Saitek Chess Explorer manual More Features to Explore

2. MORE FEATURES TO EXPLORE

2.1 Whose Move? Check the Display

When the computer plays Black, it flashes a black square in the display while it is thinking. After it has moved, a white square shows that it is now White’s turn to move. You can tell at a glance if the com- puter is currently thinking, and which side is to move.

2.2 Special Chess Moves

Captures: To capture, press down on the piece you want to move, remove the captured piece from the board, and press your piece down on the square of the captured piece. Captures are displayed as in E5•F6. En Passant Captures: In this type of capture, the computer contin-

ues to display your move until you press down on the captured pawn and remove it from the board.

Castling: The computer automatically recognizes castling after the King is moved. After you have pressed the King down on its from and to squares, the computer continues to display your move until you press on the Rook’s from and to squares to complete the move. Note that Kingside castling is displayed as 0-0, and Queenside castling as 0-0-0.

Pawn Promotions: When you promote a pawn, first make your

move as usual, pressing your pawn down on its from and to squares. Next, press the PIECE SYMBOL KEY for your desired promotion piece (%, $, #, or @). The computer recognizes your new piece immediately, displays it briefly, and then begins thinking about its next move. Re- member to change your piece on the board! When the computer promotes a pawn, the display shows both the pawn and the promoted piece. Don’t forget to replace the computer’s pawn with its new piece.

2.3 Illegal Moves

Your computer will never accept an illegal move! If you try to make one, you’ll hear a low double beep, and the display will show the square the piece came from. Either move that same piece to another square, or press the piece back down on its original from square and move a different piece.

If you don’t make the computer’s move correctly, you’ll also get an error message. This means you are either moving the wrong piece, or moving the computer’s piece to the wrong square. If the computer wants

to move its pawn from D7 to D5, for example, and you press down on D7 and then D6, the display shows Er:D5 briefly, pointing out your error. The display then returns to showing the move again (D7-D5), and the computer expects you to press down on D5 to complete its move.

If you press down on a piece and the from square is displayed, but you decide not to make that move, simply press down on that same square again to cancel. Then make another move. If you change your mind after entering your whole move, take the move back as described in Section 1.4.

2.4 Check, Mate, and Draw

When a King is in check, the computer first displays its move as usual. After the move is made, CHECK flashes in the display for a few seconds, along with the checking move. The display then goes back to showing the clock.

If the computer discovers a forced mate against its opponent, it first displays its move as usual. After the move has been made on the board, the computer flashes a mate announcement along with the move for several seconds (e.g., =in 2 for a mate in two moves). The display then goes back to showing the clock.

When a game ends in checkmate, the display flashes MATE (along with the mating move or with the clock display) for a short time after the move has been made. The display then goes back to showing the clock. The computer recognizes draws by stalemate, three-fold repetition,

and the 50-move rule. After a draw has occurred, the display flashes EnD (along with the drawing move or with the clock display) for a brief time after the move has been made. The display then goes back to showing the clock.

2.5 Interrupting the Computer’s Search

Think the computer is taking too long to move? You can interrupt it any time! Simply press ENTER while the computer is thinking, and it will stop and play the best move it has found so far. This feature can be handy on the higher levels, where the computer can take a long time to move, and on the Infinite Level, where the computer thinks indefinitely unless you stop it.

On the Mate Search Levels, pressing ENTER won’t force the com- puter to make a move. Instead, the computer will display – – – – – to indicate that it was interrupted before it found a mate. To continue play, switch to another level.

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