Excalibur electronic Games 404 User Manual

Touch Chess

Operating Manual

Model 404

Congratulations on your purchase of

Excalibur Electronics’ Touch Chess!

You’ve purchased both your own person-

al chess trainer and a partner who’s

always ready for a game—and who can

improve as you do!

Touch Chess gives you the White

pieces—the ones at the bottom of the

board. White always moves first.

The way you select and make your move

is very simple. Think of communicating

your move as a two-step process—regis-

tering the from square and then register-

ing the to square of the move you wish to

make.

Install the Batteries

If your unit has a Pull Tab, simply pull the

tab. You may discard the tab once it has

been pulled out. If there is no Pull Tab, or

to replace batteries, the procedure is as

follows: Using a small Phillips screw-

driver, remove the battery-compartment

panel screws on the back ofTouch Chess.

Then remove the panel by pulling gently

from the top. Install three fresh AG13

batteries, making sure to follow the dia-

gram in each battery slot so that the polar-

ity (+ or -) of the batteries is correct.

Using the supplied stylus (plastic pen),

press down gently on the center of the

square for the piece or pawn you wish to

move. You’ll hear a beep and the piece or

pawn will flash. If you hear an error buzz,

and the piece does not flash, then that

piece cannot legally move anywhere. If

you change your mind and want to move

a different piece, simply press the from

square again to cancel it.

Now gently press on the center of the

square you want to move it to.You’ll hear

a beep letting you know your move has

been registered.

Play a Game Right Away

After you have installed the batteries, the

display will show the chess board with all

the pieces on their starting squares. The

LCD will also show

indicates you are at the first move of the

game and ready to play chess.

. This

After you make your move, Touch Chess

will reply with its move automatically.

You’ll see the piece flash on its from

square and move to its to square. During

the game, the display shows the move

number and the elapsed time for each

move.

Adjust the display contrast for best

viewing. The contrast control is on the

bottom of the unit.

backs.

When you want to claim a win, draw, or

want to resign—press the MODE key

and then START.

computer is thinking, and the computer

will stop thinking and play the best move

it’s found so far.

: When this option is turned on ,

all legal moves for the selected piece will

be shown at one time.

How to Update Your Rating:

While viewing your rating with the ‘O’

symbol on, the first press of the

OPTIONS key shows:

Auto Play

Screen symbols

: When turned on, this option will

display the score, depth of search (num-

ber of moves Touch Chess is "thinking

ahead"), best move it is considering

playing, and clock times. These will be

displayed while the computer is thinking

at its higher levels.

If you would like to watch the computer

finish a game for you automatically, press

the MODE key, then press OPTIONS,

When a ‘ ’ appears on the screen, it is a

reminder that you are in check. When an

‘O’ appears on the screen, the game you

are playing can be rated. When an ‘ ’

appears, it indicates you are in two

human player mode. And lastly when an

‘!’ appears on the screen, you are being

warned that one of your pieces is threat-

ened with capture. (This is similar to the

friendly "en garde" warning sometimes

used by human players when they are

attacking an opponent’s queen.)

—If you won the game, press the

RATING key to see your new rating. Or

press OPTIONS a second time to show:

until the option

is showing. Use

the +NEXT key to change the number of

players to zero. Press MODE to exit the

OPTIONS mode. Now press the MOVE

key and watch the game play itself. You

may stop auto play at any time by press-

ing the MOVE key. Doing so will set the

number of players back to one.

—If you lost the game, press the

RATING key to see your new rating. Or

press OPTIONS a third time to show:

: Use this option to clear the

chess board for easier problem setup.

Pressing the -SETUP key now, will enter

setup mode with the chess board cleared

of all pieces. You must place a White and

Black king on the board to exit setup

mode.

—If you drew the game, press the

RATING key to see your new rating. Or

press OPTIONS to return to your

unchanged rating display.

Book Opening Trainer

Touch Chess makes it easy for you to

learn the same openings that world chess

champions play! At the beginning of a

game, you may choose to learn one of 34

popular book openings—ways to begin

the game—used by chess masters. Press

MODE, then OPTIONS, to display

, and then press the +NEXT or -

Levels of Play

Generally, the higher the level you select,

the better yourTouch Chess will play, and

the longer it will think during its moves.

