King
King
Ar
Ar
thur
thur
www.ExcaliburElectronics.com
Model No. 915-3
EEXXCCAALLIIBBUUR
R
EELLEECCTTRROONNIICCS
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OPERATING MANUAL English p. 2
ENGLISH
3
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C
ongratulations! You now own King Arthur, not just a terrif ic
chess player, but your own personal chess trainer. You’ll be
amazed at his strong, insightful play and delighted by his
many unique features, those that make playing chess and improving
fun! One of these innovative features is the LCD that automatically
shows you the current board position, and lots of other information,
at all times!
Take a moment to notice that every square on King Arthur’s chess
board has a unique “address,” a letter and number that corresponds to
the file and rank of the square. This is the same system used by chess
masters the world over. King Arthur uses these square designations to
communicate with you about the game. Of course, he shows you the
moves on his unique display as well.
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 magi-
cal secrets of Merlin, King Arthur’s court
wizard, sometimes our patented technology
may make it seem as if we could.
King Arthur chess is another unmatched
innovation of
Excalibur Electronics.
We make you think.
KING AR THUR
TABLEOFCONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: QUICK START & THE BASICS..........page 6
1.1 Installing the batteries
1.2 Finding the pieces
1.3 Setting up the pieces
1.4 Making your move
1.5 Moving King Arthur’s piece as displayed
—you’ve got a game going!
1.6 Putting a game “on hold”
CHAPTER 2: KEYFUNCTIONS& GENERALLAYOUT .. page 10
CHAPTER 3: SPECIAL KEYS AND FEATURES .......page 12
3.1 Starting a new game
3.2 Playing the Black pieces from the start of a game
3.3 Switching sides during a game
3.4 Adjusting the display contrast
3.5 Playing without the physical pieces
3.6 Change your mind? Take your move back!
3.7 Changing levels of play
3.8 Display options
3.9 Forcing King Arthur to move immediately
3.10 Getting hints
3.11 Displaying threats
3.12 Peeking into King Arthur’s brain on higher levels
3.13 Replaying a variation
3.14 Practicing blindfold chess
3.15 Turning off the sound
3.16 King Arthur versus King Arthur—“automatic pilot”
3.17 Human versus Human
3.18 Automatic shut-off
3.19 Flip Option: Playing Black from the LCD-Side
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KING AR THUR
TABLEOFCONTENTS, CONTINUED
CHAPTER 4: GETTINGARATINGATTHEROUNDTABLE
.... page 18
4.1 Viewing your rating
4.2 Submitting a game for rating
CHAPTER 5: SPECIAL MESSAGESFROMCAMELOT ....page 19
5.1 Check
5.2 Ratable game
5.3 Two-player mode
5.4 Threat
5.5 Draw
5.6 Stalemate
5.7 Forced checkmates
5.8 Other checkmates
CHAPTER 6: SOMESPECIALCHESS MOVES .......... page 21
6.1 Capturing
6.2 Castling
6.3 Promoting pawns
6.4 En passant—taking a pawn in passing
CHAPTER 7: TOOHARD? TOO EASY? ALLABOUT LEVELS
page 23
7.1 Beginner Levels
7.2 Fixed-ply level
7.3 Timed levels
7.4 Infinite search
7.5 Fast level option
7.6 Random level option
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CHAPTER 8: TEACHINGANDTRAINING FEATURES .. . page 25
8.1 Piece training positions
The mini-games
The mating-practice positions
8.2 Mate-problem training
8.3 Opening book trainer: learning book openings
the easy way, with King Arthur’s help!
8.4 Multi-move: setting up your own opening positions
8.5 Great games
CHAPTER 9: SETTINGUPSPECIAL POSITIONS ....... page 34
9.1 Removing a piece
9.2 Changing the color of a piece
9.3 Adding a piece or changing the type of piece
9.4 Setting up special positions & problems
CHAPTER 10: IMPORTANT TECHNICALDETAILS ......page37
10.1 The ACL button
10.2 Special care
10.3 Battery information
10.4 Warranty information
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1.2
Finding the pieces
The larger compartment lid on
the left conveniently stores your
chess pieces when they’re not in
use. Although one of King
Arthur’s breakthrough features
permits you to play without
using these pieces, let’s start by
using them. Open the larger lid
in the same method you used in
Step 1. Remove the pieces and
set them to the side. Then
replace the lid. Now you can
turn King Arthur right side up,
with the Excalibur Knight on the
bottom left.
1.3
Setting up the pieces
Whichever side (color) you
play in chess, a light-colored
square must always be located
on your right—chess players say
“Light on right.” (You’ll have
fun noticing television and magazine ads, movies and even
some products that show an
ignorance of this basic rule!)
You’ll see that King Arthur’s
board is of course designed correctly.
Place the chess pieces in their
initial starting position, as
shown in the LCD display at the
bottom of the chessboard,, with
the White pieces closest to you.
(If you choose to play Black, go
to the Section 3.2 “Playing the
Black pieces from the start of
the game.)
