Talking Chess Trainer Instructions Bedienungsanleitung Mode d'emploi QUICK START To play a game of chess right away, without reading the entire manual first, simply follow these Quick Start steps! 1 Open the battery compartment at the back of the computer by sliding it in the direction of the arrow. Insert 3 "AA" (Type AM3/ R6) batteries into the computer, making sure that you observe the correct polarity. Then, reinstall the battery door. 3 x AA/AM3/R6 5 Enter moves by executing them on the board, pressing the chess pieces down gently on the from and to squares for each move. PRESS PRESS 6 2 Press GO/STOP to turn the game on. If the computer does not respond, press a paper clip or similar sharp object into the hole marked ACL in the base of the unit, as described in Section 4.1. Set up the chess pieces in the initial starting position for a new game, with the White pieces closest to you. As soon as the computer makes a move, that move is shown in the display window. Press the computer's piece lightly onto the indicated from and to squares to complete the computer's move. That's all there is to it! Make your next move as described above. Press GO/STOP at any time to turn the computer off. Enjoy your game! 3 4 Press the NEW GAME key to reset the computer for a new game of chess. Note: The computer will automatically switch off to conserve power if no keys are pressed for about 20 minutes and the computer is not currently thinking. For details, see Section 2.9. TABLE OF CONTENTS QUICK START KEYS AND FEATURES INTRODUCTION 1. USING YOUR CHESS COMPUTER 1.1 Battery Installation 1.2 Making Moves 1.3 The Computer's Move 1.4 Change Your Mind? Take Back! 1.5 Check, Mate, or Draw! 1.6 Start a New Game 1.7 Change Levels 1.8 Openings Coach 2. ADDITIONAL COMPUTER FEATURES 2.1 Language Selection 2.2 Chess Clocks 2.3 Capturing and Special Moves 2.4 Illegal Moves 2.5 Interrupting the Computer's Search 2.6 Changing Sides with the Computer 2.7 Getting Hints from the Computer 2.8 The Computer Plays Against Itself 2.9 Game Memory and Automatic Power Down 2.10 Openings Library 3. LEVELS AND SPECIAL MODES 3.1 Levels of Play 3.2 Fun Levels 3.3 Casual Levels 3.4 Blitz Levels 3.5 Bronstein Levels 3.6 Bonus Timer Levels 3.7 Tournament Levels 3.8 Fixed Depth Levels 3.9 Tactical Level 3.10 Teach Modes 3.11 Selecting Levels and Teach Modes 3.12 Openings Coach Mode 3.13 Verify Mode. Check Piece Positions! 3.14 Non Auto Mode 4. TECHNICAL DETAILS 4.1 The ACL Function 4.2 Care and Maintenance 4.3 Technical Specifications TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE Figure 1. Display Symbols and Sounds KEYS AND FEATURES 1. LCD Display Window: The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is used to show moves, game information, and chess clocks for both players. For a complete list of the symbols, refer to Figure 1. 2. Piece Symbol Keys & (King), % (Queen), $ (Rook), # (Bishop), @ (Knight), ! (Pawn): Used to verify positions, select various Teach Modes, and underpromote pawns. 3. Game Keys a. GO/STOP Key: Press to turn the computer on; press again to turn the unit off. The current game is retained in memory for up to 550 hours. b. NEW GAME Key: Press to reset the computer for a new game of chess. c. OPENINGS COACH Key: Press to enter Openings Coach Mode for training on opening gambits and responses. d. LEVEL Key: Press to enter Level Mode to adjust the level of play to the complexity and type of game you desire. Also used to select the Teach Modes. e. TAKE BACK Key: Press to take back the last individual move made. You may take back up to 14 individual moves. Note that an individual move is a move for one side. f. NON AUTO Key: Press to enter Non Auto Mode, which allows moves to be entered manually. Here, the computer monitors the game, but makes no moves. g. PLAY Key: Press to exchange sides with the computer. Press while the computer is thinking to force it to move, or press during your own turn to get a move suggestion from the computer. h. SOUND Key: Pressing this key causes the sound option to cycle through three levels of operation. You can tell which level you have selected by the number of high tone beeps you hear, as indicated below: SOUND LEVEL SIGNAL WHEN SELECTED SYMBOLS 1 ............ 1 A ............. A k ..... King 2 ............ 2 B ............. B q ..... Queen 3 ............ 