Old chess computers nostalgia

[Rubinus]

Really difficult. Engines show +3 for Qb4 or Qd8, but don't show any winning line.

The variation I wrote at the end of the game already looks quite winnable, although it might still be difficult for a human. 43. Qb4 Ra2
44. Qb8+ Kg7 45. Qb3 Rb2 46. Qa3 e5 47. Rxc3 Rb1+ 48. Kh2 Rbb6 49. Qe7 Re6 50.Qc5
That Qd8 and Qb4 have the same rating is a phenomenon I encounter often. The engine sees that it only draws the third repetition and so shows the same ratings, plus sometimes gains some time when playing with the move bonus. That's why I always have a variant shown in this case.

[Rubinus]

[Event "test"] [Site "?"] [Date "2024.08.22"] [Round "6"] [White "Mephisto MMI, level 6"] [Black "Novag Constellation 3.6, level 7"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D28"] [PlyCount "48"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. Qe2 {last theo} b5 {last theo} 8. Bd3 {0,40} Nc6 9. a4 b4 10. Qc2 $6 {0,53 Don't pull the same figure twice in a row in the opening, Tarrasch used to say. Plus, actually, the root cause of the later idea that led to the loss.} (10. Nbd2) 10... Bb7 11. dxc5 Qa5 $6 {Black returns the inaccuracy. Direct Bxc5 or Nd7 are more natural. The queen is a little off there.} 12. Nbd2 (12. e4 $14) 12... Qxc5 { Well, she has to be queen. That's what I was thinking, exchange, symmetrical pawns, that might suit Mephisto better.} 13. Ne4 $6 {That in itself leads to an uncomfortable worse position.} (13. Qxc5 Bxc5 14. Nb3 Be7 15. Bd2 {And you'd be waiting for a mistake. The biggest difference between the machines is the safety of the kings, so a game without queens might favor White.}) 13... Nxe4 {Kittinger's program seems to resist queen exchanges. Incidentally, this could be set in some programs by setting some of the pieces of one's own side to a slightly different value, the ideal being Chessmaster.} ({But we would have missed the enlightening conclusion if Stockfish had played it:} 13... Qxc2 14. Bxc2 Na5 15. Nxf6+ gxf6 16. Bd2 Rg8 {Oh well, the harassment of the king would have happened anyway.} 17. e4 f5 18. Rfe1 Nc4 {Perhaps the position could have been held with accurate play, at least Stockfish might not have lost it, but he would have much preferred black chess after the game, as I read in one humorous comment.}) 14. Bxe4 Rd8 15. Bxh7 $4 {1,20 I've written before that Mephisto often loses because he eats what he shouldn't. And here we see why gluttony is a mortal sin. Again the horizon effect, apparently no longer able to detect 16.-Ne5, after which White's position collapses.} (15. Qe2 {Po dvou předeslých nepřesnostech černého mohla být zase rovina.}) 15... Qh5 $1 {My first idea was g6 and I guessed the consequences, thinking that Black would probably win because there would be free columns against the king, Novag came up with a much better idea.} 16. Be4 Ne5 $3 {Distracting the defending piece is the motto under which such moves appear in tactics textbooks. I saw that right away.} 17. h4 {The attempt to redeem himself with a pawn and a bad position also fails, but it is clear that Mephisto already understands that he is wrong.} Rc8 {He doesn't see it through to the end and so quite a logically inserted move, but if White had played it like Stockfish, we would have missed one very nice move.} (17... Nxf3+ {#15 - Neither of them could calculate that.}) 18. Qb1 (18. Qxc8+) 18... Nxf3+ 19. Bxf3 Qxh4 (19... Bxf3 {#7}) 20. Bh5 {-4,67} Bf3 {Very nice.} 21. Qg6 {-8,97 A value that, according to the manual, can be considered a surrender of the game.} fxg6 22. Bxg6+ Ke7 23. Bh5 Qxh5 24. gxf3 Qg6# 0-1
Awesome! Miniature games are not seen among comparable computers. I think I once beat MMI the fastest in 26 moves by sacrificing bishops on g7 and h7. Then in the emulator in 19, but there he played 1.-g6, which I never saw with the original.

