ExcaliburElectronics

OPERATING MANUAL

Model 901E-4

Co n gratulations on your purchase of yo u rExcalibur Electronic Chess computer! You’veacquired both your own personal chess trainer

and a partner who’s always ready for a game—andwho can improve as you do!

The legendary King A rt h u r

b randished a magic swo rd ,

E x c a l i bu r, f rom which we take

our company name. With this

unique weapon in his hands,he could

not be vanquished.

Although Excalibur Electro n i c s

c a n ’t claim the magical secre t s

of Merl i n , King A rt h u r ’s court

w i z a rd , sometimes our patented

t e c h n o l ogy may make it seem as

if we could. E l e c t ronic Chess is

another unmatched innova t i o n

of Excalibur Electro n i c s .

We make you think.

Excalibur Electronic Chess TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: Installing Batteries . . . . . . . . page 4

CHAPTER 2: Play Right Away. . . . . . . . . .page 42.1 Getting Started2.2 How to Register Your Move2.3 Notes on Special Moves

CHAPTER 3: Key Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page53.1 OFF/SAVE Key

3.2 ON/CLEAR Key

3.3 NEW GAME Key

3.4 TAKEBACK Key

3.5 SET UP Key

3.6 VERIFY Key

3.7 MULTI-MOVE Key

3.8 HINT Key

3.9 LEVEL Key

3.10 MOVE Key

3.11 SOUND Key

3.12 MODE Key

3.13 BLACK/WHITE Key

CHAPTER 4: Setting Up Special Positions . . . . . . . page7

CHAPTER 5: Special Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 8

CHAPTER 6: Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page8

CHAPTER 7: Rules & Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page9

CHAPTER 8: Special Care & Batteries. . . . . . . . . page11

CHAPTER 9: Limited One-Year Warranty. . . . . page11

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CHAPTER I: Installing BatteriesTo insert new batteries, carefully turnyour Electronic Chess so that the displayside is face-down. Remove the battery-compartment panel on the left by losen-ing the screw and using your thumbnail topull up gently on the raised latch. Installthree fresh AAA batteries, making sure tofollow the diagram in each battery slot sothat the polarity (+ or -) of the batteries iscorrect. Replace the battery compartmentpanel by fitting the two tabs into theirreceptacles and pushing down on thepanel lightly. Re-tighten the screw, but besure not to over-tighten it.

CHAPTER 2: Play Right Away2.1 Getting StartedAfter you have installed the batteries, theLCD will show PLAY. (If it doesn’t, pressthe ACL button on the back of the unit.)This indicates you are at the first move ofthe game. Set up the magnetic chesspieces, found in the piece-storage com-partment located next to the battery com-partment, according to the chess rulesfound in Chapter 7..

Excalibur Electronic’s Sabre gives youthe white pieces—the ones at the bottomof the board. White always moves first.(You’ll see a white square at the bottomof the LCD indicating it is White’s turn tomove.)

Your Electronic Chess is equipped with asensory board. The way you select andmake your move is very simple. Think ofcommunicating your move as a two-stepprocess—registering the from square and

then registering the to square of the moveyou wish to make.

2.2 How to Register Your MoveTo make a move, press down lightly onthe from square with the bottom edge ofthe piece or pawn you wish to move. Youwill hear a beep, and the coordinate ofthat square will appear in the LCD. (Youmight see, for example, E2...) Next pressdown on the to square, the square youwish to move the piece or pawn to. You’llhear another beep letting you know yourmove has been registered.

If you hear an error buzz, you have madean illegal move, and the illegal move willappear on the screen. To take back thatillegal move and make a different move,simply press first on the to square andthen on the from square again to cancelthe illegal move.

After yo u ’ve successfully made yo u rmove, Electronic Chess will reply with itsmove shown automatically on the LCD,for example E7E5. (You’ll also notice ablack square appearing on the LCD, indi-cating that it is now Black’s move.) Nextmake the computer’s move accordingly,pressing down with the bottom edge of

the pawn or piece on the designated fromsquare and then on the to square. Thechess computer will beep, and the whitesquare will appear again in the LCD toindicate it is White’s turn again to move.

2.3 Note on special movesThe castling maneuver does require therook move also to be registered by press-ing on the rook move squares. Also, enpassant capturing requires the capturedpawn square to be pressed. (Refer toRules and Tips for more information onthese special moves.)

