Author: Dick Schneiders
Date: 10:44:18 03/01/05
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On March 01, 2005 at 12:30:17, Steve B wrote: >i think it might be of interest to all Members to perhaps share their very first >experience with a chess playing machine or even a PC program Well, for me it was a few years later, in 1982. I had played a lot of chess with both my father and younger brother, in the 1960's, but never really got the bug. I read some books from the library on openings, end games, etc. and became a passable player. I was married at the time and working as a staff accountant at the largest regional accounting firm in Kansas. I spent most of my time on the golf course or the tennis courts, outside of work, and had little time for other activities. I met a new friend on the tennis courts and found out that he liked chess. We started playing a few games, and we were very close in playing level so it became a regular get-together for us. I didn't have a decent chess set, so I went to a local game store and discovered that chess computers had been invented! That was a real shock to me, and so I had to have one, along with a nice Druke board and set of chess men. I ended up with a Fidelity SC9, which I still have and still use. Fortunately, this computer played a very good game of chess, and didn't make illegal moves or even horrible moves very often, unlike the earlier ones. I didn't tell my friend about it, until several months later, after I had improved enough using it that I was beating him most of the time. Of course, he had to go out and also get one for himself. I really didn't desire another chess computer because this one was better than I was already. However, in the late 1980's, when Fidelity introduced the Phantom, that moved it's own pieces, I really wanted one. My wife had just quit her job and gone back to college to finish her degree, and *she* felt that we couldn't afford one of those fancy chess computers. I still had that lingering desire until a couple of months ago, when I bought a Phantom 6100 on eBay. A few weeks later, I bought a Phantom Eyeball 6126 on eBay for a very high price. I don't remember what these machines cost when they were new, but I didn't miss out on the opportunity to let my wife know that *if* I had bought one back in 1988 or 1991 (when the Eyeball came out), it would have been less money. :-) I still don't know if I have the collecting bug for these things, but over the past few days I have purchased several more chess computers, including a Mephisto Exclusive with Polgar modules, Saitek President, Fidelity Excellence, and a few other minor ones. I also lost out on a Fidelity Elite A/S 4.0 that really got expensive, but I still wanted it. My wife thinks I have finally gone mad, but since we can now afford it, she isn't yelling and screaming quite yet, like she had to do back in the late 1980's. Dick Schneiders
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