The first four levels (1, 2, 3 and 4) are

beginner levels and take approximately 4,

8, 12 and 16 seconds per move, respec-

tively. Level 5 is a fixed 1-ply (one-half

move) search. Levels 6 through 15 take

about 1 second per level number, so level

10 will average about 10 seconds per

move. Levels 16 through 72 take about 2

seconds per level number. The amount of

time taken will vary depending on the

position, the stage of the game, and

whether or not the FAST level option is

on. (See “Level Options,” page 3)

Playing the Black Pieces

Select between: ‘ ’—All

When you want to play the Black pieces

(to let Touch Chess move first) press the

MOVE key before you make your first

move as White. You’ll see the White and

Black pieces switch places immediately!

sound on; ‘ ’—No sound on key presses;

‘ ’—No sound, except for error buzzes.

: Adjust the automatic shut off

time with this key. Setting it to ‘ ’ will

disable auto shut-off altogether.

Draw Messages

During the game, your Touch Chess will

SETUP keys to select the number of the

opening you want to learn. Then press the

MODE key to return to normal play.

-SETUP KEY

Press this keys to promote a pawn that

reaches your opponent’s back rank to a

piece other than a queen. (The promotion

to a queen is the most common, so it is

automatic.) You can also use this key to

set up special positions (see “SETUP”

section on page 9).

display the word

if a three-time

repetition of position occurs, or if there

has been no pawn moved and no

exchanges for 50 moves. When either of

these situation takes place, the rules of

chess state that a player can claim a draw.

If you wish, you can ignore the message

and continue the game. When a stalemate

Now play a move. If your move is not the

correct opening move, an error buzz will

sound. To learn the correct move press

HINT. When the computer comes back

with its move, you will briefly see the

word

another opening move to make. If the

word does not appear, you may

on the screen if you have

START KEY

Use this key to start a new game.

Level 73 is an infinite level. Touch Chess

will take as long to move as you want it

to, or until it finds a mate position in its

search. Level 73 is good for problem

solving (like the MATE problems avail-

able under OPTIONS), or it can be used

to play against. When you are tired of

waiting, press the MOVE key while the

is reached, the display will read

continue normal play. You have complet-

ed the training for that opening line.

Game-Ending Messages

Touch Chess will announce mate in two

RATING KEY

Touch Chess rates your play! Use this

key to view your current rating. Also use

it to enter game results for a new rating if

the ‘O’symbol is on, showing you played

a ratable game with no hints or take-

(

) and mate in three (

The names of the openings are:

1. Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation

2. Ruy Lopez, Closed Defense

3. Ruy Lopez, Open Defense

It will also display

when exe-

cuting a checkmate. When you check-

mate Touch Chess, it will display

4. Ruy Lopez Archangel Defense

5. Giuoco Piano

6. Scotch Game

7. Four Knights

8. Petroff Defense

preference for attack at all costs, and

Anderssen was one of the most ingenious

attackers of all time. After 18. Bd6, he gives

away both of his rooks and his queen! In the

final position, his tiny force is deployed in just

the right way to bring the complete Black army

to its knees.

check, he could play … Rxc1+ with mate next.

But if Black can't take the rook—with either

his king or queen—he loses in all variations.

And by not taking it, he is eventually mated

anyway. If you're interested in these complex

lines, you can find a complete explanation of

this classic game in many books.

reached. Now press MODE then

OPTIONS until the display reads

. Use +NEXT to set the number

of players to 1. Press MODE and play

against the computer in this position.

9. Vienna Game

10. Sicilian, Classical Defense

11. Sicilian, Accelerated Dragon

12. Sicilian, Rossolimo Attack

13. Sicilian, Dragon Variation

14. Sicilian, Scheveningen Variation

15. Sicilian, Najdorf Variation

16. Sicilian, Moscow Variation

17. Caro-Kann Defense

18. Panov-Botvinnik Attack

19. French Defense, Winawer Variation

20. French Defense, Classical Defense

21. French Defense, McCutcheon Variation

22. French Defense, Tarrasch Variation

23. Queen’s Gambit Accepted

24. Queen’s Gambit Declined

25. Queen’s Gambit, Semi-Slav Defense

26. Queen’s Gambit, Tarrasch Defense

27. Queen’s Gambit, Slav Defense

28. Nimzo-Indian Defense, Rubinstein Var.

29. Nimzo-Indian Defense, Classical Var.

30. Queen’s Indian Defense

Great Games

2. Adolf Anderssen vs. J. Dufresne,

Berlin, 1852

5. Alexander Alekhine vs. O. Tenner,

Cologne, 1911

At the beginning of the game, you may

select one of sixteen of the world’s great-

est chess games by pressing MODE, then

Again we see Anderssen bamboozling his

opponent. The game starts as an Evan's

Gambit, a form of the Giuoco Piano. White's

19th move, Rad1!! is one of the most celebrat-

ed in the history of the game. With his reply,

… Qxf3, Black actually wins a knight and

threatens mate. You'd think that would be

enough! But Anderssen follows with a rook

and queen sacrifice that forces checkmate in a

shower of brilliant blows. This classic is

known as the "Evergreen Game."

