6
gently on the indicated square, and the computer shows you where that
piece came from by flashing that display and using board lights to point
to that square. Press the piece down on the from square to complete
the take-back. Repeat this as often as you’d like, taking back up to 50
individual moves (or 25 moves for each side). To continue playing at any
point, just make another move on the board.
After taking back a capture, the computer will make sure your board
is set up correctly by reminding you to put the captured piece back on
the board. It displays the piece symbol, the location, and a “+” symbol,
and turns on the board lights for that square. Put the indicated piece
back on the board and press that square to complete the take-back.
1.5 Game Over? Why Not Play Again
Whenever you finish a game (or if you give up on your current game),
it’s easy to start over again. Reset the computer to start another game
by pressing NEW GAME, and a series of beeps tells you the computer
is ready. The same playing level will be in effect, but you can change it if
you’d like, as explained in Section 3.
IMPORTANT: Pressing NEW GAME clears your current game from
the computer’s memory—be careful not to press this key by mistake!
1.6 Too Easy/Hard? Change the Level
When you first turn your computer on, it’s automatically set to Normal
Playing Level A4 (five seconds a move). However, you have 64 different
levels to choose from—you’ll want to try them all out! For descriptions of
the playing levels and how to change levels, see Section 3.
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 computer 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•F4.
En Passant Captures: In this type of capture, the computer reminds
you to remove the captured pawn by displaying the pawn’s position,
along with a minus sign, and using two board lights to indicate that
square. Press on the captured pawn before removing 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 uses the display and board lights to remind you
to move the Rook. Press down 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, and
begins thinking about its next move. Remember to change your piece on
NEED HELP CHOOSING A LEVEL?
SOME TIPS FOR YOU
•Are you a beginning player?
You have lots of choices!
Check out the Fun Levels, the lower Training Levels, or the
Self-Adaptive Weak Levels. These levels all restrict the
computer’s search depth in different ways, resulting in weaker
play and giving you the chance to learn more about the game
and perhaps even beat the computer occasionally.
•Are you an intermediate or more advanced player?
Try the
Normal, Training, or Tournament Levels. The Normal Levels
range from easy all the way up to a difficult 10-minute re-
sponse time, and the Tournament Levels are extremely
challenging. And don’t forget to try the Blitz Levels for some
fast and exciting games of Speed Chess. By the way, for
Tournament and Blitz Games, you can activate the built-in
Bronstein Clock, as you’ll see in Section 5.4.
•Want to experiment?
Use the Mate Search Levels to solve
problems up to mate in eight—try searching from a position in
one of your own games, or set up an actual mate problem.
Choose the Infinite Level to have the computer analyze
complicated positions for hours or even days!