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Excalibur Mirage User Manual

Excalibur Mirage User Manual

Chess computer

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M I R AG E
M I R AG E
U S E R
U S E R
M A N UA L
M A N UA L

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Summary of Contents for Excalibur Mirage

  • Page 1 M I R AG E M I R AG E U S E R U S E R M A N UA L M A N UA L...
  • Page 2 90% of all chess players. By using our Robotic Te c h n o l o gy and p owe red by an 8 bit 10 MHz pro c e s s o r, the Mirage will amuse and dazzle e ve ryone.
  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Congratulations! You now own the Mirage, a wonderful chess computer that will surprise you with its strong chess program and delight you by moving its own pieces. If you are a strong chess player, you will find the Mirage to be an admirable opponent that will challenge you to one exciting chess game after another.
  • Page 4: Function Of Mirage Buttons

    If you choose to play black, then go to the section “Black from the bottom”. 3. TURN ON - Press the ON button to power up the Mirage. If the display does not show 00:00, then press the ACL button to clear any data which might be stored in the Mirage. Use a sharp object to activate the ACL button.
  • Page 5: Getting Started

    7. SWITCH OFF AND SAVE POSITION - At anytime you wish to stop playing just press the ON/OFF button. The computer will switch off and go into a sleep mode. The Mirage will now remember the last position and the previous 16 moves (8 for each player) as long as you do not interrupt the power supply.
  • Page 6 The Mirage is a player who can not see. If you place a piece on the board without using the sensory technology, the computer will still think there is a piece in the previous location. The same is true when you remove a piece. If you ever have a question concerning the board position, just use the VERIFY mode (pg.13) to check the position.
  • Page 7 Mirage will actually take that wrongly placed piece and move it across the board and place it in its correct captured piece location. When the Mirage captures a piece it will move your piece into the correct location in the border area first and then move its piece into the square of the captured piece.
  • Page 8 CHECK, MATE, AND DRAW When a King is in check, the computer displays the move as usual. The Mirage does not announce check. If you are in check, the computer will only allow you to make a move which will bring you out of check. Any other move, and the computer will respond that it is an illegal move.
  • Page 9 The Mirage will try to anticipate the move you are likely to make and calculate a response for that move before you have made the move.
  • Page 10: L E V E L S

    L E V E L S The mirage has 100 different levels. Levels 1-94 are used when you are playing a game against the computer. Levels 95-100 are used to make your computer perform a position solving search. THE PLAYING LEVELS At the start of the game the computer uses its openings “book”...
  • Page 11 AVERAGE TIME LEVELS The computer will take an average of the specified amount of time. If it has only one legal move it will respond i n s t a n t l y . 1 s e c s 7 s e c s 1 6 s e c s 4 0 s e c s...
  • Page 12 SETTING UP POSITIONS AND PROBLEMS By using the SET UP button you may change the position on the board or set up a problem you want the Mirage to solve. To change a position on the board, press the SET UP button. The display will show SET UP. Then press the square of the piece you want to move and then the square, or Border Area, where you want to place the piece.
  • Page 13 AUTO PLAY If you want to watch the Mirage play a game all by itself, you may use the auto mode. Just press the AUTO b u t t o n and the computer will play out a game for you. You may also decide to use the auto mode in the middle of a game.
  • Page 14 DON’T KNOW HOW THE PIECES MOVE? TRY TEACH MODE! If you do not know how the pieces move, the Mirage can show you how they move. Press the M O D E button and the display will show T E A C H. Then press the piece button for the piece you want to learn about. The display will show S E T U P.
  • Page 15 HOW THE SPECIAL TEACHING METHOD WORKS You can start a new game in which each player has only the king and eight pawns. By playing this form of “mini- chess” you will gain valuable experience as to how the pawns and kings interact with each other. For example, how a king can be used to attack enemy pawns, or to prevent a passed pawn from being promoted.
  • Page 16 KINGS AND PAWNS When you press the NEW GAME key to start a new game you will see 00:00 displayed on the LCD. Instead of beginning from the usual initial position, you may now press the MODE button then the PAWN key to indicate that you wish to play with the kings and pawns only.
  • Page 17 ACTIVE KING AND PASSIVE KING. In this position, which is completely even, we shall see what happens if White uses its king ACTIVELY, while Black does nothing and hides its king away PASSIVELY in the comer. K e l - d 2 K e 8 - f 8 K d 2 - d 3 K f 8 - g 8 K d 3 - c 4 K g 8 - h 8...
  • Page 18 PROBING FOR WEAKNESSES In the previous example we learned some very important advice for the endgame. YOUR KING IS AN ACTIVE PIECE. USE IT! Here White’s king is actively placed but this time Black has also placed his king near the center of the board.
  • Page 19 CREATING A PASSED PAWN - WHICH PAWN TO ADVANCE FIRST In positions with only kings and pawns on the board, the key to victory lies in creating passed pawns and marching them up the board to promotion. Usually the player who first makes a new queen will be the one who wins the g a m e .
  • Page 20 A SACRIFICIAL BREAKTHROUGH FOR PROMOTION Here White has a very neat way to win. The idea is to force through one of his pawns to promotion before the black king can rush back to the queen’s side. Can you see how? b5-b6!! a7xb6 If Black tried 1 ...
  • Page 21 KINGS AND KNIGHTS After pressing MODE and seeing TEACH displayed on the LCD, if you press the KNIGHT key the computer will be ready to start play from the above position, with only the kings and knights on the board. You can now press the move key and watch the proper movement of the knight.
  • Page 22 Here is an example of what can happen from the above position. (If you would like to try this position on the Mirage you can do so by using the SET UP feature to add your pawns to match the above position.)
  • Page 23 THE TRAP THAT BEAT BOBBY FISCHER There is a very common trap which almost all beginners fall into at some time or other. One player, say White, captures a pawn at a7 or h7 with his bishop, only to see his bishop trapped when his opponent advances the neighboring pawn one square.
  • Page 24 ACTIVE BISHOP vs. PASSIVE BISHOP In this position White has a well posted bishop in the center which is free to maneuver over much of the board. Black’s bishop, in contrast, is “biting on granite”. It has no scope because of the white pawn chain: e4, f3, g4. If Black were to try the move ...
  • Page 25 WHEN TO EXCHANGE BISHOPS There will be many instances in your games when you are unsure about whether to exchange off a particular bishop. A useful rule is to first decide whether the bishop is “good” or ‘bad”. In general you should be happy about exchanging a bad bishop for a good one or for an enemy knight.
  • Page 26 KINGS AND ROOKS After pressing mode and seeing TEACH displayed on the L C D, if you press the ROOK h key the computer will be ready to start play with only the kings and rooks on the board. For additional strategy you may want to use your SET UP feature to add pawns to the board to match the above position.
  • Page 27 KINGS AND QUEENS After pressing mode and seeing teach displayed on the LCD, if you press the QUEEN key the computer will be ready to start play with only the kings and Queens on the board. For additional strategy you may want to use your S E T UP feature to add pawns to the board to match the above position.
  • Page 28: Troubleshooting Guide

    TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE Your computer has been manufactured and tested to very high quality standards and it is most unlikely to have a fault. We have found in the past that almost all so-called “faults” can be traced to the user accidentally pressing a wrong key or moving a piece to the wrong square, which makes it appear later in the game that the chess computer is not operating as expected.
  • Page 29: General Information

    If the computer has a position in its memory and you put it away for a period of time, you may find that the batteries are drained when you go to use it again. If you do not play with your Mirage for a period of time and do not remember whether or not you cleared the board the last time you played with it, you should use the ACL button to clear any data that may be stored in its memory.