The First Good Chess Computer Opponent

afos99 · Post by **afos99** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 8:50 am

Hi all

The CC1 was ground breaking but was seen as an expensive novelty. But quickly things improved.

My question is - when did someone produce a chess computer that good players and reviewers recognised as a serious device that would give a good game to most and be of real help to improvement.

hoping for some reminiscing

Dave

Post by **Steve B** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 9:54 am

Hi Dave

well i cant say exactly which computer was the first to cause a big stir but i do remember things took off after the first world championship in London in 1980
the Fidelity Champion Sensory won that event and the hype surrounding dedicated computers continued unabated until the Pc engines took over

but i think perhaps the Novag Super Conny(1984) was one of the first dedicated computers to gain a level of real respect as a serious playing opponent

Eons Ago Regards
Steve

scandien · Post by **scandien** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 9:58 am

Hello,
My feeling ( and searching in old magazines)
In 1980 Sargon 2.5 was considered as playing good chess ( at least versus occasionals or weak club player players.

in 1982 the Chess Challenger Sensory 9 and the Elite ( both have the same program) were considered as fairly good opponent for club player.

In the mid-80's , Super Connie from NOVAG and Excellence from FIDELITY were considered suitable for good club player .

best regards

Nicolas

Cyberchess · Post by **Cyberchess** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 11:53 am

Steve B wrote:Hi Dave

well i cant say exactly which computer was the first to cause a big stir but i do remember things took off after the first world championship in London in 1980
the Fidelity Champion Sensory won that event and the hype surrounding dedicated computers continued unabated until the Pc engines took over

but i think perhaps the Novag Super Conny(1984) was one of the first dedicated computers to gain a level of real respect as a serious playing opponent

Eons Ago Regards
Steve

I have to concur on both points, Steve. As I recall, the 1980 first microcomputer chess tourney catapulted the Spracklens (and Fidelity Electronics) to fame. Everyone was talking about the husband and wife team that had taken the chess world by storm. What we would later learn is that the winner of the tournament (Fidelity X) used the same Spracklen program as the Sensory Voice CC and the CC Champion, however, the CPU was substantially faster and the opening book was larger. I’m not sure if they might have also installed extra RAM, as well. Microcomputer chess tournaments were already taking the form of auto racing, where the stock car and race entrant are miles apart in terms of performance enhancements, etc.

Prior to 1984, I recall most of the computer chess discussion at the old MCC being centered around Ken Thompson and Belle. By 1983 Belle had already earned a Master rating in an era when many still believed that no machine was capable of such a feat. The “Doubting Thomases” received a hefty dose of humble pie from those involved in I.T. and mathematics. Of course they were quick to point out that Belle utilized a very elaborate and costly hardware setup, and a consumer version was nowhere on the horizon.

The excitement generated by Belle’s success was somewhat dwarfed in the following year when the Super Conny earned an official Expert rating (2018) in CRA directed tournaments. This achievement heralded an age where people could train with a chess master anytime they wished in the privacy of their home – something previous generations had only dreamt of!

These spoiled millennials may never realize....

Just How Jaded We’ve Become Regards,
John

spacious_mind · Post by **spacious_mind** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 1:11 pm

John,

Not the sensory voice, that's a Nelson.

regards

mclane · Post by **mclane** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 1:17 pm

For me it was mephisto I followed by mephisto II.

Thomas nitsche and Elmar henne.

spacious_mind · Post by **spacious_mind** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 1:27 pm

I think 1981 seems to be the breakthrough year with CC Champion as well as Scisys Mk 5, Chafitz Morphy & Mephisto II.

Post by **Steve B** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 3:49 pm

Cyberchess wrote:

I have to concur on both points, Steve. As I recall, the 1980 first microcomputer chess tourney catapulted the Spracklens (and Fidelity Electronics) to fame. Everyone was talking about the husband and wife team that had taken the chess world by storm.

The excitement generated by Belle’s success was somewhat dwarfed in the following year when the Super Conny earned an official Expert rating (2018) in CRA directed tournaments. This achievement heralded an age where people could train with a chess master anytime they wished in the privacy of their home – something previous generations had only dreamt of!

These spoiled millennials may never realize....

Just How Jaded We’ve Become Regards,
John

lol
actually your account is exactly as i remember it
nothing like actually living through it and having those boots on the ground

Back In The Day Regards
Steve

Monsieur Plastique · Post by **Monsieur Plastique** » Sun Aug 30, 2015 5:37 pm

spacious_mind wrote:I think 1981 seems to be the breakthrough year with CC Champion as well as Scisys Mk 5, Chafitz Morphy & Mephisto II.

I agree with these in terms of machines that could give a serious hobby player a good game, though I have always felt that the 16K Constellation 2.0 MHz was the biggest breakthrough ever - both in terms of what came before it and in terms of being a tough challenge to serious amateur players of the time.

Obviously much stronger machines came out of over the next decade but I don't think any really had the impact of the very first Conny.

afos99 · Post by **afos99** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 6:08 am

Interesting that John should mention 1980 was a significant year for more powerfull machines.

In Feb that year I got a Voice Challenger and absolutely loved it. Cost a ridiculous amount of money. I found out years later that by the time I bought it 6 months after launch it was not recommended to buy because of power and price.

I guess without the aid of the Internet you had to have been involved in the chess scene to make informed choices. Well my uninformed choice shaped my chess computer preferences - I still prefer mine to speak to me!

"Your Move"

Dave

paulwise3 · Post by **paulwise3** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:52 am

I guess the Spracklens did a lot of great pioneer's work with Sargon. But for me it must be the Superconny. When I was looking for reviews of the Multitech CC-009, I stumbled over Hein's article about the Super Computachess, see http://www.schaakcomputers.nl/hein_veld ... achess.pdf. This included a copy of a dedicated machines test in 1985 by Max Pam and Tim Krabbé, both good chessplayers. The CC-009 was chosen for those wanting a cheap and reasonably good machine. But they were flabbergasted by the achievements of the Super Constellation, which was the machine they had not expected to be that good. For the first time they feared it was possible for chess computers to grow up beating grandmasters...

Still looking to get a superconny regards,
Paul