When I bought Constellation, I played one game with it, which I won, quite easily in my opinion, and so it went into the box as an uninteresting weakling. However, after that game, I'm starting to appreciate it. I have a newer, stronger Novag Obsidian by the same author, but who has ELO up to 1800 and is not a fan of blocked positions, I can certainly recommend Constellation 3.6 for occasional play.

I won't prolong this any longer, we'd probably see other interesting games, but I don't want to waste time repeating games already played before the book throws out what hasn't been played yet. Too bad the libraries are both too narrow. Constellation will be back when I move on to MMII, but I don't think it'll be enough for that one.

Continuing on Sunday, I'll think about who else will play against MMI.

[Rubinus]

[Event "test"] [Site "?"] [Date "2024.08.25"] [Round "1"] [White "Mephisto MMI, level 6"] [Black "Scisys Kasparov Turbo 16k, level 7"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D39"] [PlyCount "96"] 1. c4 e6 {last theo} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 {again a book of variants, not positions. just change the order of moves and he has to play with his own power.} 4. Nf3 Bb4 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 {last theo} hxg5 10. Bxg5 {1,73} Nbd7 11. Qf3 Rb8 12. a4 $2 {it used to work, like on move 7, but now it's wrong.} (12. exf6 $11) 12... bxa4 $2 {Black, however, omits much of the advantage.} (12... Rg8 $19) 13. Bxf6 $2 {He can't calculate how weak the pawns will be, a future easy harvest.} (13. exf6 Bb7 14. Qg3 Bd6 15. Qe3 $17) 13... Nxf6 14. Qxf6 Qxf6 15. exf6 {0,02} a3 $1 16. Rxa3 {It gives straight quality because the alternatives are not appealing either. But that's the end of the game, now it's up to the black man how well he can technically handle the implementation.} (16. O-O-O Bf8) (16. Kd2 axb2 17. Rb1 e5 $1) 16... Bxa3 17. bxa3 Rb3 18. Kd2 Rh4 19. Kc2 Rxa3 20. Nb5 {-2,05} Ra2+ 21. Kc3 Rxf2 ( 21... Bb7) 22. g3 {It's all in vain. Without that quality, the only chance would be to run the free pawns, but he loses them and still trades a rook.} Rhxh2 23. Rxh2 Rxh2 {She might as well give up the party. I'm curious to see Black's technique, though. Some of the old programs had trouble winning even clear positions.} 24. Nxa7 {-2,75} Bd7 25. Bxc4 Rh3 26. Nb5 Rxg3+ 27. Kb4 Kd8 28. Ba2 Rf3 29. Nc3 {-3,54} Rxf6 30. Kc4 Rf3 31. Bb1 f5 32. Bd3 f4 {He's going at it straight, turning pawns. And of course, that's enough, even if you could win faster.} 33. Ne4 Re3 (33... Bb5+) 34. Ng5 {-3,54} f3 35. Nf7+ Ke7 36. Ne5 f2 37. Bf1 Re1 38. Bh3 Rc1+ 39. Kd3 {-5,61} Rh1 40. Bg2 Rg1 41. Ng6+ Kf6 42. Ke2 Rxg2 43. Nf4 Bb5+ 44. Kd2 {-9,99} Rh2 45. Kc3 f1=Q 46. Ng2 Rxg2 47. Kb4 Qc4+ 48. Ka5 Qa4# 0-1
I was deciding between the Kasparov Turbo 16k and the Companion III. Same author, same chip, but the older one has a claimed frequency of 12MHz, while the newer one only 2MHz. Oddly enough, Spacious Mind lists almost identical ELO... They also have the same memory, and book size, it seems like they might even be identical programs.
I have no experience with Julio Kaplan's programs, so I was curious. Pleasantly surprised, a pretty solid stab at the goal. Other engines would have flip-flopped back and forth with that implementation, and only the Rule of 50 would hopefully force them to win somehow.

[Tibono]

Same author, same chip, but the older one has a claimed frequency of 12MHz, while the newer one only 2MHz.

Hi, respective base clocks are 12Mhz and 8Mhz, with a /4 divider. Therefore actual 3 vs 2MHz (Turbo 16K is 50% faster than Chess Companion III).

[Rubinus]

Same author, same chip, but the older one has a claimed frequency of 12MHz, while the newer one only 2MHz.

