Excalibur electronic 404ET-CC - Manuel (Page 4)

Piece Training
There are five special mini-games and
three mate training positions. The most
famous and successful chess teachers in
the world take their beginning students
from the simple to the complex by having
7 6
B 001 B 002 B 003 B 004
B 005 B 007 B 010 B 015
Fixed Time Level Type
Press the Undo or Hint button to
select 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45
seconds, and 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 2:30, 3:00,
5:00 minutes per move. FIXED Time
Level "inf" is infinite time, and will only
stop thinking when the GO key is
pressed, or a mate is found.
F 001 F 002 F 003 F 005
F 010 F 015 F 020 F 030
F 045 F 100 F 130 F 200
F 230 F 300 F 500 F inF
Sudden Death Level Type
Press the Undo or Hint button to
select the amount of time in minutes for
the entire game. If you run out of time
you lose or forfeit, F O R F T will be
shown on the display. After every move,
you receive a bonus 10 seconds to make
up for the time it takes to enter your
move.
S 05 S 10 S 15 S 20
S 30 S 45 S 60 S 90
Tournament Level Type
Press the Undo or Hint button to
select the amount of time in
HOURS:MINUTES format to play the
number of moves shown on the left side
of the display. If you run out of time
before you play the indicated number of
moves, you lose or forfeit, F O R F T will
be shown on the display. After every
move, you receive a bonus 10 seconds to
make up for the time it takes to enter your
move.
40T030 45T045 40T60 40T90
35T130 45T155 40T120 45T145
PLy Level Type
Press the Undo or Hint button to
select the depth of search from 1 to 8 ply.
A ply is one half move.
PLY 1 PLY 2 PLY 3 PLY 4
PLY 5 PLY 6 PLY 7 PLY 8
MAtE Solver Level Type
Press the Undo or Hint button to
select the number of moves to mate the
program will search. nOnE will appear
if no mate is found.
MAtE 1 MAtE 2 MAtE 3 MAtE 4
MAtE 5 MAtE 6 MAtE 7 MAtE 8
Note: You can only change the level
while it is your turn to play.
Rating
To view your rating, press MENU
repeatedly until R A T E is shown. Your
current rating appears on the display.
To have your rating change, you must
complete a rated game on a tournament
or sudden death level.
When you are ready to play a rated game,
select the R A T E option.
1. Press the MENU key repeatedly until
you see R A T E appear.
2. Press Undo or Hint button to turn
the option On.
3. Press CLEAR.
Finally select the Tournament Level or
Sudden Death Level you wish to play
against.
When O appears on the display, the game
you are playing can be rated. Since the
game you are playing is rated, you cannot
ask for a HINT, nor UNDO a bad move,
nor use SETUP to improve your position.
You also cannot use the NWGAM option
to start over during a rated game.
These conditions attempt to allow you to
experience what it is like to play a game
against an opponent in a rated
tournament. In rated tournaments a chess
clock is always used, so that you play
your moves within agreed upon time
limits. Your Touch Chess II computer has
the chess clock built in to it.
If you attempt to use the HINT or UNDO
keys during your rated game, Touch
Chess II will ask "SURE?". It will do the
same thing if you try to start a New
Game, use SETUP, or change the
LEVEL. Touch Chess II will rate the
game a loss for you if you are losing and
a draw if the position is equal. If you are
sure, press the key once more, otherwise
press CLEAR.
During a rated game if you are winning
by 9.0 or more points and want Touch
Chess to resign, press MENU then GO.
Touch Chess II will show "SURE?".
Touch Chess II will then wait for you to
them play "mini-games" 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, Touch Chess II will play
you these special practice games.
First make sure you are at the start of a
game. Now press MENU until T R A I N
is displayed. Then press the Hint key.
The mini-games always include the king
and pawns for both sides. In fact, one
mini-game contains just this material (see
figure below).
The other four mini-games use kings and
pawns, but add a different single piece to
the exercise-knight, bishop, rook, and
then queen.
Start with the basic king and pawns
mini-game.
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 full-fledged chess games!