World Champion Alekhine was a chess fanatic

(he even named his cat "Chess") and one of the

greatest attacking players of all time. Here he

plays the unusual Bishop's Opening and seems

to be developing quietly. Black even appears

to be getting a good game just at the time

Alekhine is able to play the swashbuckling

11. Nxe5, allowing Black to capture his queen.

Black's king is forced to march to the center of

the board, an unhealthy spot for a monarch

when so many pieces are still on the board,

where he is mated. It's important to understand

that such sacrifices don't just happen illogical-

ly. White's pieces again had a dominating com-

mand of the board, and Black allowed White's

pressure on f7, Black's most sensitive defen-

sive square when he hasn't castled, to build

into an explosion.

OPTIONS to display

pressing the +NEXT or -SETUP key to

select a game number

, and then

Along with the game number, you will

see the position of the game after the first

two moves were played. Press the MODE

key to return to normal play starting at

move three. You take the winning side.

The display will show your total great-

game score in two digits (zero at the start)

on the left. On the right, the display also

shows the amount of points you will win

if you play the correct next great-game

move.

3. Paul Morphy vs. Duke Karl & Count

Isouard, Paris, 1858

While in Paris at the opera, the brilliant, unof-

ficial world champion from New Orleans

plays an offhand game against two noblemen.

In this case, we're sure it was over before the

fat lady sang! In a Philidor Defense, the team

of two played a weak 3. … Bg5 that left

Morphy with superior development (more of

his pieces are deployed) and the bishop pair

(two bishops against a bishop and knight).

These two important advantages were all

Morphy needed. After Black wastes even more

time with another pawn move, 9. … b5?,

Morphy hits the duo with a series of brilliant

sacrifices to mate. Victory of mind over mate-

rial is the poetry of chess.

6. Gaudersen vs. Paul, Melbourne, 1928

This "miniature" of only 15 moves, starts off

as a French Defense in which White plays the

Advance Variation, placing his pawns on d4

and e5. Black's 8th move, castling, was in this

case a blunder because his kingside is attacked

by many pieces and not effectively defended.

White's sparkling 9. Bxh7+ is an example of a

bishop sacrifice that's happened so often it has

a name—the "Greek Gift." White's 14. Nxe6+

is an example of a discovered check, the diver

bomber of the chessboard. White's amusing

15th move is a very rare example of checkmate

with the en passant capture.

If you don’t play the correct great-game

move, an error buzz will sound and the

points for this move will be divided in

half. If the bonus goes to zero, the correct

move will automatically flash. Most

moves start with 4 bonus points, but some

brilliant moves start with 8 points.

31. Queen’s Indian Defense,Petrosian Var.

32. Bogo-Indian Defense

33. Gruenfeld Defense

34. King’s Indian Defense

The moves and explanations of these famous

openings are given in many books on chess.

Entering Your Own Opening

The number, players, locations, and dates

of the great games are given below, along

with a brief explanation of each game.

4.Wilhelm Steinitz vs. Kurt von Bardeleben,

Hastings, 1895

Touch Chess also allows you to set up

any book opening you want—or even an

opening you invent—to practice. Press

MODE then OPTIONS until the display

Wilhelm Steinitz, the first official world cham-

pion, begins this game as a Giuoco Piano. He

maneuvers deftly to keep his opponent from

castling into safety. Then he sacrifices his

pawn on d5 so that he can make the square

available for his knight. But the most brilliant

move of the game is 22. Rxe7+. At first glance,

it simply looks like a blunder. All of White's

pieces are attacked, and if Black wasn't in

7. Edward Lasker vs. George Thomas,

London, 1910

1. Adolf Anderssen vs. Lionel Kieseritsky,

London, 1851

This marvelous attacking game, a King's

Gambit, is widely known as "The Immortal

Game." Both players show the 19th-century

This masterpiece, a Dutch Defense, features a

famous example of the king’s walk to mate.

Edward, an American distant cousin of the

great world champion Emmanuel Lasker, gets

his pieces activated against Black's kingside

reads

. Use +NEXT to set the

number of players to 2. Press MODE,

then make moves for both sides until the

opening position you want to practice is

while the English champion Thomas develops

(gets his pieces off the back rank and into play)

too slowly. By 10. Qh5, White is already

threatening an all-out blitzkrieg. His brilliant

queen sacrifice 11. Qxh7 is followed by a dev-

astating discovered double check, 12. Nxf6++.

