LCD Chess
and Checkers
Operating Manual
Model 375-2
Congratulations on your purchase of
Excalibur Electronics’ innovative LCD
Chess & Checkers! You’ve purchased a
partner who’s always ready for a game—
and who can improve as you do!
Install the Batteries
Using a small Phillips screwdriver,
remove the battery-compartment panel
screw on the back of LCD Chess. Then
remove the panel by pulling gently from
the top. Install three fresh, alkaline AAA
batteries, making sure to follow the diagram in each battery slot so that the
polar-
ity (+ or -) of the batteries is correct.
Replace the battery compartment panel.
When replacing the screw, secure it gently. Do not force or over-tighten it.
Play a Chess Game
Right Away
After you have installed the batteries, the
display will show the chess board with all
the pieces on their starting squares. The
LCD will also show
01
CHESS
. This indicates you are at the first move of the
game and ready to play chess. If it does
not display
01
CHESS
, press RESET
using a thin pointed object.
Unless you instruct it otherwise, LCD
Chess gives you the White pieces—the
ones at the bottom of the board. White
always moves first. A white box on the
display () indicates it’s White’s move.
You’re ready to play!
In making your first move, it’s very
important to understand that a move is
made up of two parts, choosing a from
square and a to square.
The eight-direction rocker button may be
difficult to use at first. It is different from
some video game controllers because it
allows diagonal movement.
For up, down, left and right movements,
it helps if you push the button straight out
away from the center of the rocker. Do
not press in the center of the rocker,
because you may cause a diagonal movement to occur.
1. Push the DIRECTION rocker in any
direction and the White king’s pawn (the
pawn in front of the king) will flash on
and off. The LCD will also show
01
FrOm
. Then move the circular rocker
button—to the right, left, or diagonally—
until the piece or pawn you want to move
Excalibur’s LCD
Chess is designed so
that it can be held
comfortably and
used with one
hand.
375-2 Eng.qxd 1/20/06 5:22 PM Page 1
Your Excalibur LCD Chess & Checkers is packed with features!
Each key has two labels. To activate the feature named below the key,
just press the key. To enjoy the feature given above the key, first press
2nd/NEXT and then the key.
2
moves. After you take back a move, you
can use the MOVE key to replay the
taken-back move or moves.
OFF KEY
This turns the unit off, automatically saving a game in progress. Use the ON key
to turn the unit back on. If it is not "thinking," LCD Chess will automatically turn
off after a period of time, saving your
game position. Use the ON key to resume
the game.
LEVEL KEY
Use this key to set the level of play (for
more information, see “Levels of Play”).
Use the DIRECTION button to change
the level by one (by pushing Left or
Right) or by ten (by pushing Up or
Down). Also use the LEVEL key to enter
level option mode.
How to Change Level Options:
When the level is displayed, pressing the
OPTIONS key shows:
FAST
: In this mode, LCD Chess uses a
more selective search for thinking. It may
miss a tactical move, but it can look more
deeply into the position. Press the right
DIRECTION to turn FASTon or off. Or
press the OPTIONS key again to show:
rAnd
: Allows the computer to randomly
choose between two good moves so that
you get to practice and play against different responses. Press the right DIREC-
TION to turn random on or off.
Secondary Key Functions
Below are the features available to you
through the secondary functions. To
access any of these features, you first
press the 2nd key and then press the indicated key, looking at the blue label above
the key. You may press 2nd again to stop
using a secondary function.
OPTIONS KEY
Pressing the OPTIONS key repeatedly
will display all selectable options. To
select or change an option, use the right
or left DIRECTION button.
Options Befor
e the Game Starts
OPEn
: Select one of 34 book opening
lines of play. (See page 6.)
GAME
: Select one of 16 Great Games.
(See page 6.)
MATE
: Select one of 31 mate-in-2 problems. Problem 32 is a mate-in-3 problem.
If you can’t find the solution, make LCD
Chess show
you the correct moves to a
problem by setting the level to
73, and
then pressing the MOVE key twice.
TrAIn
: Select one of eight training positions. Positions with the Black king in the
middle give you practice in checkmating
the Black king.
Options Befor
e and During the Game
TOtAL
: Your LCD Chess normally shows
the time taken for each move. Turning
this option ON will instead show the total
game time.
flashes on and off.
Note: You may also use the 2nd/NEXT
key to select the piece you want to move.
2. Push the OPTIONS/MOVE button
immediately above the circular DIREC-
TION rocker.
3. Push the DIRECTION rocker to move
the piece to the square you want. You’ll
see your piece flashing on possible to
squares as you move it—at the same time
it continues to flash on its from square.
Note: Press CLEAR to stop a squar e fr om
flashing in #3 and #1 above, and start the
move entry process over.
4. Push the OPTIONS/MOVE button
again to finalize your move.
After you make your move, LCD Chess
will reply with its move automatically.
You’ll see the piece flash on its from
square and move to its to square.
Throughout the game, the display at top
keeps track of the move number and the
elapsed time for each move.
Special Features and
Function Keys
Your LCD Chess partner is packed with
valuable special features that can help
you learn to play better and better
chess—and to have a lot of fun!
