Collector's Corner..2007 Annual Physicals ..Continue..

[Steve B]

It is always a cause for celebration when a new old chess computer is added to the collection.
after the mandatory acceptance speeches,awards ceremonies and luncheon buffet the time soon arrives for the new addition to be tested in fierce battle

The Mephisto London program was released independently in 1996 by programmer Richard Lang for use in the various Mephisto boards
the program was based on his Genius 3 program but added the Genius 4 opening book

the London program could be purchased in 5 different flavors:
London 68000(upgrade for several Mephisto 68000 modules)
London 68020(upgrade for several Mephisto 68020 modules)
London 68030-33Mhz (Upgrade for Genius 68030 modules)
London 68030-36 Mhz(For the Tournament machine)
London Pro(upgrade for the Berlin Pro)

The new arrival.. the London 68020(In Portorose 68020 casings) was rated 2196(SS):

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/cpaa2@sbcgl ... 0969612/78


i thought a good test for it would be to match it up against another computer with the name of a major City so i choose another Mephisto but with a different programmer..the Mephisto Atlanta.. rated 2224(SS) By Frans Morsch:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/cpaa2@sbcgl ... 843044/144

London 020 had White..TIME Control Game/30min

In the game the Atlanta was out of book first at move 6
it searched typically 8 ply and approximately 3000 NPS
the London reached 4 ply(Brute) and 16(Selectively)


[White "Mephisto London 68020"]
[Black "Mephisto Atlanta"]
[Time Control "Game/30Min"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.d3 Bb4 7.Bd2 O-O
8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.Bxb4 Nxb4 10.a3 Nc6 11.Bg2 Qb5 12.Qc2 Bg4 13.Qc3 Rad8
14.Rc1 Bh5 15.a4

[d] 3r1rk1/ppp2ppp/2n5/1q2p2b/P7/2QP1NP1/1P2PPBP/2R1K2R b K - 0 15

the London throws the game into wild complications with this unnecessary pawn thrust
the move would not be so bad if White had already castled..however in this position with its King still in the center
the move just leads to a loss of material



Qxa4 16.Nxe5 Nd4 17.g4 Rfe8 18.f4 Bxg4 19.e3 Nf3+
20.Bxf3 Bxf3 21.O-O Bd5 22.Qxc7 f6 23.Nc4 Rc8 24.Qd6 Qb5
25.b3 Rcd8 26.Qa3 Qd7 27.f5 b5 28.Nb2 Rxe3 29.Qc5 Re5 30.Qf2 Rde8 31.Rc2
Bxb3 32.Rd2

32..g6!
[d] 4r1k1/p2q3p/5pp1/1p2rP2/8/1b1P4/1N1R1Q1P/5RK1 w - - 0 33

a nice finesse by Atlanta
already behind two pawns if London takes the pawn it will be open to an attack which will result in the heavy loss of material and to not take the pawn results in even more material loss

here the London showed a PV 0f -4.21 and Atlanta showed +3.7


33.Qh4 Rxf5 34.Rxf5 Qxf5 35.Qf2 Qg5+
36.Kf1 Be6 37.Re2 Qc1+ 38.Nd1 Qxd1+ 39.Qe1 Qxd3 40.Kg1 a5 41.Rd2 Qf5
42.Qe3 Qb1+ 43.Kf2 Bd7 44.Rxd7 Rxe3

Final Position

[d] 6k1/3R3p/5pp1/pp6/8/4r3/5K1P/1q6 w - - 0 45

London Resigns here

A Tale Of Two Cities Regards
Steve

[Terry McCracken]

Steve 8 pages, and more than 8,000 views....Did I post in this thread earlier?

You know how the mods like to follow me around

Prolific Regards,
Terry

[Steve B]

Steve 8 pages, and more than 8,000 views....Did I post in this thread earlier?

You know how the mods like to follow me around

Prolific Regards,
Terry

not to mention ..31 different computers discussed, shown and tested

Legendary Thread Regards
Steve

[Terry McCracken]

Steve 8 pages, and more than 8,000 views....Did I post in this thread earlier?

You know how the mods like to follow me around

Prolific Regards,
Terry

not to mention ..31 different computers discussed, shown and tested

Legendary Thread Regards
Steve

It truly is...May it run for a thousand pages!