Then Black's king has to walk the plank, all the

way across the board to g1, the normal spot for

the White king! Here he breathes his last.

But Black is forced to take the rook a move

later and mate follows on the same square.

to slay the dragon.

structure by move 14. This gives him a "beach-

head" on e5 and makes it hard for Black to

counterattack in the center, which is the stan-

dard antidote for an attack on the wing. The

next stage starts with 16. h4. Portisch

announces his intention to attack on the king-

side. He refrains from castling his own king

into safety because he knows it’s safe enough

in the center, at least for the time it will take

him to break through with his attack. When

Black tries to trade off pieces with 17. …

Bxf3, Portisch sacrifices a knight for an

unstoppable attack with 18. Bxh6 and then

calmly moves his king to the second rank to

bring his other rook into the game. His Rxh4

was another brilliant sacrifice that crushes any

hope of defense. In the final position, Black

resigns because White will simply play 26.

Rxh6+, winning the Black queen. If 26. …

Qxh6, then White plays 27. Qxh6+ and will

mate on h7.

14. Boris Spassky vs. Tigran Petrosian,

Moscow, 1969

11. Mikhail Botvinnik vs. Paul Keres,

The Hague, 1948

Spassky won the world championship from

Petrosian in the match that produced this

game. In this English Opening that becomes a

Queen's Gambit, you'll see that once again

White gets a strong center and quick develop -

ment of his pieces. As early as 13. Rd1, you

can sense that Black is in danger. His king has

no piece defenders; his forces seem passive

while White's are aggressively coordinated. As

often happens in such situations, White breaks

through with a pawn push in the center, in this

case 15. d4-d5!. It clears the board for White's

more active forces. Petrosian, one of the best

defenders of all time, tries repeatedly to trade

queens, but White wisely rebuffs these offers,

which would take much of the power off the

board. White's d-pawn becomes a star, advanc-

ing all the way to the 7th rank. Because of this

queening threat, White is able to sacrifice his

queen for one of Black's defending rooks. In

the final position, it's hopeless for Black

because White will either promote his pawn to

a queen or capture whatever Black uses to

block on d8.

Botvinnik won the world championship a

record three times. His opponent here is possi-

bly the strongest 20th-century chess player

who did not become world champion. The

opening is a Nimzo-Indian. White's doubled

pawns are potentially a long-term weakness,

but in the short term they control a good many

all-important central squares. White plays

cleverly to keep a grip on the position and

breaks through on the queenside with his

pawn-push 17. c4-c5. This gives him a chance

to bring his queenside rook into action. He

swings it against the kingside, sacrificing it on

g7 to win. In the final position, Black's king

will be mated by the White queen, supported

by the bishop on c1. Where did Black go

wrong? Take a look at his "unemployed"

queen and rook on a8 and b8!

8. Wilhelm Steinitz vs. A. Mongredien,

London, 1862

This games starts out as a Center Counter (also

called Scandinavian Defense). Black loses too

much time developing his pieces, while White

gets his into play aggressively. Indeed, White's

army dominates the all-important center of the

board as well as the king's side. This sets the

stage for a mating attack. White's two-move

maneuver 13. Rf3 and 14. Rh3 is called a rook

lift, and is a typical attacking strategy. This

rook then sacrifices itself on h7 in a way that

allows Steinitz to bring his other rook quickly

into the fray. White is a rook down, but all of

his forces take part in the assault, while the

Black queen's rook and bishop seem to be

waiting for the next game. They don't have

long to wait.

12. J. Banas vs. P. Lukacs, Trnava, 1986

In a Four Knights' Game, Black gets his king

into safety by castling and takes advantage of

White's awkward piece placement by sacrific-

ing his knight with 9. … Nf3+. Then he allows

White to take his bishop on c5. But by that

time, White's king is surrounded. In the final

position, after 13. … Ng4, White's only effec-

tive defender, his knight on e3, is forced from

its square, allowing … Qg2 mate.

Computers can sometimes "lock

up" due to static discharge or

other electrical disturbances. If

this should happen, use a slim,

pointed object to press the

button marked “ACL” on

the bottom of the unit.

9.Aaron Nimzovich vs. S. Alapin, Riga, 1913

Another French Defense. In this one, the great

Latvian player and writer Nimzovich (after

whom the Nimzo-Indian Opening is named—

see page 6) plays an opponent who wastes time

stealing a pawn with 9. … Qxg2. "Nimzo"

plays a punishing 12. O-O-O!, sacrificing his

knight. He finishes up with a convincing queen

sacrifice that forces checkmate.