Features are controlled by the function
keys—the black keys on your LCD
Chess. But there are more special features
than there are keys! So each one has two
labels, one above and one below.
The black label below each key shows
the primary function of the key. The blue
label above the key shows its secondary
function.
Below are the features available to you
through the primary functions.
Remember, to access any of these features, you simply push the proper key,
looking at the black label below the key.
Primary Key Functions
CLEAR/ON KEY
Use this key to turn on LCD Chess. You
can even use it as a clear or "escape" key
to exit any of
the special modes like
OPTIONS, SETUP, LEVEL, RATING,
and CONTRAST.
2nd/NEXT KEY
This is a special key, so it is blue instead
of black. Use this key to select the secondary function mode of the other keys.
(See "Secondary Functions," page 3.)
Also use this key during move entry to
select a piece.
NOTE:
If the threat warning indicator ‘!’
is on, the threatening move will flash while
THrt
is displayed.
HINT KEY
Pressing this key displays
HinT
and flashes a recommended move on the screen.
To make the hint move, just press the
MOVE key.
MOVE KEY
Press this key to register your move, or
press it twice before you register your
move to switch sides (colors) with your
computer. (Between presses, the display
will read
FLIP
.) Also use MOVE to replay
moves in the Take-back mode (see
"UNDO,” left).
UNDO KEY
This key lets you take back a move or
moves you’ve decided against. Press this
key repeatedly to continue taking back
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375-2 Eng.qxd 1/20/06 5:22 PM Page 2
SCOrE
: Your display normally shows the
number of the current move. If instead
you want to see the piece-score of your
current position, turn this option on. The
scoring totals the following values:
Pawns—1, Knights—3, Bishops—3,
Rooks—5, and Queen—9.
PLAYr
: Select between: ‘1’—Human vs
Computer; ‘
2
’—Human vs Human;
‘
0
’—Computer vs Computer.
HELP
: When this option is turned on , all
legal moves for the selected piece will be
shown at one time.
InFO
: When turned on, this option will
display the score, depth of search (number of moves LCD Chess is "thinking
ahead"), best move it is considering
playing, and clock times. These will be
displayed while the computer is thinking
at its higher levels.
CLrBr
: Use this option to clear the chess
board for easier problem setup. Pressing
SETUP now, will enter setup mode with
the chess board cleared of all pieces
except a White king. You must also place
a Black king on the board to exit setup
mode.
SOUnd
: Select between: ‘2’—All sound
on; ‘
1
’—No sound on key presses; ‘0’—
No sound, except for error buzzes.
SLEEP
: Adjust the automatic shut off time
with this key. Setting it to ‘
0
’will disable
auto shut-off altogether.
FLiP
: Use this option to flip the chess
board around.
SETUP KEY
Press this key to promote a pawn that
reaches your opponent’s back rank to a
piece other than a queen. (The promotion
to a queen is the most common, so it is
automatic.) You can also use this key to
set up special positions (see page 10.)
/ KEY (CONTRAST)
Press this key repeatedly to adjust the display contrast to one of sixteen settings.
This allows you to compensate for differences in lighting and battery strength.
NEW GAME KEY
Use this key to start a new game.
RATING KEY
LCD Chess rates your play! Use this key
to view your current rating. Also use it to
enter game results for a new rating if the
‘O’ symbol is on, showing you played a
ratable game with no hints or take-backs.
How to Update Your Rating:
While viewing your rating with the ‘O’
symbol on, the first press of the
OPTIONS key shows:
Win
—If you won the game, press the
RATING key to see your new rating. Or
press OPTIONS a second time to show:
LOSE
—If you lost the game, press the
RATING key to see your new rating. Or
press OPTIONS a third time to show:
DrAW
—If you drew the game, press the
RATING key to see your new rating. Or
press OPTIONS to return to your
unchanged rating display.
Playing the Black Pieces
When you want to play the Black pieces
(to let LCD Chess move first) press the
MOVE key before you make your first
move as White. You’ll see the White and
Black pieces switch places immediately!
Draw Messages
During the game, your LCD Chess will
display the word
DrAW
if a three-time
repetition of position occurs, or if there
has been no pawn moved and no
exchanges for 50 moves. When either of
these situations takes place, the rules of
chess state that a player can claim a draw.
If you wish, you can ignore the message
and continue the game. When a stalemate
is reached, the display will read
StALE
.
Game-Ending Messages
LCD Chess will announce mate in two
(
MAtE2
) and mate in three (
MAtE3
). It
will display
+MAtE
when executing a
checkmate. When you checkmate LCD
Chess, it will display
ILOSE
. When you
want to claim a win, draw, or want to
resign—press the 2nd key and then NEW
GAME.
the longer it will think during its
moves.
The first four levels (1, 2, 3 and 4) are
beginner levels and take approximately 4,
8, 12 and 16 seconds per move, respectively. Level 5 is a fixed 1-ply (one-half
move) search. Levels 6 through 72 take
about 1 second per level number, so level
10 will average about 10 seconds per
move. The amount of time taken will
vary depending on the position, and the
stage of the game.