Hi, respective base clocks are 12Mhz and 8Mhz, with a /4 divider. Therefore actual 3 vs 2MHz (Turbo 16K is 50% faster than Chess Companion III).

Okay, that makes sense, but then I would expect an ELO of about +30-40. Well, the Companion is newer, maybe the level has leveled up, the author has fixed some bugs.

[Rubinus]

Actually, there is one more old rival to try, the RFT/VEB Mikroelektronik Chess-Master (1984). If it will work, I got it not from e-bay, but from Czech Aukro, and there is not so much certainty that the thing will be technically OK - but the prices there are usually much lower. Similarly, if someone on e-bay sells a Berlin 68000 with a German-only restriction, the price there is also much lower.
A computer from East Germany, that's exotic. Few people here probably know Czech movies, one of the favorite scenes:
"I wonder where the GDR comrades went wrong?"
"They shot in the air during the war!"

Tonight is a rematch with Kasparov Turbo, tomorrow we'll see.

[Rubinus]

So I finally opened the box. It's a different type, Chess-Master Diamond. There is no adapter or figures to go with it. I'll get the adapter somehow, I don't know the figures, maybe the ones from Mephisto Exclusive could be used, the size fits. We'll see.

[Tibono]

There is no adapter or figures to go with it.

I bought one time ago (used), it came with an AC Adapter Foxlink model no. FA-141000SA output 14.0V ----- 1.0A with + internal. Works fine.
Figures require strong magnets.
You might want to check mine displayed in this page

Enjoy your new device!

[Rubinus]

There is no adapter or figures to go with it.

I bought one time ago (used), it came with an AC Adapter Foxlink model no. FA-141000SA output 14.0V ----- 1.0A with + internal. Works fine.
Figures require strong magnets.
You might want to check mine displayed in this page

Enjoy your new device!

Thanks for the info. Well, the module with the book launch is probably already a hard buy, I'll see what I can do. It's weak for me, but the possibility to test other weak computers with it is there. Mephisto's figures have fairly strong magnets, that might be enough.

[Rubinus]

