ORION 6 in 1
Instructions
Contents
1
QUICK START MANUAL
1.1
Inserting the batteries
1.2
Choosing a game
1.2.1
Chess
1.2.2
Checkers
1.2.3
Grasshopper, Nim, Reversi & Four-in-a-Row
1.3
Playing Chess
1.3.1
Starting play
1.3.2
Special moves
1.3.3
Game modes for Chess
1.3.3.1 Selecting the playing mode for Chess
1.3.3.2 Selecting the playing level for Chess
1.3.3.3 Setting up a Chess position on the board
1.3.3.4 Selecting famous games from the database
1.3.3.5 Selecting the Chess practice mode
1.4
Playing Checkers
1.5
Playing Grasshopper, Nim, Reversi and 4 in a row
1.6
Playing both sides
1.7
The keys and their functions
1.8
Display symbols
2
LEARN CHESS
2.1
The king and how it moves
2.2
The queen and how it moves
2.3
The rook and how it moves
2.4
The bishop and how it moves
2.5
The knight and how it moves
2.6
The pawn and how it moves
2.6.1
Pawn promotion
2.6.2
En passant captures
2.7
Check and checkmate – winning the game
2.8
Stalemate and other types of draw
2.9
Castling
2.10 Hints for beginners
3
PLAY CHESS WITH THE COMPUTER
3.1
Setting up the computer
3.2
The Chess pieces and the starting position
3.3
Chess notation
3.4
Making moves
3.5
The computers move
3.6
The Chess rules
3.7
Errors
3.8
The "TEACHING" feature
3.8.1
Warnings of threats
3.9
Special moves
3.9.1
Captures
3.9.2
En passant captures
3.9.3
Pawn promotion
3.9.4
Castling
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3.10 Taking moves back
3.11 Check and checkmate – end of the game
3.12 New game
3.13 Explaining the moves
3.14 Interrupting the computer and changing sides
3.15 Checking the position
3.16 Levels of skill
3.16.1
Displaying the level
3.16.2
Changing the level
3.16.3
The clock times
3.16.4
The clock key
3.17 Rating mode: scores for your moves
3.17.1
Your rating number
3.17.2
What your rating means
3.18 Evaluating the position
3.19 Playing both sides
3.20 Hint
3.21 Setting up a position
3.21.1
Illegal positions
3.22 Solving Chess problems
3.23 Styles of play
3.24 World champion games
3.25 Sound
3.26 Switching off and saving the game
4
LEARN CHECKERS
4.1
Winning a game
4.2
Drawing a game
4.3
The man and how it moves
4.4
How to capture an enemy piece
4.4.1
You must make a capture if you can
4.4.2
Multiple captures
4.5
Crowning a man and how the king moves
4.6
Hints for beginners
4.6.1
Winning material
4.6.2
Back row men
4.6.3
1 king vs 1 king
4.6.4
The double corner
5
PLAY CHECKERS WITH THE COMPUTER
5.1
Starting play
5.2
The Checkers pieces and the starting position
5.3
Checkers notation
5.4
Making moves
5.5
The computer’s move
5.6
The rules of Checkers
5.7
Errors
5.8
Special moves
5.8.1
Captures
5.8.2
Multiple captures
5.8.3
Crowning a man to make a king
5.9
Winning the game
5.10 New game
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5.11
5.12
5.13
5.14
6
Interrupting the computer and changing sides
Levels of skill
Checking the position
Taking moves back
PLAY GRASSHOPPER WITH THE COMPUTER
6.1
How to play Grasshopper
6.1.1
Making moves
6.1.2
Jumps
6.1.3
Multiple jumps
7
PLAY REVERSI WITH THE COMPUTER
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
8
PLAY FOUR IN A ROW WITH THE COMPUTER
8.1
9
Beginning the Game
Continuing the game
When a player must pass
Result of the Game
Starting the game
Enter moves
The game
PLAY NIM WITH THE COMPUTER
9.1
9.2
9.3
Before the play starts
The play
Creating your own starting position
10 ADDITIONAL FEATURES
10.1 Interrupting the computer and changing sides
10.2 Taking moves back
10.3 Checking the position
10.4 Levels of skill (other games than Chess)
10.4.1
Rates of play
10.5 Playing both sides
10.6 Setting up a position
10.6.1
Illegal positions
10.7 Sounds
10.8 Switching off and saving the game
11 TROUBLE SHOOTING GUIDE
11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
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The display shows nothing
The computer refuses to make a move
The computer refuses to accept your move
Do you know the rules?
If you think the computer is cheating
There is no sound
RESET switch
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12 APPENDIX: WORLD CHAMPION GAMES
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12.1
12.2
12.3
12.4
Games by Bobby Fischer
Games by Anatoly Karpov
Games by Garry Kasparov
Games by Deep Thought / Deep Blue
13 HOW TO INSERT THE BATTERIES
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1
QUICK START MANUAL
1.1 Inserting the batteries
The computer is powered by batteries; on the underside there is a label telling you which type to
use. The battery compartment is near this label. Remove the lid and insert the batteries, making
sure that the "positive" end of each battery matches up with a "+" sign inside the compartment.
The computer should respond with a sound signal (three rising notes).
The computer announces its moves and other information by means of the Liquid Crystal
Display (LCD). Once the batteries are installed, you should see the "White" symbol ( ) in the
top left-hand corner of the display. Just below it, the "teaching" symbol ( ) should be "flashing"
on and off. The computer is now ready to start a game.
OCCASIONALLY AFTER INSTALLING NEW BATTERIES, YOU MAY
FIND THAT THE COMPUTER ACTS ABNORMALLY. IN THIS CASE
PUSH A THIN OBJECT INTO THE "RESET" HOLE IN THE BASE OF THE
COMPUTER, AND PRESS DOWN WITH IT.
If you have not just loaded new batteries, press the ON/OFF key to switch the computer on. The
computer will remember the position which was on the board when you last switched it off.
1.2 Choosing a game
If you have just installed the batteries and want to play with your computer, you have the
following options:.
Press the START key. The display shows:
You now have these options:
1.2.1
Chess
(a) Press START again, if you want a normal game of Chess.
(b) Press if you want a game of “mini-chess”, with only the kings and pawns (starting
on their normal squares). This gives practice to beginners.
(c) Press , , or for a version of mini-chess in which the kings and pawns are
joined by one other piece type (knights, bishops, rooks or queens).
(d) Press RATING for a game of Chess in “rating mode” – see Section 3.17.
(e) Press LEVEL/> to play through a “World Champion game” of Chess – see
Section 3.24
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1.2.2
Checkers
(f) Press the
key (also labelled
) if you want to play Checkers and the display shows:
You will see the "checkers" symbol
appear together with the "Black" symbol
Black moves first in checkers. You can now start to play Checkers.
1.2.3
, because
Grasshopper, Nim, Reversi & Four-in-a-Row
(g) Press the ?
? key if you want to play Grasshopper, Nim, Reversi or 4 in a row.
By re-pressing the key several times, you can display the following in rotation:
= Grasshopper
= Nim
= Reversi
= 4 in a row
Then, when the right one of these displays is shown, press START.
(h) If you press a square on the board, or any key other than those listed above, this
cancels the “new game” command.
Each type of game has its own method for carrying out moves etc. See according sections for
further information.
If you want the computer to play first (i.e. with White in Chess, Black in Checkers etc.),
press MOVE / >> when the game is ready to start.
1.3 Playing Chess
This is a brief introduction which explains how to start a game of chess with your
computer. Later you will want to learn about all the computer's special features. You
should then read the full instruction manual carefully.
CHESS RULES If you don't know how to play chess, you can learn the rules from this
instruction manual -- see the section "Learn Chess". Your computer knows the rules and will
never break any of them. If you think the computer has "cheated", look for the explanation in this
manual (11.5), paying special attention to the section on "Special Moves".
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1.3.1
Starting play
SET UP THE PIECES Set up the pieces in the starting position. The white pieces should be at
your end near the controls.
Chess board set up for the start of a game
For those of you who are beginners or fairly new to the game of chess, the chess pieces and
their symbols are identified on page 13.
Turn your unit on by pressing the ON/OFF key. Now press the START key two times, to
start a normal game of Chess. The display looks as follows:
If you want to know, which other possibilities your computer has, refer to the section 1.3.3
“Game Modes for Chess” for a brief introduction.
START THE GAME The computer indicates its moves and other information using the Liquid
Crystal Display (LCD). The square in the top left-hand corner of the display is the "White"
symbol ( ), which shows that the computer is ready for White to make a move. You may now
start a game. We suggest you play your first game with the white pieces.
MAKING MOVES You will see that each square of the chessboard is marked with a letter and
a number (for example E2); we call these the co-ordinates of the square. Press down with the
piece you wish to move -- there will be a "beep", and the co-ordinates of the square will show in
the display. If the move doesn't appear to have registered, press down with the edge of the piece.
Complete your move by pressing the piece down on its new square. Then the "Black" symbol
will show in the display, and the computer indicates its reply, for example:
Example of move shown in LCD display
The "flashing" co-ordinates (on the left) tell you which piece the computer wishes to move. The
letter and number on the right tell you which square it wishes to move to.
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Press down with the computer's piece -- there will be a beep and the co-ordinates of the "from"
square stop flashing and those of the "to" square start flashing. Press the piece down on its new
square to complete the move.
WARNINGS OF MISTAKES (Teaching function) Often when you have finished your move,
the co-ordinates of the two squares will remain on the LCD for a few seconds. You will then
sometimes hear a rising tone signal, and the letters and numbers will all "flash" on and off. This
means that the computer thinks your move is a mistake. If you are sure you want to play this
move, press the MOVE />> key. If instead you want to take the move back, see the section
3.10 "Taking Moves Back" in the instruction manual.
Sometimes after carrying out the computer's move, you will hear a falling tone signal, and the
co-ordinates for the move will "flash" on the display. This warns you that the computer is
threatening something (checkmate or the win of material). Consider your next move carefully,
and carry it out in the usual way.
If you prefer to play without these warning signals, press the
(switch) key and then the
BISHOP/TUTOR key, so that the symbol disappears from the bottom left-hand corner of the
LCD. The computer should then reply to your moves more quickly.
CAPTURING A PIECE To make a capture, press down with the piece you want to move.
Remove the enemy piece and press your piece down on the square which the captured piece
occupied.
CHECKING THE POSITIONS OF THE PIECES You may want to check where each piece
should be (for instance if you accidentally knock a piece over). For how to do this, see the
section 3.15 "Checking the Position" in the instruction manual.
1.3.2
Special moves
Sometimes inexperienced players do not understand the special moves, in particular en passant
captures and castling. These moves are explained in detail in this manual (see section 3.9).
Remember -- the computer may also make these special moves.
SWITCH OFF AND SAVE THE POSITION When you want to stop playing, press the
ON/OFF key. The computer switches off but still remembers the position. To resume play, press
the ON/OFF key again.
NOTE: The computer cannot be switched off (or a new game started) while it is still the
computer's turn to move. Complete the computer's move, then press ON/OFF.
WHEN TO REPLACE THE BATTERIES If the computer appears to act abnormally or will
not switch on (even after RESET has been used), the batteries probably need replacing.
1.3.3
Game modes for Chess
The following sections explains the different modes and functions of play, and how they
are shown on the LCD display. Try to memorize this system and you will find the
operation of your computer quite logical and easy to understand.
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1.3.3.1 Selecting the playing mode for Chess
You can select different playing modes by pressing the START key. Then you have
the following options.
If you want to play a normal game of chess, press START again. You see a little square
at the upper left (= symbol for white to move) and the flashing symbol indicating that
"teaching" is switched on (see picture on left side). If you don't want to be helped by
the "teaching" function, press the
key followed by BISHOP/TUTOR and the
flashing symbol
disappears (see picture on right side). Now your computer is ready
for a game of chess.
1.3.3.2 Selecting the playing level for Chess
Now you may want to select a playing level. Press LEVEL / > and you can see the
current level (see picture on left side) P Un. This means unlimited reflection time and
no time pressure for you. You can press the
key in order to see the computer’s
reflection time. The display C 10 indicates 10 seconds per move for the computer.
The letters P and C indicate player resp. computer. There are many possible level
settings, as described in section 3.16.
Another option is playing a "rating game" against the computer. Press START followed
by RATING if you want to play a game in which the computer gives you a score for
your moves.
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Use the same key to see your current "rating number", i.e. the computer's assessment of
your overall standard of play (see section 3.17).
1.3.3.3 Setting up a Chess position on the board
You have the option to set up any desired position on the chess board. Press the
POSITION key to put the computer into "set-up mode" (section 3.21). This allows you
to alter the position on the board, or construct a new one.
1.3.3.4 Selecting famous games from the database
Press START and when the display shows StA, press LEVEL / > to select the
"Famous Games" database. The LCD now shows FP (for „famous player“) followed by
a number (see picture on left side).
The players are indicated with 1 = Bobby Fischer, 2 = Anatoly Karpov, 3 = Garry
Kasparov and 4 = Deep Blue. by repeatedly pressing LEVEL / > you can display the
players’ numbers in rotation.
To select one of the players, bring the appropriate number onto the LCD and press
START again. The display now shows G (for "game"), and a number in the range 1 100 (if you have selected a human World Champion) or 1-20 (if you have selected
player number 4).
Having decided on the player, you must now choose which of that player's games you
want to play through. By pressing LEVEL / > repeatedly, you can increase the number
displayed. If you press MOVE />>, the number increases in steps of 10. After
reaching the maximum, it goes back to 1. When the LCD shows the number of the game
you want, press the START key.
For more information about the famous games database see section 3.24.
1.3.3.5 Selecting the Chess practice mode
When, after pressing START, StA is displayed, you have the option to practice a game of
chess with limited material on the board. Instead of again pressing START to begin a new
game, you may press the PAWN, KNIGHT, BISHOP, ROOK or QUEEN key to start a
game of chess with reduced material.
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As explained in section 3.12, there are five types of "mini-chess" for you to choose from:
(1) PAWN =
A game using kings and pawns only.
(2) KNIGHT =
Kings, knights and pawns.
(3) BISHOP =
Kings, bishops and pawns.
(4) ROOK
=
Kings, rooks and pawns.
(5) QUEEN =
Kings, queens and pawns.
These simplified forms of chess are designed to give novices excellent practice in handling
each type of piece in turn.
1.4 Playing Checkers
This is a brief introduction explaining how to play checkers (which is called "draughts" in
some countries) with your computer. For complete information, you should read the full
instruction manual carefully.
STARTING PLAY
SET UP THE PIECES Set up the pieces in the starting position.
Checkers board set up for the start of a game.
START THE GAME The computer indicates its moves and other information using the Liquid
Crystal Display (LCD). To start a game of checkers, first press the START key, and the display
will show StA.
Now press the KING key (which is also labelled
), and the display shows:
You will see the "checkers" symbol
appear together with the "Black" symbol
Black moves first in checkers. You can now start to play Checkers.
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SETTING THE LEVEL OF PLAY The computer can play checkers on 15 levels of skill.
When you first connect the power or press RESET, or switch from playing chess to checkers, it
is set to level 1 (weakest). To select a higher level, follow the procedure in "Levels of Skill"
(section 5.12 of the instruction manual).
MAKING MOVES We suggest you play your first game with the black pieces. You will see
that each square of the checker board is marked with a letter and a number (for example E3); we
call these the co-ordinates of the square. Press down with the piece you wish to move -- there
will be a "beep", and the co-ordinates of the square will show in the display.
If you are using pieces with magnets in the bases and the move doesn't appear to have
registered, press down with the edge of the piece.
Complete your move by pressing the piece down on its new square. Then the "White" symbol
will show in the display, and the computer indicates its reply, for example:
Example of move shown in LCD display
The "flashing" co-ordinates (on the left) tell you which piece the computer wishes to move. The
letter and number on the right tell you which square it wishes to move to.
