Picochess Evolution to v3.0

Hi all,

I have posted my first video on YouTube.

It’s a bit raw and has sound issues from my DGT Pi speaker which I had too low, but it shows some of the Engine types we now have on Picochess & the DGT Pi, including MAME engines.

https://youtu.be/jI2gvkfx42o


Cheers,

Al.

Sc@lly wrote:

Hi all,

I have posted my first video on YouTube.

It’s a bit raw and has sound issues from my DGT Pi speaker which I had too low, but it shows some of the Engine types we now have on Picochess & the DGT Pi, including MAME engines.

https://youtu.be/jI2gvkfx42o


Cheers,

Al.

Hi Al,

On your CC1 emulation, the display quickly showed 5b 5d, but then switched to 59 5E (I think that was it).

What happened there? I can't figure it out.

Piman

Hi Charlie,

The CC1 response was 5g 5e which is e5

Imagine a board with rows (ranks) 1-8 and columns (files) a-h  i.e. the wrong way round

That’s what makes the CC1 so valuable today.


(Click on the thumbnail for a bigger image)


Cheers,

Al.

Sc@lly wrote:

Hi Charlie,

The CC1 response was 5g 5e which is e5

Imagine a board with rows (ranks) 1-8 and columns (files) a-h  i.e. the wrong way round

That’s what makes the CC1 so valuable today.


(Click on the thumbnail for a bigger image)


Cheers,

Al.

One of my first chess computers.

Admin wrote:

Sc@lly wrote:

Hi Charlie,

The CC1 response was 5g 5e which is e5

Imagine a board with rows (ranks) 1-8 and columns (files) a-h  i.e. the wrong way round

That’s what makes the CC1 so valuable today.


(Click on the thumbnail for a bigger image)


Cheers,

Al.

One of my first chess computers.

Wow!

Let me get this straight: it's not press sensory - in fact the computer is not even connected to the board. If I'm not mistaken, to make a move, you:

1. press a button to indicate the from square column

2. press a button to indicate the from square row

3. press a button to indicate the to square column

4. press a button to indicate the to square row

Apologies for being negative about a classic chess computer, but this looks primitive!!!

This page indicates other issues with it as well - link. However, that page also says it's the first consumer chess computer, which makes it extra extra special!

Its CPU was the Intel 8080, with 6000 transistors and an 8 MHz clock (later evolved into the 8088, the CPU in the first IBM PC).

Hi,

Well, yes exactly. But the CC1 & the Chafitz Boris started the Computer Chess revolution.

http://www.spacious-mind.com/html/boris.html


Al.

Sc@lly wrote:

Hi Charlie,

The CC1 response was 5g 5e which is e5

Imagine a board with rows (ranks) 1-8 and columns (files) a-h  i.e. the wrong way round

That’s what makes the CC1 so valuable today.


(Click on the thumbnail for a bigger image)


Cheers,

Al.

Well, I took a second look.
Compared to correct board notation:

The CC1 markings are not only rotated 90 degrees....
in addition, the markings are upside down; that is, the board is flipped over.

Your game was:
1. 5b5d  5g5e

To get 1. e4 e5, one must rotate AND flip the board.

TheSelfImprover wrote:

Wow!

Let me get this straight: it's not press sensory - in fact the computer is not even connected to the board. If I'm not mistaken, to make a move, you:

1. press a button to indicate the from square column

2. press a button to indicate the from square row

3. press a button to indicate the to square column

4. press a button to indicate the to square row

Apologies for being negative about a classic chess computer, but this looks primitive!!!

The Applied Concepts GGM used the same letter-number/to-from entry system (there was this 4x4 pressure sensory grid next to the board, Spacious may have a photo)....maybe they all did
(EDIT: the grid was 5x4)

FYI: the very earliest main frames (and they were BIG frames....like a refrigerator) used toggle switches:

toggle "e" up
toggle "2" up
push the enter button

toggle 2 down

toggle 4 up
push the enter button

toggle e and 4 down

rinse, repeat

Piman wrote:

Compared to correct board notation:

The CC1 markings are not only rotated 90 degrees....
in addition, the markings are upside down; that is, the board is flipped over.

Your game was:
1. 5b5d  5g5e

To get 1. e4 e5, one must rotate AND flip the board.

When you didn't respond....I took a third look.
This time at the actual board photo.
Fidelity not only got the board notations reversed, they also labeled the a-h direction opposite from a correctly oriented board. (Without seeing a board, I thought Fidelity just rotated a standard board by mistake...from an "actual photo" )
So, now I inderstand: if one insists on putting letters on the side, then one WOULD start with "a" at the bottom.

So, I see where 5b5d = e2e4 on a CC1

Here's what I don't get:
How could a company, in the computer chess game manufacturing business...not have one, single individual who has ever played in a standard time control chess tournament, look at the manufactured computer chess game prototype ????
If you play in tournament....you have to notate your games

Hi Charlie,

They realised their mistake soon after release, I think they were rushing it out to be the first Chess Computer ahead of the Chafitz Boris. People were charged £50 to get them changed to the CC3 with the correct files and ranks. Now it’s worth a lot of money.

The prototype Revelation II had the black square at the bottom right, like chess boards in most films and on TV.

When I played Garry Kasparov in 1993 I got a signed wooden chess board, again the board was placed wrongly in front of him, so his signature goes up the board instead of across it. I still have that board though


Cheers,

Al.