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Subject: Re: Nostalgia about First Computer

Author: steven blincoe

Date: 07:30:16 01/25/04

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hi Bob
>
>What do you suppose was the very first publicly
>available dedicated chess-playing machine?  I'm not asking about the
>experimental vacuum tube machines but instead about the toys sold in stores.


the Fidelity Chess Challenger was the very first dedicated chess computer ever
released for sale
it was released in the fall of 1977
it had one level and a mistaken reversal of the ranks and files
the notational input system was therfore also in reverse
Fidelity soon released a Chess Challenger 3 which corrected the error and
offered 3 levels of play
they also allowed all owners of the CC1 to upgrade to the corrected CC3 for a
small fee

very soon after the CC1 was released, several companies released dedicated units
of their own

a popular unit sold in the US at this time(1978) was a Novag computer sold under
the name of JS&A Computer Chess
this computer was made out of plastic and much smaller then the CC1
it cost $100 and was endorsed by the then World Champion Karpov

Memory Lane Regards
Steve





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