3 c ............ C r ..... Rook 4 ............ 4 D ............ D b ..... Bishop 5 ............ 5 E ............. E n ..... Knight 6 ............ 6 F ............. F p ..... Pawn 7 ............ 7 G ............ G Sb .... Standard board 8 ............ 8 H ............ H 9 ............ 9 0 ............ 0 PM ............ Indicates player to move. S ............... Indicates black to move. : ............... Steady colon indicates that figures are Minutes and Seconds ............... Flashing colon indicates that figures are : Hours and Minutes ch:-- ........ Black in check ch:__ ........ White in check EnD- ........ Checkmate ­ black wins EnD( ........ Draw te: ............ Teach Mode o(:3 .......... Openings Coach (Spanish Opening) computer plays both sides o_:3 .......... Openings Coach (Spanish Opening) computer plays white .......... Openings Coach (Spanish Opening) o):3 computer plays black .......... Openings Coach (Spanish Opening) o :3 computer plays neither SOUNDS 1 high tone ...... Acknowledge operation of any key or sensory square 1 low tone ....... Error: Wrong move or wrong key pressed 2 low tones ...... Warning from Coach 3 high tones .... New Game or Beep and Voice set 3 low tones ...... In games against the clock, time has run out Beep and Voice .......... 3 high tones Beep only ................... 2 high tones Silent .......................... 1 high tone With Voice selected, you'll get helpful coaching remarks, and the buzzer will beep to show the computer's response to your actions. See Figure 1 for the meanings of the beeps. Pressing and holding SOUND for a second or more activates the "Say Again" feature, causing the last message to be repeated. 4. Sensory Chessboard: Each square contains a highly sensitive sensor that registers piece movement. The squares are identified by file (letters) and rank (numbers). 5. ACL (Reset): Recessed reset switch is located in the base of the unit, and used to eliminate static discharge after inserting a new set of batteries. 6. Battery Compartment: In base of unit. The computer uses 3 "AA" (Type AM3/R6) alkaline batteries. 7. Piece Storage Area: Handy storage compartment for your chess pieces. 8. Language Selection Switch: In base of unit. Used to select either English, German, or French. 1 2 5 8 7 3 4 6 3 ENGLISH INTRODUCTION Your new electronic chessboard is a powerful computer that will play chess at whatever level of complexity you choose! Or, if you prefer, you can play a game with a friend and the computer will act as referee. The large range of 64 playing levels, combined with 11 extended Teach Modes, make up a total of 768 combinations--enough to satisfy anyone with an interest in chess, both young and old. The Teach Modes and Openings Coach are superb learning features at any level of play, and the various modes of timed competition are well-suited for the intermediate player. This particular model also offers vocal encouragement and coaching whenever its special Voice Mode is selected! 3 x AA/AM3/R6 Fig. 1-1 1. USING YOUR CHESS COMPUTER Battery Installation chess computer runs on 3 "AA" (AM3/R6) batteries. For longer battery life, we recommend using fresh alkaline batteries. Slide open the battery compartment cover on the back of the unit, and insert the batteries as shown in Figure 1-1. Then, reinstall the cover and press GO/ STOP to turn the computer on. If the computer does not respond, use a paper clip or another sharp object to press into the hole marked ACL in the base of the unit for at least one second. This will reset the computer. After the batteries are inserted or ACL is pressed, the computer will go through a self-test. Three beeps tell you that the test has passed, while a buzz or silence indicates a problem that should be checked with your local distributor. 1.Your Note that inserting new batteries or pressing ACL will reset the computer's memory, causing any current game to be lost. Fig. 1-2 2.Fol Making Moves low the steps below to start a game. a. If necessary, press GO/STOP to turn the computer on. b. Set up the chess pieces in their starting positions with the White pieces nearest to you, as shown in Figure 1-2, and press NEW GAME. The computer will say "Let's play," and indicate on the display that you should play a White piece. 