Author: Ross Boyd
Date: 03:28:39 04/16/05
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Hi John, Like Clive, I believe the Radio Shack 1850 is the same as the Tandy 1850. In 1986 it was my 2nd chess computer (and I still think it was good value). It was a good opponent for a beginner. It usually put up a reasonable fight in the opening and midgame but was very weak in the endgame. I don't have the manual or computer any more, and can barely remember how it worked, so alas, I can't give you much on the mating levels. It does claim to solve up to a mate in 8 if I recall correctly. It had such limited internal memory that its full width search seemed limited to about 10 ply. You can set up a position with 2 lone kings and it will make a move on infinite level within a minute or so. It does have a method of showing depth of search... while thinking the lights on the left side of the board will show the depth of ply.... from 1 to 8. I can't recall what happened when you exceed 8. For mate searches you may have to resort to infinite level. For a replacement, I think most current dedicated chess computers would be stronger, its more a matter of taste. I've always liked the Novags because they were affordable and reliable. Others on this forum are better informed. Take their advice. BTW, I once played a 'correspondence' game against the 1850 where it thought for 24 hours on each move. At the time I certainly didn't expect to win. I still have the game score and just for fun analysed it with my own engine (TRACE) and also Chess Genius and CM10K. Apparently, there was a MATE in 8 on move 20 with Rd1 (which I missed). This was found by Chess Genius. Actually, it would make a good test position for current engines... [D]r1b3k1/pp3r2/1qp1pP1Q/2b5/8/2P5/PPB1RPPP/R5K1 w - - 1 20 Here's the full game... it doesn't reflect the 1850's normal play. It seemed to be having a real bad day. And I was playing for a certain QP opening setup that Flohr once used... which explains some strange passive play on white's part. The Tandy didn't seem to mind if I wasted time... [Event "Computer chess game"] [Date "1986.09.05"] [White "Ross Boyd"] [Black "Tandy 1850 Infinite"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1450"] [WhiteElo "?"] 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.e3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.Nbd2 Bb4 5.c3 Bd6 6.Bd3 O-O 7.e4 dxe4 8.Nxe4 Nxe4 9.Bxe4 Nd7 10.O-O h6 11.Bc2 c6 12.Re1 Kh8 13.Ne5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Bc5 15.Qh5 Qb6 16.Re2 Kg8 17.Bxh6 gxh6 18.Qxh6 f5 19.exf6 Rf7 20.Bh7+ Rxh7 21.Qg6+ Kf8 22.Qxh7 Bxf2+ 23.Rxf2 Qc7 24.Qxc7 Bd7 25.Qxd7 b6 26.Qe7+ Kg8 27.Qg7# 1-0 Cheers! Ross
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