Press down with the computer's piece -- there will be a beep and the co-ordinates of the "from"
square stop flashing and those of the "to" square start flashing. Press the piece down on its new
square to complete the move.
CAPTURING A PIECE To make a capture, press down on the "from" and "to" squares of the
piece you are moving. The display will then show the square of the captured piece (flashing),
followed by 0. Press down with the captured piece and then remove it from the board.
CHECKERS RULES The rules are explained in chapter 4. Your computer knows the rules and
will never break any of them. If you think the computer has "cheated", check this manual,
especially pages on capturing.
SWITCH OFF AND SAVE THE POSITION When you want to stop playing, press the
ON/OFF key. The computer switches off but still remembers the position. To resume play, press
ON/OFF again.
NOTE: The computer cannot be switched off (or a new game started) while it is still the
computer's turn to move (or you are in the middle of making a capturing move). Complete the
moves for yourself and the computer, then press ON/OFF.
1.5 Playing Grasshopper, Nim, Reversi and 4 in a row
For a introduction how to play Grasshopper and Nim please see the according sections 6 and
7 in this manual.
Grasshopper
4 in a row
chapter 6
chapter 8
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Reversi
Nim
chapter 7
chapter 9
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1.6 Playing both sides
You can also play with your computer acting as a “referee” (making sure the moves are legal,
reminding you to complete any “special” moves, announcing the result, etc.). For this option
you have to set it on Level 0. The computer will not play any moves of its own; it will simply
let you carry out moves for both sides. So for example you can play against a friend with the
computer.
In Chess, Level 0 is obtained by displaying a “fun level” then pressing LEVEL / > enough
times until 0 appears. See Section 3.2.5. (On Level 0 there are no “hints” or “teaching”
messages.)
1.7 The keys and their functions
Piece Keys
These are the six round keys identified by the chess piece symbols.
Press for example the PAWN key if you want to check where the pawns
should be. When you are setting up a position, press the appropriate key
before placing a piece on its square.
In checkers, the PAWN key displays the positions of the ordinary men, and
the KING key displays the positions of the kings.
Some of the "piece" keys have alternative uses (see , below).
Press
followed by ROOK/STYLE to inspect (and alter) the computer's
style of play.
Press
and BISHOP/TUTOR to switch the "teaching" function on or off.
When "teaching", the computer tells you when it thinks your move is a
mistake. It also warns you when its own move contains a threat.
Press
and KNIGHT/SOUND to switch the sound signals on or off.
(Apart from this, the
key is not used in checkers.)
Press
you.
and PAWN/HINT if you want the computer to suggest a move for
When "setting up" a position, press
or vice versa.
to switch from white to black pieces
When displaying the "level", the
Black's time limit. See section 3.16.
key switches between White's and
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START
Press the START key twice to start a new game of chess from the standard
starting position.
To start a game of checkers, press START followed by the KING key, then
any other key or square.
To play a game of Grasshopper, Nim, Reversi or 4 in a row press START
followed by ? ?
(For other uses, see "Rating Mode", "World Champion Games", and "How
the pieces move".)
POSITION
Press this key to put the computer into "set-up mode" (section 3.21). This
allows you to alter the position on the board, or construct a new position.
(Not used in checkers.)
LEVEL / >
Press LEVEL / > (level/game) to see the computer's current level of play.
You can then press the key again to alter the level.
(For another use, see "World Champion Games")
RATING
Press START followed by RATING if you want to play a game in which
the computer gives you a score for your moves. Use the same key to see
your current "rating number", i.e. the computer's assessment of your overall
standard of play. (Not used in checkers.)
Press
followed by START to start a game of "Rapid Chess", i.e. 25 or
30 minutes per player per game.
When displaying the "level", press
to switch between "timed move",
"timed game" and "fun" levels. See section 3.16.4.
(Not used in checkers.)
TAKE BACK Press
TAKE BACK if you want to retract the last move or pair of moves.
MOVE />>
Press this key to make the computer play the next move.
At the start of the game, you press MOVE />> if you want the computer
to play White in chess or to play Black in checkers.
(For other uses, see "Levels of Skill" section 3.16, "Setting Up a Position"
section 3.21, and "World Champion Games" section 3.24.)
ON/OFF
Press this key to switch the computer on or off. When you switch off, the
computer still remembers the current position in the game. It will resume
play from this position when you switch on again.
?
The „Where and Why“ function is a very useful feature, especially for
beginners.
If you press ?
? followed by one of your pieces, the computer tells you
where this piece can move. When the computer gives you a "TEACHING"
message, you can press ?
? for further explanation. See also section 3.8.
(Not used in checkers.)
It is also used to choose the game to play, either NIM or GRASSHOPPER.
?
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1.8 Display symbols
The display shows which colour is to move next, which square a piece is being moved from (or
to), as well as check and the result of the game, etc. Here is a list of all the symbols and other
information which can be shown on the display.
This is the "White" symbol. It will be on when you are playing White and it is your turn
to move. It will also be on when you are "setting up" a chess position in the computer and
you have chosen to set up a white piece next. And it will be on when the computer is
"verifying" the position of a white piece.
This symbol will be flashing when the computer is playing White and it is thinking about
its move.
This is the "Black" symbol and is used in a similar way to the "White" symbol.
The "White" and "Black" symbols are on together when the computer is displaying
its playing style (see section 3.23).
+
The "Check" symbol. It is on when you are playing chess and either player (you or the
computer) makes a move which puts the opponent in check.
In chess, this symbol is displayed, "flashing", when the computer is in "teaching" mode,
i.e. when it is ready to warn you of your mistakes. (See section 3.8)
The symbol is displayed "static" when you are playing a game of checkers.
:
The "Capture" symbol. It is on, flashing, when the computer is indicating a move which
captures a piece. In checkers, the same symbol also directs you to capture one (or more)
of the computer's pieces.
#
The "Set-up" symbol. It is on when you are "setting up" a chess position (see section
3.21).
The "rating" symbol -- it is on when you are inspecting your "rating number" (see section
3.17.1). If you are playing a game in "rating mode", this symbol will "flash" on and off.
#
The "Set-up" and "Rating" symbols are displayed together when you are playing through
a "World Champion game" (see section 3.24).
C2
This is an example of how a square on the board is indicated in the main part of the LCD
display. The display can also show the result of the game and other information.
Please note: Some letters are displayed as small type, e.g. “b” and “d”!
+
When these 3 symbols are displayed together, you are playing Grasshopper.
#+
When these 4 symbols are displayed together with a flashing
, you are playing Nim.
When these 2 symbols are displayed together, you are playing Reversi.
#
When these 3 symbols are displayed together, you are playing 4 in a row.
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2
LEARN CHESS
The rules and how the pieces move
Chess is a game for two players which is played on a chequered board of 64 squares. Each player
starts the game with an army of 16 chessmen, or pieces. We call the two players White (the
player who is moving the white pieces) and Black (the player who is moving the black pieces).
The pieces are of six types. In the diagrams in this instruction manual, they are represented by
the following symbols:
The most important piece is the king, since the object of the game is to put your opponent's king
in a position where it cannot avoid being captured.
At the beginning of the game, the pieces are arranged on the board like this:
Notice the way the board is placed between the two opponents: each player has a white square in
the bottom corner on his right. Also, notice the positions of the kings and queens: each queen is
placed on a square of its own colour.
The players take it in turns to move one piece at a time. The first move of the game is always
made by White. Whenever it is his turn, a player must move one of his pieces onto a square
which is either empty or occupied by an enemy piece. In the latter case, the enemy is
immediately removed from the board -- it is "captured".
For the only case in which a player moves two pieces at once, see "Castling".
Each type of piece has its own way of moving. We will now look at each of them in turn.
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2.1 The king and how it moves
The king is moved one square at a time, in any direction -- forwards, backwards, to the right or
left, or diagonally. So in the middle of an open board, it has a choice of 8 different moves.
In this position White's king can move to any of the squares marked X and Black's king to any of
the squares marked with an asterix.
Like most other pieces, the king makes a capture by moving in the same way as when it makes
an ordinary move. (It is not, however, allowed to move into "check", i.e. to place itself under
attack from an enemy piece. This will be explained more fully later.) The king is the most
important piece in chess and must be guarded with great care.
2.2 The queen and how it moves
The queen can move any number of squares at once, in any straight line -- horizontally, vertically
or diagonally. If it lands on a square occupied by an enemy piece, the enemy is captured and
removed from the chessboard. In the middle of an open board, the queen has 27 possible moves.
The great mobility of the queen means that it is the most powerful of the pieces.
We shall see that the rook and the bishop, like the queen, can travel from one end of the board to
another in a single move. None of these pieces, however, has the power to "jump across" another
piece of either colour. For the sole exception -- where the rook "jumps over" the king -- see
"Castling". In the diagram, White's queen can move to any of the squares marked X or capture
the black Pawn on f7.
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2.3 The rook and how it moves
The rook is the second most powerful piece. It can move or capture in a horizontal or vertical
direction, travelling across any number of squares. Here the white rook can move to any square
marked X or capture the black queen on d7.
2.4 The bishop and how it moves
The bishop moves diagonally, any number of squares at a time. Notice that a bishop will always
be on a square of the same colour as the one on which it started the game.
Here White's bishop can move to any square marked X or capture the black rook on g8.
2.5 The knight and how it moves
The knight's move is best described as an "L-shape": two squares horizontally or vertically, then
one square at right-angles. The knight has the unique privilege of being able to jump over other
pieces (of either colour). Here White's knight can move to any square marked X or capture the
black bishop on e8.
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2.6 The pawn and how it moves
The ordinary move of a pawn is simply one square straight forward. On its first move, however,
a pawn has the right to go two squares forward if the player wishes (and the two squares ahead
are vacant). If the pawn only goes one square on its first move, it cannot later advance two
squares at once.
The pawns are the least valuable of all the pieces on the board, partly because they can never
move backwards.
In another respect too, the pawn is exceptional: its capturing move differs from its ordinary
move. When making a capture, the pawn moves diagonally forward (one square only, even on
its first move). In the diagram, the white pawn may move to either of the squares marked X, or
capture the black knight b3. The black pawn may move to the square marked
or capture the
white rook h5.
There are two more special kinds of pawn move: pawn promotion, and the capture en passant.
2.6.1 Pawn promotion
Although it is the most lowly of pieces, the possibility of promotion increases the pawn's value.
When a pawn reaches the far end of the board (with either an ordinary move or a capture), it is
immediately "promoted" -- it is changed into a queen, rook, bishop or knight. The player chooses
which piece he wants, and places it on the square to which his pawn has just advanced. The
pawn is removed from the board. Normally, of course, the player will promote his pawn to a
queen -- since this much the most powerful piece. Very occasionally, however, an "underpromotion" to rook, bishop or knight is preferred (for instance, in order to avoid stalemate, see
section 2.8).
2.6.2
En passant captures
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Suppose that one of your pawns is on its starting square, and there is an enemy pawn ready to
capture it if it moves one square forward. The rules state that even if your pawn goes two squares
forward, the opposing pawn may still capture it on the next move, just as if it had only advanced
one square. This is called capturing en passant (which is French for "in passing").
In the diagram, if Black advances his pawn two squares (to d5), the white pawn can capture it en
passant. The white pawn moves to d6, and the black pawn is removed from the board.
An en passant capture can only be made by a pawn, and only on the move immediately
following the double advance of the pawn that is being captured.
2.7 Check and checkmate – winning the game
A piece is said to be under attack if an enemy piece is in a position to capture it next move. (Also
a square may be "under attack", meaning that if you moved a piece there it could be captured.) If
your opponent's last move has placed your king under attack, the king is said to be in check. You
must now move out of check. A move which leaves (or puts) your own king under attack is
illegal.
In friendly games a player will usually say "check" when he makes a move that checks the
opponent's king.
If a player whose king is in check is unable to move out of check, the game is over. His opponent
has delivered checkmate, and has won! ("Checkmate" is often abbreviated to "mate".)
2.8 Stalemate and other types of draw
If the player whose turn it is to move cannot make any legal move and his king is not in check,
the game is a draw. This is called stalemate.
If exactly the same position occurs three times, with the same player to move, that player may
claim a draw. This may come about as a result of both players moving the same pieces back and
forth twice running.
A draw may also be claimed if, during a series of 50 consecutive moves, no capture is made and
no pawn is moved. (For the purpose of counting, "one move" means a move by one player
together with his opponent's reply.)
Also, a draw may simply be agreed between the players, if the position is such that neither of
them thinks he has much chance of winning.
2.9 Castling
Castling is a special move which a player makes with his king and one of his rooks. It is the only
time when a player moves two pieces at one turn.
To be able to castle, the king and the rook have to be on their starting squares. The king then
moves two squares towards the rook; the rook jumps over the king, finishing in between the
king's original square and the square where the king now stands.
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Castling is usually advantageous, since it moves the king to a safer part of the board, nearer the
corner, and at the same time brings the rook into play.
In the next position White may castle by moving his king to either of the squares marked by the
arrows and then jumping the nearby rook over it. Black has already made the castling move -his king has moved two squares sideways and his rook has jumped over it.
There are a number of restrictions that apply to castling, and it is important that you learn all of
them:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
You may not castle if your king has already moved.
You may not castle with a rook which has already moved.
You may not castle if you are "in check".
You may not, of course, castle if your king would land on a square where it is "in check".
You may not castle if the square that your king crosses over is attacked by an enemy
piece.
You may only castle if the squares between your king and rook are all vacant.
2.10 Hints for beginners
The most obvious way to work towards victory is to try to increase your own fighting force
relative to that of your opponent. We call this "winning material". It is usually a good idea to
capture any of your opponent's pieces that are undefended or insufficiently defended. The bigger
your material advantage, the easier it will normally be for you to dominate the game and to force
a win.
The pieces do not all have the same value and power because some are more mobile and control
more squares than others. The following table of material values will serve you as a useful guide.
PAWN
KNIGHT
BISHOP
ROOK
QUEEN
KING
=
=
=
=
=
=
1 point
3 pawns
3 pawns
5 pawns
9 pawns
beyond material value
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The most common mistake that beginners make is to put a piece on a square where it may
simply be captured at once. So whenever you are about to make a move, spend a few seconds to
ask yourself:
(a) Can your opponent safely capture the piece that you are going to move?
(b) Did his last move threaten one of your pieces?
(c) Has your opponent been careless and made a move which allows you to win material,
possibly by capturing the piece he has just moved?
Material is not the only important factor in chess. During the first 10 or so moves of the game
you should try to bring out both of your knights and both bishops so that they are active, and you
should try to castle. And finally, try to use your pieces to attack the central squares -- the player
who controls the centre usually has the advantage.
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3
PLAY CHESS WITH THE COMPUTER
3.1 Setting up the computer
The computer is powered by batteries; on the underside there is a label telling you which type to
use. The battery compartment is near this label. Remove the lid and insert the batteries, making
sure that the "positive" end of each battery matches up with a "+" sign inside the compartment.
The computer should respond with a sound signal (three rising notes).
The computer announces its moves and other information by means of the Liquid Crystal
Display (LCD). Once the batteries are installed, you should see the "White" symbol ( ) in the
top left-hand corner of the display. Just below it, the "teaching" symbol ( ) should be "flashing"
on and off. The computer is now ready to start a game.
OCCASIONALLY AFTER INSTALLING NEW BATTERIES, YOU MAY
FIND THAT THE COMPUTER ACTS ABNORMALLY. IN THIS CASE
PUSH A THIN OBJECT INTO THE "RESET" HOLE IN THE BASE OF THE
COMPUTER, AND PRESS DOWN WITH IT.
If you have not just loaded new batteries, press the ON/OFF key to switch the computer on. The
computer will remember the position which was on the board when you last switched it off.
