EXCALIBUR 410K-CS L User Manual

LCD Keychain Chess

Operating Manual

Model No. 410K-CS

www.ExcaliburElectronics.com

1

ongratulations on your purchase of
LCD Keychain Chess. Thanks to the

C

cutting-edge technology of Excalibur

Electronics, you can play a game of chess
anywhere you go.

Be sure to use LCD Keychain Chess safely. Before
starting, please read this manual thoroughly, especially
noting safety, care, and battery information. Keep this
manual for reference.

The legendary King Arthur brandished

a magic sword, Excalibur, from

which we take our company

name. With this unique

weapon in his hands, he

could not be vanquished.

Although Excalibur
Electronics can’t
claim the magical
secrets of Merlin, King

Arthur’s court wizard,

sometimes our patented

technology may make it

seem as if we could.

We make you think.

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Features of LCD Keychain Chess

• 8 Playing Levels

• Hints for Coaching

• Take Back Mistakes

• Teaching Mode for

Beginning Players

• Off Key Saves Game in

Memory

• Automatic Turnoff

• LCD Chess Board

• LCD Icons Indicate Check,
Checkmate, and Draw

Installing Batteries

LCD Keychain Chess requires 3 AG13 batteries, included.

Find the battery compartment on the back of the unit.
Use a small Phillips screwdriver to remove the screw. Lift
off the battery compartment lid. Install the batteries, making
sure to match polarity (+ and -) with the diagram inside the
battery compartment. Replace the battery compartment lid.
Replace the screw and tighten carefully. If a series of tones is
not heard, press the RESET key. Please see additional Battery
Information on page 10.

LCD Keychain Chess may lock up due to static dicharge.

If this should happen, press the RESET key

on the front of the unit.

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Layout of LCD Keychain Chess

SOUND/
DIAGONAL

LCD SCREEN

2ND

HINT

UP

DIAGONAL/
TRAIN

RESET

UNDO/NEXT

LEFT

DIAGONAL/
LEVEL

GO

DOWN

Functions of Buttons

ON/OFF: Press this key to turn
the unit on or off. If you press
OFF during a game, the unit will
save your game and restart the
same game when ON is pressed.

UNDO/NEXT: Press this key to
undo the computer’s last move.
Press this key again to undo the
last move that you entered.

DIRECTIONAL ARROWS:

Use these eight keys during move

CLEAR

RIGHT

DIAGONAL/

ON/OFF

NEW GAME

entry to select a piece, and then to
indicate where the piece should
move.

HINT: Press this key to get a
recommended move from eChess
Express.

GO: Press this key to confirm a
piece’s TO and FROM squares.

CLEAR: Press this key to cancel
a move during move entry. Or,
press this key while viewing the

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play level to return to the current
chess board position and continue
play.

The GO key and four of the
DIRECTION KEYS have a
second function any time the
key is pressed before they are
pressed.

2nd: Press this key in conjunction
with other keys for additional
functions.

SPEAKER: Press the 2nd key
and then the SPEAKER key
to turn the sound off. The “ ”
ICON on the LCD screen will
turn off. Press the 2ndkey and

2nd

Playing LCD Keychain Chess

Press the ON/OFF key to start
playing LCD Keychain Chess. A
“o” ICON will show on the right,
indicating that it is white’s turn to
move. (White always moves first
in Chess.) When it is black’s turn

to move, a “n” ICON will show
on the right. While LCD Keychain
Chess is computing its move, its
color ICON will flash, indicating
that it is computing.

If you would like LCD
Keychain Chess to start and play
the white pieces, press the
key and the “2nd” ICON will
turn on. Now press the GO key

2nd

then the SPEAKER key to turn
the sound back on.

LEVEL: Press the 2nd key and
then the LEVEL key to show the
current level number on the chess
board.

TRAIN: Press the 2nd key and
then the train key to view training
positions. Continue pressing the

TRAIN key for other positions.