CHAPTER 3: Key FunctionsYour Excalibur Electronic Chess partnerhas many valuable special features thatcan help you learn to play better and bet-ter chess—and to have a lot of fun!

3.1 OFF/SAVE KeyThis key turns the unit off, automaticallysaving a game in progress. (Press this keywhen it is your move.) Use the ON key toresume the game.

3.2 ON/CLEAR KeyUse this key to turn on Electronic Chess.Also press it to clear an incorrect “fromsquare” entry or to exit from other modessuch as VERIFY or LEVEL. (See below.)

3.3 NEW GAME KeyPress this key either to begin a new gameor to clear the computer’s memory.

3.4 TAKEBACK KeyThis key lets you take back a moveyo u ’ve decided against. (Press TA K E -BACK only when it is your turn.) To takeback your move, first press TAKEBACKand then press on the squares of the com-puter’s reply move, in reverse order, asindicated on the LCD. Next push TAKE -

BACK a second time and press on thesquares, again in reverse order, for themove you made which you wish to take-back, as shown on the LCD. (Rememberto replace any captured piece you mighthave removed. Taking back a capturemove requires that you press on the cap-tured piece square with the capturedpiece.) The computer is now ready foryour next move.

3.5 SET UP KeyUse this key if you’d like to change thecolor of a piece, remove or add a piece, ormove a piece to another square. PressSET UP and the display will first showthe position of the white king. (If you’dlike to see the position of a differentpiece, press SET UP and then press thered key which has the correct piece sym-bol located above it, that is, the PIECEkey. If there are no pieces of the selectedtype, the display will show nOnE.) Youcan next press the piece’s square tochange the piece’s color, and press thesame square again to remove the piece.You may also press on any legal square toplace the piece elsewhere on the board.The above steps may be repeated asdesired. Press CLEAR to exit this modeat anytime. (Note: You cannot exit Set Upmode unless there is at least one whiteKing and one black king on the board.)

Keep this procedure and sequence inmind,and the SET UP procedure will beeasy to use: After you press SET UP andthe piece-symbol key you select, by push-ing the square the piece stands on, youcan change its color or remove it. If thepiece is White, one push changes it toBlack, a second push removes it. If thepiece is Black, one push removes it, a

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When not in use, your chess pieces can be safely and neatlystored in the compartment provided on the back of

Electronic Chess at the right.

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second push reinstates it as White.

See also Section 4, “Setting Up SpecialPositions.”

3.6 VERIFY KeyPress this key if you need to verify theposition of a piece or pieces on the board.When it is your move, press VERIFY tocheck the position of the white queen.Press it a second time to check the posi-tion of Black’s queen. To verify the posi-tions of other pieces on the board, simplypress VERIFY and the red key labeledwith the desired piece symbol above it. Ifthere are no pieces of the selected type onthe board, the display will show nOnE.Toexit this mode, press CLEAR.

3.7 MULTI-MOVE KeyIf you want to have the computer monitort wo human players, press M U LT I -MOVE. A zero (0) will appear in the dis-play, and a beep will signal if an illegalmove is made. You may now enter movesfor both sides (rather than allowing thecomputer to play.) When you wish toresume normal play again with onehuman playing against the computer, sim-ply press MULTI-MOVE again.

3.8 HINT KeyPress this key if you want to get hintsfrom your Electronic Chess chess partner.A recommended move will appear on thescreen. You may accept and make themove, or press CLEAR to enter a differ-ent move.

Press HINT a second time to view thecomputer’s evaluation of your position.

3.9 LEVEL KeyUse this key to set the level of play. Thehigher the level you select, the better yourExcalibur Electronic Chess computer willplay, and the longer it will think during itsmoves. The first four levels (1, 2, 3 and 4)are beginner levels and take approximate-ly 4, 8, 12 and 16 seconds per move,respectively. Level 5 is a fixed 1-ply (one-half move) search. Levels 6 through 15take about 1 second per level number, solevel 10 will average about 10 secondsper move. Levels 16 through 72 takeabout 2 seconds per level number.

Press LEVEL once to display the currentlevel. (The default level is set to Level 6,which allows six seconds for an averageresponse.) Press L E V E L a gain toincrease the level by one. You can pressthe MODE key to increase the level byten. (The levels start over again afterLevel 73 with Level 1 if you want tochoose an easier level.) Press CLEAR toexit this mode.