3.2 The Chess pieces and the starting position
If you are a beginner or fairly new to the game of chess, the chart of chess pieces on page 13 of
this instruction book will help you to learn the symbol for each different piece. Set up the pieces
on your computer in their starting position, as shown in the next diagram.
Chess board set up for the start of a game.
3.3 Chess notation
To announce its moves, the computer uses a system called "algebraic notation".
The files, or vertical columns of squares on the chessboard, are identified by the letters a-h
(looking at the board from White's side, and reading from left to right). The ranks, or horizontal
rows, are numbered 1-8, starting from the White end.
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This means that every square can be named by giving the letter of its file and the number of its
rank -- like a grid reference on a map. For instance, at the start of the game the white king is on
e1 and the black queen is on d8. You will see that on the computer's chessboard, each square is
actually marked with its letter and number (for example E2, D3). The letter and number are
called the co-ordinates of the square.
3.4 Making moves
To make a move, simply press down gently with your piece on its "from" square. The LCD will
display the colour symbol ( if you are playing White or if you are playing Black), together
with the co-ordinates of the square.
If you are using pieces with magnets in the bases and the move doesn't appear to have
registered, press down with the edge of the piece. Then press down with the same piece on
the "to" square to complete the move.
Here is an example at the start of a new game. You have decided to play with the white pieces,
and want to move the pawn in front of your king from e2 to e4. Press with that pawn on the e2
square, and you will see E2 appear on the LCD. Now press down with the same pawn on the e4
square, and your move is completed.
3.5 The computers move
If the colour symbol on the LCD is "flashing", it means that the computer is thinking about its
move. While the computer is thinking, none of the control keys has any effect -- except for the
MOVE />> key (see section 3.14).
When the computer has decided on its move, the LCD will display its colour symbol, the letter
and number of the "from" square (flashing), and the letter and number of the "to" square. Press
down with the computer's piece on its "from" square. Then the LCD will stop flashing the "from"
square and start flashing the "to" square.
If the computer's move is a capture, it will also be flashing the : symbol on the LCD.
Press the computer's piece on its "to" square. The LCD will then display the
show which player's turn it is next. Here is an example.
or
symbol to
Imagine that the computer is playing White. It is the computer's turn to move from the position
in the left-hand diagram and it decides to advance its pawn from e5 to e6. The symbol will be
on, and the display will show E5 (flashing) and E6 (not flashing).
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If you press down with the computer's pawn on the e5 square you will see the E5 stop flashing
while the E6 starts flashing. If you then press the pawn down on the e6 square, the
symbol
will go off and the symbol will come on, showing you that it is now Black's turn to move (in
other words, it is your move next).
The position on the chessboard should then look like the one in the right-hand diagram because
you have moved the computer's pawn from e5 to e6.
If you want the computer to play with the white pieces, press the MOVE />> key at the start of
the game.
3.6 The Chess rules
Remember that your computer knows the rules of the game, including the rules about castling,
en passant captures, pawn promotion and stalemate. It will never break any of these rules.
Sometimes you may think that the computer has made an illegal move, but the explanation is
that you will have made a mistake when carrying a move out (either your own move or one by
the computer); or you may have accidentally put one or more pieces on the wrong squares. If this
happens, you should check the locations of all the pieces in the way described in section 3.15 of
this manual.
If you are in any doubt about any of the rules, you should take another look at "Learn Chess"
(section 2).
3.7 Errors
If you try to make an illegal move, the computer will give its "error" signal (a low buzz). In
general, the same thing will happen whenever you press a wrong key or square.
If you have selected a "from" square, the error will clear the co-ordinates from the display. You
can then start again to make a legal move.
If you make a mistake while carrying out the computer's move, simply carry on by pressing the
square that is "flashing" on the LCD.
3.8 The "TEACHING" feature
The flashing symbol in the bottom left-hand corner of the display tells you that the computer
is operating as a "teacher", i.e. it is ready to warn you if you make a weak move or if its own
move contains a threat.
Usually, after completing your move, you will see that the co-ordinates remain on the LCD for a
short while. During this time the computer is deciding whether it thinks your move is a mistake.
If it does think so, it will give a special sound signal (a long, rising note) and the four coordinates will start "flashing" on and off. You now have three options:
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(a) If you see what is wrong with your move, you may take it back and play a different one.
Proceed as in section 3.10 ("Taking Moves Back").
(b) If you are happy to let your move stand, press the MOVE />> key. The computer starts
thinking about its reply, and the game continues.
(c) If you want an explanation of what you have done wrong, press the ?
? key.
If you press ?
? , the computer will give you one of the following messages:
• If the display simply shows a number, it means that you could have won material
equivalent to that number of pawns. (See the table of values on page 21.)
• The number may be preceded by a minus sign, e.g.: -2
This means that your last move allows your opponent to win material (in this case equivalent
to two pawns). Perhaps the computer can capture a piece and you can only recapture one of
lesser value (for example a knight or bishop in exchange for a rook). Or your move may
simply have put a piece on a square where your opponent can take it for nothing.
• If you have allowed the computer to checkmate you next move, the display will show:
-• If you failed to play a move which would have checkmated the computer, the display will
be:
-||• If your move gave stalemate when you had more material than your opponent and could
expect to win, the display will be:
====
When any of these messages is shown, you have the same choices as before. You can press 
TAKE BACK and retract your last move; you can press MOVE />> so that your last
move stands and the computer makes its reply; or you can press ?
? again, for further
explanation. This time, the LCD will show either a good move which you missed, or a move
that the computer can play to take advantage of your error.
You can re-press ?
? as many times as you like - the display will keep switching between
the move that the computer thinks you have missed, and its explanation of the type of error
you have made. Finally you must decide whether to retract your move (by pressing TAKE
BACK) or confirm it (by pressing MOVE />>).
3.8.1
Warnings of threats
After carrying out a move for the computer, you may sometimes hear a falling note, and
again the four co-ordinates will "flash" on and off. This warns you that the computer is
threatening to win material or checkmate you. If you want further explanation, you can press
the ?
? key. Then if the computer is threatening checkmate it will display -||-, while if
it is threatening to win material it will indicate how many pawns that material is worth.
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A second press on the ?
? key will display the move that your opponent is threatening.
(Further presses on ?
? will switch between the threatened move and the explanation of
the type of threat.). Consider your next move carefully, and carry it out in the usual way.
If you want the computer to play without warning you of mistakes and threats, press the
key (so that the display shows ALt), then press the BISHOP key which is also labelled
TUTOR. The symbol
then disappears. Afterwards the computer should take slightly less
time over its moves.
To switch the "teaching" feature on again, repeat the same pair of key-press:
BISHOP/TUTOR.
and
Note: The use of
- if immediately followed by a press on ROOK, BISHOP, KNIGHT or
PAWN, it makes that key always perform its alternative functions. (If you press the
key
by mistake, re-press it to cancel the first press.)
3.9 Special moves
3.9.1
Captures
If the computer makes a capture it will display its "from" square flashing in the usual way, and
you will also see the : symbol flashing between the "from" and "to" squares on the LCD.
The capture is carried out like any other move. Press down with the computer's piece on the
"from" square. The LCD stops flashing the co-ordinates of the "from" square, and flashes those
of the "to" square -- which is occupied by one of your pieces. Remove your piece from the board
and replace it with the computer's piece, pressing down on the square as usual.
3.9.2
En passant captures
Press the "from" and "to" squares of the capturing pawn. The square of the pawn being captured
will then appear on the display (flashing), followed by 0. You should now press on this square as
you remove the pawn from the board. This applies whether the en passant capture is made by
you or the computer. Here is an example:
In the position in the left-hand diagram, let us imagine that the computer is Black and has just
advanced its pawn from e7 to e5. This double pawn move, landing on a square next to your
pawn on d5, allows you to make an en passant capture. (If you do not understand why, take
another look at the section "Learn Chess".)
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To capture the black pawn on e5, move your pawn from d5 to e6 (as though the black pawn had
advanced just one square, to e6, instead of two squares to e5). Your pawn's move is shown by
the arrow in the right-hand diagram; carry it out in the usual way, by pressing down with the
pawn first on d5 and then on e6.
The LCD will then display E5 (flashing), and 0. Now press down with the black pawn on e5 and
remove it from the board. The position will then be as shown in the right-hand diagram.
3.9.3
Pawn promotion
Press the "from" and "to" squares for the pawn in the normal way. The LCD then shows the "to"
square and the appropriate colour symbol, and flashes the number 5 (denoting a queen). If you
wish to promote your pawn to a queen, there is no need to change what is on the LCD. Simply
press the QUEEN key to select the piece. The LCD then flashes the promotion square. To
complete your move, press down on this square as you place the new queen on the board.
Occasionally, instead of promoting your pawn to a queen, you may wish to promote it to a rook,
bishop or knight. In that case, when the computer displays the number 5 on the LCD, press the
ROOK, BISHOP or KNIGHT key. This displays 4, 3 or 2 respectively. When the number for the
desired piece is shown, press the "piece type" key again to select it. The promotion square then
flashes. Press this square to confirm the move as you place the promoted piece on the board.
If the computer promotes a pawn it will display its move in the usual way (the "from" square
then the "to" square of its pawn). When you have moved the pawn to its promotion square, you
will see the number 5 flashing on the LCD, telling you that the computer wishes to promote its
pawn to a queen. Now press the QUEEN key. After that, the promotion square flashes again;
press this square as you place the newly promoted queen on the board.
3.9.4
Castling
If you wish to castle, move your king first and then your rook. When you have pressed your king
on its "from" and "to" squares, the computer will automatically display the "from" and "to"
squares for the rook's move. For example, if you are playing White and you decide to castle on
the king's side, you press with your king on the square e1 followed by the square g1, and the
computer will display H1F1, with "H1" flashing. (There may be a short pause before this display
appears.) Now press the rook on the h1 square, and "F1" starts flashing instead. Move the rook to
the square f1, and press down with it to complete your move.
When the computer castles, the move is carried out in the same way.
Here is an example of how the board will look, before and after castling:
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In the position shown in the left-hand diagram, imagine that you are playing White and you
decide to castle on the king's side. First you press down with the white king on the square e1;
your computer will display "E1" as your "from" square. Then you move the king to the square g1
and press down with it again. This tells the computer that you are making the castling move
(since any other move by the king may only be to a square next to its current square).
Once the computer knows that you are castling, it will remind you to make the second half of the
castling move with your rook. In this case the computer will display H1 (flashing) and F1 to
remind you to put your rook there. When you have pressed down with your rook on h1 and f1,
the computer knows that the castling move has been completed.
When you have finished making the castling move in this example, the chess board will look like
the position in the right-hand diagram.
3.10 Taking moves back
As explained before, the computer can tell you if it thinks you have made a bad move. (It will
give a rising tone signal and "flash" all the co-ordinates on the LCD.)
If you press ?
? it can offer you an explanation. You may then want to take your move
back.
Also, after you have finished carrying out a move for the computer, you may realize that your
own last move was a mistake. You may wish to take back the computer's move and your own,
and play something different instead.
To retract a move, do the following.
Press the
TAKE BACK key. The LCD displays the last move in reverse, with the "to"
square flashing. Now press the "to" square. The co-ordinates of this square stop flashing, while
those of the "from" square start to flash. Move the piece back to its "from" square, and press it
down.
If the move was a capture, the LCD will now display the colour symbol and a number denoting
the captured piece (1 = pawn; 2 = knight; 3 = bishop; 4 = rook; 5 = queen). The square where the
capture was made will also be shown (flashing). Press down on this square as you replace the
captured piece there.
If the move taken back was a castling move, the computer directs you to take back the king
move first, then the rook move.
If the move taken back was a pawn promotion, the computer displays the "to" and "from"
squares directing you to move the promoted piece back; then it displays the number 1, while the
"from" square flashes. Press the "from" square a second time as you replace the promoted piece
with a pawn.
If the move taken back was a capture and a pawn promotion, press the "to" square, the "from"
square, then the "from" square again (as you replace the pawn on the board), and finally the "to"
square once again as you put the captured piece back.
After taking back a move, you have these options:
-- You may carry on the game by making a move in place of the one retracted. (You could also
press MOVE />> to make the computer do so; see section 3.14.)
-- You may press
TAKE BACK again, and retract one more move (i.e. the previous move
for the other side) in the same way as before.
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3.11 Check and checkmate – end of the game
•
If the computer puts your king in check, you will hear six warning "beeps". When either king
is in check, the + symbol is displayed on the LCD.
•
If White gives checkmate, the display shows 1 0 . If Black gives checkmate, it shows 0 1 .
•
If either player gives stalemate, the display shows == .
•
If both players move the same pieces backwards and forwards twice running, the computer
recognizes that the game is drawn by repetition, and displays 3= .
•
If the game is drawn under the 50-move rule, the LCD display shows 50= .
•
When the game finishes in any of these ways, the computer gives a sequence of twelve
"beeps".
NOTES:
(1) When a draw by repetition or 50-move rule is displayed, you may still continue playing if
you wish. (Make the next move, or press MOVE />> to make the computer do so; see section
3.14.)
(2) When moves are taken back, the counting of moves (for threefold repetition or the fiftymove rule) starts again.
3.12 New game
To start a new game, press the START key. The LCD will display:
To confirm that you want a new game, press the same key
again. Then the
symbol is displayed, and the computer is
ready to begin.
NOTE: In some situations (if, say, you are in the middle of carrying out a move), pressing the
START key will have no effect. Before you can start a new game you may need to complete a
particular operation, by doing one or more of the following:
--
If the LCD is showing a move, for example E2 E4 , press whichever square on the
chessboard is flashing on the display.
--
If the LCD is "flashing" the number 2, 3, 4 or 5, press the corresponding "piece type" key
(KNIGHT, BISHOP, ROOK or QUEEN).
--
If the LCD shows # (the "set-up" symbol) but not (the "rating" symbol), you should press
the POSITION key to exit from "set-up" mode; see section 3.21.
--
If four co-ordinates are all flashing at once, or if the LCD shows # and together (denoting
a "World Champion game"), you may need to proceed by pressing MOVE />>. This is
explained in section 3.24.
Having finished the operation, you should be able to press the START key to begin a new game.
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Instead of pressing START a second time (which starts a new game under normal conditions),
you have various other options when the display is showing StA. You can press the RATING
key to play a game in "rating mode" (see section 3.17). You can press LEVEL / > to play
through a "World Champion game" (see section 3.24). Or you can press the KING key (which is
also labelled ) to begin a game of checkers. Alternatively, you may press one of the following:
or
PAWN
to start a game with only kings and pawns
QUEEN
to start a game with only kings, queens and pawns
ROOK
to start a game with only kings, rooks and pawns
BISHOP
to start a game with only kings, bishops and pawns
KNIGHT
to start a game with only kings, knights and pawns.
If you select one of these options, the game will begin with only the indicated piece types, all of
which will be on their usual squares for the start of the game. These five options enable
beginners to learn how to handle each type of piece in turn.
If you press START by accident, you can cancel the command by pressing any square of the
chessboard (or any key other than those indicated above).
3.13 Explaining the moves
If you are learning the rules of chess, you may ask the computer what moves can be made
with any particular piece in a given position.
You can use this feature whenever it is your turn to play. Press the ?
will show:
[
]
? key, and the LCD
Now press a square occupied by one of your pieces. If this piece cannot move, the display
will show:
---On the other hand if your piece has any legal moves, the computer will display one of them.
You now have these options:
(a) If you press any square to which your piece could legally move, the computer assumes
you are in fact moving it to that square. The game then continues normally. If your move is a
"special" move, the computer prompts you to complete it in the usual way.
(b) You may press the same piece again, and the computer will show you a different legal
move if this piece has one available. By repeatedly pressing the piece, you can be shown all
its legal moves in rotation.