Level 73 is an infinite level. LCD Chess
will take as long to move as you want it
to, or until it finds a mate position in its
search. Level 73 is good for problem
solving (like the MATE problems available under OPTIONS), or it can be used
to play against. When you are tired of
waiting, press the MOVE key while the
computer is thinking, and the computer
will stop thinking and play the best move
it’s found so far.
Auto Play
If you would like to watch the computer
finish a game for you automatically, push
the 2nd key, then press OPTIONS, until
the option
PLAYr
is showing. Use the
right DIRECTION key to change the
number of players to zero. Press 2nd to
exit the OPTIONS mode. Now press the
MOVE key twice and watch the game
play itself. You may stop auto play at any
time
by pressing the MOVE key, which
will set the number of players back to one.
Replay Variation
You may automatically replay all the
moves saved by LCD Chess for undoing.
If you would like to replay the stored
moves, first undo all the moves by setting the number of players to zero (see
Auto Play, above). Now press the UNDO
When I LOSE is displayed
press the NEW GAME or
UNDO key.
Screen Symbols
When a ‘+’ appears on the screen, it is a
reminder that you are in check. When an
‘O’ appears on the screen, the game you
are playing can be rated. When an ‘
=
’
appears, it indicates you are in two
human player mode. And lastly when an
‘!’ appears on the screen, you are being
warned that one of your pieces is threatened with capture. (This is similar to the
friendly "en garde" warning sometimes
used by human players when they are
attacking an opponent’s queen.)
Levels of Play
Generally, the higher the level you select,
the better your LCD Chess will
play, and
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key
. Next to replay the variation and
return to your original position
, set the
players to zero again (see Auto Play,
above). Press the MOVE key and watch
the moves as they are played back.
LCD
Chess will stop Auto Play when it arrives
at the original position..
Book Opening Trainer
LCD Chess makes it easy for you to learn
the same openings that world chess
champions play! At the beginning of a
game, you may choose to learn one of 34
popular book openings—ways to begin
the game—used by chess masters. Press
MODE, then OPTIONS, to display
OPEn
, and then press the right or left
DIRECTION to select the number of the
opening you want to learn. (See below.)
Then press the CLEAR key to return to
normal play.
Now play a move. If your move is not the
correct opening move, an error buzz will
sound. To learn the correct move press
HINT. When the computer comes back
with its move, you will briefly see the
word
OPEn
on the screen if you have
another opening move to make. If the
word
OPEn
does not appear, you may
continue normal play. You have completed the training for that opening line.
The names of the openings are:
1. Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation
2. Ruy Lopez, Closed Defense
3. Ruy Lopez, Open Defense
4. Ruy Lopez Archangel Defense
5. Giuoco Piano
6. Scotch Game
7. Four Knights
8. Petroff Defense
9. Vienna Game
10. Sicilian, Classical Defense
11. Sicilian, Accelerated Dragon
12. Sicilian, Rossolimo Attack
13. Sicilian, Dragon Variation
14. Sicilian, Scheveningen Variation
15. Sicilian, Najdorf Variation
16. Sicilian, Moscow Variation
17. Caro-Kann Defense
18. Panov-Botvinnik Attack
19. French Defense, WinawerVariation
20. French Defense, Classical Defense
21. French Defense, McCutcheon Variation
22. French Defense, Tarrasch Variation
23. Queen’s Gambit Accepted
24. Queen’s Gambit Declined
25. Queen’s Gambit, Semi-Slav Defense
26. Queen’s Gambit, Tarrasch Defense
27. Queen’s Gambit, Slav Defense
28. Nimzo-Indian Defense, Rubinstein Var.
29. Nimzo-Indian Defense, Classical Var.
30. Queen’s Indian Defense
31. Queen’s Indian Defense,Petrosian Var.
32. Bogo-Indian Defense
33. Gruenfeld Defense
34. King’s Indian Defense
The moves and explanations of these famous
openings are given in many books on chess.
Entering Your Own Opening
LCD Chess also allows you to set up any
book opening you want—or even an
opening you invent—to practice. Press
2nd then OPTIONS until the display
reads
PLAYr
. Use right DIRECTION to
set players to 2. Press CLEAR, then
make moves for both sides until the opening position you want to practice is
reached. Now press 2nd then OPTIONS
until the display reads
PLAYr
. Use right
DIRECTION to set players to 1. Press
CLEAR and play against the computer in
this position.
Great Games
At the beginning of the game, you may
select one of sixteen of the world’s great-
est chess games by pressing 2nd, then
OPTIONS to display
GAME
, and
then
pressing the
right or left DIRECTION
button
to select a game number
.
Along with the game number, you will
see the position of the game after the first
two moves were played. Press the
CLEAR key to return to normal play
starting at move three. You take the winning side. The display will show your
total great-game score in two digits (zero
at the start) on the left. On the right, the
display also shows the amount of points
you will win if you play the correct next
great-game move.
If you don’t play the correct great-game
move, an error buzz will sound and the
points for this move will be divided in
half. If the bonus goes to zero, the correct
move will automatically flash. Most
moves start with 4 bonus points, but some
brilliant moves start with 8 points.
