Chess Computer Vintage (Hardware and Software)

[AlexChess]

Hi!

I've opened this topic dedicated to aged nostalgic chess computer fans, after having seen the huge Scally list

Tell us here what you remember about 1980-2000 dedicated chess computers and softwares


In bold on bottom you find the chess computer that I have personally owned too (I was a reseller and I well know almost all computers on the list) together with:

Kasparov Travel Champion 2100
Kasparov Turbostar 432
Novag Forte
Novag Super Vip
Fidelity Elite Avangarde A/S
Tasc Chess Machine


Al's Chess Computers:

DGT Revelation II + Anniversary Edition CPU + All Emulations with S2WB & S1E-Kerrock DGT Chess Pieces from Best Chessmen Ever
DGT Centaur x2
Millennium ChessGenius Exclusive + the King Element
Tasc R30 with SB20 Smartboard II
Square Off Grand Kingdom Personalised with Special Edition Chess Set
Mephisto Lyon 68030 Tournament Machine
Mephisto Portorose, Vancouver & London 68030 EPROMs (fits Tournament Machine)
Mephisto Vancouver 68020 EPROM
Mephisto Genius London 68030 EPROM
Mephisto ESB 68030 Genius London 40 MHz
Mephisto Exclusive Board (unregulated) with MMII Modul, HG240 book Modul & display Modul
Mephisto Exclusive Board (regulated) with Polgar Modul & 8 bit display Modul (also works in Modular Boards)
Mephisto Exclusive Board (regulated) with MMVI Modul & LCD display Modul (also works in Modular Boards)
Mephisto Munchen/Exclusive Board Elegant Case
Mephisto Modular Board with Switchable Genius / London 32 bit Modul & Green OLED display Modul (also works in regulated Exclusive Boards)
Mephisto Modular Board with Genius 68030 Modul & LCD display Modul (also works in regulated Exclusive Boards)
Mephisto Modular Board with Senator Modul & LCD display Modul (also works in regulated Exclusive Boards)
Mephisto Modular Board with Dallas 6800 Modul, LCD & Keypad Moduls (also works in regulated Exclusive Boards)
Mephisto Modular Board spare (with pieces & power supply)
Mephisto Modular Board spare (with pieces, no power supply)
Mephisto Modular BK550 Chess Case
Briefcase for 12 Mephisto Modules
Mephisto Mirage Mobil
Mephisto Mobil (works with Rebel, Roma, MMIV, MMV, + Moduls)
Mephisto MMI Modul (works in unregulated Exclusive Board)
Mephisto MMI Modul with integrated EG170 book Modul (works in unregulated Exclusive Board)
Mephisto MMIV Modul, EG440 book Modul & Mephisto display Modul (works in regulated Exclusive & Modular Boards)
Mephisto MMIV Modul fitted with MMV EPROM (works in regulated Exclusive & Modular Boards)
Mephisto MMV Modul (works in regulated Exclusive, Modular & Mobil Boards)
Mephisto Mirage Modul x2 (works in regulated Exclusive, Modular & Mobil Boards)
Mephisto MMX Rebel Portorose (Schroder) & Book (Noomen) EPROMs (fits MMIV & HG440 Moduls)
Mephisto MMV & HG550 EPROMs (fits MMIV & HG440 Moduls)
Mephisto Berlin 68000 with Original Briefcase
Mephisto London 68000 EPROMs (fits Berlin)
Mephisto Milano Pro
Mephisto Milano
Mephisto Nigel Short EPROM (fits Mephisto Milano)
Mephisto Nigel Short
Mephisto Europa x3
Mephisto Europa A with Original Briefcase
Mephisto Europa A
Mephisto Mondial II with Original Briefcase
Mephisto Chess Explorer
Mephisto Explorer Pro
Mephisto II x3
Mephisto Junior Travel 3003
Mephisto Travel Chess Computer CH03
Mephisto Maestro x2
Mephisto Talking Chess Trainer
Novag Constellation 3.6
Novag Condor
Novag Solo x2
Saitek Renaissance
Saitek Kasparov Simultano + End Game Rom & extra Board
Saitek Kasparov Prisma
Systema Meteor x2
SciSys Chess Partner 2000
SciSys Chess Partner 6000
SciSys Chess Companion II
Excalibur Phantom Force
CXG Sphinx Sierra
Fidelity Chess Challenger 1 x2
Fidelity Chess Challenger 3 x2
Fidelity Chess Challenger 7 x6 (1 in Wooden Case, 1 in Dutch Case)
Fidelity Chess Challenger 10b x2,
Fidelity Chess Challenger Voice x2
Fidelity Sensory Chess Challenger 6
Fidelity Sensory Chess Challenger 8 x2 (1 in Wooden Case)
Fidelity Sensory Mini Chess Challenger
Fidelity Micro Chess Challenger
Fidelity Avanti
Applied Concepts Boris is King x2
Applied Concepts Boris 2.5
DGT Pi + PicoChess x3
RPi Gavon
CT800 kit build
AVR-Max-Schachzwerg SHAH kit build
----------
To Fix:
Novag Solo
Fidelity Chess Challenger 7 x3
Fidelity Chess Challenger 10
Fidelity Chess Challenger 10 (defective b2 button)
Applied Concepts Boris is King x2
Excalibur New York Times Deluxe (defective screen)

