IVA VAN ”THE ”THE TERRIBLE” TERRIBLE” USER MANUAL
ENTER THE FUTURE OF COMPUTERIZED CHESS! Excalibur Electronics is the pioneer of computerized chess games. In the last few years, through spectacular growth and widened horizons, Excalibur has become one of the most prominent electronic game manufacturers in the world. The highlight of our collection is the Mirage. This unique robotic chess set has the advanced technology to move chess pieces by itself! It also has the intelligence to beat over 90% of all chess players.
FUNCTION OF IVAN’S KEYS: INTRODUCTION Congratulations! You now own Ivan The Terrible, a wonderful chess computer that will surprise you with its strong chess program and delight you with his outrageous speaking vocabulary. If you are a strong chess player, you will find IVAN to be an admirable opponent that will challenge you to one exciting chess game after another. If you are just learning to play chess, IVAN will be a helpful friend and instructor.
QUICK START 1. POWER - Insert the batteries in the base of the computer as specified by the label near the battery compartment, remembering to ensure that the positive tip of each battery matches up with the + sign in the battery compartment. This game may be operated using an optional AC adapter, which should be in a voltage range of 6-8 volts and 100-200 Milliamps. The tip of the connector should be positive. 2.
2. STARTING A GAME A. Set up the pieces on the chess board in their starting positions,. with the white pieces nearest to you (see the USCF’s “LETS PLAY CHESS” rules found in your Ivan box, if you are unsure of the piece positions). If you choose to play black, then go to the section “Black from the bottom”. IVAN is a player who can speak but cannot see. If you move a piece on the board without using the sensory technology, the computer will still think there is a piece at the previous location.
SOUND FEATURES Volume You have the ability to control the volume of Ivan’s voice and features. By pressing OPTION you will see L O U D appear in the LCD window. You will also see a number ranging from 1-8. These numbers are the eight different volume levels that are available with 1 being the softest and 8 being the loudest. You can increase the volume by pressing > and you can decrease by pressing <. Sound Effects Ivan comes equipped with many different sound effects.
TOO EASY OR TOO HARD? CHANGE THE LEVEL When the computer is first turned on, it is set to Level 6, which is the weakest level. However, you may choose a different level. To change the level, simply press LEVEL and the computer will display the current playing level. You can change levels one at a time by pressing the arrow buttons or by 10 levels at a time by holding down the arrow button for a full second. To lower the level of play press the arrow pointing to the left.
ILLEGAL MOVES / WRONG MOVES IVAN never accepts illegal moves. If you attempt such a move, the computer sounds a low double beep, and the display will continue to indicate the square the piece came from. Since the computer will not allow you to move to an illegal square, it completely disregards that square and waits for a legal entry. Either move that same piece to another square, or press the piece back down on its original FROM square and move a different piece.
GAME MEMORY You may interrupt a game and save your position at any time by pressing the ON/OFF button. Play is then suspended, and the computer will remember the current position. Ivan will remember your position as long as you do not interrupt the power supply! When you switch on again, the computer is ready to resume your game. LEVELS Ivan has 100 different levels. Levels 1-94 are used when you are playing a game against the computer.
AVERAGE TIME LEVELS The computer will take an average of the specified amount of time. If it has only one legal move it will respond instantly.
TOURNAMENT LEVELS The computer will play within the specified rate. The clocks will show the total time consumed. Time saved during the first time period can be added to the next time period. LEVEL 90 LEVEL 91 LEVEL 92 LEVEL 93 60 moves every 60 minutes 40 moves every 60 minutes 40 moves In 120 minutes then 20 moves every 60 minutes 20 moves every 60 minutes INFINITE LEVEL On level 94 the computer will normally go on thinking, to find the best possible move, until you press the MOVE key.
VERIFYING POSITION Whenever you think a piece is in the wrong position on the board, or if you want to restore a previously saved position, VERIFY will tell you what Ivan believes the position is. You may use the VERIFY button at any time, before or during a game as long as it is your turn to move. Press the VERIFY button and the display will show the symbol for white, the queen, and the location of the white queen, if there is one.
HOW TO USE YOUR PIECES A Special Teaching Method Built into your Chess Computer! WHAT IS OUR SPECIAL TEACHING METHOD? Our special teaching method teaches beginners in a simple, methodical way, the fundamentals of chess, ranging from individual-piece moves to strategies for the whole game. New players can choose from five easy-to-follow teaching modes. In the first mode, for example, you compete against the computer in a game in which only the pawns and kings are used.
“ - “ between the “from” and “to” squares indicates a simple move. “ x “ between the “from” and “to” squares indicates a capture. The initial letter K (king), Q (queen), R (rook), B (bishop) or N (knight - to distinguish it from a king), is used before the “from” square whenever a piece other than a pawn is being moved. Thus Ng1-f3 means “knight moves from g1 to f3” while Re1xe7 means “rook on e1 captures on e7”.