Go online to the World Chess Hall of
Fame and Sidney Samole Museum to
find out more about chess and chess
greats:
www.chessmuseum.org
The number, players, locations, and dates
of the great games are given below, along
with a brief explanation of each game.
(All game explanations are © 2000 by Al Lawrence;
all rights reserved.)
1. Adolf Anderssen vs. Lionel Kieseritsky,
London, 1851
This marvelous attacking game, a King's
Gambit, is widely known as "The Immortal
Game." Both players show the 19th-century
preference for attack at all costs, and
Anderssen was one of the most ingenious
attackers of all time. After
18. Bd6, he gives
away both of his rooks and his queen! In the
final position, his tiny force is deployed in just
the right way to bring the complete Black army
to its knees.
2. Adolf Anderssen vs. J. Dufresne,
Berlin, 1852
Again we see Anderssen bamboozling his
opponent. The game starts as an Evan's
Gambit, a form of the Giuoco Piano. White's
19th move, Rad1!! is one of the most celebrated in the history of the game. With his reply,
… Qxf3, Black actually wins a knight and
threatens mate. You'd think that would be
enough! But Anderssen follows with a rook
and queen sacrifice that forces checkmate in a
shower of brilliant blows. This classic is
known as the "Evergreen Game."
3. Paul Morphy vs. Duke Karl & Count
Isouard, Paris, 1858
While in Paris at the opera, the brilliant, unofficial world champion from New Orleans
plays an offhand game against two noblemen.
In this case, we're sure it was over before the
fat lady sang! In a Philidor Defense, the team
of two played a weak 3. … Bg5 that left
Morphy with superior development (more of
his pieces are deployed) and the bishop pair
(two bishops against a bishop and knight).
These two important advantages were all
Morphy needed. After Black wastes even more
time with another pawn move, 9. … b5?,
Morphy hits the duo with a series of brilliant
sacrifices to mate. Victory of mind over material is the poetry of chess.
4.Wilhelm Steinitz vs. Kurt von Bardeleben,
Hastings, 1895
Wilhelm Steinitz, the first official world champion, begins this game as a Giuoco Piano. He
maneuvers deftly to keep his opponent from
castling into safety. Then he sacrifices his
pawn on d5 so that he can make the square
available for his knight. But the most brilliant
move of the game is 22. Rxe7+. At first glance,
it simply looks like a blunder. All of White's
pieces are attacked, and if Black wasn't in
check, he could play … Rxc1+ with mate next.
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But if Black can't take the rook—with either
his king or queen—he loses in all variations.
And by not taking it, he is eventually mated
anyway. If you're interested in these complex
lines, you can find a complete explanation of
this classic game in many books.
5. Alexander Alekhine vs. O. Tenner,
Cologne, 1911
World Champion Alekhine was a chess fanatic
(he even named his cat "Chess") and one of the
greatest attacking players of all time. Here he
plays the unusual Bishop's Opening and seems
to be developing quietly. Black even appears
to be getting a good game just at the time
Alekhine is able to play the swashbuckling
11. Nxe5, allowing Black to capture his queen.
Black's king is forced to march to the center of
the board, an unhealthy spot for a monarch
when so many pieces are still on the board,
where he is mated. It's important to understand
that such sacrifices don't just happen illogically. White's pieces again had a dominating command of the board, and Black allowed White's
pressure on f7, Black's most sensitive defensive square when he hasn't castled, to build
into an explosion.
6. Gaudersen vs. Paul, Melbourne, 1928
This "miniature" of only 15 moves, starts off
as a French Defense in which White plays the
Advance Variation, placing his pawns on d4
and e5. Black's 8th move, castling, was in this
case a blunder because his kingside is attacked
by many pieces and not effectively defended.
White's sparkling 9. Bxh7+ is an example of a
bishop sacrifice that's happened so often it has
a name—the "Greek Gift." White's 14. Nxe6+
is an example of a discovered check, the dive
bomber of the chessboard. White's amusing
15th move is a very rare example of checkmate
with the en passant capture.
7. Edward Lasker vs. George Thomas,
London, 1910
This masterpiece, a Dutch Defense, features a
famous example of the king’s walk to mate.
Edward, an American distant cousin of the
great world champion Emmanuel Lasker, gets
his pieces activated against Black's kingside
while the English champion Thomas develops
(gets his pieces off the back rank and into play)
too slowly. By 10. Qh5, White is already
threatening an all-out blitzkrieg. His brilliant
queen sacrifice 11. Qxh7 is followed by a devastating discovered double check, 12. Nxf6++.
Then Black's king has to walk the plank, all the
way across the board to g1, the normal spot for
the White king! Here he breathes his last.