1.4
Making your move
Besides deciding on a good
move, you have to move the
piece in a way that King Ar thur
will recognize what’s been
played. He will automatically
sense your move if you follow a
simple routine. Think of communicating your move as a twostep process—registering the
FROM square and then registering the TO square.
Be sure to read this section. It
contains information not duplicated in the rest of this manual.
Chapter 1 will show you the
basics of getting started. If
you’re impatient for the fun to
begin, you’ll be able to play a
game of chess with King Arthur
after only the few minutes reading this short chapter will take.
But we recommend that you
soon go on to read the entire
operating manual, so that you’ll
get the full benefit of King
Arthur’s amazing features.
1.1
Installing the batteries
Turn King Arthur over carefully with his chessboard facedown, so that the small compartment lid is at the top right. This
lid covers the battery compartment. Place your thumb below
the pressure-catch at the bottom
of the lid. Push up and then pull
out. The lid will detach. Insert
three (3) fresh, alkaline AA batteries in the battery holder. Note
the arrangement of the batteries
called for by the diagram in the
holder. Make sure that the positive tip of each battery matches
up with the + sign in the battery
compartment so that polarity
will be correct. When the batteries are properly installed, you’ll
hear a series of tones as King
Arthur automatically turns himself on and lets you know he’s
ready for action. Replace the
battery compartment panel by
first fitting the two small tabs at
the top of the lid into their receptacles. Then place your thumb
under the pressure catch, pushing up and in until the lid snaps
into place. Leave King Arthur
face down.
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KING AR THUR
CHAPTER1:
QUICKSTART& BASICS
King Arthur “times out” after not being used for a few minutes.
If this happens, just press the ON/CLEAR button
on the bottom row of keys.
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need to move the piece on the
board for him. Follow the same
two-step procedure you did
while registering your own
move—gently pushing on the
TO and FROM squares and listening for the confir ming tones.
You’re already playing a game!
Enjoy the contest.
1.6 Putting a game
“on hold”
Want to stop for a phone call,
or even a weekend trip? Any
time it’s your move and y ou wish
to stop playing for a while, just
press the OFF/SAVE key. King
Arthur will switch off and go
into a sleep mode. He will
remember the last position,
including the elapsed time, as
long as you do not interrupt the
power supply—for example, by
removing the batteries. To
resume play, just press the
ON/CLEAR key. A word of
warning—your memory of the
game in progress may get a bit
vague, but King Arthur will
remember the game perfectly! If
you’ve put the pieces safely
away in their compartment during your break, or they ma y have
been disturbed, just use the display to help you correctly set the
pieces back up. If you do want to
clear the current game at any
time, just press NEW GAME.
Lift the piece or pawn you
want to move. (Moving the
pawn in front of either your king
or queen ahead two squares forward is a great first move for
White.) Press the edge of the
piece’s base down gently on the
center of its FROM square.
You’ll hear a beep, and King
Arthur will display the FROM
square—for example “E2.”
Then press the edge of the piece
down gently on the square you
want to move it to—for example, “E4. ” King Arthur will beep
again, confirming that he has
registered your move. Place the
piece gently on its new square.
(Some players like to push the
squares with their forefinger
while holding the piece in the
rest of the fingers of the same
hand.)
1.5
Moving King Arthur’s
piece-you’ve got a game
going!
You’ll notice that King Arthur
almost immediately displays his
response to your move. King
Arthur decides on his own
move, of course, and lets you
know what it is by displaying it
at the top of the LCD board. For
example, if you play 1. E2-E4,
he may respond E7-E5. But you
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If you make an illegal move, King Arthur will sound a lower
tone and display the TO and FROM squares necessary to move
the piece back to its previous square. When this happens, you
must follow the standard procedure of pushing on the FROM and
TO squares to get the piece back in its previous position. Then make
a legal move.
To register your move properly, press
the side of the piece’s base gently
down on the center of the FROM
square, and then on the center of the
TO square.
In between moves, King Arthur will display the time taken for
each move and the number of the move.
King Arthur’s display will always show
the correct position as King Ar thur “sees” it.
It’s a good idea occasionally to compare
the position in his “head” to the one
on the board.
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MOVE Key
Switch sides or make
King Arthur move
immediately.
Physical chess pieces
SETUP Key
Add or remove pieces and
enter special positions.
HINT Key
Obtain a hint.
AUT O Key
Watch King Arthur
play himself.
LEVEL Key
Change skill levels.
NEW GAME Key
Start a new game.
TAKEBACK Key
Take back a mistake.
MULTI-MOVE Key
Make moves for both sides
to set up favorite openings.
LCD Board Display
Shows piece positions,
board and messages.
ON/CLEAR KEY
Turn King Arthur
on or clear an entry.
OPTION Key
Select many features.
RATING Key
Check your rating.
CONTRAST Key
Adjust display
contrast.
WIN Key
Rate a win.
Sensory Board
Recognizes your moves.
THREAT Key
See the threat!
MODE Key
Access training features.
OFF/SAVE Key
Put King Arthur in sleep
mode & save your game.
KING AR THUR
CHAPTER 2:
KEYFUNCTIONS
& GENERAL LAYOUT
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3.1 Starting a new game
If you want to start a new
game, simply push the NEW
GAME button when it’s not
King Arthur’s move. King
Arthur will sound the “charge”
for a new game.