8 9 10 11 12 ... Ke6-d7 Kd7-c7 Kc7-b7 Kb7-b6 Kh8-g8 c7-c5 b7-b5 a7-a5 Black’s pawns at a5, b5 and c5 will now fall like ripe plums, and White will win easily. ACTIVE KING AND PASSIVE KING. In this position, which is completely even, we shall see what happens if White uses its king ACTIVELY, while Black does nothing and hides its king away PASSIVELY in the comer.
A mistake. Black has completely overlooked White’s idea. 3 a5-a6!! A fine move. No matter how Black responds, the black pawns on the queen’s side will be forced to weaken their formation, allowing the white king to decimate them. 3 ... b7xa6 White was threatening simply 4 a6xb7, followed by 5 b7-b8, promoting to a queen. Black’s only alternative was equally unpalatable: 3 ... b7-b6+ 4 Kc5-c6, followed by Kc6xc7, Kc7-b7, Kb7xa7 and the white a-pawn will then promote in a few moves.
Black sees what is about to happen and rushes back to try to stop White from promoting. 2 a3-a4 3 b4-b5 A SACRIFICIAL BREAKTHROUGH FOR PROMOTION Kg8-f8 a6xb5 Here White has a very neat way to win. The idea is to force through one of his pawns to promotion before the black king can rush back to the queen’s side. Can you see how? 4 a4-a5!! 1 The only good move.
insert the photo pg39 insert photo pg 38 2 3 c5-c6!! a5-a6 b7xc6 KINGS, KNIGHTS and PAWNS After pressing MODE and seeing TEACH displayed on the LCD, if you press the KNIGHT key the computer will be ready to start play from the above position, with the kings, knights and pawns on the board. And the promotion of White’s a-pawn cannot be stopped. Even in a symmetrical position such as this, it is very easy for an unsuspecting player to overlook a simple threat.
The white knight on a8 cannot escape and now Black is threatening to march his king to b8 and pick up the errant knight. 4 5 6 photo pg 41 Ngl-f3 Ke8-d8 Nf3-g5 Kd8-c7 Ng5xf7 Kc7-b8 White is already two pawns up but his knight on a7 is attacked and has nowhere safe to go. Under the circumstances White extracts as much as he can for his knight: 7 Na7xc6+ d7xc6 An interesting choice.
THE TRAP THAT BEAT BOBBY FISCHER There is a very common trap which almost all beginners fall into at some time or other. One player, say White, captures a pawn at a7 or h7 with his bishop, only to see his bishop trapped when his opponent advances the neighboring pawn one square. Here is an example, starting from the position in the previous diagram. 1 2 3 4 e2-e4 d2-d4 Bfl-d3 g2-g3! exactly this manner.
2 ... Kd6-c7 3 Bb7xa6 Kc7-b6 4 Ba6-c8 Kb6-c7 only safe squares for the white bishop are a6 and f5, and if the bishop returns to a6 then the black king returns to b6. So White plays 5 Bc8-f5 Bg6xf5 6 g4xf5 And White will eventually win because of his extra pawn. WHEN TO EXCHANGE BISHOPS There will be many instances in your games when you are unsure about whether to exchange off a particular bishop. A useful rule is to first decide whether the bishop is “good” or ‘bad”.
To put it very simply, Black can simply move his bishop back and forth between the squares (for example) a8, d5 and hl, and refuse to move his king. There is absolutely no way that White can then make progress. So although White is two pawns ahead, and they are both passed pawns, White can do no more than draw.
If, instead of playing 5 ... Rf8-c8, Black forgets about the open file, White can quickly build up a completely overwhelming position. Watch how easy it is for Black to go astray. 5 ... e7-e6? This innocuous move probably loses the game for Black. 6 Rcl-c7 b7-b6 Safeguarding the b-pawn. 7 Ra1-cl Now there is no way that Black can challenge White’s control of the c-file. 7 8 9 10 ...
TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE Your computer has been manufactured and tested to very high quality standards and it is most unlikely to have a fault. We have found in the past that almost all so-called “faults” can be traced to the user accidentally pressing a wrong key or moving a piece to the wrong square, which makes it appear later in the game that the chess computer is not operating as expected. THE COMPUTER REFUSES TO MAKE A MOVE If the computer has been playing normally but then refuses to make a move: 1.
GENERAL INFORMATION The RESET hole Ivan may occasionally “lock up” due to static discharge or some other sort of electrical disturbance. If this occurs, press the RESET button on the bottom of the game. Use of this button will clear the computers memory. NOTE: After using the RESET, the computer will have forgotten any game positions that may have been in its memory. ON AND OFF The IVAN is never really “off” as long as batteries are installed or the adapter is plugged into a wall outlet.