8. Wilhelm Steinitz vs. A. Mongredien,
London, 1862
This game starts out as a Center Counter (also
called Scandinavian Defense). Black loses too
much time developing his pieces, while White
gets his into play aggressively. Indeed, White's
army dominates the all-important center of the
board as well as the king's side. This sets the
stage for a mating attack. White's two-move
maneuver 13. Rf3 and 14. Rh3 is called a rook
lift, and is a typical attacking strategy. This
rook then sacrifices itself on h7 in a way that
allows Steinitz to bring his other rook quickly
into the fray. White is a rook down, but all of
his forces take part in the assault, while the
Black queen's rook and bishop seem to be
waiting for the next game. They don't have
long to wait.
9.Aaron Nimzovich vs. S. Alapin, Riga, 1913
Another French Defense. In this one, the great
Latvian player and writer
Nimzovich (after
whom the Nimzo-Indian Opening is named—
see page 6)
plays an opponent who wastes time
stealing a pawn with 9. … Qxg2. "Nimzo"
plays a punishing 12. O-O-O!, sacrificing his
knight. He finishes up with a convincing queen
sacrifice that forces checkmate.
10. Jose Capablanca vs. Herman Steiner,
Los Angeles, 1933
The handsome Cuban World Champion Jose
Capablanca had a deceptively simple style.
Here we see him playing the old-fashioned
Four Knights' game and opening up his opponent's kingside pawn protection by move 11!
His first rook sacrifice, 17. Rxf6!, can't be
refused and forces Black's king into a deadly
crossfire. With 23. Qxb7!, Capa offers a second rook, which can't be taken immediately
because of 23. … Qxf6? 24. Qb4 checkmate.
But Black is forced to take the rook a move
later and mate follows on the same square.
11. Mikhail Botvinnik vs. Paul Keres,
The Hague, 1948
Botvinnik won the world championship a
record three times. His opponent here is possibly the strongest 20th-century chess player
who did not become world champion. The
opening is a Nimzo-Indian. White's doubled
pawns are potentially a long-term weakness,
but in the short term they control a good many
all-important central squares. White plays
cleverly to keep a grip on the position and
breaks through on the queenside with his
pawn-push 17. c4-c5. This gives him a chance
to bring his queenside rook into action. He
swings it against the kingside, sacrificing it on
g7 to win. In the final position, Black's king
will be mated by the White queen, supported
by the bishop on c1. Where did Black go
wrong? Take a look at his "unemployed"
queen and rook on a8 and b8!
12. J. Banas vs. P. Lukacs, Trnava, 1986
In a Four Knights' Game, Black gets his king
into safety by castling and takes advantage of
White's awkward piece placement by sacrificing his knight with 9. … Nf3+. Then he allows
White to take his bishop on c5. But by that
time, White's king is surrounded. In the final
position, after 13. … Ng4, White's only effective defender, his knight on e3, is forced from
its square, allowing … Qg2 mate.
13. Anatoly Karpov vs. Victor Kortchnoi,
Moscow, 1974
Twentieth-century chess perfected defense. It
is no longer typical to see top-level players
playing only for the attack. In fact, Korchnoi at
the time of this game was one of the best in the
world, and his forte was defense. Many fine
players would attack him ingeniously, only to
break up on his rock-like fortifications. Still,
World Champion Karpov crushes him in only
27 moves with a mating attack! In a classic
manner against Black's Sicilian Dragon
defense (so named probably because of the
"tail" of control Black's bishop makes from g7
to a1), Karpov plays the St. George attack,
castling queenside and prying open the h-file
to slay the dragon.
14. Boris Spassky vs. Tigran Petrosian,
Moscow, 1969
Spassky won the world championship from
Petrosian in the match that produced this
game. In this English Opening that becomes a
Queen's Gambit, you'll see that once again
White gets a strong center and quick develop-
ment of his pieces. As early as 13. Rd1, you
can sense that Black is in danger. His king has
no piece defenders; his forces seem passive
while White's are aggressively coordinated. As
often happens in such situations, White breaks
through with a pawn push in the center, in this
case 15. d4-d5!. It clears the board for White's
more active forces. Petrosian, one of the best
defenders of all time, tries repeatedly to trade
queens, but White wisely rebuffs these offers,
which would take much of the power off the
board. White's d-pawn becomes a star, advancing all the way to the 7th rank. Because of this
queening threat, White is able to sacrifice his
queen for one of Black's defending rooks. In
the final position, it's hopeless for Black
because White will either promote his pawn to
a queen or capture whatever Black uses to
block on d8.
15. Robert Fischer vs. Reuben Fine,
New York, 1963
Nine years before winning the world championship, Bobby Fischer played this Evan's
Gambit (a variation of the Giuoco Piano)
against his famous elder. Bobby sacrifices two
pawns in order to get his pieces out quickly.
Then he plays 14. h2-h4!, sacrificing another
pawn to force the Black queen away from the
g7-square. After that, Black's king will be
stuck in the center and in danger of the h4-d8
diagonal. Bobby's final move, 17. Qg3!, forces
Fine to resign, because he must move his
queen from the critical black diagonal h4-d8.
Even on 17. … Qxg3, White ignores the capture of his own queen and plays 18. Bf6 mate!
