Excalibur king Arthur 915-3, Operating Manual

Page 1: ...King King Ar Arthur thur www ExcaliburElectronics com Model No 915 3 E EX XC CA AL LI IB BU UR R E EL LE EC CT TR RO ON NI IC CS S OPERATING MANUAL English p 2 ...

Page 2: ...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 ARTHUR TABLE OF CONTENTS 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 d...

Page 3: ...ixed ply level 7 3 Timed levels 7 4 Infinite search 7 5 Fast level option 7 6 Random level option 4 ENGLISH CHAPTER 8 TEACHING AND TRAINING 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 G...

Page 4: ...his section It contains information not dupli cated 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 read ing 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 bene...

Page 5: ...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 exam ple 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 h...

Page 6: ...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 feature...

Page 7: ...e 3 4 Adjusting the display contrast To compensate for differences in lighting and battery strength press the CONTRAST key repeatedly to adjust the display contrast to one of sixteen set tings 3 5 Playing without the physical pieces You can play without the three dimensional pieces view ing only the display Press the OPTION key until the display shows TOUCH Then press the key ON will be dis played...

Page 8: ...g Arthur gives you a chance to test yourself at this feat To use this option clear the large playing board of pieces 15 ENGLISH 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 hav...

Page 9: ...play in official tournaments receive a rating Similarly King Arthur will rate your play 17 ENGLISH 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 con firm the position You can then...

Page 10: ...i mate of your strength quickly Winning your first rated game increases your rating by 300 points Winning your second 19 ENGLISH 18 ENGLISH KING ARTHUR CHAPTER 4 GETTING A RATING AT THE ROUND TABLE 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 can not improve your rating by more than 40...

Page 11: ...stling 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 21 ENGLISH happens you can push the THREAT key and King Arthur will flash the threatening move Draw Messages 5 5 Draw When King Arthur recognizes that a three fold re...

Page 12: ...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...

Page 13: ...ng 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 LEVE...

Page 14: ...een You ll learn lots of principles tricks and traps in this training mode that will win you many full fledged 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 tech niques After pressing MODE until TrAIn appears...

Page 15: ...ning and a lot of fun is the Great Games Over the centuries there have been many chess masterpieces that players have recorded stud ied and passed down to follow ing 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 quickly sav ing yourself many hours and having fun w...

Page 16: ... complex lines you can find a complete explanation of this clas sic 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 A...

Page 17: ... 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 was in th...

Page 18: ... 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 ...

Page 19: ...ENGLISH press it until the king is the cor rect color You won t be permit ted 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 ...

Page 20: ...om alter ations 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 a...

Page 21: ...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 ...