GO: Press the 2nd key and the
GO key to change sides with LCD

Keychain Chess.

NEW GAME: Press the
and the NEW GAME key to start
a new game.

and LCD Keychain Chess will
turn the board around so that you
can play the black pieces while it
flashes it’s first move as white.

2nd key

Making a Move

A move entry consists of first
entering a FROM square of the
piece you wish to move. Press one
of the eight DIRECTION KEYS,
and a piece will start flashing if
there is a piece that can legally
move. If there is no piece that can
legally move, an error tone will
sound and the “?” ICON will
turn on.

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If you want to select a different
piece than the one flashing, press
the UNDO/NEXT key or a
DIRECTION KEY to move to
your desired piece.

When the piece you want to
move is flashing, press the
key to confirm the FROM square.

Next you must enter the
piece’s TO square. You will notice
LCD Keychain Chess is now
flashing a TO square as well as
the FROM square. If you want
to change the TO square simply
press the desired
KEY until the desired TO square
is flashing the piece.

Now press the
confirm your move.

The LCD Keychain Chess
will now compute its move and
announce its move with a tone and
flash the FROM and TO squares
for two seconds.

DIRECTION

GO

GO key to

Game Over

A chess game is over when the
position is a checkmate, stalemate
or drawn. A game can be drawn
after 50 non-pawn or non-capture
moves, or if the same moves
have been made three times.
LCD Keychain Chess shows the
following ICONS for these three
situations:

“+ #” Checkmate

“#” Stalemate

“=” Draw

Press 2nd and NEW GAME

to start a new game.

Taking Back a Move

Press the UNDO/NEXT key
to undo the computer’s move.
Press the UNDO/NEXT key again
to undo the move you entered.

Getting a Hint

Press the HINT key to get a
recommended move from LCD
Keychain Chess. The FROM and
TO squares will flash if there is
a legal move. You may press the
GO key, if you wish to play the
recommended move, or press any
direction key to select a different
move.

ICONS

• “=” The game is a Draw. Also

shown when selecting a Training
position.

• “#” Mate

• “+” Check

o” White to move

• “

• “

n” Black to move

• “?” Invalid key press

• “2nd” 2nd function keys are

now active.

• “ ” Sound is on.

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On - Off (Saving a Game)

If LCD Keychain Chess
is not computing a move, you
may press the ON/OFF key to
turn LCD Keychain Chess off
and then press it again to turn it
back on. LCD Keychain Chess
will remember the chess board
position if you turn it off during
a game. LCD Keychain Chess
will automatically turn off if a
key has not been pressed within
approximately 256 seconds.

Changing Sides

Press the 2nd key and then the
GO key to change sides with LCD

Keychain Chess.

Changing the Play Level

Press the 2nd key and then the
LEVEL key to show the current

level number on the chess board.
If you wish to change the level,
repeated press the LEVEL key
until the desired level is shown.
Press the CLEAR key to return
to the current chess board position
and continue play. There are eight
levels of play. Each level (except
level 3) will have a fixed time for
LCD Keychain Chess to compute
its move. Level 3 is a 1 ply search
level. A ply is computer search
terminology for a half-move. On
level 3, LCD Keychain Chess will

always look at all of its possible
moves, but not look at what move
you will do in response.

Level 1: approximately 1 second

Level 2: approximately 3 seconds

Level 3: 1 PLY

Level 4: approximately 6 seconds

Level 5: approximately 9 seconds

Level 6: approximately 12

seconds

Level 7: approximately 15

seconds

Level 8: approximately 20

seconds

Training Positions

At the beginning of a game,
press the 2nd key and then the
TRAIN key. The chess board
will now show the first training
position instead of the initial chess
board. The “=” ICON will turn on
to remind you that you can again
press the TRAIN key to select
the next training position. There
are eight training positions, so
when the last one is shown, LCD
Keychain Chess will cycle back
to the first training position. The
training positions with the black
king in the center of the board are
mate training positions.