Level 73 is an infinite level. ElectronicChess will take as long to move as youwant it to, or until either it finds a mateposition in its search or its search memo-ry is exhausted. Level 73 is good forproblem solving, or it can be used to playagainst. When you are tired of waiting forthe computer to move, press the MOVE

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key while the computer is thinking. Thecomputer will stop thinking and play thebest move it’s found so far.

3.10 MOVE KeyYou may press this key when it isElectronic Chess’turn to move and there-by force the computer to move right away.If it is your turn to move, you may pressMOVE to switch sides with the computer.(The computer will then make the nextmove as White.) And if you’d like to playthe black pieces from the bottom of theboard, first press NEW GAME and thenMOVE.

3.11 SOUND KeyYour chess computer is available for agame day or night, so you may wish attimes to turn the sound off. Simply pressthe SOUND key to turn off the beepingsound, or push it again to resume.

3.12 MODE KeyElectronic Chess offers a teaching modeto help you learn the rules of movementfor each piece. To enter the teachingmode, press N E W G A M E and thenMODE. (You will see SPCL in the dis-play window.) Then select from one of thefollowing modes:

Mode 1: King and pawnsPress the PAWN symbol key

Mode 2: Kings, knights and pawnsPress the KNIGHT symbol key

Mode 3: Kings, bishops and pawnsPress the BISHOP symbol key

Mode 4: Kings, rooks and pawnsPress the ROOK symbol key

Mode 5: Kings, queens and pawnsPress the QUEEN symbol key

Be sure to remove the pieces not in usefrom your board. Then make the firstmove. Your object is, of course, to check-mate the opposing king.

3.13 BLACK/WHITE KeyTo begin a game with White on the bot-tom and the computer making the firstmove, press BLACK/WHITE.

This key is also used to tell the computerwhose move it is during problem solving.(See below.)

CHAPTER 4: Setting Up SpecialPositionsThis is a terrific feature that allows you tosolve problems that you see in magazinesor newspapers, or that you make up your-self. It also allows you to enter gamepositions you want to play, or that youwant Electronic Chess to look at, perhapsusing the Infinite Search level.

Normally it is easier to start from anempty board to set up such problems. Sofirst, clear the board by pressing NEWGAME, SET UP and MODE. Place thedesired pieces on the board by pressingthe PIECE SYMBOL key and the squareto be occupied--press once for White,twice for Black.

After setting up the pieces, tell the com-puter whose move it is by pressing the

If no button is pushed for 10 minutes, your Electronic Chess will switch off to save your batteries.

Don’t worry, it will save your game in memory.Just push the ON button to continue.

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B L AC K / W H I T E key. The word S I D Ewill appear on the display. Press the keyrepeatedly until the black or white indica-tor box in your display is the color youwish to have move first. Next, pressON/CLEAR, followed by LEVEL. Setthe computer to LEVEL 73, the problem-solving level, and press ON/CLEAR again.

NOTE: We recommend using the VERI -FY function after setting up a problem-solving position to check that the posi -tions of all the pieces.

CHAPTER 5: Special FeaturesPosition ScoreDuring a game, you may press the HINTkey twice to get your computer’s evalua-tion of the position. The scoring totals thefollowing values: Pawns—1, Knights—3,Bishops—3, Rooks—5, and Queen—9.

Smiling Faces & Frowing FacesW h e n ever Electronic Chess eva l u a t e syour position as 2 points or more ahead, itwill show a smiling face when it displaysits move. W h e n ever it evaluates yo u rposition as 2 points or more behind, itwill show a frowning face when it dis-plays its move.

Opening Book LibraryTo speed play in the beginning of thegame and make its moves accurate,Electronic Chess has an opening-movelibrary of 250 moves. When the comput-

er uses one of these moves, its displaywill read OPEn.

CHAPTER 6: TroubleshootingThe display is blank.Check the batteries to see that they areinstalled correctly and that they are nottoo weak. Otherwise, insert a safety pin(or another sharp, thin object such as apen) into the ACL hole (reset) located onthe lower back of the computer.

Computer gives an improper response.Use the VERIFY function to checkwhether a mistake was made in movingthe pieces. Check also that the to squarehas been properly pressed for your move.Finally, check that the move you wish tomake is legal. Check that en passantm ov e s were performed corr e c t ly, forexample, and remember you cannot moveand remain in check. You also may notcastle through check.

LCD messages are dim or faded, yourcomputer functions undependably ordisplays impossible moves.Install new batteries immediately. SeeSection 1 above.