16. Lajos Portisch vs. Johannessen,
Havana, 1966
During the first half of this game, a Queen's
Gambit Slav, the great Hungarian grandmaster
Lajos Portisch locks up the center with a d4-e5
structure by move 14. This gives him a "beachhead" on e5 and makes it hard for Black to
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General Rules of Chess
1. The two players must alternate in making one move at a time. The player with
the white pieces moves first to start the
game.
2. With the exception of castling (see
right), a move is the transfer of a piece
from one square to another square which
is vacant or occupied by an enemy piece.
3. No piece, except the Knight may cross
a square occupied by another piece.
4. Apiece moved to a square occupied by
an enemy piece captures it as part of the
same move. The captured piece must be
immediately removed from the chessboard by the player making the capture.
5. When one player moves into a position
whereby he can attack the King, the King
is in “Check”. His opponent must either
a) move the King
b) block the path of the attacking piece
with another piece, or
c) capture the attacking piece.
6. The game is over when there is no
escape for the King from an attacking
piece. This is known as “Checkmate”.
7. The game is over when the king of the
player whose turn it is to move is not in
check and the player cannot make any
legal moves. This is known as
“Stalemate” and is considered a drawn
game.
Individual Moves
Turn on the
HELP
feature under
OPTIONS (see page 4.) All legal moves
for each selected piece will be shown at
one time. You will quickly “learn by
doing” the movements of all pieces.
1. The Queen can move to any square
along the same row, column, or diagonals
on which it stands, but cannot pass over
another piece.
2. The Rook can move to any square
along the same row or column on which
it stands, but cannot pass over another
piece. See also Castling (below.)
3. The Bishop can move to any square
along the diagonals on which it stands,
but cannot pass over another piece.
4. The Knight move is in the shape of an
“L”, moving two squares up or down, and
then one square over. Or it can be one
square up or down, and then two over.
5. The Pawn can move one square forward. On it’s first move it may move two
squares forward. When capturing, it
moves diagonally (forward) one square.
See also en passant (page 12.)
6. The King can move one square in any
direction, as long as it is not attacked by
an enemy piece. See also Castling
(below).
Special Moves
1. Castling is a move of both the King
and either Rook which counts as a single
move (of the King) and is executed as
diagrammed below:
Using Setup Mode
At any time during a game when it is your
move, you may change the position on
the board by adding a piece, removing a
piece, or changing any of the pieces—for
example, from a queen to a knight.
Removing A Piece
Press the 2nd key, then the SETUP key.
Use the DIRECTION button to move
the black shape over a piece. Press
MOVE to remove the piece. Press
CLEAR to continue the game.
Adding or Changing a Piece
Press 2nd then the SETUP key. Now
press SETUP repeatedly to select the correct piece. Use the DIRECTION button
to move it to a square. Then press MOVE
to register the piece. Press CLEAR to
continue the game.
Setting Up Special Positions
This is another terrific feature that allows
you to solve problems that you see in
magazines or newspapers, or that you
make up yourself. It also allows you to
enter game positions you want to play, or
that you want LCD Chess to look at, perhaps using the Infinite Search level.
Normally, it is easier to start from an
empty board to set up such problems. So
first, press 2nd then OPTIONS until
CLrBr
(clear board) is displayed. Now
press the SETUP key. You’ll see that
your display board is automatically
cleared, except for a White king.
Use the DIRECTION button to move
the White king to the correct square and
press MOVE. Continue by placing the
Black king on it’s square. (You can’t
leave the SETUP mode until both the
White and Black king are placed.) Black
pawns will be the next piece to place, but
you may press SETUP repeatedly to
select the piece type you want to place on
the board. To change the piece’s color,
use the / key. Don’t forget to press
MOVE to register the piece on the board.
Follow this procedure until all the pieces
in the problem or position are completely
set up. Finally, press CLEARto play or to
have LCD Chess analyze the position.
Make sure that LCD Chess knows which
Computers can sometimes
"lock up" due to static dis-
charge or other electrical
disturbances. If this should
happen, use a slim, pointed
object to press the button
marked “RESET.”
counterattack in the center, which is the standard antidote for an attack on the wing. The
next stage starts with 16. h4. Portisch
announces his intention to attack on the kingside. He refrains from castling his own king
into safety because he knows it’s safe enough
in the center, at least for the time it will take
him to break through with his attack. When
Black tries to trade off pieces with 17. …
Bxf3, Portisch sacrifices a knight for an
unstoppable attack with 18. Bxh6 and then
calmly moves his king to the second rank to
bring his other rook into the game. His Rxh4
was another brilliant sacrifice that crushes any
hope of defense. In the final position, Black
resigns because White will simply play 26.
Rxh6+, winning the Black queen. If 26. …
Qxh6, then White plays 27. Qxh6+ and will
mate on h7.
color is to move. When you first enter
setup mode, you may change the color of
the side to move by pressing /.
Operational Hint
If you missed where the computer
moved, simply press UNDO and then
MOVE. This will not affect being able to
rate your game.
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Pawn is diagrammed below:
CHECKERS
Changing Games
After you have installed the batteries, the
display will show the chess board with all
the pieces on their starting squares. The
LCD will also show
01
CHESS
. This indicates you are at the first move of the
game and ready to play chess. If it does
not display
01
CHESS
, press RESET
using a thin pointed object.