Dedicated to Chess Computers Everywhere Regards,
Terry

[Steve B]

Some what surprised at how easily Morsch's Atlanta dispatched Lang's last effort for the dedicated computer ,i elected to give his London program a chance to redeem itself and let it have another wack at Atlanta
this time i fired up the London Pro which was an upgrade to the Berlin Pro

the London Pro is not a module but a stand alone unit in a similar housing as the Atlanta
rated 2277(SS) which is about 50 elo higher then the Atlanta i was fairly confident it would make quick work of its lower rated opponent:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/cpaa2@sbcgl ... 789319/139

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/cpaa2@sbcgl ... 806864/140

in the Game ,Atlanta took White and oddly was again the first out of book and also again at move 6
the BPL searched typically 4 ply (Brute) and 16 (Selective) with an occasional foray into 5/17

[White "Atlanta"]
[Black "London Pro"]
[Time Control "Game/30 Min"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 Na5 7.Bb3 Nxb3
8.axb3 c6 9.O-O Bg4 10.Na4 Bb4 11.c3 Ba5 12.b4 Bc7 13.b3 O-O 14.Re1 a6
15.h3 Bh5 16.g4 Bg6 17.Nh4 h6 18.Nxg6 fxg6 19.Bh4 g5 20.Bg3 Nd7 21.Nb2
Qf6 22.Nc4 Rf7 23.Ne3 Raf8 24.Nf5 Kh7 25.Qe2 g6 26.Ne3 Kg8 27.Nc4 d5
28.Ne3 dxe4 29.dxe4 Bb6 30.Rad1 Re7 31.Rd3 Bc7 32.Ra1 Nb6 33.Rad1 Ref7
34.Qc2 Nc8 35.Nc4 Qe7 36.Rd7

[d] 2n2rk1/1pbRqr2/p1p3pp/4p1p1/1PN1P1P1/1PP3BP/2Q2P2/3R2K1 b - - 0 36

with material equal the Atlanta gives up two Rooks for Queen and Pawn
but the pawn is now passed and becomes the focus of attention for the ensuing battle



Qxd7 37.Rxd7 Rxd7 38.Nxe5 Bxe5
39.Bxe5 Rf3 40.Bd4 Ne7 41.Kg2 Rf8 42.Qe2 Kh7 43.Kg3 Re8 44.Qf3 Ng8 45.e5
Ree7 46.h4 gxh4+ 47.Kxh4 Re8 48.g5 h5 49.Qf4 Ree7 50.Bc5 Rf7 51.Qe4 Rf5
52.e6 Rd8 53.e7 Re8

54.Qe6 Kg7

[d] 4r1n1/1p2P1k1/p1p1Q1p1/2B2rPp/1P5K/1PP5/5P2/8 w - - 0 55
Whites position is now overwhelming with the pawn serving as a knife in the BPL's throat however black could have offered a bit more more resistance here with 54.Rf4+ ..the text however loses immediately



55.Bd4+ Kh7 56.Bf6 Rxe7
57.Bxe7 Nxe7 58.Qxe7+ Kg8 59.Qxb7 Rxf2 60.Qxc6 Rf4+ 61.Kg3 Rg4+ 62.Kh3
Rxg5 63.Qe6+ Kg7 64.Qe7+

FINAL POSITION

[d] 8/4Q1k1/p5p1/6rp/1P6/1PP4K/8/8 b - - 0 64

the Berlin Pro Resigns here

i am stunned by this manhandling of the London program by the Atlanta

The Genius London 68030 Sends it Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

i am running out of London programs to tackle the Atlanta

next in line is the London 68030-33 Mhz modules which were an upgrade for the Genius modules
these babies were rated 2314(SS) nearly 100 points more then the Atlanta:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/cpaa2@sbcgl ... 842792/109

if the London 030-33 cant do the trick i am left with only the 68030-36Mhz modules(actually they are Eproms not modules) playing in the Mephisto Tournament Machine

in the game i gave White again to the Atlanta which once again was out of book first but this time at a more respectable ..move 10
the Genius 030 typically reached 5 ply(Brute) and 17(Selectively) with an occasional leap into 6/18
as this game reached a K+P endgame ply searches increased dramatically near the end with Atlanta hitting 11 ply and 9500 NPS
and London hitting 7/19



[White "Atlanta"]
[Black "London 68030-33Mhz"]
[Time Control "Game 30/Min"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Bb4 7.e3 g5 8.Bg3 Ne4
9.Qc2 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 d6 11.Bd3 Nxg3 12.hxg3 Nd7 13.O-O-O g4 14.Ne1 Nf6
15.f3 h5 16.e4 Nd7 17.fxg4 Qg5+ 18.Qd2 Qxg4 19.Qf4 Ke7 20.Rh4 Qxf4+
21.gxf4 Rag8 22.Rd2 Rg4