3.2 Playing the Black
pieces from the start of
a game
Since White always moves
first, you’ll want to practice
playing Black as well as White.
To play the Black pieces, start a
new game by pushing the NEW
GAME button. Then press the
MOVE button. King Arthur will
now automatically make the
first move. You’ll see that the
LCD shows Black at the bottom. If you’re using the playing
board with the three dimensional pieces, set the Black pieces
up at your end—close to the
LCD.
Of course, the labels on the
squares can’t change. So when
playing White, if King Arthur
wants to play what normally
would be “E2-E4” for White,
he’ll do this by communicating
“E7-E5,” which accurately corresponds to your board.
Make all moves and choose
all options in the normal fashion.
3.3 Switching sides
during a game
After the first move, whenever it’s your move you can switch
sides, taking over King Ar thur’s
game and color and giving him
yours, by pushing the MOVE
button. The pieces will remain
as they are, meaning you will be
playing from the top of the
board. You can switch sides
back and forth as often as you
like.
3.4 Adjusting
the display contrast
T o compensate for differences
in lighting and battery strength,
press the CONTRAST key
repeatedly to adjust the display
contrast to one of sixteen settings.
3.5 Playing without the
physical pieces
You can play without the
three-dimensional pieces, viewing only the display. Press the
OPTION key until the display
shows “TOUCH.” Then press
the > key. “ON” will be displayed. Now when you play, the
display will show you King
Arthur’s move, signaling the TO
and FROM squares several
times to make it clear, but you
will not have to register his
move. In this mode, the large
playing board acts as a touch
screen so that you can input
your moves by pressing TO and
FROM squares with your finger.
3.6 Change your mind?
Take your move back!
If you’ve made a move and
then changed your mind, simply
press the TAKE BACK key. In
fact, by repeatedly pressing the
TAKE BACK key, you can take
back a whole series of moves.
For each move you wish to take
back, the display will show the
TO and FROM squares necessary to move the piece back to
its previous square. You must
follow the standard procedure
of pushing on each of these
squares (when a move was a
capture, King Arthur will then
signal the capture square, and
the LCD will display the proper
piece to restore) to get each
piece back in its previous position.
If you change your mind back
to the original move, you can
press the MOVE key to replay
the taken-back move or moves.
KING AR THUR
CHAPTER3:
SPECIALKEYS&FEATURES
To show all legal moves for a
selected piece, press the
OPTION button until HELP is
displayed. Press the MOVE >
key to turn on the option. The
display will show HELP. Exit
OPTION mode by pressing
ON/CLEAR.
3.11 Displaying threats
King Arthur will tell you w hen
there is a serious threat by displaying the “!” sign. (See also
Section 5.4.) When this happens, you can push the THREAT
key, and King Arthur will flash
the threatening move.
3.12 Peeking into King
Arthur’s brain on higher
levels
At levels 6 and above, you can
actually see what King Arthur is
“thinking.” Press OPTION until
“InFO” is displayed. Turn this
option on by pressing > or <.
Exit OPTION mode by pressing
ON/CLEAR.
When turned on, this option
will display the score, depth of
search (number of moves King
Arthur is “thinking ahead”), best
move he is considering, and
clock times. These will be displayed while the computer is
thinking at its higher levels.
3.13 Replaying
a variation
This feature is used best when
playing without the physical
pieces (See 3.5, above.) When
you want to take back a whole
series of moves, press AUTO
then TAKEBACK. King Arthur
will take back all moves in his
memory. If you change your
mind, you can replay the entire
string of moves by immediately
pressing MOVE. (When
“rPLAY” is no longer shown on
the display, the last move of the
variation has been reached.)
3.14 Practicing
blindfold chess
Very good players sometimes
amaze people by playing without looking at the pieces and
board. King Arthur gives you a
chance to test yourself at this
feat. To use this option, clear the
large playing board of pieces.
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3.7 Changing levels
of play
You can change levels by
pressing the LEVEL key to
increase the level one at a time.
Pressing the > key increases the
level by 10. Pressing the < key
decreases the level by 10. (See
chapter 7 for a full explanation
of levels.)
3.8 Display options
You have quite a choice of
information that King Arthur
will display for you. All of these
options are made available by
pressing the OPTION key until
they are displayed. Then press >
to turn these options on or off.
Press the CLEAR key to exit
OPTION.
Displaying total game
time used:
Your King Arthur normally
shows the time taken for each
move. With the “TotAL”
option,
you can instead choose to have
the total game time displayed.
Displaying
the position score:
Your display normally shows
the number of the current move.
If instead you want to display
the piece-score of your current
position to see quickly who’s
ahead in material, turn on the
“SCORE” option. The score
option totals the following values: Pawns—1, Knights—3,
Bishops—3, Rooks—5, and
Queen—9.
3.9 Forcing King Ar thur
to move immediately
To interrupt King Arthur
while he’s thinking and make
him move immediatel y, press the
MOVE key. King Arthur will
make the best move he’s found
so far. This feature can be very
useful on higher levels, when
King Arthur may take a while
thinking about his moves.