Whenever
CHESS
is shown on the dis-
play, you may change to Checkers by
pressing the 2nd key, and then pressing
the NEW GAME key. The LCD display
will show
01
CHECr
and will also show
the checker board with all the pieces on
their starting squares.
To change back to Chess press the 2nd
key, then press the NEWGAME key.
Remember you can only change games
when
CHESS
or
CHECr
is showing on the
display.
The Basics of Checkers
Each player gets 12 checkers and places
his men on all of the dark squares in the
first three rows in front of him. In contrast to chess, Black moves first. But like
chess, the first player normally moves
from the "bottom" of the LCD board. The
goal of checkers is to leave your opponent with no legal move—either by taking all of his pieces or by blocking his
pieces. (Here's an important difference
between chess and checkers. In chess,
stalemate is a draw; in checkers, stalemate is a LOSS for the player who can't
move.) Each player takes turns moving.
Men must be moved diagonally forward,
staying on the dark squares. A piece is
captured by jumping over it to an empty
square on its other side. Apiece can never
jump over its own pieces. Captures are
obligatory. When a man reaches the other
side of the board, he is promoted to a
king. A king can move, and jump, backward as well as forward. A player can
have more than one king. Aman that promotes to a king by making a jump, cannot
continue jumping as a king. It must wait
for the next turn.
Play Checkers Right Away
Make sure
CHECr
is shown on the display. If it is not, see the Changing Games
section (Page 12.)
Unless you instruct it otherwise, LCD
Checkers gives you the Black pieces—
the ones at the bottom of the board. Black
always moves first. A black box on the
display () indicates it’s black’s move.
In making your first move, it’s very
important to understand that a move is
made up of two parts, choosing a from
square and a to square.
1. Push the DIRECTION rocker in any
direction and the right Black piece on the
third row will flash on and off. The LCD
will also show
01
FrOm
. Then move the
circular rocker button—to the left, right,
or diagonally—until the piece you want
to move flashes on and off.
Note: You may also use the 2nd/NEXT
key to select the piece you want to move.
Or
press CLEAR to stop a square from
flashing, and start the entry process over.
2. Push the OPTIONS/MOVE button
immediately above the circular DIREC-
TION rocker.
3. Push the DIRECTION rocker towards
the diagonal direction you wish the piece
to move. Your move will be automatically registered.
After you make your move, LCD
Checkers will reply with its move automatically. You’ll see the piece flash on its
from square and move to its to square.
Throughout the game, the display at top
keeps track of the move number and the
elapsed time for each move.
Pressing the DIRECTION
rocker up or down will
skip to the first
piece in the
row above or below the
currently flashing piece.
You must capture if you can!
Remember that capturing is obligatory in
the game of checkers, although if you
have a choice of captures, you choose
which to play. You don't need to make the
move with the largest number of captures. After LCD Checkers plays it move
and you have a jump to make, it will
show
JP
in the move number area. But if
you overlook a capture and try to make
another move, LCD Checkers will
remind you of the capture possibility by
displaying
JUMP
. LCD Checkers knows
the rules of checkers and will stick to
them! Make your capture, and proceed
with the game.
Multiple captures
If you have a multiple capture, after you
complete the first jump the display shows
the coordinate of the square you are on
and
JP
to remind you to continue the cap-
turing sequence.
Turn your Men into Kings!
At the start of the game, each of the 24
pieces is referred to as a man. When a
To castle your King on LCD Chess, simply move your King over two squares.
Castling cannot occur if:
a) the King has already been moved.
b) the Rook has already been moved.
c) there is any piece between the King
and the Rook.
d) the King’s original square, or the
square which the King must cross, or the
one which it is to occupy is attacked by
an enemy piece.
2. A Pawn may make an en passant capture if it is a reply move to a double pawn
move, and it is a Pawn which is side-byside with the Pawn which made the double pawn move. The capture of a white
3. APawn can be promoted if it advances
all the way to the far side of the board. It
is immediately promoted, as part of the
same move, into a Queen, Rook, Bishop,
or Knight, whichever its owner chooses.
Since a Queen is the most powerful piece,
it is nearly always chosen as the promotion piece. Through the promotion
process, a player may have more than one
Queen on the board at the same time.
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man reaches the far side of the board, he
is crowned king and becomes much more
powerful than an ordinary man because a
king can move both backward and forward. LCD Checkers is well versed in the
movement of kings and the crowning
process, so it will automatically crown
your man to turn it into a king. Aman that
promotes to a king by making a jump,
cannot continue jumping as a king. It
must wait for the next turn.
Playing the White Pieces
When you want to play the White pieces
(to let LCD Checkers move first) press
the MOVE key before you make your
first move as Black. You’ll see the White
and Black pieces switch places immediately!
Undoing Moves
LCD Checkers does not have as good a
memory as LCD Chess, so it only permits
it’s last move and your last move to be
taken back.
Getting Hints
Pressing the HINT key displays
HinT
and
flashes a recommended move on the
screen.
