New dedicated chess computers

[mclane]

By millennium,seems this time an engine by Richard Lang.

http://www.millennium2000.de/chessgenius

[IanO]

By millennium,seems this time an engine by Richard Lang.

http://www.millennium2000.de/chessgenius

Oh, from the buttons, looks like an adaptation of one of the later modular programs! Specs from the article:

• 1994 Genius engine
  48 MHz ARM M4 Cortex
  20x20 cm board, pressure sensitive
  Modular text display seems to be replaced with an LCD board, like other Millennium models
  Hash memory? Opening book size?
  Target price: €99

I'd always hoped Lang got one of his engines licensed for a lower-end model. The positional style is ideal for teaching youngsters good habits. And his were one of the only engines to play well in the ending, even without hash tables. Nice to see a new dedicated model after a decade of stagnation!

[S.Taylor]

By millennium,seems this time an engine by Richard Lang.

http://www.millennium2000.de/chessgenius

Oh, from the buttons, looks like an adaptation of one of the later modular programs! Specs from the article:

• 1994 Genius engine
  48 MHz ARM M4 Cortex
  20x20 cm board, pressure sensitive
  Modular text display seems to be replaced with an LCD board, like other Millennium models
  Hash memory? Opening book size?
  Target price: €99

I'd always hoped Lang got one of his engines licensed for a lower-end model. The positional style is ideal for teaching youngsters good habits. And his were one of the only engines to play well in the ending, even without hash tables. Nice to see a new dedicated model after a decade of stagnation!

I think it stagnated, or actually stopped, because they couldn't match the power of even a cheap PC for the single use of a mere chess playing device, unless it would cost perhaps $10k.

So I think that if enough people would spend $10k for a dedicated chess computer then perhaps it would be possible to make one that could compete with a good chess program on a normal PC.

How many cores can be equalled to for the price of $10k per dedicated chess computer?

[Eelco de Groot]

Let's say you spend 1000$/€ on a board with pieces with sensor/reed contacts and Wifi. Who is going to spend the rest of the money, 9000 dollar or euros on the dedicated chess hardware? It is going to be wasted for much of the time unless you use it 24/7. But the same can be said for much high end computer systems in general, that are not used round the clock. Mr. Rajlich was right that logically it makes sense to rent the hardware and he was betting he could rent software (making this a copyprotection scheme) But he was not counting that chess hobbyists are anything but rational. Not to mention a bit paranoid about their opening novelties and analysis. But for many purposes renting hardware, and software if (that's a big if) there are guarantees it can be trusted does make sense. But not for competitive chess I think. And free chess software totally killed the concept.

[mclane]

Renting computer chess ??
Why ?

This is about new dedicated machines, after years of lousy machines millennium comes out with the first serious dedicated chess computer. Even with an engine by Richard Lang.

We have to thank Richard Lang, ossi weiner and the people in charge of this project.

I have no clue how many different models millennium sold over the years, 30 ? and they all were made for the mass of proletarians who rarely play a game of chess. This time they bring out a unit for 100 bucks with 2000 elo.
Ok it has no LEDs, and the build quality is maybe not the best. At least it has
Power connector, something saitek chess explorer did not have.

So let's wait for this machine and how it sells. Maybe if it sells good there will be a better build version of this machine ?!

[S.Taylor]

But why would there be a big market for dedicated machines, if the elo level is such a huge amount lower than chess engines for PC?

[mclane]

Because they have a real chess board?! Because you can take them with you at the beach?! because they run without booting the machine ?! You press a button and it does what you want, no need for a screen.
Mobile phone and tablet are difficult in direct sunlight. Also they have no real chess pieces,

[S.Taylor]

Because they have a real chess board?! Because you can take them with you at the beach?! because they run without booting the machine ?! You press a button and it does what you want, no need for a screen.
Mobile phone and tablet are difficult in direct sunlight. Also they have no real chess pieces,

So just buy the old ones, if there are enough good ones left to sell.

What they are making now must be not much different to the old ones.

(I agree they are still strong enough to challenge most humans, and to keep his mind awake)

[mclane]

Because they have a real chess board?! Because you can take them with you at the beach?! because they run without booting the machine ?! You press a button and it does what you want, no need for a screen.
Mobile phone and tablet are difficult in direct sunlight. Also they have no real chess pieces,

So just buy the old ones, if there are enough good ones left to sell.

What they are making now must be not much different to the old ones.

(I agree they are still strong enough to challenge most humans, and to keep his mind awake)

Old units cannot be bought in shops.
Only by eBay

[fern]

Stuart, you miss the point.
NOBODY of the freaks like me that play and get old dedicated units do that thinking in utilitarian terms.
We like a decently strong one, But what matters is the full glamor that surround these machines.
With them we return to old times, to the exciting times when we saw one in a shell
We remember our old games
Old times in every sense
The touch of wood or plastic
The feeling of playing a personality, an identity, not just a ghost inside as RAM.
The love for antiques even if they are new...


Fern