3.3 Getting Hints
If you don’t know w hich move
to make, or you simply want to
see what King Arthur w ould recommend, press HINT, and the
display will show you the move
King Arthur believes to be best.
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your mind, you can press AUTO
again, and you will see the display read “1PLAYr.”) Press
MOVE. King Arthur will play
himself. King Arthur will
become fully automatic, not
needing any move-registration
help from you. You can see his
moves on the display. You can
stop auto play by pressing the
MOVE key again. All other
options remain available to you.
3.17
Human versus human
You can play another human
using King Arthur’s board. He’ll
monitor the game for you, making sure all moves are legal, and
will provide hints and elapsed
time. Access these in the normal
ways.
To play a friend in this manner, simply press MULTIMOVE. Notice that the display
reads “2PLAYr.” This indicates
that two humans will be playing.
You and your friend can begin
play. (If you change your mind,
you can press MULTI-MOVE
again, and you will see the display read “1PLAYr.”)
3.18
Automatic shut-off
To save battery power, King
Arthur will turn himself off
when no key has been pressed
for a while. You can decrease or
increase the timing of this automatic shut-off or turn it off altogether. Press OPTION until
“SLEEP” is displayed. Then
press the > key to select a delay
from 1 (shortest) to 14 (longest).
Or select 0 to eliminate the automatic shut-off.
3.19 Flip option:
Playing Black from the
LCD Side of the Board
Pressing the OPTION key
repeatedly will display all selectable options. To play Black
from the LCD-side of the board,
press OPTION until "FLIP" is
displayed. Use this option to flip
the chessboard around.
Chess players who play in
official tournaments receive a
rating. Similarly, King Arthur
will rate your play.
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Press the BOARD key. The
pieces on the LCD chessboard
will disappear—you are now
“blindfolded”! Play chess by
picturing in your head where the
pieces are. Enter your moves as
usual, and register King Arthur’s
moves normally.
When your memory gets hazy,
you can push BOARD to confir m the position. You can then
play the game out normally or
press BOARD again to continue
playing “blindfold.” This exercise may help you learn to visualize better when you play
“without a blindfold.”
Note: Do not turn on the
TOUCH option (see 3.5 above)
while trying blindfold chess,
since you must see King
Arthur’s move coordinates on
the display.
3.15 Turning
off the sound
You may now select between
three styles of sound effects for
King Arthur, Do so by pressing
OPTION until “SOUND” is displayed. Select between “2” - All
sound on, “1” - No sound on, or
“0” - No sound except for error
buzzes. Turn this option off by
pressing >. Exit OPTION mode
by pressing ON/CLEAR.
Even when the sound option is
turned off, King Arthur will continue to announce that he has
found a move b y making his
nor-
mal sound. He will also
sound an
alarm when an illegal move is
made, and make the “in check”
warning sound.
3.16 King Arthur
versus King Arthur—
“automatic pilot”
You can choose to have King
Arthur play both sides of the
game. (This feature can be used
from the beginning of the game
or at any point in a game.) The
feature can also be used after
setting up a special position (see
Chapter 10).
To choose this feature, press
the AUTO key. You’ll notice that
the display reads “0PLAYr.”
This indicates that no humans
will be playing. (If you change
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4.1
Viewing your rating
Press the RATING key to view
your current rating. But understand that your rating won’t
change until you “submit”
games to the Round Table for
rating.
4.2
Submitting a game
for rating
Like any official tournament
game, to be eligible for rating,
your game must be played with
no HINTS or TAKE-BACKS.
When you finish such a game,
King Arthur will confirm that it
is eligible for rating by displaying a “0” symbol.
To enter a game for rating,
immediately after finishing it,
simply press the RATING key
and then press the appropriate
key: WIN, DRAW, or LOSS,
depending on your result in the
game. That’s all there is to it.
King Arthur will automatically
adjust your rating. However,
when you checkmate King
Arthur, he will display “LOSE.”
Before updating your rating, you
must press the NEW GAME key
and then the RATING key to
register your win. The “0” symbol will remain on, even when
NEW GAME is pressed.
Arthur weighs your first three
rated games the most heavily in
order to establish a rough estimate of your strength quickly.
Winning your first rated game
increases your rating by 300
points. Winning your second
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KING AR THUR
CHAPTER4:
GETTINGARATINGAT
THEROUNDTABLE
game sends your rating up 200
points. You get 100 points for
winning your third rated game.
After that, rating adjustments
are more modest.
On any given level, you cannot improve y our rating b y more
than 400 points. When you
notice that your rating does not
go up when you submit a game
that you’ve won, increase your
playing level by 10 when you
play rated games. King Arthur
is telling you that you’ve
improved and you need to move
up to a tougher level of play!
King Arthur will send you
helpful messages while you
play.
KING AR THUR
CHAPTER5:
SPECIAL MESSAGES
FROMCAMELOT
General-information
messages
5.1 Check
When you are in check, King
Arthur will alert you by displaying a “+” sign.
