bp2p2/ppn5/3R4/8/2P2QP1/PP3PBP/4R1K1 w - - 0 23[/fen]

Can white finish the attack?


23. Rh5!! INSPIRED play from the Master!

i also fed it this position
here the Conny Expert will play
23.Qf6
scoring the position +.43 in its favor


Uninspired Regards
Steve

[Carl Bicknell]

Thanks for testing that.

I'd be very interested to know if the Atlanta plays 7.Bh4?!

[Steve B]

Thanks for testing that.

I'd be very interested to know if the Atlanta plays 7.Bh4?!

The Powerful Atlanta (Game 60 Min.)will also play 7.Bf4 scoring the position equal 0.00

In the second position Atlanta immediately sees 23.Rh5 and plays it

Semi-Inspired Regards
Steve

[Carl Bicknell]

Thanks for testing that.

I'd be very interested to know if the Atlanta plays 7.Bh4?!

The Powerful Atlanta (Game 60 Min.)will also play 7.Bf4 scoring the position equal 0.00

In the second position Atlanta immediately sees 23.Rh5 and plays it

Semi-Inspired Regards
Steve

Well this is interesting. I've heard you say before (I think it was you) that the Master is basically the Atlanta without hash tables.

But I'm starting to wonder. I just can't explain 7.Bh4, unless it's
a) a bug
b) a very different evaluation.

Made for a nice game though...

[Larry]

One of my personal favourites is the underestimated Master. I think this may be under-rated on the rating lists due to its Ponder-bug which switches off every time you start a new game. I was very careful to make sure it was ON throughout the tournament.

Hi Carl, by "Ponder", I'm assuming you are referring to the Power Saving
Mode (square B2 in 'options',page12). The manual does cover this in a couple of
notes given in italics. Seems it's not a 'bug', but an easily overlooked
feature of the settings. Whenever the playing level is changed, the computer
will choose the best Power Saving Mode to extend battery life, but it seems
without regard to how the playing strength is impacted. Yes, the Master is
likely stronger than the rating lists are stating, and thanks for bringing the
matter up.
The Master is my first choice for a travelling chess comp on a flight. Up until a few years back they were actually being advertised NEW on
ebay by retailers. Now they are on the 'hard-to-get' list.
L

[Larry]

On checking the Atlanta owner's manual, the same option (square B2),
is called the "Easy" mode. All other options are identical to the Master.
I never noticed this before.
Thanks for a great tourney, Carl. The ratings mismatches added to
the interest.
L

[Carl Bicknell]

One of my personal favourites is the underestimated Master. I think this may be under-rated on the rating lists due to its Ponder-bug which switches off every time you start a new game. I was very careful to make sure it was ON throughout the tournament.

Hi Carl, by "Ponder", I'm assuming you are referring to the Power Saving
Mode (square B2 in 'options',page12). The manual does cover this in a couple of
notes given in italics. Seems it's not a 'bug', but an easily overlooked
feature of the settings. Whenever the playing level is changed, the computer
will choose the best Power Saving Mode to extend battery life, but it seems
without regard to how the playing strength is impacted. Yes, the Master is
likely stronger than the rating lists are stating, and thanks for bringing the
matter up.
The Master is my first choice for a travelling chess comp on a flight. Up until a few years back they were actually being advertised NEW on
ebay by retailers. Now they are on the 'hard-to-get' list.
L

Hi,

Yes that is what I meant. It seems a strange default option to me and I bet testers sometimes forget to change it to Power saving = OFF (i.e Ponder = ON) which would lower the grade of the Master.

Shame the Master is hard to get now....

[Carl Bicknell]

On checking the Atlanta owner's manual, the same option (square B2),
is called the "Easy" mode. All other options are identical to the Master.
I never noticed this before.
Thanks for a great tourney, Carl. The ratings mismatches added to
the interest.
L

The tournament is an All-play-all and is far from over! It's only over when the crosstable is complete.

I have another 20 games to share, with updated results. I'll try to do this on Thursday.

Unfortunately it may now be very difficult to complete the tournament fully because the Master has developed a fault and won't switch on properly!

If anyone in the UK can fix these machines please get in touch...