Computers can sometimes “lock up”due to static discharge or other elec-

trical disturbances. If this shouldhappen,use a slim, pointed object topress the button marked “ACL” on

the bottom of the unit.

For best results, always use alkaline batteries. Be sure to check theirexpiration date because fresh batteries will ensure uninterrupted usageand enjoyment of the product. Remove the batteries if the product will

not be used for an extended period. If the product does not perform as expected, check for proper battery charge and correct battery

installation, or try a fresh set of batteries.

CHAPTER 7: Rules & TipsObject of game: Checkmate

Setting up to play: White moves firstand so begins with a small advantage.The board ispositioned sothat each playerhas a white cor-ner square on hisfar right (“lighton right”). T h erooks are placedon the two cor-ner squares to theleft and right. The two knights are placedon the squares next to the rooks. Next tothese are placed the two bishops and, inthe center, the queen and king. The Whitequeen is always positioned on a lightsquare and the Black queen on a darksquare (“queen on her own color”). Theeight pawns are placed on the squares inthe second row in front of these chesspieces.

Moving the pieces: All legal moves foreach selected piece will be shown at onetime. With the help of Electronic Chess,you will quickly learn the movements ofall the pieces “by doing.”

The pawns can move only forward. Forthe first advance from its initial square onthe second rank, a pawn has the option ofmoving one or two squares, but after thatit can move only one square at a time. Therook can move any number of squares,but only on the ranks and files. The bish-op moves only on the diagonals. Thequeen can move in any direction overunoccupied squares, thus being able tomove on any open line. Except for the

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knight, none ofthe pieces canjump over menof either coloror change direc-tion during am ove. T h eknight move isin the shape ofan “L,” movingtwo squares up or down, and then onesquare over. Or it can be one square up ordown, and then two over. The king movesin any direction. But it can’t move intocheck (attack by an enemy man).

Special MovesCapturing a piece:Apart from the pawn,all pieces capture in the normal directionof movement as described above. Thepawns, however, which normally moveonly in a straight line, may capture onlydiagonally to the left or right in front ofits square. A player doesn’t have to cap-ture an opponent’s man.

Castling: This is an important move thatwhisks your king into safety and getsyour rook into action. The move is exe-cuted by movingthe king twosquares towa r d sthe rook and thenplacing the rookon the squarepassed over bythe king. A play-er can castle onlyonce in a game.Castling is legal if neither the king nor theinvolved rook has yet moved, if all thesquares between the king and rook arevacant, if no enemy piece controls thesquares through which the king has to

rhb1kgn40p0p0p0pwdwdwdwddwdwdwdwwdwdwdwddwdwdwdwP)P)P)P)$NGQIBHR

The starting position

wdwdwdwddwdwdwdwwd*d*dwdd*dwd*dwwdwHwdwdd*dwd*dwwd*d*dwddwdwdwdw

This knight can move to any square marked by a *.

wdk4wdwddwdwdwdwwdwdwdwddwdwdwdwwdwdwdwddwdwdwdwwdwdwdwddwdwdRIw

After castling: kingside(White) & queenside (Black)

Excalibur Electronics reserves the right tomake technical changes without notice in theinterest of progress.

attacker.

End of game: If a player’s king is incheck and can’t escape or block thecheck, the king is checkmated and thegame ends in favor of the opponent,regardless of the number of men remain-ing on each side. At any time, a player canvoluntarily resign—his opponent wins. Agame is a draw (tie) when the players nolonger have material required for check-mating, or one side is unable to escape aseries of checks (not checkmate), or whenone side is in stalemate—stalemate existswhen one side has no legal moves but isnot in check. A game can also be drawnby mutual agreement between the players.

Some Tips on Chess1. Move only one or two center pawns inthe opening. Then develop your knightsand bishops so that they control the cen-ter.

2. Chessmen that aren’t pawns are called“pieces.” Get your pieces (off the back-rank and into the game before beginningan attack!

2. Castle your king into safety and rookinto play as soon as possible.

3. View each of your opponent’s moves asa potential threat—look carefully to see ifhis move attacks one of your men.

4. Exchange less valuable men for morevaluable men. The chessmen who can becaptured are valued as follows: pawn (1),knight and bishop (3), rook (5), queen(9).

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move, and if the king is not in check.