(c) You can press a different piece (as many times as you like), to discover whether and where
that piece can move.
If you press ?
? again (or any other key), or a square not covered by (a), (b) or (c), the
display is cleared and the computer expects you to carry on playing by making a move in the
usual way.
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3.14 Interrupting the computer and changing sides
If you press the MOVE />> key when the computer is thinking, it will immediately make the
best move it has found so far.
If you press MOVE />> when it is your turn to move, the computer will swap sides with you;
it will compute a move for the side you have been playing, and let you take over the other side.
If you press the MOVE />> key after every move played, the computer will be playing an
entire game against itself.
Pressing MOVE />> at the start of the game makes the computer play White.
Note that the MOVE />> key has no effect on level 0 (i.e. when the user is playing for both
sides) -- see section 3.19.
3.15 Checking the position
Sometimes you may want to check where the pieces should be (for instance if you have knocked
some of them over). You can do this whenever it is your turn to move, by using the "piece type"
keys (the six keys identified by the symbols of the chess pieces).
To display the positions of the pieces, the computer uses the following code:
6
5
4
3
2
1
=
=
=
=
=
=
King
Queen
Rook
Bishop
Knight
Pawn
For example, if you press the PAWN key, the display may show something like:
A2 1
This means there should be a white pawn on the a2 square. If you now re-press the PAWN key
several times, the computer will show you the position of each pawn in turn, starting from the
"White" end of the board and proceeding from left to right along each rank. When indicating a
black pawn, the display will of course show in place of . When the computer has indicated
all the pawns that are on the board, the next press on the PAWN key will return you to normal
playing conditions. (Then another press on PAWN would begin displaying the pawn positions
all over again.)
In the same way, you can check any of the other pieces by using the corresponding key. If the
key-press has no effect, it means there are no pieces of this type on the board.
The procedure of checking the pieces can be broken off at any time, by pressing any square or
any key other than a "piece type" key. The game can then continue.
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3.16 Levels of skill
The computer has various different levels of playing strength. By selecting a higher level, you
give it more time for its moves and make it play more strongly.
The levels fall into four categories:
(1) "Timed move" levels: On these levels, the computer will make each move within a
certain specified time. On the weakest level in this category, it takes a maximum of 5 seconds
per move. On the strongest level, it may take as much as 4 minutes. You may also set a time
limit for your own moves; then when it is your turn to move the LCD will show how many
seconds you have left, "counting down" to zero.
(2) "Timed game" levels: On these levels, each player has a certain amount of thinking time
in which to make all his moves - as in a "blitz" or "speed chess" game. On the lowest "timed
game" level, the players have 5 minutes each; on the highest, they have 2 hours.
(3) "Fun" levels: These levels are designed to give practice to beginners. On a "fun" level the
computer will not think for more than a few seconds over its move, and will often make
deliberate mistakes. The lower the level, the more serious the mistakes will be; on level 1 it
may even give away its queen!
(4) "Rating" levels: This set of levels is used when the computer is in "rating" mode, i.e.
when it is giving you a score for your moves. For details, see section 3.17.
There are also two special cases:
"Unlimited" level: This is the strongest level, on which the computer has no specific time
limit; individual moves may take about 5-10 minutes. On "unlimited" level the computer can
solve chess problems for mate in 2 moves (see section 3.22). The "unlimited" level is assigned
to the same category as the "timed move" levels.
Level 0: On this level, the computer will not play any moves of its own but will allow the
user to make moves for both White and Black. See section 3.19 ("Playing Both Sides"). Level
0 is assigned to the same category as the "fun" levels.
3.16.1 Displaying the level
You can inspect (and alter) the level whenever it is your turn to move. Press the LEVEL / >
key. The LCD then displays the current level. If the computer is in "rating" mode, the symbol
will be "flashing" on and off, and the display will show something like:
L 5
The "rating" mode and its levels are explained in section 3.17. If the computer is not in
"rating" mode, the display will show a "timed move", "timed game" or "fun" level.
If the computer is currently playing on a "timed move" level, the display will show either P or
C, followed by a number (or Un), for example:
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This means that you (the "player") are playing without a time limit; your time is unlimited.
This means that the computer is set to play at 10 seconds per move. By pressing the
you can switch from the player's to the user's time limit or vice versa.
key
To display a "timed game" level, the LCD shows L followed by a number, and the : symbol
"flashes" on and off, e.g.:
L :35
In this case, each player has 35 minutes' thinking time for the entire game.
A level in the "fun" category is displayed simply as L followed by a number in the range 0-4,
e.g.:
L3
If you press a square of the chessboard, or any key other than
,
, LEVEL / > or
MOVE />> , the level is cleared from the display and play may continue.
3.16.2 Changing the level
When the level is displayed, you may alter it if you wish. First decide which category of level
you want ("timed move", "timed game" or "fun"). By repeatedly pressing the
key you can
switch from one category to another, in rotation. When the desired category is displayed, you
can select a particular level.
Setting a "timed move" (or "unlimited") level:
Once the LCD is showing P (followed by a number or Un), you can alter the time limit
specified for the player (i.e. the computer's opponent). If you repeatedly press LEVEL / >, the
display will show a number which increases from 5 to 30 in steps of 5; then it increases in
steps of 10, as far as 60; then in steps of 30, as far as 240. After that, the next press on the
LEVEL / > key displays "P Un"; then the sequence of numbers begins again from 5. If you
press MOVE />> instead of LEVEL / >, the number increases in greater steps, e.g. from 5
to 30, then to 120.
The number displayed is the number of seconds per move that the player will be given. (Un
means "unlimited".) When the display shows the desired time limit for the "player", you can
press the
key to display the time limit for the computer - which you can then alter in the
way just described.
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When both time limits are as you want them, press any square of the chessboard or any key
other than LEVEL / >, MOVE />>,
or
. You can then carry on playing.
NOTES:
• When you first install the batteries, the computer is set to play at 10 seconds per move
while the "player" has unlimited thinking time.
• If the "teaching" feature is active (see section 3.8), the computer may think for slightly
longer than the specified time for the level.
Setting a "timed game" level:
Once the display is showing a level in this category (e.g. "L : 5"), you may alter it by pressing
LEVEL / > (or MOVE />> ) as many times as required. From the fastest "timed game"
level (5 minutes per game), the level increases in steps of 5 minutes, up to 30; then it goes up
by 30 minutes, as far as 2 hours. The time is shown in hours and minutes, e.g.: L1:30
When "L2:00" is displayed, the next press on LEVEL / > takes you back to "L : 5".
When the LCD shows the desired time limit for the game, press any square, or a key other
than LEVEL / >, MOVE />>,
or
. Play may then proceed.
Setting a "fun" level (or level 0):
Once a level in this category is displayed (e.g. "L 1"), repeated presses on the LEVEL / >
key will step through the numbers 0-4 in rotation. Level 1 is the weakest of the "fun levels", 4
is the strongest. Once the LCD shows the level that you want, press any square or key except
LEVEL / >, MOVE />>,
or . You can then carry on with the game.
3.16.3 The clock times
On a "timed game" level, the LCD will display a "countdown" for the side whose turn it is to
move - unless that side has "unlimited" thinking time. When you are down to your last 5
seconds, you will hear three warning beeps. If your time runs out, you will hear six beeps. If
you make your move after that, however, the computer will still accept it.
If you are playing on a "timed game" level (or level 0), the LCD will show the total time used
so far by the side whose turn it is. At first the time will be displayed in minutes and seconds
(e.g. 14:06) and will usually be incremented every second - although occasionally, during the
computer's thinking time, there may be a few seconds' pause before the display is updated. If
the time exceeds one hour, it is displayed in hours and minutes, e.g. 1:24. (It would be
exceptional for either player to use more than 4 hours 15 minutes during a single game; if you
do so, the display will continue to show 4:15.)
The time limit for a "timed game" is the same for you and the computer. If either player
oversteps the limit, you will hear five "buzzes" and the display will show 10 (if White has
won) or 01 (if Black has won). However, you can still continue the game if you like. In that
case the computer will stop displaying the times.
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NOTES:
• You cannot "win on time" if you have insufficient material to checkmate your opponent. If
one side is reduced to a lone king and the other side oversteps the time limit, the computer
will display ==, meaning that the game is a draw (although, again, you may still continue
playing).
• The computer is equipped with an "openings book" containing a large number of standard
chess openings; so it will often play the first few moves of a game instantaneously,
irrespective of the level. However, if you take any moves back (see section 3.10) or receive
a hint (see section 3.20), the computer will stop using its openings book and will simply
compute its moves in the normal way.
Remember that there is a separate system of levels for "rating mode“. This is explained in
the next section.
3.16.4 The clock key
One of the most popular forms of chess in recent times has been "Rapid Chess", i.e. chess
played to a time-limit of 25 or 30 minutes per player per game. You can of course select either
of these time-limits in the way described above, but there is also a simpler method.
Instead of starting with the LEVEL / > key (to display the current level), press the
key.
This will display either :25 (the level for 25 minutes per game) or :30 . By pressing
again you can switch between these two displays. When the LCD shows the level that
you want, press the START key. The computer is now ready to start a new game of "Rapid
Chess".
3.17 Rating mode: scores for your moves
If you like, you can play a game in which the computer gives you points for your moves,
according to how strong or weak it thinks they are. This special mode of play is called "rating"
mode.
To start a game in this mode, press START, and when the LCD shows StA, press the RATING
key. The symbol flashes on and off, to show that the computer is in rating mode.
In rating mode, after each move you make, the computer will give one or more beeps and display
a number. (Usually it will need to think for a few seconds before doing so.) The number of beeps
tells you your score for that particular move. Six quick, high-pitched beeps mean that you have
scored six points. If you hear five beeps that are slightly longer, and slightly lower in pitch, this
means the computer gives you five points -- and so on. A single falling tone means a score of
one. A longer falling tone indicates zero. (You will score zero if you overlook that your opponent
is threatening checkmate next move!)
The number on the LCD indicates your total score for the game so far. It will remain displayed
for about 4 seconds; then the computer will start thinking about its reply.
While the score is displayed, you have the opportunity to press the RATING key to display your
percentage for the current game, e.g.:
= 60
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Then another press on RATING will display your provisional "rating number" for the game;
this is explained in section 3.17.1. (A further press on RATING switches back to the percentage
score.)
The "rating" mode has its own system of "levels". To inspect the current level, press LEVEL /
>. The LCD will then show " " (flashing), "L" and a number, for example:
L 5
By repeatedly re-pressing LEVEL / > you can display all the levels in rotation. From 5, the
number increases in steps of 5 as far as 30; after that it jumps to 45 and 60, then increases in
steps of 30, up to 240; then it starts again from 5. If you press MOVE />> instead of
LEVEL / >, the next 4 levels are skipped over - the number jumps straight from 5 to 30, and
from there to 150.
The number for each level is the maximum number of seconds that the computer will take
over any individual move. When the LCD shows the level that you want, press any key or
square, and play may proceed.
In "rating" mode you are expected to keep to the same time limit that you have specified for the
computer. During your thinking time you will see the number of seconds "counting down" on the
display, from the maximum to zero. When you are down to your last 5 seconds, the computer
sounds 3 warning beeps. If your time runs out, it sounds 6 beeps. After that, you may still play a
move and score points for it, but your score is likely to be lower than if you had moved within
the time limit. To score maximum points, you must move within half the prescribed thinking
time.
NOTE:
The sound signals denoting the end of the game (see section 3.17) are not used in
"rating" mode.
In "rating" mode there are certain restrictions. You cannot ask for a "hint", enter "set-up" mode,
use the "teaching" feature, ask the computer to demonstrate the legal moves of your pieces, or
take back the computer's move. You can, however, retract your own move, provided you
press
TAKE BACK while your score is still displayed.
When you have finished using "rating" mode and want to play under normal conditions,
simply press the START key twice. We recommend that you then inspect the "level" and
adjust it if necessary, before proceeding with the next game. If you have altered the level in
"rating" mode, this affects the level set for "normal" mode - and vice versa.
3.17.1 Your rating number
"Rating" systems to compare the strength of chess players have been used ever since the late
1950s. On the basis of his results in supervised competitions over a certain period, a player is
given an official rating number. The better his performance, the higher the number.
Your computer obviously cannot give you an official rating, but it can estimate the rating
number that corresponds to your playing strength.
When you finish a game in "rating" mode, the computer calculates your rating for this game on
the basis of your average score. It then gives you a new rating number which takes account of all
games that have been rated so far.
You can inspect your current rating number whenever it is your turn to move. Press the
RATING key, and the display shows the symbol together with the number. This will be the
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rating based on the games you played before the present one started. The next press on a key or
square erases the number from the display.
As you gain more experience of chess, your rating should increase. You can then write down
your rating after each game and keep notes on your progress.
NOTE: Only a game played in "rating" mode can count towards your rating. The game may end
in checkmate or the announcement of a draw, or it may be broken off before that stage, by a
press on START. However, the game will not be rated if you have played less than 10 moves. If
you try to inspect your rating before any games have been played in "rating" mode, the display is
----.
If you press the RATING key twice while the computer is displaying your score for a move, the
LCD will show a number "flashing" on and off together with the symbol. The number is the
rating that you would be given for this individual game if it ended at this moment. (If you have
played less than 10 moves, the display will be ----). After about 4 seconds without a key-press,
this display is automatically cleared.
3.17.2 What your rating means
The following scale indicates your playing category:
If your rating is below 800 you are an absolute beginner.
Between 800 and 1,000 you are a novice.
From 1,000 to 1,200 you are an intermediate player.
From 1,200 to 1,500 you are an advanced player.
3.18 Evaluating the position
You may press the RATING key when the computer displays its own move. (This is possible
either in "rating" mode or under normal playing conditions.) The computer will then give you
an idea of how it evaluates the current position. Usually the LCD will show the symbol
together with a number. The number measures the advantage which the computer thinks one
player has, in units equivalent to one-hundredth of a pawn.
So if (for instance) one player has two extra pawns and his opponent has no compensation,
the number on the LCD will be 200. If material is equal and the display shows -43, this means
that one side has a positional disadvantage almost equivalent to half a pawn. If the number
displayed is 0, the computer considers the position equal.
If the LCD shows OPEN instead of a number, this means that the position is in the computer's
"openings book" (see section 3.16).
To clear this display, press any key or square. The computer then indicates its move again;
you can carry it out and resume play.
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3.19 Playing both sides
If you set the computer to level 0 (see section 3.16), you can play a sequence of moves for both
sides. When you have entered a move for one colour, the computer will not start to think about a
reply; it will simply wait for you to enter the move for the other colour.
On level 0 you can use the computer as a chessboard and referee for a game between yourself
and a friend. The computer will make sure that you both follow the rules of chess. If one of you
tries to make a move which is against the rules, the computer will give its "error" buzz, and the
impossible move must be corrected before the game can continue. (On level 0 the computer will
not, however, give any "hints" -- see section 3.20. The "teaching" feature, described in section
3.8, will also be inactive.)
Level 0 is also useful if, for example, you want to enter the moves of a particular opening, to see
how the computer handles the resulting position. Or you may want to reach a position in a game
you have found in a newspaper or chess book. Once the desired position is reached, you can
continue playing from there. Switch from level 0 to whatever other level you prefer. You may
then make the next move yourself in the usual way, or you may press the MOVE />> key to
ask the computer to move.
3.20 Hint
If it is your turn to move and you aren't sure what to do, you can ask the computer to give you
a hint. Press the
key, so that ALt appears on the LCD. Then press the PAWN key, which
is also labelled HINT. After a short pause the computer will suggest a move to you. It is for
you to decide whether to carry out the suggested move or play a different one.
3.21 Setting up a position
Sometimes you may want your computer to solve a chess problem, or you may wish to set up a
position from a book or magazine, to see how the program handles it.