[towforce]

On ProDeo (Ed's Forum), McLane is running a "Summer Tournament" between various 8-bit computers. It's great fun, easily understandable chess from programs written by our (now) elder statesmen in the early days of home computer chess, usually with only 1-16 kb of RAM. Sometimes, they're making surprisingly intelligent moves which make you wonder how the developer got them to do that. In many games, one of the devices makes an absolute howler, which reminds us of the limitations they were working under.

I strongly recommend it.

Ahhh... nostalgia's not what it used to be!

[AdminX]

I know that I wish there were more dedicated as UCI engines, but I am thankful for what few we have. CB-EMU and Tasc-EMU are great, but not that good for engine vs engine matches (timing issues), and even dedicated as UCI engines have some hiccups. I tried to get the Lyon32 rom to work following Ed's template, but had no luck. I could not even get Ed's Mephisto III Glasgow to work.

[Dayffd]

I have a Fidelity Mach IV, model 6129 (chip (?) 68020) that "earned" a certified rating of 2325. I even have the original certificate awarding the rating. At the time I purchased it from USCF, it was the strongest dedicated chess computer available,and it was pretty strong. I do remember playing over a game against, I think, Boris Gulko (?) that it won, but IIRC it looked to me GM Gulko had an easy win at the end but played the last few moves badly. I don't know if it would fit in your list, but it would be good if the software was fiddled with to convert to uci. However I can't remember what year I bought it; I've some hit and miss memory problems following some rather serious medical problems beginning Jan 31 of this year.

[AlexChess]

On ProDeo (Ed's Forum), McLane is running a "Summer Tournament" between various 8-bit computers. It's great fun, easily understandable chess from programs written by our (now) elder statesmen in the early days of home computer chess, usually with only 1-16 kb of RAM. Sometimes, they're making surprisingly intelligent moves which make you wonder how the developer got them to do that. In many games, one of the devices makes an absolute howler, which reminds us of the limitations they were working under.

I strongly recommend it.

Ahhh... nostalgia's not what it used to be!

Ed's Gideon on Chess Machine and Rebel 10 (with very nice graphic and analysis features) were my preferred chess tools

Thank you for the suggestion!

[AdminX]

Update: I just got the Mephisto III Glasgow working!

[AlexChess]

Update: I just got the Mephisto III Glasgow working!

Cool! My Mephisto Exclusive Rome 68020 2200 ELO was strong as a rock in play style, thanks to Richard Lang engine. One of the best in solving Pierre Nolot tests https://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/i ... Nolot_Test

[AlexChess]

I have a Fidelity Mach IV, model 6129 (chip (?) 68020) that "earned" a certified rating of 2325. I even have the original certificate awarding the rating. At the time I purchased it from USCF, it was the strongest dedicated chess computer available,and it was pretty strong. I do remember playing over a game against, I think, Boris Gulko (?) that it won, but IIRC it looked to me GM Gulko had an easy win at the end but played the last few moves badly. I don't know if it would fit in your list, but it would be good if the software was fiddled with to convert to uci. However I can't remember what year I bought it; I've some hit and miss memory problems following some rather serious medical problems beginning Jan 31 of this year.