5.2 Ratable Game
When a game is ratable (see
Chapter 4), King Arthur will
display a “0.”
5.3 Two-pla y er mode
To remind you when you are
in two-player (human versus
human) mode (see 3.17, above),
“=” will be displayed.
5.4 Threat
King Arthur will tell you
when there is a serious threat by
displaying the “!” sign. (See
also Section 3.11.) When this
It’s useful to focus on four
chess moves—capturing, castling, promoting pawns, and en
passant—to make sure you
understand how to operate your
King Arthur when employing
these moves.
6.1 Capturing
To win at chess, you’ve got to
know how to take your opponent’s men! Capturing men
while
playing your King Arthur is really the same process as moving,
except, of course, the captured
piece has to be removed. To
capture one of King Arthur’s
pieces, simply lift your piece off
its FROM square, pressing the
square to properly register the
move. Then lift the piece being
captured off the TO square, and
set your piece down on the TO
square, pressing the square. Set
the captured piece aside, off the
board.
When King Arthur displays
his move and there is one of
your pieces on his TO square, he
knows he’s capturing that piece.
Follow the normal procedure:
Lift his piece off the FROM
square, pressing the square. Lift
your piece from King Arthur’s
TO square, and then set King
Arthur’s piece down on its TO
square, pressing the square. Set
the captured piece off the board.
6.2 Castling
Castling is a special and
important move in chess. It
whisks the king away to safety
while getting the rook into the
game. Castling while playing
King Arthur is just like moving
any other piece, except that in
castling, you move two pieces,
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happens, you can push the
THREAT key, and King Ar thur
will flash the threatening move.
Draw Messages
5.5 Draw
When King Arthur recognizes
that a three-fold repetition of the
position has occurred, he will
display “DRAW.” Additionally,
when King Arthur recognizes
that 50 moves have been played
without exchanges or pawn
moves, he will display “DRAW.”
In either case, you can accept the
draw or ignore it by continuing
to play.
5.6 Stalemate
When either opponent has
been stalemated, “STALE” will
be displayed. (Stalemate occurs
when one of the players has no
legal moves but is not in check.
Stalemate is one of the ways a
game can be drawn.)
Game-ending Messages
5.7 Forced checkmates
King Arthur will announce
when he can force a mate-in-two
(“MAtE2”) or a mate-in-three
(“MAtE3”). He will display
“MatE,” along with “+” when
executing a checkmate.
5.8 Other checkmates
When you checkmate King
Arthur, he will display “LOSE.”
When you want to claim a win,
draw, or want to resign—press
the NEW GAME key.
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KING AR THUR
CHAPTER6:
SOMESPECIALCHESSMOVES
remove the captured pawn. You
must press down on the captured
pawn before removing it from
the board.
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and you have to move the king
first.
Whether you’re castling kingside or queenside, first move
and press your king down on its
FROM square (if castling kingside, E1). Then move and press
your king down on its TO square
(if castling kingside, G1). King
Arthur automatically recognizes
castling maneuvers after the
king is moved two squares. He
then reminds you, by displaying
the proper FROM square, to
complete castling by moving the
rook. Move the rook in the routine manner, pushing on its TO
and FROM squares normally.
Remember, you must always
move the King first when
castling!
6.3 Promoting Pawns
When a pawn reaches the
other end of the board, official
chess rules say that you can promote it to a more valuable piece.
To promote a pawn, make your
pawn mo v e to the last rank in the
normal manner. King Arthur
will automatically promote the
pawn to a queen, since this is the
best choice in nearly every case.
In the unlikely ev ent y ou want to
promote your pawn to a piece
other than a queen, use King
Arthur’s SET UP feature. (See
Chapter 9.)
King Arthur immediately recognizes your new piece, and
begins thinking about the position in order to move. When the
computer pushes a pawn to your
back row or rank, it will always
promote to a queen. Remember
to change the piece on the board
after either side promotes a
pawn. When promoting a pawn
to a queen and the original
queen is still on the board, chess
players frequently mark the new
queen with an upside-down
rook.
6.4 En Passant —taking
a pawn in passing
For an en passant capture,
press the FROM and TO squares
of the capturing pawn. The
square of the pawn being captured will then appear on the display. This is to remind you to
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KING AR THUR
CHAPTER 7:
TOO HARD? TOO EASY?
ALL ABOUT LEVELS
You already know, from
Chapter 3, section 3.7, how to
select the level King Arthur is
playing at. With his 73 levels of
play, King Arthur can adjust
himself to play you a competitive game, no matter what your
level of skill! It’s more fun and
more educational to select a
level that gives both you and
King Arthur a reasonable
chance of winning. Try to find a
level at which you win about
half the time. As you get better,
simply adjust King Arthur’s
playing level so he can
“improve” as you do!
7.1 Beginner levels
The first four levels (1, 2, 3
and 4) are beginner levels and
take approximately 4, 8, 12 and
16 seconds per move, respectively.
7.2 Fixed ply levels
Level 5 is a fixed 1-ply (onehalf move) search.
7.3 Timed levels
Levels 6 through 15 take
about 1 second per level number, so level 10 will average
about 10 seconds per move.
