Nothing special, but I've had it since I was a kid. Still works perfectly.
Chess Computers
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I bought a Fidelity Mini Chess Challenger in the early 1980s:
I had it for two or three years, until I got good enough to get tired of waiting for it to move on any level that was a challenge. Then I bought a Fidelity Sensory Chess Challenger:
I still have that one but the membrane switches in the board died. I bought a vinyl board that I fully intend to someday mount on an old board with new switches to get the thing running again. Someday...
Jul 10, 2015
0
#4
I had a few when I was younger that I no longer have. They were fun but then computers came along and I never used them any more. Now I REALLY wish I had one that moved the pieces for you like the Phantom. Unfortunately I can't find any that are still manufactured that work well.
Ive got a Saitek Kasparov President since almost 20 years, that unfortunately now has got some issues in responding to my moves....
Besides from that its been a nice computer, all in wood with nice pieces and all.
Its elo-rating is said to be around 1950-1980...
This is one of my oldies that I still cherish and play against every now and then. It is rated about 1700 at tournament time controls and about 1720 at active chess. I do ocassionally lose to "him", but I am more interested in the way the programmer wrote the algorithm. Still looks new, although it is from 1984! The ScySis Turbostar 432 with a Kasparov Selected Openings Module containing 36000 positions (with transpositons).
Sep 25, 2015
0
#7
fuzzbug wrote:
Inspired by the "My current playing setup. What's yours?" thread, I decided to start a thread for chess computers.
Many younger players may not realize that, before the PC, the only way to play chess with a computer was to buy a computer that was dedicated to chess alone.
Here is mine, a Novag SuperConstellation:
It runs on AC or batteries, and has 56K ROM, 4K RAM. This was made in 1984. I read somewhere that it has a strength of about 1700-1800 Elo, at the highest level.
You can read more about it here:
spacious-mind.com/superconstellation
I don't remember what I paid for it, but it still works fine today, and I still have trouble beating it!
Post 'em if ya got 'em!
Very nice Super Connie! I'd love to get my hands on one, but I'd have a hard time justifying the going rate on ebay, whatever it is. It's a classic, so I'm sure they don't go cheaply.
It's a Dave Kittinger program under the hood. I have used an emulator, but it's not quite the same experience as the real thing. I do occasionally run Kittinger's old WChess 1.05 PC program in DOSBox. Lousy graphics, but it has the Kittinger style.
Sep 25, 2015
0
#8
I have one of these that my brother-in-law let me have back when I started playing:
http://www.spacious-mind.com/html/tandy_computerized_chess.html
Not 100% sure it still works and I don't have the pieces or the adapter for it anymore. Might have to charge up some batteries and see if it will still work.
I got interested in Chess Computers in 1977 when I was living in a small country town & running out of quality opposition & training partners. I had just picked up a few copies of the latest edition of Chess Made Easy by CJS Purdy & G Koshnitsky for the local Chess club to loan to kids & new members.
I flipped through it to see if it had been updated (My own copy is a 1942 1st Edition which survived WW2 in the New Guinea jungle with my Father) On the last page there was a single paragraph on Chess Computers. So that got me interested. I did some research which was always a bit frustrating back then with no Internet & found the Chess Challenger had just won the World Computer Chess Championship.
They cost $200 back then so it wasn't a purchase made lightly. So into the phone book & I called CJS Purdy. We had a very interesting (& very expensive) 20 minute conversation which resulted in me buying a 1978 Chess Challenger which I promptly name Boris – what else would you call a Chess Computer in 1978, Bobby?? but Boris had a better ring to it so Boris was its name.
So how did it play? Well it was a bit of a mixed bag. It was quite good in complex openings & middle games but its endgame was a huge disappointment & I wanted endgame practice. The other problem was that I was playing the Stonewall Attack as white which I found out many years later was the best anti computer opening around. The computers struggled because of the somewhat unclear mainlines & objectives with often comical & disastrous results.
Boris sadly died in the great Divorce War of 1997, he was still working perfectly but became a casualty when I had to move house in a hurry.
R.I.P. Boris.
lasertswift wrote:
Yes but it was quite noisy
I had a few when I was younger that I no longer have. They were fun but then computers came along and I never used them any more. Now I REALLY wish I had one that moved the pieces for you like the Phantom. Unfortunately I can't find any that are still manufactured that work well.
