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Finally, press down on the to square. You will hear Pawn now [piece] .
Remember to change your piece on the board or make a distinguishing
mark on the pawn.
• When the computer promotes a pawn, it first indicates its move
as usual. As soon as you press its from and to squares, it will an-
nounce Pawn now Queen if it is promoting to a Queen. When the
computer underpromotes, first press its from and to squares as usual.
After the underpromotion is announced ( Pawn now Bishop , for
example), and the to square flashes, press the corresponding Piece
Symbol key (the BISHOP key, in this case) to acknowledge the under-
promotion, and the to square lights will turn off. If you have the voice
turned off and the computer underpromotes, check its chosen piece by
pressing the Piece Symbol keys in succession—the key which turns
the flashing to square off indicates the correct piece. Don't forget to
replace the computer's pawn with its new piece or make a distinguish-
ing mark on it.
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 announces Castling, and uses board lights
to remind you to move the Rook. Press down on the Rook's indicated
from and to squares to finish the castling move.
2.3 Illegal Moves/Wrong Moves
Your computer will never accept an illegal move. If you attempt such
a move, the computer will announce your error! If you press the wrong
to square, you hear Illegal move —and the board lights continue to
indicate the square the piece came from. To clear the illegal move,
either move that same piece to another square, or press it back down
on its from square and move a different piece.
If you press on the wrong color piece, you will hear Black [piece
type] or White [piece type] – Illegal Move. Check the side to move
and make the move correctly.
If you don't execute a computer move correctly (if you move the
wrong piece, or move the computer's piece to the wrong square), you
hear a triple beep. Check the lights, and move the piece correctly.
If you press a piece down on a from square but decide not to make
that move, press down on the same square again to cancel the input.
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 your King is in check, the computer says Check! and flashes
the A and B board lights. When a game ends in mate, Checkmate! is
announced, followed by Good game! Play again? if the computer
loses, or simply Play again? if you have lost. The A, B, G, and H
board lights will also flash. The computer recognizes draws by stale-
mate and consecutive three-fold repetition. When either a stalemate or
consecutive three-fold repetition draw occurs, the voice says Draw!
Play again? , and the D and E lights flash.
2.5 Need Help? Ask for a Hint!
Whenever you need help, press SMART HINT on your turn, and the
computer will give you a move suggestion! If it thinks moving your
Knight from g1 to f3 is the best move, for example, it uses the board
lights to indicate that move, and tells you to Move Your Knight! Note
that you will get a hint in around five seconds no matter which level you
are on, since the hint move is based on a special "Best Play Level"
rather than the current level. So—you'll always get immediate feedback
whenever you're in need of assistance!
To accept the hint as your move, simply make the suggested move
on the board. If you would rather make a different move, disregard the
hint and press another piece to make a move of your own.
2.6 Interrupting the Search
To interrupt the computer while it is thinking, press PLAY—it will
then play the best move it has found so far. This feature can be very
useful on the higher levels, where the computer can take a long time to
move, and on the Infinite Level, where it keeps thinking indefinitely
unless you stop it!
On the Mate Finder and Combination Finder Levels, pressing PLAY
does not cause the computer to make a move. Instead, it sounds a
double beep to indicate that it was interrupted before it found a mate or
solution. To continue your game, switch to another level.
2.7 Changing Sides with the Computer
To change sides with the computer, press PLAY when it is your turn
to move—and the computer will make the next move for your side.
To have the computer play against itself, simply press PLAY after
each move—watch as it plays for both sides of the board, one move
after another. Study its strategies—you might improve your own game!
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