Capturing en passant: This is a specialpawn capture that doesn’t happen oftenbut comes in handy to know! This movehas a good purpose—to keep the gamefrom beingbl o c ked byi n t e r l o c k i n gp a w n s .Capturing e npassant (Frenchfor “in passing”)is possible onlywhen one side’sp awn hasadvanced to thefifth rank, and aneighboring enemy pawn then advancestwo squares at once from its originalsquare. Then on the very next move, theplayer whose pawn is on the fifth rankcan capture the opposing pawn as if it hadadvanced only one square. If the playerdoes not capture in this way on his verynext move, he loses the option.

Promotion: A Pawn can be promoted if itadvances all the way to the far side of theboard. It is immediately promoted, as partof the same move, into a queen, rook,bishop, or knight, whichever its ownerchooses. Since a queen is the most pow-erful piece, it is nearly always chosen asthe promotion piece. Through the promo-tion process, there may be more than onequeen on the board at the same time.

Check: If the king is attacked (in check),the player is then obliged to protect hisking either by moving it to anothersquare, moving one of his own piecesbetween the king and the threateningpiece (blocking), or by capturing the

wdwdwdwddwdpdwdwwd*dwdwddw0PdwdwwdwdwdwddwdwdwdwwdwdwdwddwdwdwdwEn passant: Black just movedhis pawn two squares; White

can capture on the squar emarked with a *.

CHAPTER 8: Special Care & Batteries8.1 Special Care• Avoid rough handling such as bumping ordropping.• Avoid moisture and extreme temperatures.For best results, use between the temperaturesof 39ºF and 100ºF (4ºC and 38ºC).• Clean using only a slightly damp cloth.Do not use cleaners with chemical agents.

8.2 Battery InformationElectronic Chess uses 3 AAA batteries.• C AUTION: BATTERIES SHOULD BEREMOVED & REPLACED BY ADULTS ONLY.• Do not mix old and new batteries.

• Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zinc)or rechargeable (nickel-cadium) batteries.• Do not use rechargeable batteries.• To avoid explosion or leakage, do not dis-pose of batteries in a fire or attempt torecharge standard or alkaline batteries. • Be sure to insert batteries with the correctpolarities & always follow the toy and batterymanufacturer’s instructions. • Remove batteries and store them in a cool,dry place when not in use.• Always remove old & dead batteries fromthe product.• The supply terminals are not to be short-circuited.

CHAPTER 9: Limited One-year WarrantyEXCALIBUR ELECTRONICS, INC., war-rants to the original consumer that its productsare free from any electrical or mechanicaldefects for a period of ONE YEAR from thedate of purchase. If any such defect is dis-covered within the warranty period, EXCAL-IBUR ELECTRONICS, INC., will repair orreplace the unit free of charge upon receipt ofthe unit, shipped postage prepaid and insuredto the factory address shown at right.

The warranty covers normal consumer useand does not cover damage that occurs inshipment or failure that results from alter-ations, accident, misuse, abuse, neglect, wearand tear, inadequate maintenance, commer-cial use, or unreasonable use of the unit.Removal of the top panel voids all warranties.This warranty does not cover cost of repairsmade or attempted outside of the factory.

Any applicable implied warranties, includingwarranties of merchantability and fitness, arehereby limited to ONE YEAR from the dateof purchase. Consequential or incidental dam-ages resulting from a breach of any applicableexpress or implied wa rranties are herebyexcluded. Some states do not allow limita-tions on the duration of implied warrantiesand do not allow exclusion of incidental orconsequential damages, so the above limita-tions and exclusions in these instances may

not apply.

The only authorized service center in theUnited States is:

Excalibur Electronics,Inc.13755 SW 119th Ave

Miami,Florida 33186 U.S.A.

Phone: 305.477.8080Fax:305.477.9516

www.ExcaliburElectronics.com

Ship the unit carefully packed, preferably inthe original carton, and send it prepaid, andadequately insured. Include a letter, detailingthe complaint and including your daytimetelephone number, inside the shipping carton. If your warranty has expired and you want anestimated fee for service, write to the aboveaddress, specifying the model and the prob-lem.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR UNIT WITHOUT RECEIVING AN

ESTIMATE FOR SERVICING. WE CANNOT STORE YOUR UNIT!

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EXCALIBUR ELECTRONICS, INC.

13755 SW 119th AveMiami, Florida 33186 U.S.A.

Phone: 305.477.8080Fax: 305.477.9516

www.ExcaliburElectronics.com

We make you think.