15. Robert Fischervs. Reuben Fine,

New York, 1963

Nine years before winning the world champi-

onship, Bobby Fischer played this Evan's

Gambit (a variation of the Giuoco Piano)

against his famous elder. Bobby sacrifices two

pawns in order to get his pieces out quickly.

Then he plays 14. h2-h4!, sacrificing another

pawn to force the Black queen away from the

g7-square. After that, Black's king will be

stuck in the center and in danger of the h4-d8

diagonal. Bobby's final move, 17. Qg3!, forces

Fine to resign, because he must move his

queen from the critical black diagonal h4-d8.

Even on 17. … Qxg3, White ignores the cap-

ture of his own queen and plays 18. Bf6 mate!

13. Anatoly Karpov vs. Victor Kortchnoi,

Moscow, 1974

Using Setup Mode

At any time during a game when it is your

move, you may change the position on

the board by adding a piece or pieces,

removing one or more pieces, or even

changing any of the pieces—for example,

from a queen to a knight.

Twentieth-century chess perfected defense. It

is no longer typical to see top-level players

playing only for the attack. In fact, Korchnoi at

the time of this game was one of the best in the

world, and his forte was defense. Many fine

players would attack him ingeniously, only to

break up on his rock-like fortifications. Still,

World Champion Karpov crushes him in only

27 moves with a mating attack! In a classic

manner against Black's Sicilian Dragon

defense (so named probably because of the

"tail" of control Black's bishop makes from g7

to a1), Karpov plays the St. George attack,

castling queenside and prying open the h-file

10. Jose Capablanca vs. Herman Steiner,

Los Angeles, 1933

The handsome Cuban World Champion Jose

Capablanca had a deceptively simple style.

Here we see him playing the old-fashioned

Four Knights' game and opening up his oppo-

nent's kingside pawn protection by move 11!

His first rook sacrifice, 17. Rxf6!, can't be

refused and forces Black's king into a deadly

crossfire. With 23. Qxb7!, Capa offers a sec-

ond rook, which can't be taken immediately

because of 23. … Qxf6? 24. Qb4 checkmate.

Removing A Piece

16. Lajos Portisch vs. Johannessen,

Havana, 1966

During the first half of this game, a Queen's

Gambit Slav, the great Hungarian grandmaster

Lajos Portisch locks up the center with a d4-e5

Press MODE then the -SETUP key. Now

repeatedly press the square the piece is on

until the square on your display is empty.

Press MODE to continue the game.

Adding or Changing a Piece

in the problem or position are completely

set up. Finally, press MODE to play or to

have Touch Chess analyze the position.

game.

Turn on the

Castling cannot occur if:

Press MODE then the -SETUP key. Now

press the square you want to modify. Use

the -SETUP or +NEXT keys to choose

the correct piece. Press the MODE key to

continue.

Individual Moves

a) the King has already been moved.

b) the Rook has already been moved.

c) there is any piece between the King

and the Rook.

d) the King’s original square, or the

square which the King must cross, or the

one which it is to occupy is attacked by

an enemy piece.

2. A Pawn may make an en passant cap-

ture if it is a reply move to a double pawn

move, and it is a Pawn which is side-by-

side with the Pawn which made the dou-

ble pawn move. The capture of a white

Pawn is diagrammed below:

feature under

OPTIONS(see page 4.) All legal moves

for each selected piece will be shown at

one time. You will quickly “learn by

doing” the movements of all pieces.

1. The Queen can move to any square

along the same row, column, or diagonals

on which it stands, but cannot pass over

an enemy piece.

2. The Rook can move to any square

along the same row or column on which

it stands, but cannot pass over an enemy

piece. See also Castling (below.)

Make sure that Touch Chess knows

which color is to move. While in Setup

Mode, you may change the color of the

side to move by pressing the COLOR

AREA (see page 2.)

Setting Up Special Positions

This is another terrific feature that allows

you to solve problems that you see in

magazines or newspapers, or that you

make up yourself. It also allows you to

enter game positions you want to play, or

that you want Touch Chess to look at,

perhaps using the Infinite Search level.

General Rules of Chess

1. The two players must alternate in mak-

ing one move at a time. The player with

the white pieces moves first to start the

game.

3. The Bishop can move to any square

along the diaganols on which it stands,

but cannot pass over an enemy piece.

4. The Knight move is in the shape of an

“L”, moving two squares up or down, and

then one square over. Or it can be one

square up or down, and then two over.

5. The Pawn can move one square for-

ward. On it’s first move it may move two

squares forward. When capturing, it

moves diaganolly (forward) one square.