Levels 16 through 72 take about
2 seconds per level numbers.
The amount of time taken will
vary depending on the position,
8.1
Piece T r aining P ositions
You can practice in eight different training positions. There
are five special mini-games and
three mating-practice positions.
The mini-games
The most famous and successful chess teachers in the world
take their beginning students
from the simple to the complex
by having them play “minigames” of chess that concentrate
on just one or more types of
pieces. Even advanced players
practice these basics, just as a
concert pianist continues to
practice the scales so that they
remain second nature. Like any
great trainer, your King Arthur
will play you these special practice games.
Press MODE until “TrAIn” is
displayed. Then press >. Look at
the LCD to see which of the
mini-games are displayed. You’ll
see that the mini-games always
include the king and pawns for
both sides. In fact, one minigame contains just this material.
The other four mini-games use
kings and pawns, but add a different single piece to the exercise—knight, bishop, rook, and
then queen.
25
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the stage of the game, and
whether or not the FAST level
option is on.
7.4 Infinite search
Level 73 is an infinite level.
King Arthur will take as long to
move as you want him to, or
until he finds a mate position in
his search. Level 73 is perfect
for problem solving (see
Chapter 10). You can also play
against it. When you are tired of
waiting for King Arthur to
move, 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.
7.5 Fast level option
Press LEVEL, then OPTION.
The display will indicate
options.
First the display will show the
“FAST” option. “FAST” uses a
more selective search for think-
ing. In this mode, King Arthur
will search faster and look more
deeply into the position. Press >
or < to turn FAST on or off.
Press CLEAR to exit options
mode.
7.6 Random level option
Press the OPTION key until
the display shows “RAND,”
which stands for “random.”
“RAND” allows King Arthur to
choose between good moves
randomly so that you get to
practice and play against different responses. Press > or < to
turn “RAND” on or off. Press
the CLEAR key to exit options
mode.
King Arthur offers four major
teaching and training programs
that provide you unique and
enjoyable ways to get to be a
very strong chess player. You
can access all of them by pressing the MODE key and selecting
the training feature you want by
using the > key.
24
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KING AR THUR
CHAPTER 8:
TEACHINGAND
TRAININGFEATURES
lem you’d like to solve.
Problems 1-31 are mate-in-two
problems, which means White
can force mate in two moves.
There may or may not be other
ways to win, but you’re looking
for the two mo v es that will result
in checkmate. Most of the time,
the first of these moves is the
hardest to find. Problem 32 is a
mate-in-three.
If you can’t find the solution,
make King Arthur show you the
correct moves to a problem by
setting his level to 73, and then
pressing the MOVE key.
8.3 Opening book trainer: learning book openings the easy way, with
King Arthur’ s help
One of the most stunning
innov ations of King Arthur is his
special ability to teach you
“book openings.” Book openings are the beginning patterns
of moves that have been worked
out by chess masters over the
centuries as the best ways to
begin a game. Previously, players had to spend tedious hours
searching out lines of play from
hard-to-follow columns in
books.
This practice required a confusing process of looking back and
ENGLISH
Start with the basic king-and-
pawns mini-game. Press > until
your display looks like the diagram below.
Make your first move. Your
object, as in regular chess, is to
checkmate the king. Normally,
this means both sides will try to
force a pawn through to the
other side of the board safely to
promote it to a queen. You’ll
learn lots of principles, tricks,
and traps in this training mode
that will win you many fullfledged chess games!
The mating-practice
positions
To win at chess, you have to
know how to checkmate! Just
knowing that you have enough
material to mate doesn’t earn
you the point. King Arthur’s
mating-practice exercises will
make sure you know the techniques.
After pressing MODE until
“TrAIn” appears, again press >
until you come to positions
without pawns and with the
Black king in the middle of the
board. These are the mate-training positions. The three dif ferent
mate-training positions give
White, besides his king, either
two bishops, two rooks, or the
queen. These are excellent exercises, used by the greatest chess
teachers in the world. In all three
positions you can force mate in a
number of ways. Work on these
mate-training exercises until y ou
can mate Black efficiently.
8.2
Mate-problem training
You can further hone your
checkmating skills and have fun
at the same time by solving the
32 separate problems available
on King Arthur. At the start of a
game, press MODE until
“MATE”
is displayed. Then
press > or < to select the prob-
26
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wdwdkdwd
0p0p0p0p
wdwdwdwd
dwdwdwdw
wdwdwdwd
dwdwdwdw
P)P)P)P)
dwdwIwdw
All of these training modes can be made
even more effective by combining them with other
teaching features of King Arthur:
Ask for a HINT any time it’s your move.
Get King Arthur’s position score.
(See section 3.8.)
Switch sides when you want to practice from
the Black side.