Changing Sides
If during a game you find yourself losing,
you can change sides with LCD
Checkers. Pressing the MOVE key twice
before you register your move will switch
sides (colors) with your computer.
(Between presses, the display will read
FLIP
.)
Levels of Play
Generally, the higher the level you select,
the better your LCD Checkers will
play,
and the longer it will think during its
moves.
The first two levels (1 and 2) are
beginner levels and search a fixed 1 and 2
ply (one-half move). Levels 3 through 15
take 2,3,4,5,7,8,15,20,25,30,40,50 and 60
seconds per move.
Level 16 is an infinite level. LCD
Checkers will take as long to move as
you want it to, or until it can no longer
search. Level 16 is good for problem
solving, or it can be used to play against.
When you are tired of waiting, press the
MOVE key while the computer is thinking, and the computer will stop thinking
and play the best move it’s found so far.
Note: Since there are only 16 levels, only
the left and right DIRECTION rocker
are used to change the level by one.
Options for Checkers
Just like LCD Chess, LCD Checkers has
numerous options that can be viewed by
pressing the 2nd key and then the
OPTIONS key repeatedly. Use the right
or left DIRECTION button to select or
change an option.
TOtAL
: same as Chess (see page 3).
SCOrE
: Your display normally shows the
number of the current move. If instead
you want to see the piece-score of your
current position, turn this option on. The
scoring totals the following values:
Men—1, Kings—1-1/2.
PLAYr
: same as Chess (see page 4).
InFO
: same as Chess (see page 4).
CLrBr
: same as Chess (see page 4).
SOUnd
:same as Chess (see page 4).
SLEEP
: same as Chess (see page 4).
FLiP
: same as Chess (see page 4).
Auto Play
If you would like to watch the computer
finish a game for you automatically, push
the 2nd key, then press OPTIONS, until
the option
PLAYr
is showing. Use the
right DIRECTION key to change the
number of players to zero. Press 2nd to
exit the OPTIONS mode. Now press the
MOVE key twice and watch the game
play itself. You may stop auto play at any
time
by pressing the MOVE key, which
will set the number of players back to one.
Using Setup Mode
At any time during a game when it is your
move, you may change the position on
the board by adding a piece, removing a
piece, or changing any of the pieces—for
example, from a man to a king.
Removing A Piece
Press the 2nd key, then the SETUP key.
Use the DIRECTION button to move
the black shape over a piece. Press
MOVE to remove the piece. Press
CLEAR to continue the game.
Adding or Changing a Piece
Press 2nd then the SETUP key. Now
press SETUP repeatedly to select the correct piece. Use the DIRECTION button
to move it to a square. Then press MOVE
to register the piece. Press CLEAR to
continue the game.
Setting Up Special Positions
This is another terrific feature that allows
you to solve problems that you make up
yourself. It also allows you to enter game
positions you want to play, or that you
want LCD Checkers to look at, perhaps
using the Infinite Search level.
Normally, it is easier to start from an
empty board to set up such problems. So
first, press 2nd then OPTIONS until
CLrBr
(clear board) is displayed. Now
press the SETUP key. You’ll see that
your display board is automatically
cleared.
Press SETUP repeatedly to select the
piece type and color you want to place on
the board. Use the DIRECTION button
to move the correct square and press
MOVE to register it on the square.
Follow this procedure until all the pieces
in the problem or position are completely
set up.
Make sure that LCD Checkers knows
which color is to move. You may change
the color of the side to move by pressing
/.
Finally, press CLEAR to play or to have
LCD Checkers analyze the position.
Excalibur Electronics reserves the right to
make technical changes without notice in the
interest of progress.
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InterTAN warrants that this product will be
free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days from the
date of purchase. Within this period, simply
take the product and your proof of purchase to
any InterTAN store or dealer and the product
will be repaired without charge for parts and
labour. InterTAN reserves the right to charge
for transportation. Any product which has
been subject to misuse or accidental damage
is excluded from this warranty.
This warranty is only applicable to a product
purchased through InterTAN's company
owned stores and dealers and to a product that
is presented for repair in a country where
InterTAN offers the product for sale. While
this warranty does not confer any legal rights
other than those set out above, you may have
additional statutory rights which will vary
under the laws of the various countries, states,
provinces and other governmental entities in
which InterTAN operates. This warranty is
subject to all statutory rights you may have in
the country of purchase.
WE SERVICE
WHAT WE SELL
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InterT
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ARRANTY
ARRANTY
Battery Information
• Your LCD Chess uses 3 AAA batteries.
• Do not mix old and new batteries.
• Do not mix alkaline & standard or
rechargeable batteries.
• Install batteries so that the polarity
(+ and -) matches the diagrams in the batterycompartment.
• Use only batteries of the same type and
equivalency.
• Remove exhausted batteries from the unit.
• Do not short circuit battery terminals.
Special Care
• Avoid rough handling such as bumping or
dropping.
• Avoid moisture and extreme temperatures.
For best results, use between the temperatures of 39ºF and 100ºF (4ºC and 38ºC).
• Clean using only a slightly damp cloth.
Do not use cleaners with chemical agents.
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