My relation with chess computers begun in 1979, when I got a chess challenger 7 by Fidelity, a contrivance playing at 1300 elo or so. It was for me a marvelous opportunity to learn because I was even a weaker player than today though I was younger and my brain was in better shape.
Then many came; sensory 8, then an Atari piece of shit, then wonderful Champion Challenger, Constellation 3,6 and so after the years now I have a good lot of them, partially bought by me in eBay, part gifts of my friend Steven Blincoe. To that I suppose I should add the dozens of software I have from every age and time, Chessmaster 2.0 to current Fritz, but I feel these contrivances, those I must put into one of my comps, are not the real thing because they are not things but kind of virtual permits to use a software of other people.
I scarcely play seriously the software. For what? Even playing at my best I know I will be defeated badly. Dedicated units on the contrary give me a chance. I just won a good game to Par Excellence and I feel satisfied. With software I only can hope to resist decently until move 40 or 50 before being mated in a miserable ending, sometimes even earlier.
So I can say that computer chess has filled a good chunk of my life. More than 30 years to date, thousands of hours of fun and exercise for my brain. I love my machines, even those that does not work anymore but that deserves to be slept in my furniture.
I am sure thousand of histories like mine could be told. In youtube I just saw a meeting of middle age guys, in germany, playing his machines and getting great fun.
I felt as friends of all those guys.
Fern
34 years of chess computers and human race
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