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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 below), 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 Rook
when castling and the Knight
may cross a square occupied by
another piece.

4. A piece 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

1. The Queen can move to
any square along the same row,
column, or diagonals on which it
stands, but cannot pass over an
enemy piece.

2. The Rook can move to any
square along the same row or
column on which it stands, but
cannot pass over an enemy piece.
See also Castling (below.)

3. The Bishop can move to
any square along the diagonals on
which it stands, but cannot pass
over an enemy 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.

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When capturing, it moves
diagonally (forward) one square.
See also en passent (below.)

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:

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
passent capture if it is a reply
move to a double pawn move, and
it is a Pawn which is side-by-side

with the Pawn which made the
double pawn move. The capture
of a white Pawn is diagrammed
below:

3. A Pawn 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, there may be
more than one Queen on the board
at the same time.

Some Tips on Chess

1. Castle your King into safety
as soon as possible.

2. If you control the center
squares you will achieve an
advantage. To do this move your
center Pawns and develop your
Bishops and Knights early in the
game.

3. Take advantage of capture
situations, particularly if you will
gain material.

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Special Care & Handling

• Avoid rough handling such as bumping or dropping.

• Avoid moisture and extreme temperatures. For best results, use between the
temperatures of 39ºF and 100ºF (4º C and 38º C).

• Clean using a slightly damp cloth. Do not use cleaners with chemical
agents.

Battery Information

• The LCD Keychain Chess uses 3 AG13 batteries, included.

• Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zinc) or rechargeable

(nickel-cadmium) batteries.

• Do not mix old and new batteries.

• Do not use rechargeable batteries.

• Remove exhausted batteries from the unit.

• Do not short circuit battery terminals.

• Remove batteries and store them in a cool, dry place when not in use.

• To avoid explosion or leakage, do not dispose of batteries in a fire or attempt to recharge

alkaline or other non-rechargeable batteries.

• Install batteries so that the polarity (+ and -) matches the diagrams in the

battery compartment.

• Use only batteries of the same type and equivalence.

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device
must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired
operation.
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B
digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the
user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more
of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to

which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Excalibur Electronics reserves the right to make technical changes without notice in the

interest of progress.

10

Limited One Year Warranty

EXCALIBUR ELECTRONICS,
INC., warrants to the original
consumer that its products are free
from any electrical or mechanical
defects for a period of ONE YEAR
from the date of purchase. If any
such defect is discovered within
the warranty period, EXCALIBUR
ELECTRONICS, INC., will repair
or replace the unit free of charge
upon receipt of the unit, shipped
postage prepaid and insured to the
factory address shown at right.
The warranty covers normal
consumer use and does not cover
damage that occurs in shipment or
failure that results from alterations,
accident, misuse, abuse, neglect, wear
and tear, inadequate maintenance,
commercial use, or unreasonable use
of the unit. Removal of the top panel
voids all warranties. This warranty
does not cover cost of repairs made
or attempted outside of the factory.
Any applicable implied
warranties, including warranties
of merchantability and fitness, are
hereby limited to ONE YEAR from
the date of purchase. Consequential
or incidental damages resulting
from a breach of any applicable
express or implied warranties are
hereby excluded. Some states do
not allow limitations on the duration
of implied warranties and do not
allow exclusion of incidental or
consequential damages, so the
above limitations and exclusions in

these instances may not apply. The
only authorized service center in the
United States is:

Excalibur Electronics, Inc.

13755 SW 119th Ave

Miami, Florida 33186 U.S.A.

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

www.ExcaliburElectronics.com

Ship the unit carefully packed,
preferably in the original carton,
and send it prepaid, and adequately
insured. Include a letter, detailing
the complaint and including your
daytime telephone number, inside
the shipping carton. If your warranty
has expired and you want an
estimated fee for service, write to the
above address, specifying the model
and the problem.

PLEASE do not send your UNIT

without receiving an estimate

for servicing. We cannot

store your UNIT!

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410K-CS V1.0