Playing Black from the Bottom, Built-In Openings

computer automatically answers with a countermove whenever you enter a move. If you activate Two Player Mode with TAKE BACK, however, you can enter any number of moves one by one, without allowing the computer to answer. To exit Two Player Mode at any time, press CL. If it’s the computer’s turn when you exit Two Player Mode, press ENT after exiting Two Player Mode and the computer will make the next move. The following are some great ways to use this feature:

• Play through master games. Press CL then ENT to see what the

computer would do in any position!

• Keep records of your own chess games. When a game is over, play

to any position to see how other moves or different strategies might

have affected the outcome.

• Study opening lines by entering them manually.

• Play against a friend, with the computer acting as referee. It will

monitor your game, checking all moves for legality.

PLAYING BLACK FROM

THE BOTTOM?

HERE’S THE POSITION

If you play Black from the bottom of the board, as described in Section 2.8, be sure to set up the pieces correctly! Notice that the Kings and Queens are positioned differently, and the board notation is reversed.

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ENGLISH

When playing against another person, if either side should need help from the computer, press INFO to see a suggested move.

2.8 Playing Black from the Bottom

See “PLAYING BLACK FROM THE BOTTOM? HERE’S THE POSITION” for a diagram showing the correct piece set-up.

Want to depart from the usual standard and let the computer play the White pieces from the top? Then try out this interesting feature! Set up the board with the Black pieces closest to you, as shown in the diagram in this section. Press ENT and CL together to reset for a NEW GAME, and then press ENT again. The computer will reverse sides—watch as it makes the first move for White from the top of the board.

When you play Black from the bottom, note that the board notation is reversed.

2.9 Built-In Openings

At the beginning of a game, the computer will often move instantly on many levels. This is because the Senator Module is playing from memory, using its own built-in “book” of opening chess moves. This book contains thousands of positions, including most major openings and many positions from grandmaster play. If the current board position is in its book, the computer plays a response to that position automatically, instead of having to think about the move!

Also included is a unique user-selectable book feature, which lets you

choose from different types of opening books, or even turn the book off, if desired. For complete details, see Section 5.2.

2.10 Thinking on the Opponent’s Time

As you play, you may notice that the computer sometimes replies to your moves immediately, even in the middle of games played on the higher levels. This is because the computer thinks on your time, using the time you are taking for your move to think ahead and plan its own strategies. It tries to guess the move you are likely to make, and then calculates its responses for that particular move while you are still thinking. If the computer has guessed right, there’s no reason for it to keep on thinking—it immediately plays the move it has already found.

You can disable this feature, if you’d like, by turning on the Easy Mode option. For more information, see Section 5.2.

2.11 Game Memory

Press GO/STOP on the Senator Module at any time to interrupt and save your game. Play is then suspended, and the module stores your current game in memory (up to 200 individual moves). When you switch back on again (by pressing GO/STOP for at least 1 second), you can continue right where you left off!

Note: If you press GO/STOP while computer is searching, you need to press CL after switching back on.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

•Always press GO/STOP to turn the Senator Module off BEFORE switching off the Exclusive Board. Otherwise, game memory will be