To rearrange the pieces on the chessboard, start by pressing the POSITION key. (Note that this
will not work if you are playing a game in "rating" mode. You must first return to "normal"
playing conditions, by pressing START twice.)
The flashing symbol # will appear in the LCD, to show that the computer is in "set-up" mode. As
long as this symbol is displayed, you may do any of the following:
(a) To clear the chessboard, press the MOVE />> key; when the display shows "Cb", press
MOVE />> again to confirm the command. (If you press a different key or a square, the
command is cancelled.) Usually you will want to clear the board before doing anything else, but
not if the position you want to set up differs only slightly from the current position.
(b) To insert a piece on the board, press the corresponding "piece type" key, then press the piece
down on its square. Note that as long as the "White" symbol ( ) is displayed, all pieces you
insert will be white. To switch from White to Black or vice versa, press the
key.
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When you press a "piece type" key, the computer confirms which piece you have selected, using
the same code as when you are checking the position (see section 3.15). For example, a press on
the PAWN key is acknowledged by "1" (KNIGHT = 2, BISHOP = 3, ROOK = 4, QUEEN = 5,
KING = 6).
Then when you press a square, the computer confirms that your piece has been inserted, e.g.:
F6 3
In this case you have placed a black bishop on f6.
(c) To clear an individual square, simply press the square without first pressing a "piece type"
key. The code "0" confirms that the square is vacated, e.g.:
E2 0
When the position is ready, re-press the POSITION key to exit from "set-up" mode and return to
normal playing conditions. The # symbol disappears from the display. You can now press the
MOVE />> key to make the computer play the next move; or you can carry out a move
yourself and let the computer play the other side.
If the "White" symbol is displayed when you exit from "set up" mode, it will be White's turn to
move from the position you have constructed. So before pressing the POSITION key to exit
from the mode, you may need to press
to switch to the right colour.
3.21.1 Illegal positions
When you exit from "set up" mode, the program tests that:
(a) each player has one king;
(b) the player whose turn it is to move is not giving check; and
(c) there are no pawns on the 1st or 8th rank.
The position is illegal if it does not pass these tests. Play cannot continue from such a position.
To denote an illegal position, the computer displays "??". You now have these possibilities:
(a) You can check the locations of the pieces, to find out what you have done wrong (section
3.15).
(b) You can press POSITION again, return to "set up" mode and alter the position to make it
legal.
(c) If you don't understand what is wrong, or want to abandon the position you have been setting
up, you can simply start a new game by pressing the START key twice.
NOTE: There can be no castling with a rook that has been inserted on the board in "set up"
mode. If you want to create a position in which the players have castling rights, you can do so as
follows. First press the START key twice, to return to the starting position. Then put the
computer in "set up" mode by pressing the POSITION key. Now leave the rooks alone while
you rearrange other pieces as approppriate -- by removing them from the board individually and
re-inserting them. To make castling with a particular rook impossible, remove the rook and reinsert it.
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3.22 Solving Chess problems
The chess problems found in many chess columns in newspapers, or in chess books or
magazines, normally have a caption which says something like "White to play and mate in 2
moves". This means that the solver must find a move which enables White to give checkmate on
the following move, no matter what reply Black makes in the meantime.
Your computer can solve chess problems for mate in two moves, with certain exceptions (e.g. if
they involve promoting a pawn to a knight, bishop or rook ).
First you need to "set up" the problem position, as described in the previous section. Make sure
the computer knows which side is to move. After coming out of "set up" mode, select the
"unlimited" level (see section 3.16). Then press the MOVE />> key so that the computer starts
thinking. Once it has solved the problem, it will display the first move of the solution. After
making this move on the computer's chess board in the usual way, you may try to find a defence
to the checkmate threat. If you carry a move out, the computer will reply with a checkmating
move.
If you set up a position for "unlimited" level but there is no way to force checkmate in 2 moves,
the computer will simply make the best move it can find.
3.23 Styles of play
The computer can play in 5 different styles:
Style 1
Style 2
Style 3
Style 4
Style 5
Very Passive
Passive
Normal
Aggressive
Very Aggressive
In Very Passive style you will generally find that the computer keeps its own pieces near its
side of the board and does not like to advance them very much.
In Passive style it still has a tendency to keep its own pieces near its side of the board but less
so than when playing in "Very Passive" style.
In Normal style the computer does not play unusually passively or aggressively. With this
style its play is likely to be strongest.
In Aggressive style the computer is more than normally intent on advancing its pieces in the
direction of your king.
In Very Aggressive style it likes to advance its pieces even more than when playing in
"Aggressive" style.
key so that the display shows ALt; then press the
To inspect the current style, press the
ROOK key, which is also labelled STYLE. The LCD will show the "style" symbol (this is
made up of the
and
symbols together) and the current style number. To change the
style number, press the STYLE key again - this increases the number by 1 (after style 5 the
computer cycles back to style 1).
When the required number is displayed, press a different key or square. The "style" symbol is
cleared from the LCD, and play can continue.
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3.24 World champion games
Your computer's memory contains 320 games played by chess champions (human or
electronic!). It can demonstrate these games to you, move by move. Before carrying out a
move by the champion, you have the chance to guess what move it is, and the computer gives
you points according to how many guesses you need.
Twenty of these games were played by "Deep Blue" (or its forerunner "Deep Thought") - the
world's strongest computer chess program. In many cases the computer defeated its human
opponent, but a few games which it drew or lost are also included.
The other 300 games were won by human World Champions: 100 by Anatoly Karpov, 100 by
Bobby Fischer and 100 by Garry Kasparov. The games are varied in character; some occurred
in grandmaster tournaments, others were played in informal events such as simultaneous
displays.
To use this feature of your computer, place the pieces on the board in the starting position,
press the START key, and when the display shows StA, press LEVEL / > . The LCD now
shows FP (for "famous player"), followed by a number.
Player number 1 is Bobby Fischer, number 2 is Anatoly Karpov, 3 is Garry Kasparov
and 4 is Deep Blue.
By repeatedly pressing the LEVEL / > key, you can display the numbers in rotation.
To select one of the players, bring the appropriate number onto the LCD and press START
again. The display now shows G (for "game"), and a number in the range 1-100 (if you have
selected a human World Champion) or 1-20 (if you have selected player number 4).
Having decided on the player, you must now choose which of that player's games you want to
play through. By pressing LEVEL / > repeatedly, you can increase the number displayed. If
you press MOVE />>, the number increases in steps of 10. After reaching the maximum, it
goes back to 1. When the LCD shows the number of the game you want, press the START
key.
To show that a "Champion game" is being demonstrated, the symbols # and
the display together. At this point there are two possibilities:
appear on
(a) The LCD may be showing White's opening move, with the "from" square flashing in the
normal way.
(b) The LCD may be blank except for the symbols #,
and .
If (a) is the case, you have chosen a game that was won by Black (or a drawn game in which
Deep Blue played the Black side). Carry out White's move in the usual way, and you are
ready to guess Black's reply.
If (b) is the case, you have chosen a game won by White (or a drawn game in which White
was played by Deep Blue). You are now ready to guess White's first move.
To make your guess, press down with the piece that you think should be moved. If you are
right, the computer gives a double "beep" and displays the "from" square. If you are wrong, it
gives its "error" buzz and momentarily displays "??". You can now try again, as many times
as you like. Once the correct "from" square is displayed, press the piece down on the square
to which you think it is moving. Again a wrong guess will produce the error buzz and display
??, and you can have further tries.
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When you guess the correct "to" square, the computer beeps and shows your score for this
move in the right-hand part of the display. The score will depend on how many mistakes you
made when trying to guess the "from" and "to" squares, as shown in the following table:
Mistakes
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Score
10
8
6
5
4
3
2
If you make more than 6 mistakes you will score 0 for this move, unless by that time you have
guessed the right "from" square, in which case you score one point.
Now press a key or square, and the computer displays = followed by your percentage score
for the game so far.
Again press a key or square, and the LCD shows the next move for the opposing side. Carry
out this move as you would in a normal game, pressing down on the "from" and "to" squares.
Then the "colour" symbol switches from
to
(or vice versa), and you are ready to
guess the next move for the side you are "playing".
Whenever White or Black makes one of the "special" moves described in section 3.9, the
computer will remind you to complete the move in the normal way. Note, however, that when
you promote a pawn, you are not given a choice of promotion piece; the computer simply
directs you to press the QUEEN key before pressing the "to" square a second time.
If you want to "give up" guessing a move, you can press the MOVE />> key (either before
or after the "from" square has been guessed). The computer will then direct you to carry out
or complete the correct move. Your score for this move will be 0 (unless you guessed the right
"from" square before making 7 mistakes, in which case you score 1). Of course, you may not
be interested in guessing the moves at all; you may simply prefer to use the MOVE />> key
to make the computer demonstrate the game.
In many chess positions there is, of course, more than one good move available. (This will
naturally be the case during the opening phase of the game; or at the end of the game there
may be more than one way to force a win.) In such cases, if you make a "wrong" guess, it
does not mean that the move you chose is necessarily bad, and you can be content if, say, you
guess the right move at the second or third try. It follows that you can hardly ever hope to
make a perfect score, but should be happy if you maintain a high average.
Before starting to guess a move (or at the end of the game), you may display your current
percentage score by pressing the RATING key. A further press on a key or square clears this
display and allows you to continue.
Eventually you will hear twelve beeps denoting the end of the game. The middle of the LCD
will show 10 (meaning that White won), or 01 (meaning Black won), or == if the game was a
draw.
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At the end of the game, or whenever you are ready to start a move for the side you are
"playing", you have the option of pressing START to display StA. You can then press
LEVEL / > to begin another Champion game as described above. Alternatively, if you have
finished using the "World Champion games" feature, you can begin a normal game of chess
(or checkers) as described in section 3.12.
NOTE: Before starting play, you may need to re-set the level (see section 3.16).
A complete list of the "World Champion games", giving the names of the players and the
events in which the games took place, will be found in the Appendix.
3.25 Sound
Normally, when you press a correct square or key, the computer "beeps", whereas a wrong press
is followed by the "error" buzz. The computer also has special sound signals for the end of the
game, or warnings of threats, etc.
If you prefer to play without these sounds, press the
key (so that ALt appears on the
display), then press the KNIGHT key which is also labelled SOUND. When you want to
switch the sound on again, repeat the same pair of key-presses (you will then hear a double
beep).
When the sound is off, the LCD will display "?" in all cases where it would normally give its
error buzz. A press on any key or square clears the "?" from the display and allows you to
correct the error.
3.26 Switching off and saving the game
If a game in progress has to be interrupted, the computer can be switched off (with the ON/OFF
key) when it is your turn to move; it will then retain the game position in its memory while using
a minimum amount of current.
You may even put away the chess pieces, since you can afterwards find out where they are by
using the "piece type" keys as described in section 3.15. Alternatively you can write down the
locations of the pieces when you interrupt the game. When you switch on again (by re-pressing
ON/OFF), the situation will be wholly unchanged, and the game can be resumed as before.
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4
LEARN CHECKERS
The rules and how the pieces move
Checkers is a game for two players which is played on an 8 x 8 board, the same as a chessboard.
The checkers board is placed between the opponents in such a way that there is a white square at
each player's bottom right-hand corner.
Each player starts with an army of 12 pieces. We call the two players Black (the player who is
moving the black pieces) and White (the player who is moving the white pieces). Black always
moves first and then the players move alternately.
4.1 Winning a game
The object of the game is to leave your opponent without any moves. You can do this by
capturing all his pieces, so that he has no pieces left on the board, or you can do it by blocking
his pieces so that none of them has any moves.
4.2 Drawing a game
Sometimes you will find that neither player is able to win the game. This usually happens when
most of the pieces have been exchanged and only a few pieces remain, the same number on each
side. (If a position is reached where one of the players has more pieces than his opponent, the
side which is ahead usually tries very hard to force a win, usually by exchanging off his
opponent's remaining pieces.)
If a game is drawn, this result is usually reached by agreement between the players. At
Grandmaster level, roughly 96% of checkers games are drawn because it is so difficult to win
against a careful player.
4.3 The man and how it moves
At the start of the game each of the 24 pieces is called a man. Later on a piece which is
"crowned" (see section 4.5) is called a king.
A man may move one square diagonally, in a forward direction, to a vacant square. For example,
in this position, at the start of a game, Black may move a man from:
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or
or
or
or
or
or
a3 to b4
c3 to b4
c3 to d4
e3 to d4
e3 to f4
g3 to f4
g3 to h4.
4.4 How to capture an enemy piece
A capture is made by jumping one of your pieces over an enemy piece and removing the enemy
from the board. The capturing piece must land on a vacant square. In this position Black has the
choice of two different captures:
The man on c3 can capture the white man on d4 by jumping over it, landing on
e5 and removing the man on d4 from the board.
or
The man on e3 can capture the same white man by jumping over it and landing on c5.
4.4.1 You must make a capture if you can
Captures are compulsory in checkers. If you can make a capture you must do so. If you overlook
that a capture is possible and try to make a different (non-capturing) move, your opponent should
point it out to you so that you can take back the non-capturing move and make the capture. If this
happens when you are playing against the computer it will indicate an error (see section 5.7).
If you have a choice of captures, you may decide which one to play.
4.4.2 Multiple captures
If you capture an enemy piece and your own capturing piece lands on a square from where it
could capture a second enemy piece, then you must do so.
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In this position the black man on a1 may capture the white man on b2, landing on c3. But from
c3 the black man may continue to capture, and he must do so, by jumping to a5 thereby
capturing the white man on b4, and then by jumping to c7, capturing the white man on b6.
Here is the position that would arise after this triple capture.
If one capturing possibility would capture 1 enemy piece and another capturing possibility would
capture 2 or more enemy pieces, you do not need to make the largest number of captures. In the
next position Black has a choice of two capturing possibilities.
Black's man on c3 can capture the white man on d4, landing on e5 and removing the d4 man. But
Black may instead capture the d4 man with his man from e3, landing on c5, and then continue
the capturing sequence by jumping to e7, capturing the white man on d6. In this position Black
may choose whichever possibility he prefers. If he chooses the double capture, the checkers
board will then look like the next diagram.
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4.5 Crowning a man and how the king moves
When a man reaches the far side of the board it is immediately "crowned" -- promoted to a king.
We show this on a traditional checkers board by placing a second man of the same colour on top
of the man which has been crowned, so the kings are 2 men high.
A king is much more powerful than an ordinary man because kings can move backwards as well
as forwards.
In this position Black's king on f4 may move to g5, e3, g3 or e5.
And in the next position Black's king on b4 can capture the white man on c3, jumping to d2, or it
can capture the white man on c5, jumping to d6.
One point which often confuses beginners is that a man which makes a capture immediately
before being crowned may not continue, as part of the same move, to capture another enemy
man. In this next position, for example, Black's man on h6 captures the white man on g7, landing
on f8 and being crowned king. But Black may not then continue this move by capturing White's
man on e7 with the king on f8. White is therefore allowed a move to escape, by moving his man
away from e7.
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4.6 Hints for beginners
4.6.1
Winning material
The most obvious way to work towards victory is to try to increase your own fighting force
relative to that of your opponent. We call this "winning material". It is usually a good idea to
threaten to capture any of your opponent's pieces that do not appear to have an easy method of
escape. Here are two examples.
In this position it is Black's move and he threatens the white man on c5 by playing from c3 to b4.
This threatens to jump to d6, capturing White's c5 man, and White is powerless to prevent this
from happening -- so the c5 man is lost. In fact White is in serious trouble on the other side of the
board as well, because the only move which his man on h4 can make would be to g3, and then
the Black man on h2 can capture the g3 man by jumping to f4. So in two more moves Black will
win the game.