27
7. Four Knights
8. Petroff Defense
9. Vienna Game
10. Sicilian, Classical Defense
11. Sicilian,Accelerated Dragon
12. Sicilian, Rossolimo Attack
13. Sicilian, Dragon V ariation
14. Sicilian, Scheveningen
Variation
15. Sicilian, Najdorf Variation
16. Sicilian, Moscow V ariation
17. Caro-Kann Defense
18. Panov-Botvinnik Attack
19. French Defense,Winawer
Variation
20. French Defense,
Classical Defense
21. French Defense,
McCutcheon V ariation
22. French Defense,
T arrasch 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 Variation
29. Nimzo-Indian
Defense, Classical Variation
30. Queen’s Indian Defense
31. Queen’s Indian
Defense, Petrosian Variation
32. Bogo-Indian Defense
33. Gruenfeld Defense
34. King’s Indian Defense
These openings and the explanations of each move, along
with example games by chess
masters, are given in many
books on chess available at
bookstores and libraries.
8.4 MULTI-MOVE:
setting up your own
opening positions
King Arthur also allo ws y ou to
set up any book opening you
want—or even an opening you
invent—to practice. Press
MULTI-MOVE. Your display
will read “PLAYr.” Make sure
the number of players is set to 2.
Then make moves for both sides
until the opening position you
want to practice is reached. Then
press MULTI-MOVE again to
set the number of players to 1.
Press CLEAR and play against
the computer in this position.
8.5
Great Games
One of the many extra features
offered by King Arthur that is
both great chess training and a
lot of fun is the Great Games.
Over the centuries there have
been many chess masterpieces
that players have recorded, studied, and passed down to following generations. Top chess play-
29
ENGLISH
forth between a book and a
chessboard. But with your King
Arthur’s special training feature,
you’ll find yourself learning the
openings extremely quickl y, saving yourself many hours—and
having fun while you learn! Use
this training mode as often as
you wish—keep improving your
knowledge of opening play!
At the beginning of a game,
you may choose to learn one of
34 popular book openings. Press
MODE until “OP En” is displayed. Then press > until the
number of the opening (see list
below) you want to learn or
review is displayed in the upper
left of the display. (You can use
< to “loop” backward in the list.
For example, if you want to
select opening 30, it’s faster to
use the < key.)
Now play a move. If your
move is not correct, an error
buzz will sound and the move
will NOT be made. You can take
another guess, or learn the correct move by pressing HINT.
When the computer comes back
with its move, you will briefly
see the word “OP En” on the
screen if you have another
opening move to make. If “OP
En” does not
appear, you may
continue normal play or go on to
another opening. You have completed the training for that opening line.
Below are the numbers and
names of openings that you can
study with King Arthur’s Book
Opening Trainer.
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
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After the first move of any opening,
whenever it’s your move, you can switch sides
with King Arthur by pressing MOVE.
In this way, you can practice both sides of these
important, standard chess openings.
28
tions, and dates of the great
games are given below, along
with a brief explanation of each
game by popular chess writer Al
Lawrence. (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 play ed a w eak 3. …
Bg5 that left Morphy with superior develop-
ment (more of his pieces are deployed) and
the bishop pair (two bishops against a bish-
op 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. 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.
31
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ers know many such games by
heart.
King Arthur giv es you 16 such
games to enjoy and study.
What’s more, you play the winning side in these masterpieces
and try to f ind the same ingenious moves the great masters
did! Don’t worry; King Arthur
will help you whenever you
want. Just push the HINT key to
find the next move. (Don’t feel
bad about pushing the HINT key
often—after all, these are among
the world’s most brilliant
games!)
To access this feature, at the
beginning of a game, press
MODE until “GA ME” is displayed. Then press > until the
number of the great game (see
list below) you want to see is
displayed in the upper left of the
display. (You can use < to “loop”
backward in the list. For example, if you want to select Great
Game 15, it’s faster to use the <
key.)
Along with the game number,
you will see the position of the
game after the first two moves
were played. King Arthur will
automatically give you the winning side. Make the best move
you find!
King Arthur will give you
points for each correct move that
you make. The display will sho w
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, the incorrect move
will NOT be played, 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.
These famous games by some
of the most brilliant chess masters of all time can be found,
along with full explanations of
the reasoning behind the brilliant moves, in many books on
chess.
The numbers, players, loca-
30
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"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 b y
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 devel-
opment 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 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
33
ENGLISH
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, w as 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 b y a de v astating 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 allimportant 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
32
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9.3 Adding a piece or
changing the type of a
piece
To add or change a piece,
press SETUP, then press the key
that indicates the type of piece
you want to place on the board.
Then press the square on the
sensory board until the piece
appears as the correct color on
your display board. Press
CLEAR to continue the game.
9.4 Setting up special
positions & problems
Using the three techniques
above, you can easily relocate a
piece by chossing its square,
making it blank, and then choosing another square and setting
up the piece once again.
This is another terrif ic 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 King
Arthur to look at, perhaps using
his Infinite Search level (see
Chapter 7).
Normally, it is easier to start
from an empty board to set up
such problems. So first, press
OPTION until “CLr Br” (clear
board) is displayed. Then press
the SETUP key. You’ll see that
your display board is automatically cleared. The word “nOnE”
will appear.
You’re ready to set up the
kings in the new position.
(Notice that the SETUP key is
also the king key.) Press the sensory board square on which one
of the kings should stand. Push
the square until the king is the
proper color on your display.
