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Changed Your Mind? Take Back!
If you make a mistake or change your mind about a
move, it's easy to take moves back! Press TAKE BACK
when it is your turn to move, and the computer will an-
nounce the move to be taken back (e.g., Black takes
back Knight move ). The computer also uses board lights
to guide you through the take-back. The to square of the
last move will light first—press the indicated piece down
on that square. The computer then shows you where that
piece came from. Press the piece down on the from
square to complete the take-back. Repeat the above
procedure to take back more moves, if desired. You may
take back up to six individual moves.
When taking back captures or castling maneuvers, the
computer will remind you of pieces which should be put
back on the board! It does so by lighting board lights to
indicate the position, and announcing the color and type
of the captured piece.
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Game Over? Start a New Game
Whenever you finish a game (or if you decide to abort
your current game), you may press NEW GAME to reset
the computer. The computer is then ready for another
game, using the currently selected level.
Caution: Since pressing NEW GAME clears your
current game from the computer's memory, be careful not
to press this key by mistake!
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Too Easy/Hard? Change Levels!
When the computer is first turned on, it is set to Level
H4 (10 seconds a move). However, you may choose any
of the 64 playing levels described in Section 3!
Press LEVEL to enter Level Mode, and the board
lights will indicate the current level. To change playing
levels, press a board square to activate your desired
level, using the chart in Section 3 as a guide. Press
LEVEL again to exit level mode.
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Voice, Beeps On/Off? It's Your Choice!
Your computer's informative and entertaining voice
output is on by default, and you may use the Volume
Control Slider to set the desired volume. However, if you
would rather not have the voice on for some reason, you
have other options! As you will see in Section 4.2, you
can choose to hear only beeps, or you can even turn the
sound off for completely silent operation, if desired.
By the way, if you don't hear what the computer says,
simply press the SAY AGAIN key on your turn to hear the
last message repeated.
Note that a) Pressing SAY AGAIN in Verify Mode or
when the computer is displaying Hint on your turn, the
computer will return to normal mode. b) SAY AGAIN is
disabled if voice/coach is set to level G or H, or if it is in
Level Mode.
2. ADDITIONAL COMPUTER FEATURES
2.1 Indication of the Side to Move
When Black is thinking about its move, board light 8
flashes. After it has moved, the 1 light comes on steadily
to show that it is now White's turn to move. Similarly if
the computer plays White, the 1 light flashes during its
turn, and the 8 light comes on steadily after it has moved.
It's easy to tell whether the computer is thinking and
whose turn it is!
2.2 Captures and Special Moves
During the game, the computer's voice will normally
alert you to capture or to make special moves, such as
HAVING PROBLEMS? SOME TIPS!
• Is it really your turn to move? Check the color
indicator lights (see Section 2.1). If the light for
the computer's side is flashing, the computer is
currently thinking about its move.
• Did you execute the computer's last move
incorrectly? You may be trying to move the
wrong piece, or trying to move the computer's
piece to the wrong square. Check the board
lights, and move the piece correctly.
• Is the computer announcing an illegal move?
The computer knows all the rules and will only
allow legal moves—when it says Illegal Move! ,
you know something is wrong! Either move your
piece to another square, or press the indicated
from square again to erase the move, and make
a different move. Check the rules if you're not
sure of the problem!
• Are you unsure of the board position? Have
some pieces been moved inadvertently?
Verify the piece positions (see Section 2.9).
• Is your King in check? If your King is in check,
you must move it out of check before you can
make any other move (see the rules).
• Computer won't make a move? Non Auto
Mode may be turned on—this option must be
turned off for the computer to respond with its
moves automatically (see Section 2.10).
• Want the last voice output repeated? Simply
press SAY AGAIN! on your turn.
Fig.2-1a - Black tried to avoid
the capture of his pawn by
advancing it two squares, from
e7 to e5. However...
Fig.2-2a - Castling: Press the
King on e1 and g1...
castling maneuvers or pawn promotions!
Captures: To capture, press down lightly on the piece
you want to move - you will hear the voice identify that
piece. Take the captured piece off the board, and press
your piece on the square of the captured piece. You will
hear the capture announced, eg. takes Bishop.
En Passant: In an en passant capture, the computer
uses board lights to remind you to remove the captured
pawn. Press down on the captured pawn before removing
it from the board. Although beginning players are often
confused when this type of capture occurs, the voice
output takes pawn en passant is heard after the user
presses its to square. This makes this move unmistak-
able! See Figures 2-1a and b for an example of an en
passant capture.
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Fig.2-1b ...White can capture the
Black pawn en passant by
moving from f5 to e6!
Fig.2-2b ...and the computer will
remind you to move the Rook!
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