In the next position Black has only one king while White has two, but it is Black's turn to move
and he can regain his lost king. Can you see how he does it?
Black's king moves from c3 to d4. Although this puts it next to two white kings, neither of the
white kings may capture on d4 because in each case the landing square is occupied by another
white king. So White may not capture the black king. But that is not all. The black king on d4
now threatens both white kings, on c5 and e3. Whichever king White moves, Black will capture
the other one to level the game which should then end in a draw.
The most common mistake that beginners make is to put a piece on a square where it may
simply be captured for nothing. So every time that you are about to make a move, spend a few
seconds to ask yourself: Can your opponent safely capture the piece that you are going to
move?
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4.6.2
Back row men
Material is not the only important factor in checkers. It is useful to try to keep your back row
men on their original squares for as long as possible (a1, c1, e1 and g1 for White; b8, d8, f8 and
h8 for Black). This is because if you have all four of these squares occupied, it will not be
possible for your opponent to crown any of his men.
A strategy which often works well in checkers is playing to run your opponent out of good
moves, so that he will be forced to make a move which he does not want to play. Sooner or later
you will be forced to move one or more of your back row men and it is a good idea to remember
which ones to move first. Unless there is a good reason to the contrary, move the corner man first
(a1 for Black; h8 for White). And the next best back row man to move is two away from the
corner (e1 for Black; d8 for White).
4.6.3
1 king vs 1 king
Is 1 King v 1 King always a draw? No. Just look at this position. It is White's turn to move.
If, for example, White plays from f6 to g7, Black replies by moving from d4 to e5.
White will then have three options to try to save his king. He can move from g7 to any of the
squares h8, f8 or h6, but in all three cases Black would reply by moving from e5 to f6, when
White has no alternative but to throw himself upon the sword by moving his king to a square on
which it can be captured.
Instead of moving from f6 to g7 in the diagram position, White could try playing from f6 to e7.
Black then closes in for the kill by advancing from d4 to e5.
Again White has a choice of moves, but if he plays from e7 to d8 Black advances again from e5
to d6. And if White plays instead from e7 to f8, Black will play from e5 to f6. In each case White
is forced to move away from the protection of the edge of the board and onto a square where his
lone king can be captured -- which wins the game for Black.
4.6.4
The double corner
The dangers of being driven to a corner or an edge of the board are clear from the previous
example. Here we see a slightly different position where again it is White's turn to move.
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The difference between this position and the previous one is that here White's king can run
towards the "double corner" -- the two squares a7 and b8 (or towards the other double corner,
g1/h2).
A double corner offers protection because both squares in the corner are on the edge of the
board. A king in a double corner may, if it is vacant, move to the other square of the double
corner, so by moving back and forth between the two squares of a double corner a king can be
safe against a single enemy king. Let us see how this works out in practice.
We have seen how Black can force a win if White plays from e5 to f6 and Black replies with c3
to d4. So instead White plays from e5 to d6. When Black advances from c3 to d4 the white king
runs from d6 to c7, and when Black advances again from d4 to c5, White's king moves from c7
to the double corner square b8.
Now White's position is completely safe. If Black advances from c5 to b6, White will play from
b8 to a7, and if Black then plays from b6 to c7 White will respond by moving back from a7 to
b8. White can never be driven out of the double corner so Black cannot force a win.
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5
PLAY CHECKERS WITH THE COMPUTER
5.1 Starting play
The computer is powered by batteries; on the underside there is a label telling you which type to
use. The battery compartment is near this label. Remove the lid and insert the batteries, making
sure that the "positive" end of each battery matches up with a "+" sign inside the compartment.
The computer announces its moves and other information by means of the Liquid Crystal
Display (LCD. Once the batteries are installed, you should see the "White" symbol ( ) in the
top left-hand corner of the display.
OCCASIONALLY AFTER INSTALLING NEW BATTERIES, YOU MAY
FIND THAT THE COMPUTER ACTS ABNORMALLY. IN THIS CASE
PUSH A THIN OBJECT INTO THE "RESET" HOLE IN THE BASE OF THE
COMPUTER, AND PRESS DOWN WITH IT.
Now you have two options: Press START.
If you press START again the computer is ready to start a
new game of chess.
If you want to play checkers, Press the KING key, (which
is also identified by the "checkers" symbol ) instead of
pressing START. The LCD display now shows
(for
checkers) and (for Black to move). The computer is now
ready to play a new game of checkers.
To play Grasshopper, Nim, Reversi or 4 in a row, press
?
? instead of pressing START twice. Now you could
change between the different games, as described on page 6.
If you have just installed the batteries, or if you have just switched from chess to checkers, the
computer will be on level 1, i.e. its weakest level of play. If you want to alter the level, see
section 5.12 ("Levels of Skill").
If you have not just loaded new batteries, switch the computer on by pressing the ON/OFF key.
The computer will remember the position which was on the board when you last switched it off,
no matter whether you were playing chess or checkers.
5.2 The Checkers pieces and the starting position
Set up the checkers men on your computer in their starting
position, as shown in this diagram.
Checkers board set up for the start of a game:
Note that in Checkers it is the black pieces that start the game
at the "bottom" and move "up" the board. This is different from
chess where White starts from the bottom of the board and
Black from the top.
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5.3 Checkers notation
To announce its moves, the computer uses a system called "algebraic notation".
The files, or vertical columns of squares on the checkerboard, are identified by the letters a-h
(looking at the board from Black's side, and reading from left to right). The ranks, or horizontal
rows, are numbered 1-8, starting from the Black end.
This means that every square can be named by giving the letter of its file and the number of its
rank -- like a grid reference on a map. For instance, at the start of the game the black men are on
a1, c1, e1, g1, b2, d2, f2, h2, a3, c3, e3 and g3.
You will see that on the computer's checkerboard, each square is actually marked with its letter
and number (for example D2, E3). The letter and number are called the co-ordinates of the
square.
5.4 Making moves
To make a move, first press down gently with your piece on its "from" square. The LCD will
display the colour symbol ( if you are playing White or if you are playing Black), together
with the co-ordinates of the square.
If you are using pieces with magnets in the bases and the move doesn't appear to have
registered, press down with the edge of the piece.
Then press down with the same piece on the "to" square to complete the move.
Here is an example at the start of a new game. You have decided to play with the black pieces,
and want to move a man from c3 to d4. Press with that man on the c3 square, and you will see
C3 appear on the LCD. Now press down with the same man on the d4 square, and your move is
completed.
5.5 The computer’s move
If the colour symbol ( or ) on the LCD is "flashing" on and off, it means that the computer is
thinking about its move. While the computer is thinking, none of the control keys has any effect - except for the MOVE />> key (see section 3.14).
When the computer has decided on its move, the LCD will display its colour symbol, the letter
and number of the "from" square (flashing), and the letter and number of the "to" square. Press
down with the computer's piece on its "from" square. Then the LCD will stop flashing the "from"
square and start flashing the "to" square.
The LCD will then display the
Here is an example:
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or
symbol to show which player's turn it is next.
- 53 -
Imagine that the computer is playing White. It is the computer's turn to move from the position
in the left-hand diagram and it decides to move its man from f6 to g5. The symbol will be on,
and the display will show F6 (flashing) and G5 (not flashing).
If you press down with the computer's man on the f6 square you will see the F6 stop flashing
while the G5 starts flashing. If you then press the man down on the g5 square, the
symbol
will go off and the
symbol will come on, showing you that it is now Black's turn to move
(in other words, it is your move next).
The position on the checkers board should then look like the one in the right-hand diagram
because you have moved the computer's man from f6 to g5.
If you want the computer to play with the black pieces, press the MOVE />> key at the start of
the game.
5.6 The rules of Checkers
REMEMBER THAT YOUR COMPUTER KNOWS THE RULES OF THE GAME,
INCLUDING THE RULES ABOUT CAPTURING AND CROWNING. IT WILL NEVER
BREAK ANY OF THESE RULES.
Sometimes you may think that the computer has made an irregular move, but the explanation is
that you will have made a mistake when carrying a move out (either your own move or one by
the computer); or you may have accidentally put one or more pieces on the wrong squares. If this
happens, you should check the locations of all the pieces in the way described in section 5.13 of
this manual.
If you are in any doubt about any of the rules, you should take another look at "Learn Checkers"
(section 4).
5.7 Errors
If you try to make an illegal move, the computer will give its "error" signal (a low buzz). In
general, the same thing will happen whenever you press a wrong key or square.
If you have selected a "from" square, the error will clear the co-ordinates from the display. You
can then start again to make a legal move.
If you make a mistake while carrying out the computer's move, simply continue by pressing the
square indicated by the LCD.
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5.8 Special moves
5.8.1
Captures
If it is your turn to move and you are in a position to make a capture, the computer will display
the ":" symbol (flashing) together with your colour symbol ( or ).
To carry out the capture, press down with your piece on its "from" and "to" squares in the usual
way. The computer will then display the capture square, flashing, followed by 0. This reminds
you to remove the captured piece from the board. As you do so, press down on the square.
The procedure is the same when the computer makes a capture. It displays its "from" and "to"
squares with the flashing ":" symbol in between. Press down on the squares as you move the
computer's piece. The display then shows the square of the captured piece, flashing, followed by
0. Press down with the captured piece as you remove it from the board. After that you will see
the colour symbol for the side you are playing, indicating that it is your turn to move.
5.8.2
Multiple captures
Sometimes the computer may make a multiple capturing move. After you have completed one
jump for the computer it will immediately display the next part of its capturing move, with the
"to" square flashing. Press down on this square as you move the computer's piece there.
After you have made all the jumps with the capturing piece, the computer will "flash" the coordinates for the square of the first piece which it has just captured; the right-hand part of the
LCD will display 0. Press the captured piece down on its square and then remove it from the
board. The LCD will then show the square of the second piece captured (and so on).
The same applies when you make a multiple capture yourself. After you have completed the first
jump, the display will show the square where your piece has landed, together with the flashing
":" symbol. This reminds you that you must continue the capturing sequence with the same piece
until no more captures are possible. Continue to make all the jumps, and then you will see the
square of the first captured piece, flashing on the LCD, accompanied by 0. Press this piece down
on its square as you remove it from the board. The LCD will then indicate the square of the next
captured piece, and you continue to remove the captured pieces one by one.
5.8.3 Crowning a man to make a king
Press the "from" and "to" squares for the man in the normal way. The "to" square remains on the
display, flashing, accompanied by 2, to remind you to make the man into a king. To do so you
simply press down on this square as you place the king on the board.
If the move was a capture, the computer will first direct you to remove the captured piece or
pieces. It will then direct you to "crown" the capturing man.
5.9 Winning the game
When one player makes a winning move -- either by capturing the opponent's last piece, or by
leaving the opponent without any moves to make -- you will hear twelve "beeps", and the
LCD will show either 1 0 (Black wins) or 0 1 (White wins).
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5.10 New game
When the game is over, or at any time when it is your turn to move, you may start a new game
by pressing the START key. The LCD will display
and now, to confirm that you want a new game of checkers, press the KING key which is also
labelled . The LCD shows:
Now the computer is ready to start play under normal conditions, with all 24 men on the
board. Note that before starting play, you may want to re-set the playing level as described in
section 5.12.
Also when StA is displayed, you have various other options. Instead of pressing KING to start a
new game of checkers, you may re-press the START key if you prefer to play chess (with all the
pieces on the board); or you could press the PAWN, KNIGHT, BISHOP, ROOK or QUEEN
key to start a game of chess with reduced material. You could press RATING to play chess in
"rating" mode, or LEVEL / > to play through a World Champion game. You can also press
?
? to play Grasshopper or Nim. If you press any other key or any square of the board, the
"new game" command is cancelled and the situation remains unchanged.
5.11 Interrupting the computer and changing sides
If you press the MOVE />> key while the computer is thinking, it will immediately make the
best move it has found so far.
If you press MOVE />> when it is your turn to move, the computer will swap sides with you;
it will compute a move for the side you have been playing, and let you take over the other side.
Pressing MOVE />> at the start of the game makes the computer play Black.
If you press the MOVE />> key after every move played, the computer will be playing an
entire game against itself.
5.12 Levels of skill
The computer can play checkers on 15 different levels of skill. Level 1 is the weakest, level
15 is the strongest. In level 0 the computer acts as a referee and lets you carry out moves for
both sides.
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To change the level, press the LEVEL / > key. If instead you press MOVE />>, the number
increases by 5 at a time. When the level reaches 15, the next press on the LEVEL / > key will
turn to level 0; then the numbering starts again from 1. For further information please read
section 10.4.
5.13 Checking the position
To check the positions of the pieces, simply press the KING or PAWN keys. You can do this
whenever it is your turn to move. To find out the positions of the ordinary men, use the PAWN
key. Clearly you can check the positions of the kings by repeatedly pressing the KING key.
The number behind the coordinate shown in the LCD denotes the piece type: 1 is an ordinary
man, while 2 denotes a king. If a press on the KING or PAWN key has no effect, it means there
are no pieces of the corresponding type on the board. For further information please read section
10.3.
5.14 Taking moves back
To retract a move, press the
TAKE BACK key. The LCD then displays the last move in
reverse, with the "to" square flashing. Now press the "to" square. The co-ordinates of this square
stop flashing, while those of the "from" square start to flash. Press down on this square as you
move the piece back.
If you take back a move which "crowned" a piece, the computer will begin by flashing the "to"
square, together with "1". This reminds you to replace your king with an ordinary man; press
down on the square as you do so. For further information please read section 10.2.
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6
PLAY GRASSHOPPER WITH THE COMPUTER
To play Grasshopper, press START, then press ?
appears.
? as many times as necessary until GH
Then, press START again.
The symbols +,
and ↕, when all displayed together, show that you are playing Grasshopper.
6.1 How to play Grasshopper
Grasshopper is similar to the game of Halma, but is played on a board of 8x8 squares.
Each of the players (“White” & “Black”) has 10 playing
pieces of his own colour. They begin the game in a
“starting area” of 10 squares in the corner of the board,
like this:
The players take it in turns to move one piece at a time; the
first move is made by White.
Each player tries to bring his pieces across the board to
occupy his opponent’s “starting area”. After you have
made your first move, you lose the game if your starting
area is completely occupied – by pieces of either or both
colours.
All the pieces remain on the board; there is no “capturing” in Grasshopper. A piece may only
move onto a vacant square.
6.1.1
Making moves
A piece can move in two ways:
(a) It can move one square in any direction – forwards or backwards, sideways, or
diagonally.
(b) If there is another piece next to it (of either colour), it may jump over this piece
and land on the vacant square just beyond. Like an ordinary move, a jump may be in
any direction.
For example, on the first move of the game, the white piece on e1 may move to d1, d2 or e2. The
piece on f1 may jump to d1 or f3, or move to e2. The piece on g1 may jump to e3; etc.
6.1.2
Jumps
A jump is carried out like an ordinary move. If your piece lands on a square from which it can
make another jump, the co-ordinates of this square remain on the display. Then: –
(a) To terminate your move, press again with your piece on its square.
(b) To continue your move, press the piece down on the next square it is jumping to.
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A multiple jump by the computer is handled in the same way. At each stage, simply press the
square that is “flashing” on the display.
6.1.3
Multiple jumps
If a piece completing a jump is in a position to make another jump, it may do so as part of the
same move – though this is not compulsory, as it is in Checkers. A move may consist of a whole
series of jumps, up to a maximum of 8. In the course of one move you may not, however, land
twice on the same square.
Here, the white piece on g2 can jump to e4, then to e6
and c8. On the way it jumps over two white pieces (f3
and e5) and one black one (d7). White could jump again
(from c8 to e8 or c6), but prefers to leave his piece on c8.
In this special case the white player has to press his piece
twice on the square c8, to “tell” the computer that he is
not jumping once again.
