Author: David Mitchell
Date: 21:13:05 08/12/05
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On August 11, 2005 at 11:42:32, Eelco de Groot wrote: > Congratulations Dick! > >Dick I think you are right that probably not many of the earliest Chess >Challengers were sold in Europe. The people that collect chess-computers will >know it best but I at least can't find any mention of these very early models in >Computerschaak, the periodical of the Dutch CSVN. First issue is of february >1981 (1e jaargang Nr.1) and in it Jan Louwman reports of a tournament he held >with 9 state of the art chess computers, one of the first chess computer >tournaments ever held in the world I think! > > games won draw lost total min/ Price > move (Dutch > guilders) >Boris Sargon 2,5 8 6 2 0 7 1,27 F 1485,- >Mephisto (I) 8 6 2 0 7 2,57 F 698,- >Ch. Challenger 10 8 4 2 2 5 2,55 F 698,- >Super System III 8 3 2 3 4 3,00 F 465,- >Intelligent Chess 8 2 4 2 4 3,00 DM 875,- >Ch. Challenger 7 8 2 2 4 3 2,44 F 365,- >Ch. Challenger 8 Sensory 8 2 1 5 2½ 2,37 F 499,- >Ch. Challenger Sens. Voice 8 1 2 5 2 3,17 F 998,- >Ch. Challenger Voice 8 1 1 6 1½ 3,01 F 860,- > >Louwman writes in this issue that he is already testing chess computers for 2½ >years and has already played 3000 games with them playing against each other, >500 more against human opponents including a grandmaster. > >Chess Challenger 10, Jan Louwman writes was the oldest and only "veteran" of the >bunch participating and on the market then for 2½ years. It seems to have been >stronger than some of the later "Sensory" models. There is no mention I can find >of the Chess Challenger 1 in any of these early issues. > >Sadly we can't ask Jan Louwman if he knew more about the early CC1.. Brings back a lot of memories for me. My first dedicated chess computer was a Chess Challenger 10 from Fidelity. Great little machine, but slow, with just a Z-80A cpu. After many games, tests, etc., what else to do but try to speed it up? Tear out the cpu, and clock, and up it to a Z-80B cpu, and from 4Mhz to 6Mhz, iirc. That was more like it! So after many games, tests, etc., what else to do but try to speed it up? :) Got my hands on a prototype Z-80H (faster, and "radiation hardened" (the bomb will kill us all, but the CC10 will live on! <grin>). Tear out the cpu, and clock, and up it to either 8 or 10Mhz. Ran too hot, so... (close your eyes, Steve), ... drilled a long series of 1/4" holes all around the wooden banding on the side of the CC10. That was more like it! Until a certain extra warm day with a slightly insufficient air flow arrived, and I was playing chess with the CC10. Cooked it but good! Great memories. Dave
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