[Carl Bicknell]

OK, next update has come through:

Games 111 onwards

111. London 68030 - Simultano 1-0
112. Tasc R30 - London 68030 0.5 - 0.5
113. Obsidian - Polgar 0-1
114. Shredder - Diamond II 0.5-0.5
115. London 68030 - Tasc R30 0-1 (This could decide the tournament!)
116. Vancouver 68000 - Obsidian 0.5-0.5
117. Obsidian - Vancouver 68000 0-1
118. London 68030 - Diamond II 0.5-0.5 (Another good effort by the Novag)
119. London 68030 - Vancouver 68000 1-0 (total slaughter in 24 moves)
120. Master - London 68030 1-0 (!!! The Master has teeth)
121. London 68030 - Master 1-0
122. Diamond II - Vancouver 68000 0-1
123. Vancouver 68000 - London 68030 1-0 (Oh goodness...)
124. Simultano - Polgar 0-1
125. Simultano - Diamond II 0-1
126. Vancouver 68000 - Simultano 1-0
127. Simultano - Vancouver 68000 0-1
128. Diamond II - Polgar 10 MHz 1-0

[Carl Bicknell]

[IanO]

Now let's move on to games 101-110

101. Shredder - Tasc R30 1-0 (Shredder played very well)
102. Obsidian - Tasc R30 0-1
103. Tasc R30 - Simultano 1-0
104. Simultano - Tasc R30 0-1
105. Diamond II - Tasc R30 1-0 (ouch!!)
106. Tasc R30 - Diamond II 0-1 (Double ouch!!)
107. Polgar - Tasc R30 0-1
108. Tasc R30 - Master 1-0
109. Shredder - Master 1-0
110. Obsidian - London 68030 0-1


So a few big shocks here: lots of Tasc R30 games to look at. It's a very powerful machine absolutely gorgeous to use. Apart from the pieces being a bit light I'd say its design is flawless for its day. Anyway, it came a bit unstuck against the Diamond II which slightly outbooked the Tasc and also seemed to handle the ultra-sharp games better!

Oof! As a Sapphire II owner, I'd love to see those R30 upsets!

[Carl Bicknell]

eeek! I have a serious problem!

The Master is not powering up properly. It comes on and does it's little sounds, but all the buttons have frozen after that. I've tried using the ACL key, etc etc.

Any ideas? Anyone fix these things in the UK? All remaining games in the tournament are do do with the Master...

[Larry]

eeek! I have a serious problem!

The Master is not powering up properly. It comes on and does it's little sounds, but all the buttons have frozen after that. I've tried using the ACL key, etc etc.

Any ideas? Anyone fix these things in the UK? All remaining games in the tournament are do do with the Master...

This is unfortunate. There's not a lot I can suggest here, the Master is normally
a very reliable unit. Is the problem the same either on batteries or adaptor?
Is the adaptor regulated? A regulated adaptor will give the same output voltage
whether it is under load or not. I never use unregulated adaptors.
If it's running under batteries, are you sure they are good? Being new does
not guarantee they are good. The battery terminals are good, I'm assuming,
ie, no signs of earlier batteries having leaked, causing green stains.
Sometimes the reset (acl) button does not completely reset the game. I've
found this with the risc2500. Putting the game away, then trying it again
the next morning can sometimes give a pleasant surprise, it works again!
Still no luck...the next port of call is to take the back off. Some of the
chips may be push fit rather than soldered into place. Any push fit chips
can be gently taken out, the legs brushed with perhaps an old toothbrush,
and then just as gently replaced. Careful here, the legs are easily bent.
Hope things work out. We are looking forward to the rest of the tourney.
Larry

[Larry]

Hi,

Yes that is what I meant. It seems a strange default option to me and I bet testers sometimes forget to change it to Power saving = OFF (i.e Ponder = ON) which would lower the grade of the Master.

Shame the Master is hard to get now....

On further examining, I found that there does seem to be a bug when
the power saving option is activated via the 'B2' square. When I then
clear out of options, the power saving reactivates itself. Am I doing
something wrong? However, when I activate power saving via the
display using the left/right arrow keys I can exit options with the 'clear'
key and the power saving holds.
L

[chesspcmac]

Larry, are you talking about the Mephisto Master Chess? It happens the same to me. The best way is to use the arrows to go to PS 0. I think that when you go into the options (not using the arrows) for the first time and you set it to PS 0 the master stays at PS 0 but later when you go back again to Power save using the menu it is still set on PS 0 but when you press b2 it goes from PS 0 to PS1 without you seeing it.

Confusion regards

Mike