Make your move (as in Chess and Checkers) by pressing
your piece down on its “from” and “to” squares. The
computer’s move is displayed with the “from” square
flashing, e.g.:
Press the computer’s piece down (in this case on b6). The co-ordinates of the “to” square start
“flashing”. Press the square (in this case c5) as you move the computer’s piece there.
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7
PLAY REVERSI WITH THE COMPUTER
Reversi is a game for two players using a board of 8x8 squares and a set of 64 discs, or
playing pieces, which are coloured white on one side and black on the other.
At the start of the game the board is empty. One player ("Black") has a set of 32 pieces with
the black side turned up. His opponent ("White") has 32 pieces with the white side showing.
Black plays first, then the opponents play alternately. Whenever it is his turn, a player places
one of his pieces, with his own colour uppermost, on a vacant square of the board -- provided
he can do so according to the rules which will be explained.
7.1 Beginning the Game
At the start of the game, Black places a piece on one of the four central squares: d4, e4, d5 or
e5. White responds by placing a piece on another of these squares. Black then occupies a third
central square, and White occupies the remaining one. At this point there are two possible
patterns:
7.2 Continuing the game
Once the four central squares are occupied, play continues according to the following rule:
When it is his turn, a player places a piece on the board in such a way that one or more pieces
of the opposite colour are enclosed, in an unbroken straight line, between this new piece and
another of the player's own colour.
The line of pieces may be horizontal, vertical or diagonal. The pieces of the opposing colour,
"sandwiched" between the player's new and old pieces, are flipped over to show the same
colour as the two pieces enclosing them. They are "captured", but they remain on the board.
Example: The game begins in the way that was shown in the
left-hand diagram. On his third turn, Black places a piece on
f6. The white piece on e5 is "sandwiched" between this new
piece and the black one on d4 -- the three form an unbroken
diagonal line. The piece on e5 is then flipped over, so that its
black side is showing. Black could also have played at f3, f4
or f5. In the right-hand position (above), he may play at c5,
d6, e3 or f4.
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The same piece can change colour several times during the game. Also, more than one row of
pieces can change colour at once. The next diagram gives an example.
If White plays at g4, this "captures" pieces in 3 directions: f5-e6-d7, f4, and f3-e2. All these
pieces switch from black to white.
7.3 When a player must pass
If a player cannot place a piece in such a way as to surround and capture one or more pieces
of the opposite colour, he must "pass" and his opponent has another turn. (You cannot pass
voluntarily).
7.4 Result of the Game
Neither player can place more than 32 pieces on the board. The game ends when both
opponents are unable to play. The winner is the player who has more pieces of his own colour
on the board at the finish. If White and Black have the same number, the game is a draw.
7.5 Starting the game
To play Reversi, press START. Then press ?
appears:
Now press START again. The symbols
playing Reversi.
? as many times as necessary until rEv
and ↕, when displayed together, indicate that you are
7.6 Enter moves
When it is your turn, press down with your piece as you insert it on the board.
To show where the computer wants to insert a piece, the co-ordinates of the square appear
"flashing" on the LCD, for example:
Press the square (in this case e4) as you place the computer's
piece there.
From Black's third turn onwards, pieces need to be "flipped". Once you have inserted a new
piece for yourself or the computer, the display will show the co-ordinates (flashing) for a piece
which must change colour. Press the square as you turn the piece over. The process is repeated
for every piece that needs to be flipped.
If a player has to "pass", the display shows 4 dashes:
After a few seconds this display is cleared and the game
continues.
At the end of the game, the computer gives a sequence of 12 beeps and displays either 10
(meaning “Black wins”) or 01 (meaning “White wins”). If the game ends in a draw, the display
shows: = =.
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8
PLAY FOUR IN A ROW WITH THE COMPUTER
Four-in-a-Row is a game for two players using counters
or playing pieces on a board or "frame" comprising
seven columns (represented on your computer's board
by the files a-g). Normally the columns have space for 6
pieces each (see diagram), although your games
computer also lets you play on a reduced or enlarged
board.
One player ("White") has a set of white pieces, his
opponent has a set of black pieces. At the start of the
game, the "frame" is empty. White begins by inserting a
piece on any square in the bottom row (a1-g1). Then the
players take it in turns to insert one piece at a time. Each
piece must be placed on a vacant square, either at the
"bottom" of a column or else one square further "up"
than a piece already there.
For example, suppose White begins by playing at d1.
Black may then place a piece "on top of" the white one
(i.e. on d2), or else occupy any vacant square in the
bottom row (a1, b1, c1, e1, f1, g1). If Black plays at e1,
and White replies by placing a piece on d2, the position
will look like this:
On his second move Black may place his piece on one of
the following squares: a1, b1, c1, d3, e2, f1, g1 or h1.
The object of the game is to place 4 (or more) of your pieces together in a straight line -horizontally, vertically or diagonally. The first player to do this wins. If neither player has
made a winning line when the frame is full, the result is a draw.
8.1 The game
Press START followed by ?
? (as many times as necessary) until the display shows “4ro“.
Press START again.
The symbols #,
and ↕ when all displayed together, show that you are playing Four-in-a-Row.
Before play starts, you must choose the size of the playing area or "frame"; it can be 5-8 rows
high.
The display shows "ro" followed by a number. By repeatedly pressing Move/>>, you can
display the four options in rotation. When the right number of rows is shown, press START
again, and play can begin.
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reduced frame
enlarged frame
When it is your turn to play, press down with your piece as you place it on the board. The
computer indicates its play by "flashing" the co-ordinates of a square; press the square as you
insert the computer's piece there.
If one player completes a row of 4, the computer gives a sequence of 12 beeps and displays
either 10 (meaning “White wins”) or 01 (“Black wins”). If the game ends in a draw, the
display shows = =.
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9
PLAY NIM WITH THE COMPUTER
Nim is played using a number of piles of objects such as discs. On your computer's playing
board, a pile is represented by a line of pieces in one
particular file. Unless otherwise instructed, the computer
begins the game with four piles containing 1, 3, 5 and 7
pieces:
However, the number of piles may be anything from 3 to 8,
and any pile may contain between 1 and 8 pieces.
One player begins the game by removing a certain number
of pieces from a single pile. He may take the whole pile, or
just one piece, or any number of pieces in between.
His opponent then does the same -- he may take one or several pieces, but only from one pile.
The two opponents keep playing by turns until all the pieces have been removed. Normally, the
winner is the player who takes the last piece. If you like, however, you may agree at the start of
the game that whoever takes the last piece loses.
9.1 Before the play starts
Press START followed by ?
? several times until the display shows “niM“.
Press START again.
At first the LCD looks like one of these two diagrams:
= Last to play wins
= Last to play loses
By pressing MOVE you can switch between the two. When the desired option is shown, press
NEW GAME. The computer now displays CL followed by a number, e.g.:
This asks you if you want to start with 4 columns (i.e. "piles") of pieces. You can alter the
number by pressing MOVE as many times as required. When the right number is shown,
press NEW GAME.
If you are playing with 3 piles, the "a", "b" and "c" files will be used; if you have chosen 5
piles it will be the files a-e; etc. At this point, the display shows: dEF
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This asks if you want to start with the normal (i.e. "default") number of pieces in each
column, as in the following list:
Line:
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Pieces:
1
3
5
7
8
6
4
2
To opt for the "default" size of piles, press NEW GAME; if you want the number of pieces in
each column to be chosen at random, press MOVE (so that the display shows: rnd), then press
NEW GAME.
The computer now instructs you to place the pieces on the board, starting with the "a"-file, e.g.:
In this case, the "pile" in the "a"-file consists of 4 pieces. Press the bottom square (a1), then the
square at the top of the pile (a4) as you place the 4 pieces on the board. (If the pile consists of a
single piece, press the bottom square twice.) The computer then directs you to insert all the other
piles, one by one.
9.2 The play
The symbols #, +, and ↕, when all displayed together, show that you are playing Nim. The
symbol appears whenever the first player is to move.
Pieces are removed from the top of a pile. Suppose (e.g.) there are 7 pieces in the "d"-file, and
you want to remove the pieces from d7, d6, d5 and d4: -1. Press the "top" piece (in this case, on d7).
2. Press the "bottom" piece (in this case, on d4).
3. Remove these pieces, and the ones in between, from the board.
When it is the computer's turn, the display shows the letter of a file and the number of pieces to
remove, e.g.:
Suppose there are 8 pieces in the "e"-file; press the "top" piece (e8), then the "bottom" piece that
you are removing (in this case e4).
When removing a single piece from a pile, press it down twice.
When all the pieces are removed, the computer gives a sequence of 12 beeps and displays either
10 (if the first player has won) or 01 (if the second player has won).
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9.3 Creating your own starting position
We have described how to begin from the "default" position or a random one. You can also play
from a position of your own choice.
Follow the usual procedure for starting a new game. Tell the computer whether the last player
wins or loses, and also how many "columns" you want. Place the pieces on the board, as directed
by the computer. Next, press the SET-UP POSITION key. The "set-up" symbol # starts
"flashing" on and off.
Now decide which piles you want to alter in size. In every file where you decide to make a
change, press the square on which you want the top piece to be placed. Do the same for every
pile to be altered.
When the position is ready, press SET-UP POSITION again. The symbol # stops flashing, and
the game can begin.
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10
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
The functions described in this part apply to more than one type of game. Some of them make
use of the following code to denote the piece types:
0 = empty square
1 = pawn (in Chess); man or piece (in other games)
2 = knight (in Chess); king (in Checkers)
3 = bishop
4 = rook
5 = queen
6 = king (in Chess)
10.1 Interrupting the computer and changing sides
While the computer is thinking about its move (with the or symbol “flashing”), you cannot
use any of the controls – except for the MOVE />> key. Pressing MOVE />> will make the
computer immediately play the best move it has found so far.
If you press MOVE />> when it is your turn to move, the computer will swap sides with you;
it will compute a move for the side you have been playing, and let you take over the other side.
Note: on level 0 (see Section 10.5), the MOVE />> key has no effect.
10.2 Taking moves back
If you have started your move by pressing on a piece, but decide to move something else, press
your piece down again on its square. You can then select a different piece. If you are in the
middle of a sequence of jumps (in Checkers or Grasshopper), you can still return your piece to
the square where it started the move, press it down, and begin again.
You may also retract the last move or pair of moves, giving yourself the chance to play
differently. But this is only possible when it is your turn to play, so if the computer is still
thinking, just press MOVE />> to force it to carry out his move. Then press the TAKE
BACK key. The LCD displays the last move in reverse, with the “to” square flashing. Press this
square; its co-ordinates stop flashing, while those of the “from” square start to flash. Move the
piece back to its “from” square, and press it down.
If the move you are taking back was a multiple jump (in Checkers or Grasshopper), the computer
leads you through all the stages of the jumping sequence. At each stage, press the square that is
“flashing” on the LCD.
You may want to take back some more moves, e.g. the computers one and your own. In this case
press the TAKE BACK key several times. The maximum of moves which you can take
back is 2.
Once the piece is moved back, any captured enemy pieces must be replaced. The computer
directs you to do this.
In Chess: replace the black bishop on f6.
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In Checkers: replace the white king on f4.
Press the square that “flashes” on the display. For a multiple capture in Checkers, the computer
directs you to replace each piece in turn.
Similarly, if the move promoted a pawn (in Chess) or made a king (in Checkers), the computer
reminds you to replace the pawn or the man. If the move was castling, you are directed to move
the king back first, then the rook.
After taking back a move, you have these options:
• You may carry on the game by making a move in place of the one retracted. (You could also
press MOVE />> to make the computer do so)
• You may press
TAKE BACK again, and retract one more move (i.e. the previous move
for the other side) in the same way as before.
10.3 Checking the position
If (e.g.) you knock any pieces over, you can check where they should be, by using the “piece
type” keys ( , , , , , ) when it is your turn to move.
If you press , the display may show the co-ordinates of a square (e.g. b2), together with the
symbol. This means that this square should be occupied by a white pawn (in Chess) or an
ordinary white man or piece (in other games). If you now re-press the
key several times, the
computer will show you the position of each piece of this same type. To indicate a black piece,
the display will of course show not . When all pieces of this type have been indicated, the
next press on returns you to normal playing conditions.
Similarly you can check any other piece type (in Chess or Checkers) by using the corresponding
key. If the key-press has no effect, there are no pieces of this type on the board. In Checkers the
-key represents the kings on the board.
The procedure for checking the pieces can be broken off at any time, by pressing any square or
any key other than a “piece type” key.
10.4 Levels of skill (other games than Chess)
The computer has 15 levels for Checkers and 10 each for Grasshopper, Nim, Reversi and 4 in a
row. To show or change the current level, press LEVEL/>
If you press LEVEL/> several times, the display shows all possible levels. If you press
MOVE/>>, the Level increases by 5. As soon as the display shows the desired level, press any
field on the chess board or any other key than LEVEL/> or MOVE/>> to continue playing with
the new level.
Please note: When you change the game, the Level would always be “1” and you have to enter
the desired level again.
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10.4.1 Rates of play
Checkers
Level
1-10
11-12
13-14
15
almost instantaneous
about 5 seconds per move
about 30 seconds per move
about 1 minute 15 seconds per move average
Reversi
1-7
8-10
almost instantaneous
about 5 seconds per move
4 in a row
1-6
7-8
9-10
about 5 seconds per move
about 10 seconds per move
approx. 1 minute
(If you play on a larger board, the time will be longer)
Grasshopper
Nim
1-4
5-8
9
10
all Levels
almost instantaneous
approx. 5-10 seconds per move
approx. 3 minutes
approx. 4-5 minutes
almost instantaneous
10.5 Playing both sides
On Level 0, the computer will not play any moves of its own; it will simply let you carry out
moves for both sides. So (for example) you can play against a friend with the computer just
acting as a “referee” (making sure the moves are legal, reminding you to complete any “special”
moves, announcing the result, etc.).
In Chess, Level 0 is obtained by displaying a “fun level” then pressing LEVEL / > enough times
until 0 appears. (On Level 0 there are no “hints” or “teaching” messages.)
10.6 Setting up a position
You may rearrange the pieces to set up a special position (e.g. a Chess problem). This is possible
in Chess, Checkers and Nim. For Nim, see Section 9.3 (“Creating Your Own Starting Position”).
Here is the method for Chess and Checkers.
Press the POSITION key (not available in “rating” mode). The flashing symbol # appears, to
show that the computer is in “set-up mode”. In this mode you may do any of the following:
(a) If you want to clear the whole board, press MOVE />>. The display shows:
Cb. Press MOVE />> again to confirm (any other press would cancel).
(b) To insert a piece, press the corresponding “piece type” key (in Checkers: =
ordinary man), then press the piece down on its square. If the symbol
is
displayed, the piece will be white. To switch from White to Black or vice versa,
press .
(c) To clear an individual square, press the square without first pressing a “piece
type” key.
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When the position is ready, press POSITION. The computer now exits from “set-up” mode
(the # symbol disappears). Continue play by making a move or pressing the MOVE />>
key. (Note: In Chess, there can be no castling with a rook that has been inserted on the board
in “set-up” mode.)
If the symbol
is displayed when you exit from “set-up” mode, it will be White’s turn to
move next. So before exiting, you may need to press
to switch to the right colour.
10.6.1 Illegal positions
In Chess, when you exit from “set-up” mode, the program tests that:
(a)
each player has one king;
(b)
the player whose turn it is to move is not giving check; and
(c)
there are no pawns on the 1st or 8th rank.
In Checkers, it tests that there are no ordinary men at the wrong end of the board.
If the position does not pass these tests, it is illegal and play cannot proceed. The LCD displays:
??. You now have these choices:
(a) You can check the locations of the pieces (see Section 8.3). Then proceed to (b) or (c).
(b) You can press POSITION again, to return to “set-up” mode and alter the position
to make it legal.