Then press the square on which
the other king should stand;
ENGLISH
queen. If 26. … Qxh6, then White plays 27.
Qxh6+ and will mate on h7.
At any time during a game
when it is your move, you may
change the position on the board
by adding a piece or pieces,
removing one or more pieces, or
even changing any of the
pieces—for example, from a
knight to a queen. Obviously,
this feature lets you strengthen
your side of the game or the
computer’s, resurrect lost
pieces,
or even mo v e your king out of an
imminent checkmate threat.
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KING AR THUR
CHAPTER 9:
SETTINGUPSPECIAL
POSITIONS
Using the SETUP key, you
can also set up a problem you
want King Arthur to solve or a
position you want to practice
with King Arthur. Your LCD
board display makes it easy to
see the position and verify it as
you’re setting it up. The whole
process takes only a minute.
9.1 Removing a piece
Press the SETUP key. Then,
on the large, sensory board,
press the square the piece is on
until the square on your display
is empty. Press CLEAR to con-
tinue the game.
9.2 Changing
the color of a piece
Press the SETUP key. Press
the key that shows the same
type of piece as the one that you
want to change the color of.
(The piece keys are located to
the left of the display.) On the
sensory board, then press the
square of the piece until it
appears the right color on your
display. Press CLEAR to continue.
Using the above three techniques, you can
easily relocate a piece by choosing its square,
making it blank, and then choosing another
square and setting up the piece once again.
35
34
10.1 The ACL button
King Arthur may occasionally
“freeze up” or refuse to function
properly because of static electric discharge. If this happens,
press the ALL CLEAR (ACL)
button.
To do this, turn King Arthur
upside-down so the battery compartment is on the upper right.
The ALL CLEAR button is
recessed. You'll see a "dimple"
toward the bottom right. It has a
small hole in it. Gently push a
ballpoint pen or a straightened
paper clip into the hole and then
release. You'll again hear King
Arthur's ready tones.
SPECIAL NOTE: After you push
the ACL button, King Arthur will have
forg otten an y g ame positions that may
have been in his memory.
10.2 Special Care
Avoid rough handling such as
bumping or dropping.
Avoid moisture and extreme tem-
peratures. Store away from windows and other direct sources of
heat and cold, such as heating, air
vents or direct sunlight. For best
results, use between the temperatures of 39º and 100º Fahrenheit
(4º and 38º Celsius).
Clean using only a slightly damp
cloth. Do not use cleaners with
chemical agents.
37
ENGLISH
press it until the king is the correct color. (You won’t be permitted to leave the SETUP mode
until both the White and Black
king are placed.)
Next, pick out another piece in
the problem or position you
want to set up, and press the
appropriate piece key to the left
of the display. Then press the
square on the sensory board
where this piece should stand.
Press the square until the piece
appears in the right color on
your display.
Follow this procedure until all
the pieces in the problem or
position are completely set up.
Make sure that King Arthur
knows which color is to move—
press CONTRAST (
/) to
change the side to move. Finally,
press CLEAR to play or to have
King Arthur analyze the position.
ENGLISH
Nearly all operational problems are caused by incor-
rectly registering moves! King Arthur can’t see your
moves,he has to “feel” them.Remember—always follo w the
simple two-step
procedure:
1. Push the FROM square; listen for
the confirming, high-pitched beep.
2. Push the TO square; listen for
the confirming, high-pitched beep.
If a low-pitched beep sounds,look carefully at the LCD and
follow the directions displayed to replace the illegally moved
piece. Then make a legal move.
36
KING AR THUR
CHAPTER 10:
IMPORTANT TECHNICAL
DETAILS
ENGLISH
10.3 Battery Information
CAUTION: BATTERIES
SHOULD BE REMOVED
AND REPLACED BY
ADULTS ONLY.
King Arthur uses 3 AA bat-
teries, not included.
Do not mix old and new
batteries.
Do not mix alkaline, stan-
dard (carbon-zinc) or
rechargeable (nickel-cadmium) batteries.
Do not use rechargeable
batteries.
To avoid explosion or leak-
age, do not dispose of batteries in a fire or attempt to
recharge standard or alkaline batteries.
Be sure to insert batteries
with the correct polarities
and always follow the toy
and battery manufacturers’
instructions.
Remove batteries and store
them in a cool, dry place
when not in use.
Always remove old and
dead batteries from the
product.
The supply terminals are
not to be short-circuited.
10.4 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 on
the back page of this operating manual.
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.
(Warranty information is continued
on following page.)
38
ENGLISH
Any applicable implied warranties,
including warranties of merchantability
and fitness, are hereby limited to 90
DAYS 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: 305.477.8080
Fax:305.477.9516
www.ExcaliburElectronics.com
Ship the unit carefully packed, preferably in the original carton, and send it
prepaid, and adequatel y 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!
LIMITED
ONE-Y
EAR WARRANTY
We make
you think.
39
Excalibur Electronics, Inc.
13755 SW 119th Avenue,
Miami, Florida 33186 U.S.A.
Phone: 305.477.8080
Fax: 305.477.9516
Play games live at:
www.ExcaliburElectronics.com
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