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Subject: Re: Good old days, early '80s

Author: Ed Schröder

Date: 10:44:28 11/20/99

Go up one level in this thread


On November 20, 1999 at 12:42:54, Christophe Theron wrote:

>On November 20, 1999 at 01:39:03, Micheal Cummings wrote:
>
>>On November 19, 1999 at 22:51:12, Christophe Theron wrote:
>>
>>>On November 19, 1999 at 21:36:18, Micheal Cummings wrote:
>>>
>>>>On November 19, 1999 at 16:39:13, Christophe Theron wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On November 19, 1999 at 15:42:10, Jari Huikari wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>On November 19, 1999 at 14:56:35, Christophe Theron wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>2. How many years you have used in developing Tiger?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I started to think about chess programming in 1979, but at that time I did not
>>>>>>>manage to write a chess program for my TI-58. I wrote my first real chess
>>>>>>>program in 1982, in assembly, on a TRS-80.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I started four and half years ago. I remember that chess program came into
>>>>>>my mind in 1983 when I got VIC 20. But with VIC one could only consider
>>>>>>Tic Tac Toe programs, because of the small memory. I remember anyhow I saw
>>>>>>a chess program for VIC. It could play - crudely. It let the kings be
>>>>>>captured and the game continued anyhow after taking them...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>But when I bought Sargon II cartridge I got a reasonable computer opponent
>>>>>>for the first time in my life.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>					Jari
>>>>>
>>>>>That's how it started for me too. When I played for the first time against
>>>>>Sargon II on TRS-80. It was in 1979, I was in africa at that time.
>>>>>
>>>>>I have got Sargon I only several years after! :)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>    Christophe
>>>>
>>>>I had a TRS-80 Colour Computer II, used to spend days copying programs from
>>>>magazines into this thing, only to ever get a really crappy game at the end. But
>>>>still it was better then the 1K MC-10 computer I first got. Just getting a block
>>>>on the screen with that things was great
>>>
>>>
>>>Yeah! Remember the incredible resolution of the TRS-80? It was 128x48 pixels,
>>>and you could mix text with graphics. I'm still wondering how they were able to
>>>draw the chess pieces, but they did!
>>>
>>>I think the TRS-80 color had a better resolution, but I never had it. My next
>>>computer was a TRS-80 model III, then I got a model IV. They were compatible
>>>with each other, which was my main motivation to stick with them.
>>>
>>>Then I got a Sanyo 550 which was my first IBM PC compatible. It was in 1985 or
>>>1986, I don't even remember...
>>>
>>>
>>>    Christophe
>>
>>My first computer chess program was cyrus chess for the TRS-80 Colour computer
>>II, level 1 beat me on many occasions.
>
>
>IIRC, Cyrus was one of the first programs of Richard Lang. Richard began on Z80
>(which was the heart of the TRS-80 computers), and later switched to the
>Motorola family.
>
>There is also a Cyrus for PC, which was produced by David Levy's company. I
>think it's still Richard's program, but years after. Something close to the
>Mephisto Amsterdam.
>
>
>
>> Back then the guy at the store said it
>>could beat 99.8% of the world. Which I though was pretty good. But years later
>>when I started to think about it, the people in this world who actually play
>>chess is a small percentage. And when you think of 0.2% of the worlds
>>population, that 0.2% includes millions of people. So really it is deceptive
>>avertising to make things look better.
>>
>>Thats why we used to have things priced $1.99, cause it looks better than $2.
>>Strange thing in Aus now is that we got rid of our 1 and 2 cent coins, and still
>>they mark items in 99 cents amounts. Looks good but the stores just round it up
>>to the $1 anyway. Why not round down to 95 cents. We get ripped off many times.
>>
>>There was a nice program of the Commadore Amiga, like battle chess, but more
>>graphic, you got to see blood and bones when the knight hacked off the queens
>>head. Anyway this beat Cyrus quite easily. Wish I still had that Amiga program,
>>it was cool.
>
>
>I remember I had other chess programs for the TRS-80:
>* MicroChess 1.5 (worked on a 4Kb TRS-80!)
>* Sargon I & II
>* Sfinks
>* Gambit
>* ...and mine, which was called Sparph at that time.

You miss one :)

Rebel since 1982 was available on a casette (loading time 12 minutes)
sold by a small dutch shop. Sold copies 20 or so :)

Ed


>I'm sure there were some others, but I don't remember exactly about them. Sfinks
>was probably as good as Sargon II. Somebody has heard about William Fink since
>that time?
>
>
>    Christophe



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