(c) If you want to abandon the position you have been setting up, you can start a new
game in the usual way.
10.7 Sounds
Normally, when you press a correct square or key, the computer "beeps", whereas a wrong
press is followed by the "error" buzz.
If you prefer to play without these sounds, press the
key (so that ALt appears on the
display), then press the KNIGHT key which is also labelled SOUND. When you want to
switch the sound on again, repeat the same pair of key-presses (you will then hear a double
beep).
When the sound is off, the LCD will display "?" in all cases where it would normally give its
error buzz. A press on any key or square clears the "?" from the display and allows you to
correct the error.
10.8 Switching off and saving the game
If a game in progress has to be interrupted, the computer can be switched off (with the ON/OFF
key) when it is your turn to move; it will then retain the game position in its memory while using
a minimum amount of current.
You may even put away the checkers pieces, since you can afterwards find out where they
should be by using the KING and PAWN keys as described in section 5.13. Alternatively you
can write down the locations of the pieces when you interrupt the game.
When you switch on again, the situation will be wholly unchanged, and the game can be
resumed as before.
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11
TROUBLE SHOOTING GUIDE
Your computer has been manufactured and tested to very high quality standards and it is most
unlikely to have a fault. We have found in the past that almost all so-called "faults" can be traced
to the user accidentally pressing a wrong key or moving a piece to the wrong square, which
makes it appear later in the game that the computer is not operating as expected.
THE MOST COMMON "FAULT" TO BE FOUND WITH CHESS AND CHECKERS
COMPUTERS IS THAT THE USER HAS DONE SOMETHING WRONG AND, WITHOUT
REALIZING IT, PUTS THE BLAME ON THE COMPUTER!
Often a "fault" is due to the user having misunderstood something about the way the pieces
move. You may wish to consult the section "Learn Chess" or "Learn Checkers".
Just in case you do encounter a problem when using your computer, we have prepared this
troubleshooting guide.
11.1 The display shows nothing
If there is nothing showing on the display and the computer does not react to any key press or to
pressing any of the pieces down on its square:
1
If you are using batteries make sure that they are held firmly by the battery clips and that
the positive tips of the batteries are all the right way round.
If you have had the batteries a long time they may have run down so try replacing them.
2
If the batteries appear to be OK the computer may have been affected by a static
discharge which might have caused it to "lock up". Press a thin object in the "RESET"
hole in the base of the computer and press it down firmly once.
11.2 The computer refuses to make a move
If the computer has been playing normally but then refuses to make a move:
1
If the computer's colour symbol ( or ) is flashing then the computer is still thinking.
Be patient if you can, or press the MOVE />> key and the computer will respond
immediately with the best move it has found so far.
2
If your colour symbol ( or ) is on, the computer thinks that you have not made your
last move. Make sure that the pieces on the board are on the same squares as those in the
computer's internal memory. You can do this by using the "piece type" keys (see section
3.15 for chess, or section 5.13 for checkers). If the pieces all appear to be on the same
squares as the computer thinks they should be, this means that it is still your turn to
move.
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11.3 The computer refuses to accept your move
If you make a move but the computer refuses to accept it as a move:
1
Make sure that you have completed your move by pressing down on the "to" square.
2
In Chess:
2a
If you are playing chess and your move was castling, make sure that you have moved the
rook as well as your king (see section 3.9).
2b
If the move was an en passant capture, make sure that you have moved the capturing pawn
in the correct way and that you also pressed down on the square of the captured pawn
before you removed it from the chess board (see section 3.9).
2c
If your move was a pawn promotion, make sure that you completed it by pressing the
appropriate "piece type" key and then pressing down a second time on the "to" square
with the newly promoted piece (see section 3.9).
2d
If the check symbol + is on, the computer's last move has put you in check. Make sure
that your reply move does not leave you in check.
2e
If the check symbol is not on, look to see if your move puts your king in check, either by
moving the king to a square attacked by an enemy piece or by moving something away
from a square where it blocked an attack on your king by an enemy piece.
2f
If the # symbol (but not ) is displayed on the LCD, the computer is in "set-up
position" mode. You may have gone into this mode deliberately and not left the mode,
or you may have pressed the POSITION key by accident. Try re-pressing this same
key. If the LCD then shows "??", this means you have altered the position in such a
way as to make it illegal. Section 10.3 explains how you can continue.
2g
If the symbols # and
are displayed together, the computer is in "World Champion
games" mode. You may need to complete a pair of moves for White and Black before
pressing START to exit from this mode. For details, see section 3.24.
3
In Checkers:
3a
If you are playing checkers and your move was a capture, make sure that you have
removed the captured piece by pressing it down on its square before taking it off the
board (see section 4.)
3b
If your move crowned a king, make sure that you pressed down on the promotion square
with the newly promoted piece (see section 4).
11.4 Do you know the rules?
1
Make sure that your move was not against any of the rules of the game. If in doubt read
through the parts of section 2 ("Learn Chess") or section 4 ("Learn Checkers") which
could affect whether your last move is against the rules.
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11.5 If you think the computer is cheating
If the computer makes a move which you believe to be against the rules:
1
Make sure that the pieces on the board are on the same squares as those in the computer's
internal memory. You can do this by using the "piece type" keys (see section 3.15 for
chess, or section 5.13 for checkers). If the pieces all appear to be on the same squares as
the computer thinks they should be, this means that nothing is wrong but that you have
probably misunderstood one of the rules (so read section 2 again for chess -- particularly
if the computer's move was a castling move, a pawn promotion or an en passant capture -or section 4 for checkers).
2
Press the MOVE />> key to see if the computer makes a normal reply move. If it does
you will know that the computer is working properly. Then you can use the "take back"
feature (see section 3.10 for chess, or section 5.14 for checkers) and make a move of
your own choosing to continue the game.
11.6 There is no sound
If you do not hear any sound when you press the keys:
Press the
key (so that Alt appears on the display), then press the SOUND key (which is
also marked by the KNIGHT symbol) to ensure that the sounds are switched on.
11.7 RESET switch
This product is not designed to immune from the effects of electrostatic discharge, strong
electromagnetic radiation or other electrical disturbances since malfunction under such
conditions is non-critical. The reset switch is included in the design to allow the unit to be
reset to normal operation and a new game started in the event of malfunction.
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12
APPENDIX: WORLD CHAMPION GAMES
The following lists give the players of each game and the place or event in which it took place.
12.1 Games by Bobby Fischer
1 Thomason - F
2 F - Lapiken
3 F - Saidy
4 F - Donnelly
5 Surgies - F
6 Cardoso - F
7 Kramer - F
8 F - Haines
9 Schoene - F
10 F - Rinaldo
11 Hurttlen - F
12 Sanguinetti - F
13 F - Benko
14 Wexler - F
15 F - Pilnik
16 F - Bernstein
17 F - Darga
18 Bazan - F
19 Letelier - F
20 F - Berliner
21 Szabo - F
22 F - Tal
23 Bisguier - F
24 F - Reshevsky
25 F - Keres
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
F - Benko
Bilek - F
Cuellar - F
F - Bolbochan
F - Addison
F - Purevzhav
F - Aloni
Rivera - F
F - Byrne
Fine - F
F - Beach
Oster - F
Byrne - F
Addison - F
F - Benko
F - Goranson
F - Sandrin
F - Gloger
F - Mobley
F - Hoppe
F - Shifrine
F - NN
Lehmann - F
F - Szabo
F - Donner
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
Pietzsch - F
F - Benko
Burger - F
Portisch - F
Larsen - F
F - Saidy
Pomar - F
Johannessen - F
Pachman - F
F - Durao
F - Pascual
F - Lontoc
F - Vister
F - Bergraser
F - Panov
F - Matulovic
Kholmov - F
Cuellar - F
Byrne - F
Kokkoris - F
F - Czerniak
Bernstein - F
F - Geller
F - Jovanovac
Matov - F
76 Saidy - F
77 F - Gheorghiu
78 F - O'Kelly
79 Szabo - F
80 F - Garcia
81 F - Matulovic
82 F - Uhlmann
83 Matulovic - F
84 Smyslov - F
85 F - Filip
86 Minic - F
87 Gligoric - F
88 F - Marovic
89 F - Gligoric
90 Miyasaki - F
91 F - Ibrahimoglu
92 Petrosian - F
93 Larsen - F
94 F - Feuerstein
95 F - Shipman
96 Kevitz - F
97 Spassky - F
98 Spassky - F
99 Greenblatt Prog. - F
100 Spassky - F
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
K - Gloor
K - Ludin
K - Tarnutzer
K - Wilhelm
Van der Wiel - K
K - Malaniuk
Dzhindzhikhashvili-K
Belyavsky - K
K - Timman
K - Andersson
De Firmian - K
K - Anand
K - Andersson
K - Stübing
K - Larsen
Speelman - K
Romero Holmes - K
Ivanov - K
Savon - K
K - Ivanov
Hertneck - K
Ivanchuk - K
K - Timman
K - Salov
Seirawan - K
76 Sion Castro - K
77 Vyzmanavin - K
78 K - De Vreugt
79 Ivanchuk - K
80 Polgar - K
81 Shirov - K
82 K - Georgiev
83 De Gremont - K
84 Lautier - K
85 Lautier - K
86 Wojtkiewicz - K
87 Onischuk - K
88 K - Leko
89 K - Kotronias
90 K - Krysztofiak
91 K - Piescikowski
92 Martos - K
93 Lobron - K
94 K - Van Wely
95 K - Milov
96 K - Cernousek
97 K - Kwartler
98 Anand - K
99 Piket - K
100 K - Xu Jun
12.2 Games by Anatoly Karpov
1 K - Vujakovic
2 K - Piesina
3 Vaganian - K
4 K - Villarroel
5 K - Mecking
6 K - Hort
7 Lengyel - K
8 Alvarez - K
9 K - Pedersen
10 Saren - K
11 K - Markland
12 K - Torre
13 K - Spassky
14 K - Spassky
15 Korchnoi - K
16 Williams - K
17 K - Portisch
18 Musil - K
19 Tarjan - K
20 Hug - K
21 Torre - K
22 Garcia Padron - K
23 K - Martin Gonzalez
24 K - Kuzmin
25 Olafsson - K
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
K - Korchnoi
Kavalek - K
Sosonko - K
Unzicker - K
K - Ribli
Ribli - K
K - Alburt
Portisch - K
K - Smyslov
K - Romanishin
K - Larsen
K - Spassky
K - Nunn
K - Pfleger
K - Torre
Qi Jingxuan - K
K - Miles
K - Kasparov
Kasparov - K
Winants - K
Korchnoi - K
K - Sznapik
Ljubojevic - K
Kasparov - K
K - Blank
- Orion 6 in 1 Instructions -
- 74 -
12.3 Games by Garry Kasparov
1 K - Rogers
2 K - Panchenko
3 K - Marovic
4 K - Mnatsakanian
5 K - Zaitsev
6 Danailov - K
7 Tempone - K
8 K - Pribyl
9 K - Marjanovic
10 Belyavsky - K
11 Vaisser - K
12 K - Fedorowicz
13 K - Andersson
14 Mikhalchishin - K
15 Yudasin - K
16 K - Murrey
17 K - Gheorghiu
18 Korchnoi - K
19 K - Portisch
20 K - Korchnoi
21 K - Timman
22 K - Karpov
23 K - Timman
24 K - Karpov
25 K - Hübner
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
K - Nunn
Gruenberg - K
K - Trepp
K - Tal
Hübner - K
K - Timman
Bofill - K
Rosich - K
K - Weemaes
K - Cahn
K - Felder
K - Karrer
K - Schürer
Belyavsky - K
Ljubojevic - K
K - Ivanchuk
Ehlvest - K
Gheorghiu - K
K - Hjartarson
K - Speelman
Agdestein - K
Hjartarson - K
Kozul - K
Psakhis - K
K - Hansen
76 Hjartarson - K
77 K - Firor
78 K - McShane
79 K - Speelman
80 Yusupov - K
81 K - Piket
82 Topalov - K
83 Ivanchuk - K
84 Anand - K
85 Anand - K
86 Toth - K
87 K - Anand
88 Smirin - K
89 K - Alvaro
90 K - Munoz
91 K - Revista
92 K - Pert
93 Topalov - K
94 K - Spangenberg
95 K - Polgar
96 K - Piket
97 K - Chatte
98 K - Netzer
99 K - Wurtz
100 K – Ivanchuk
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
K - Nunez
K - Souto
K - Kamsky
Ljubojevic - K
Timman - K
K - Bareyev
K - Amura
K - Bazan
K - Moreira
K - Yosifides
K - Belyavsky
Shirov - K
Kamsky - K
K - Vaganian
Anand - K
K - Masternak
K - Adams
K - Bareyev
K - Kamsky
K - Short
K - Kundin
K - Anand
K - Timman
K - Kramnik
Almasi - K
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1996
Kasparov - Deep Blue, 1996
Deep Thought - Kasparov, 1989
Kasparov - Deep Thought, 1989
Deep Blue - Polgar
Deep Blue - Kristiansen
Danielsen - Deep Blue
Hansen - Deep Blue
Miles - Deep Thought
Larsen - Deep Thought
12.4 Games by Deep Thought / Deep Blue
1 Kasparov - Deep Blue, 1997
2 Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1997
3 Kasparov - Deep Blue, 1997
4 Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1997
5 Kasparov - Deep Blue, 1997
6 Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1997
7 Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1996
8 Kasparov - Deep Blue, 1996
9 Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1996
10 Kasparov - Deep Blue, 1996
All rights reserved in case of errors. We reserve the right to make technical changes
as well as design changes without notice in the interest of progress.
Any duplication of this manual or parts of it without prior expressed consent of
MILLENNIUM 2000 GmbH is prohibited.
Copyright © 2004, MILLENNIUM 2000 GmbH, Munich, Germany
Visit us in the Internet: www.computerchess.com
- Orion 6 in 1 Instructions -
- 75 -
13
•
HOW TO INSERT THE BATTERIES
Place the game face down on a flat
surface and locate the battery
compartment on the bottom of the unit.
•
Open the battery compartment door by
pressing on the tab with your thumb and
lifting up.
•
Your Chess Computer needs 4 x 1,5V
“AA” or “LR6” batteries.
•
When inserting batteries, make sure that
the positive tip of each battery matches up
with the + sign inside the battery
compartment.
• Close the battery compartment cover.
• Do not forget to press the RESET button at
the bottom side of the unit to ensure proper
function.
TO ENSURE PROPER FUNCTION:
• BATTERY INSTALLATION SHOULD BE DONE BY AN ADULT.
• DO NOT USE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES, BECAUSE THEIR VOLTAGE IS
ONLY 1,2 VOLTS (INSTEAD OF 1,5 VOLTS) AND SO THEY DON´T PROVIDE
SUFFICIENT BATTERY POWER.
• DO NOT MIX OLD AND NEW BATTERIES.
• DO NOT MIX ALKALINE, STANDARD OR RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES.
• NON-RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES ARE NOT TO BE RECHARGED.
• RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES ARE TO BE REMOVED FROM THE TOY
BEFORE BEING CHARGED (IF REMOVABLE).
• RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES ARE ONLY TO BE CHARGED UNDER ADULT
SUPERVISION (IF REMOVABLE).
• ONLY BATTERIES OF THE SAME OR EQUIVALENT TYPE AS
RECOMMENDED ARE TO BE USED.
• BATTERIES ARE TO BE INSERTED WITH THE CORRECT POLARITY.
• EXHAUSTED BATTERIES ARE TO BE REMOVED FROM THE TOY.
• THE SUPPLY TERMINALS ARE NOT TO BE SHORT-CIRCUITED.
This Product conforms to the EMC-Requirements as laid down
by the Council Directive 89/336/eec.
- Orion 6 in 1 Instructions -
- 76 -