I owned a splendid wooden Fidelity Elite Avantgarde A/S (2100 ELO) , but my first Fidelity Mini sensory chess 4 levels (1981) was really weak and also my second computer Fidelity Sensory 6 levels... I was often playing at the club with a "strong" Fidelity Sensory 9 (1600 ELO) then in 1983 I switched to ZX Spectrum's 16k Cyrus program and since 1986 to Psion Chess (Lang again ) 1800 ELO on Sinclair QL with Motorola 68008, that was a quantum leap

[mvanthoor]

Tell us here what you remember about 1980-2000 dedicated chess computers and softwares

Uh... no. I'm just over 40 at the moment, but I've been into chess computers and software since 1987. If I'd go and tell you all I remember, I'd have to type for several weeks straight or something.

I have had two chess computers:

- The CXG Sphinx Junior, around 1989, but it became too weak too fast.
- The CXG Sphynx Titan, bought from my own money in 1990 when I was 10 years old (that took A LOT of saving and doing A LOT of chores). I still have this computer, it still works, and sometimes I play a game for nostalgic reasons even though it has been to weak since 1991.
- Since 2007, I've owned a DGT board which I've ran using Fritz 11 for 13 years. Last year I sold it, so I could get the version with the mini-USB-port. I now run the board using PicoChess. At some point, I wish to port PicoChess' (Python) DGT-interface to Rust. Because I don't want to mvoe the board between the living room and the computer room all the time, I also bought the latest version that has a USB-C port.

So basically I have two DGT-boards, two DGT 3000 Limited edition clocks, two Raspberry Pi with my own-self-made images, which will run my own chess engine... at some point in the future will be running on top of my own re-implementation of PicoChess.

In essence I'm working towards a chess setup that will serve me the rest of my life; which I can adapt however I want, as long as I have a working DGT board, pieces, clock, and software interface.

The one thing I would have LOVED to do, is to put everything into a single unit like the Revelation, or at least combine the Pi and clock into something like the DGT Pi clock. (I refuse to buy it because it depends on a very finicky driver to function, which is not guaranteed to work well on any kernel / Linux install but the one that comes with the clock.)

The one thing I've always wanted in the early 90's was one of the wooden chess computers such as the CXG Sphinx Dominator, or one of the Mephisto boards, but costing around fl. 2500 back then (€1100), or basically the same as a complete 80386 PC setup, that was impossible to save up for as a 10-12 year old. When DGT boards became available in 1997, the where expensive. They cost around fl. 1000 (€450), and amazingly, they still cost around €425 nowadays, give or take €10. I could have saved up for one of those, but as a high-schooler and later uni-student, that still was a lot of money. In 2007, when working for a few years, I bought the DGT board after some thought. Nowadays, if I don't go too crazy, I can basically buy whatever I want regarding chess material, even a Revelation II, but I just _refuse_ to lay down €2700 for a chess computer that is basically my DGT board + Pi + Clock (€600) in a single unit. I'd rather buy a 40cm Certabo board to have a smaller DGT-like board; DGT seems to refuse to release a 40cm version of the DGT board for home use. (Make no mistake: a tournament size DGT board is HUGE, and heavy. It takes a lot of space at 55x55 cm.)

[F.Huber]

I know that I wish there were more dedicated as UCI engines, but I am thankful for what few we have. CB-EMU and Tasc-EMU are great, but not that good for engine vs engine matches (timing issues), and even dedicated as UCI engines have some hiccups. I tried to get the Lyon32 rom to work following Ed's template, but had no luck. I could not even get Ed's Mephisto III Glasgow to work.

Well, in CB-Emu there's a subfolder MessChess that includes WinBoard and Arena, and in both GUIs you can run more than 300 old chess computers as UCI versions without any problems (even in engine matches) - there are hundreds of members in our 'Schachcomputer.Info' forum who are already doing this since a long time.

Regards,
Franz