[Event "test"] [Site "?"] [Date "2024.08.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Scisys Kasparov Turbo 16k, level 7"] [Black "Mephisto MMI, level 6"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C68"] [PlyCount "167"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O {last theo} Qd6 {last theo I have also learned something from each of my machines, no matter how weak. Specifically here - the opportunity to train this variant with white brought me some valuable points later on.} 6. Nc3 {This is certainly not the way to seek an advantage in Spanish, on the other hand, throwing your opponent out of "his" variants also makes sense.} (6. Na3 $5) 6... Bg4 {0,25} 7. h3 Bh5 {h5 is also possible here} 8. d3 (8. g4 Bg6 9. d4) 8... Nf6 (8... O-O-O) 9. Bg5 Be7 { That's what I'm always afraid of with games of machines - that a position will arise that neither understands and the whole game will degrade into quite pointless stone-pulling.} 10. Qe2 O-O {-0,25} 11. Rad1 {Even in the next run, the computer doesn't understand that it can't do it without g4. The malusy valuation function for weakening the king's cover prevents it from doing so.} ( 11. g4) 11... Qb4 (11... Qe6) 12. Rb1 (12. g4 Nxg4 13. a3 $1 Qd6 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. hxg4 Bxg4 16. Qe3 f5 17. exf5 Rxf5 18. Nh2 Bxd1 19. Rxd1 $16) 12... Qc5 13. Be3 Qd6 14. Bg5 c5 {I was almost hoping for repeated moves before watching this, but Black doesn't want to.} 15. Bh4 {He finally found a target, the e5 pawn.} Rad8 {-0,39} 16. Bg3 Nd7 17. Nd5 f6 18. Nxe7+ $6 {That's certainly not a good trade, a centralized slider for a shooter who has nowhere to play. Again, a valuation feature, shooters are usually slightly more valuable to programs so they don't get put in bad positions (as often) against a pair of shooters.} Qxe7 19. Rfd1 Qe6 20. Ra1 Qb6 {-0,33} 21. Rdb1 $6 Qd6 22. Qe3 Bf7 ( 22... Bxf3 {That's what Stockfish says. I wouldn't want to. There's still a chance the position will open up and then Bishop will be a shame.}) 23. Nd2 ( 23. b3 {This belongs in the Spanish exchange, as soon as Black plays b5, the move c4 takes away his chance to get a free pawn.}) 23... Qd4 24. Qxd4 {And it's going to get worse, we'll most likely see an endgame, that was always a disgusting experience among computers back then.} cxd4 25. Nb3 (25. f4 $14) 25... Bxb3 $2 {Strategically bad trade. The important black pawn e5 is on the white bishop's color, if the position opens up, black will have big problems.} (25... g5) 26. cxb3 $2 {Pawns are making their way downtown - with a few exceptions... Hopefully he liked the free column, but the d3 pawn is now weak.} f5 {Black doesn't understand this either, if he has a knight against a bishop, he should time his opening position properly.} (26... Nc5 27. Rd1 g5 $17) 27. exf5 Rde8 {Why?} (27... Rxf5) 28. Rc1 c5 (28... c6) 29. b4 $1 b6 30. Rc4 Rxf5 { -0,55} ({It's not better, but I was curious how Stockfish imagines it.} 30... b5 31. Rc2 cxb4 32. Re1) 31. bxc5 Nxc5 32. Rd1 Kf7 33. b4 Ne6 $2 {And that already leads to some losses, too many weaknesses.} (33... Na4 34. Rd2 Nc3 $11) 34. Rdc1 $2 (34. Rc6 {and the pawn can no longer be defended} Rb8 $2 35. Re1) 34... a5 {additional weakness} ({more chances gave} 34... b5 35. Rc6 Nf4 36. Bxf4 Rxf4) 35. bxa5 bxa5 {0,02} 36. Rb1 Kf6 37. Kf1 g6 38. Rb6 {wrong rook, but should have been ready to go on b5} (38. Rc6) 38... Ra8 $2 {Black's defense is tricky and a much better player would have trouble. Proper timing is what matters here. Releasing the knight should have been a priority.} (38... Kg5) 39. Rcc6 Re8 40. Ra6 e4 $2 {1,00} (40... Kf7 41. Rxa5 e4) 41. dxe4 Rb5 42. e5+ $4 {He doesn't know what the plan is, but he knows that if he puts the king in the center, the valuation function will add hundredths... The festival of endgame mistakes begins... And specifically here, in the words of one Czech grandmaster, the bishop is just pointing a gun up his own pawn's ass.} (42. Kg1 $18) 42... Kf5 $11 43. a4 (43. Bh2) 43... Rb1+ 44. Ke2 Nf4+ $4 {A new chance for white. Black loses a pawn and should look to hold back the "a" advance.} ( 44... h5 $11) 45. Bxf4 Kxf4 {1,77} 46. e6 Ke4 47. f3+ Kd5 48. Rd6+ Ke5 49. f4+ $2 (49. Rdb6 $18) 49... Kxf4 (49... Ke4 50. Kf2 Rb4 51. Kg3 Rxa4 52. Ra7 d3 53. Rad7 Kf5 54. Rxd3 h5 55. e7 Kf6 $14) 50. Rxd4+ Ke5 51. Rd3 Ra1 $2 {1,64} (51... Rb2+) 52. Rxa5+ Kf6 53. Rf3+ Kxe6 54. Re3+ Kf7 55. Ra7+ Kf8 {1,91} 56. Rxe8+ Kxe8 57. Kd3 $4 {A big problem at the time. The evaluation function could not be complex because it would hamper the calculation. But simple sometimes led to such stupidity, it's not about anything other than some hundredth for the king in the center.