Sep 27, 2016
0
#11
Nice. I still have a Saitek Mephisto endorsed by Kasparov over 20 years old. Very good, around 2000 rated at full blast with some classic games programmed in where you guess the move. Magnetic pieces and you press the squares to move. Many hours spent on it before the old man invested in a PC. One strange glitch where it captured a pawn on the h file with a rook in all circumstaces eg rook on h8xh3 even if this can be recaptured with the g pawn. Some easy childhood wins made after I realised this!
Oct 1, 2016
0
#12
Dedicated chess computers are great fun and Millennium have released a new model this year, the Chess Genius Pro. However engines available on smart phones, iPads and tablets are far stronger and offer more features. I have the choice of over 10 different engines on my iPad, and their cost was minimal. But nostalgia can be a powerful thing as I did buy the Millennium Chess Genius last year, it's playing strength, a lowly 2100.
The Millenium ChessGenius Pro has boosted the strength to around 2300 from the Millenium ChessGenius. It can be had for around $200. My first chess computer was a Radio Shack 1650 Fast Response. I still have it, and still love the form factor. It only played around 1300 maybe. Then later in college I got a Radio Shack 1850, which was larger and played maybe closer to 1500. Now I have a pretty large collection, the strongest of which is probably my Novag Citrine, which plays in the 2000-2100 level.
Oct 13, 2018
0
#14
My Saitek Renaissance with Brute Force Module. Found it in the basement where it was locked away for 20 years and it looks and works like new... 👍
A very beautiful piece indeed!!
Take good care of it👌
The pieces of yours look similar as for my game as well!
Im still sad its not working anymore...even though Ive bought a DGT chessboard and DGT Pi as well...
Very nice machine! Those are hard to find these days.
fuzzbug wrote:
Inspired by the "My current playing setup. What's yours?" thread, I decided to start a thread for chess computers.
Many younger players may not realize that, before the PC, the only way to play chess with a computer was to buy a computer that was dedicated to chess alone.
Here is mine, a Novag SuperConstellation:
It runs on AC or batteries, and has 56K ROM, 4K RAM. This was made in 1984. I read somewhere that it has a strength of about 1700-1800 Elo, at the highest level.
You can read more about it here:
spacious-mind.com/superconstellation
I don't remember what I paid for it, but it still works fine today, and I still have trouble beating it!
Post 'em if ya got 'em!
Does anybody know what type, brand of pieces are the ones of the super-con from the image?
He said that the only way but I would add, for him personally (at least he thinks so) was to play only via dedicated.
Correct. There was software, even then and in no way that he couldn't afford him computer, especially, if one has 400 bucks for super-con, he could at least have for zx spectrum of that time.
Comic, mind-blowing how prediction was true. We are living the retro-future.
Your perception surely is different for many reasons. Another part of the world, more developed materialistically, in chess elo strength, another generation, circumstances, etc., etc....
For me, "Super-Con" (as you call them) is something exotic. Aside from being the same processor as C64's, 6502, it looks different. Sturdy and American as from the movies. I would feel as Clint Eastwood by playing on that machine. Found yesterday one on the "Ebay" but seller put another pieces, not original.
Sick! Sargon should be happy for the "borrowed" hardware.
On my level, I have immense respect, for Sir Sargon, too!
Edit: It seems that it's some newest iteration of the Stockfish, which prefers newest hardware.
Edit 2: In the future, there will be two kinds of tournaments, the commoners and 2) The ones with brain implants, "Stockfish Vision Corp".
Edit 3: Which would be the best e-board for analyzing with the newest beta version of Stockfish?
Inspired by the "My current playing setup. What's yours?" thread, I decided to start a thread for chess computers.
Many younger players may not realize that, before the PC, the only way to play chess with a computer was to buy a computer that was dedicated to chess alone.
Here is mine, a Novag SuperConstellation:
It runs on AC or batteries, and has 56K ROM, 4K RAM. This was made in 1984. I read somewhere that it has a strength of about 1700-1800 Elo, at the highest level.
You can read more about it here:
spacious-mind.com/superconstellation
I don't remember what I paid for it, but it still works fine today, and I still have trouble beating it!
Post 'em if ya got 'em!