00:00 PM PRESS PRESS Note: If NEW GAME is pressed while certain modes are selected (Teach Mode, Openings Coach, or Non Auto Mode), these modes will automatically be cancelled. c. To make a move, lightly press down on the piece you want to move until you hear a beep (see Figure 1-3). The computer's sensory board registers your move, and the left side of the display will show the from square that was pressed. E2:__ d. Take the piece and lightly press it down on the square you want to move to. A second beep sounds, and the computer briefly shows the to square on the right-hand side of the display. E2:E4 As soon as your move is finished (if you have Voice selected), the display will show Coch while it evaluates your move. You also hear a spoken comment relating to the move you executed. e. Next, it is the computer's turn, and the computer will start thinking about its move. Note that in the early stages of a game, the computer's response is often virtually instantaneous. This is because it is playing moves already stored in its openings library (see Section 2.10). The Computer's Move 3.Wheninthe computerFor ready, it beeps a move, see Figures 1-5a andcoordinates ofindicated is and displays the from and to its move, as shown Figure 1-4. an example of b. Press the piece down on its from square (E7, in this case), until you hear a beep and the from side of the display changes to show the color and symbol for that piece. For a chart of the symbols, see Figure 1. Next, press that same piece down on the second square in the display--the square the computer wants to move to (E5, here). Once you press E5, the display clears and you have completed the computer's move! The display then indicates that it is once again your turn to move. Change Your Mind? Back! 4.If you change yourandTakedisplaymove, you cansquare.back. Presspiece down on whilesquare. mind about a take it TAKE BACK it is still your turn to move, the shows the to Press the that You now see the piece symbol and the square that piece came from. Press the piece down on the from square to finish the take-back. If the move taken back was a capture, the computer reminds you to put the captured piece back on the board by displaying the piece type and its square location. Press this piece down on the indicated square. To take back another move, press TAKE BACK again. You can take back up to 14 individual moves (or 7 moves for each side), allowing you to experiment and try out various "What if...?" approaches. To continue the game, either make your next move or press PLAY to have the computer make a move for you. Figures 1-6 a and b show an example of taking back a Knight move from G8 to F6. After pressing TAKE BACK, the display shows F6, the square the Knight moved to (Figure 1-6a). Press 4 Fig. 1-3 Fig. 1-4 Fig. 1-5a Fig. 1-5b down on F6, and the display changes to show the piece color and symbol (Black Knight) and the square that piece came from (Figure 1-6b). Press the Knight back down on G8. Note that en passant captures cannot be replayed if the take back of the previous move was not allowed. Check, Draw! 5.WhentheMate,isorinrunning).the display game endscheck symbol (alternately(by stalemate, a King check, shows the with the clock display, if clock is When the in checkmate or a draw immediate 3-fold repetition, or the 50-move rule), various End symbols are displayed. These symbols are shown in Figure 1. Start New Game 6.PressaNEW GAME to start a new game at anyclears your current game from the computer's time, using the currently selected level and sound/voice settings. Since pressing NEW GAME memory, be very careful not to press this key by mistake. Change Levels 7.Your squares. Togetheroffers the 11 built-in of play, each of which corresponds atochoiceofofthe chess computer you 64 levels one 64 board with Extended Teach Modes, you have 768 level settings! Press LEVEL to enter Level Mode, and the current level is displayed (e.g., the level equivalent to board square A3 shows L:A3 alternately with Fun3). To change the level, simply press a board square, and that level will show in the display. Press LEVEL again to exit Level Mode. For more information on the playing levels, see Section 3. Openings Coach 8.Your computer has 16 opening sequences forand thenstudy, such of the squaresOpening and you to as the Italian the Queen's Gambit. Pre ...