} (57. Kf3 {cca 5,35 Stockfish}) 57... Ra3+ $4 {A silly loss of tempo puts White back into the win.} (57... Rg1 $11 {A clear draw according to Stockfish, but Mephisto would probably struggle to defend the "a" pawn.}) 58. Kc4 h5 59. Kd5 $2 (59. a5 Kd8 60. a6 Kc8 61. Ra8+ Kc7 62. a7 Kb7 63. Rg8 Kxa7 64. Rxg6 {And since White is closer to the pawn, it's done. Which is too many moves for the machine to count.}) 59... h4 60. Ra8+ $4 {And now it's a tie if Black could defend it.} (60. a5 {It still went, black doesn't have time to take on g2.}) 60... Kf7 $11 {0,94} 61. Ra5 {If a junior played something like that, his coach would freak out. The cause is probably the king in the center again, white won't let black in.} Ra2 62. Ra7+ Kf6 63. Kc5 {Only when g2 falls does the need to cover the pawn outweigh the bonus for the king in the centre.} Rxg2 64. Rh7 Kg5 65. Rd7 Rg3 {-0,84} 66. Rd5+ Kh6 67. a5 Rxh3 68. Kb4 $4 {It doesn't add up to how dangerous the black pawns already are. And so he prevents black from getting to the "a" column.} (68. a6 g5 69. Kb6 Ra3 70. Ra5 Rb3+ 71. Kc5 Rc3+ 72. Kd4 Rc8 73. a7 Ra8 74. Ke3 Kh5 75. Kf3 $11) 68... Rh2 {Just a waste of time} (68... Rf3) 69. a6 Ra2 $4 (69... Rb2+ 70. Ka5 g5 $19) 70. Ra5 $11 Rb2+ {-0,56} 71. Kc3 Rb8 72. a7 Ra8 73. Kd2 h3 {There's been a mistake somewhere. Turbo, when he plays white, automatically flips the board. And I must have entered something wrong here, I have 74.Ra6 h2 75.Ke3 h1Q and here Turbo protested that there is no pawn...} 74. Ra4 $4 {I interrupted the game, it was 3:00 a.m. CET. In the morning the match started from this position. Is it my mistake in the assignment, or is there some self-learning going on? In any case, this move also loses - or at least it should.} (74. Ra3 h2 75. Rh3+ Kg5 76. Rxh2 Rxa7 $11) 74... h2 $4 {But it still results in a rook ending with the black "g" pawn, which is a draw, but with the performance of the opponents the result is uncertain.} (74... Kg5 $19) 75. Rh4+ $11 Kg7 {-1,20} 76. Rxh2 Rxa7 77. Ke3 Ra1 $6 {Behind the pawn, not in front of it. And cut off the king when there's a chance.} 78. Ke4 Re1+ {So clearly the best chance to win is to cut off the king Rf1, though that's not enough here, White would work his ass off - and probably lose the position with his performance.} 79. Kd5 $4 {-#35 tablebase What to say. He can't see until the pawn transformation, so the bonus that his valuation function gives for the king in the center overrides his decision making, oh yeah.} Kf6 $4 { Complete five-stone tablebases have a "huge" 32MB, more than these machines could afford.} ({The only one winning} 79... g5 $1 $19) 80. Rf2+ {Surprisingly, the only move that holds a tie. With the king cut off, the usual pattern of rooks from behind is no longer enough.} Kg5 {It can take a long time, a break for breakfast. They both have pondering, so Turbo has a definite advantage here, if he hits a move in the game he can make it count for about an hour. Still, I think we'll see plenty more mistakes, so whatever.} 81. Rg2+ Kf5 82. Rf2+ Kg4 83. Rg2+ Kf4 {Surprisingly conciliatory, I expected him to push the "g" pawn forward as far as it would go and then White would either be able to draw or not.} 84. Rxg6 {Estimate - draw. I'm not going to spend time on another 50 moves and the machine won't make a mistake here.} 1/2-1/2
I've lost a day of my life and I may lose some ELO.... First a position that neither program understands and then an endgame... I was once in charge of entering games into a database at a tournament in Prague, including the weakest ones, which I commented were of strategic value at the level of fighting children in kindergarten. I was usually so exhausted after a week of the tournament that I lost about 250 ELOs on the server, and it took another month to get them back.

I influenced the game late last night when I entered the wrong move. The turbo automatically rotates the board when playing white, making it more difficult for me to transfer moves. I think I'll turn Mephisto next time... So at about 3:00 CET, aborted, found the error in the morning and finished.

I don't have power to the "East German" yet, so the next opponent will be DGT Centaur, level friendly. It could be fast, I can almost always beat him, but it doesn't get worse than 1600. So we'll see how the promised adaptivity works out. With such SparkChess (a program for android, not a uci engine) it works by playing the game (sometimes) like a pig, but then in a losing position it starts playing full out. Good for practicing technique, but it doesn't feel like a human game.