23.g3

[d] 7r/pbpnkp2/1p1pp3/7p/2PPPPrR/2PB2P1/P2R4/2K1N3 b - - 0 23

and we finally have the first real mistake in Atlanta's play in the three games played
hoping to free up its Rook to double up on the H file it sacs the g pawn
but in doing so it misses Blacks 24th move which nets it a second pawn
the London just out searched Atlanta at this point




Rxg3 24.Rdh2 Bxe4

[d] 7r/p1pnkp2/1p1pp3/7p/2PPbP1R/2PB2r1/P6R/2K1N3 w - - 0 25
A nice tactical shot by the London which was seen only now by Atlanta
leaving it up 2 pawns and with a won game



25.Bxe4 Re3 26.Bc2 Rxe1+
27.Bd1 Nf6 28.Kd2 Rg1 29.Bf3 Rg7 30.Bc6 Rg4 31.a3 Rhg8 32.Ke2 Rxh4
33.Rxh4 Rg4 34.Rxg4 hxg4 35.Kd2 d5 36.cxd5 Nxd5 37.f5 g3 38.Bxd5 exd5
39.Ke3 Kf6 40.Ke2 Kxf5 41.Kf3 f6 42.Kxg3 Ke4

[d] 8/p1p5/1p3p2/3p4/3Pk3/P1P3K1/8/8 w - - 0 43
Black of course will now swallow up the Queen side pawns and Sheppard in the D pawn to Q
interestingly Atlanta only down 2 pawns at the moment considers itself behind by -5.3 while the London returns a PV of +8.93



43.Kh4 Kd3 44.Kg4 Kxc3
45.Kf3 Kxd4 46.Ke2 Kc3 47.Ke1 Kc2 48.Kf2 d4 49.Kg3

Final Position

[d] 8/p1p5/1p3p2/8/3p4/P5K1/2k5/8 b - - 0 49

Atlanta is showing -9.9 here which is a Resignation

all in all a pretty strong showing for the Atlanta but simply not Strong enough for the London 030

personally i am relieved the Atlanta Jaggernaut was stopped here as i did not relish firing up the Tournament Machine with the London 030-36 Mhz modules.. the cooling fans needed to keep the motherboard from melting in the TM are so loud it can give even someone hard of hearing an ear ache

Peaceful And Quiet Regards
Steve

[Robert Weck]

personally i am relieved the Atlanta Jaggernaut was stopped here as i did not relish firing up the Tournament Machine with the London 030-36 Mhz modules.. the cooling fans needed to keep the motherboard from melting in the TM are so loud it can give even someone hard of hearing an ear ache

that's right, Steve!

I remember Kaufbeuren '05; when Hans van Mierlo switched off his TM London at Saturday evening (i did not notice this at first), i looked around and asked myself: "Huh? What happened? Why is it so quiet now?"


let's get loud regards,
Robert

[Steve B]

I remember Kaufbeuren '05; when Hans van Mierlo switched off his TM London at Saturday evening (i did not notice this at first), i looked around and asked myself: "Huh? What happened? Why is it so quiet now?"
let's get loud regards,

i can think of only two other computers with these fans Robert
The Sparc Module and the Tasc R40

The Sparc also has a loud fan but not as bad as the TM
the R40'a fans are quiet and not really a bother at all

Cool Summer Breeze Regards
Steve

[Robert Weck]

i can think of only two other computers with these fans Robert
The Sparc Module and the Tasc R40

The Sparc also has a loud fan but not as bad as the TM

Hm, i heard this complaint from another collector too; but i can hardly hear my Sparc! It is humming very quiet! Maybe the former owner built in a more quiet fan?


no, i'm not deaf! regards,
Robert

[Steve B]

i can think of only two other computers with these fans Robert
The Sparc Module and the Tasc R40

The Sparc also has a loud fan but not as bad as the TM

Hm, i heard this complaint from another collector too; but i can hardly hear my Sparc! It is humming very quiet! Maybe the former owner built in a more quiet fan?


no, i'm not deaf! regards,
Robert

well maybe you have good eyesight as well as
good hearing and you sit straight up at the board and away from the fans

i on the other hand have very poor eyesight and i hunch over the board to see the pieces and my nose just touches the module so the noise is loud


Smells Good to Regards
Steve