Chess computer review. Chess computers

Once I was sure that chess programs (they are engines, but more on that later) simply keep in memory a huge number of games played and find the current position in them and make the right move. I think I read about it in some book.

This is undoubtedly a very naive opinion. A new position in chess can be obtained by the tenth move. Although there are fewer positions in chess than in go, nevertheless, after 3 moves (a move is one move of white and black, a half move is a move of only one side), the move tree consists of almost 120 million nodes. Moreover, the size of the tree after 14 half-moves from starting position enthusiasts have been counting for more than a year, advancing so far by about a third.

I also thought that chess programs, despite the long-standing match victory over the world champion, are still within the reach of the best people. This is also not true.

alpha beta

The first optimization is alpha-beta. The idea of ​​alpha-beta is simple - if I already have a good move, then I can cut off moves that are obviously worse. Consider the example in the creepy picture on the left. Let's say player A has 2 possible moves - a3 and b3. After analyzing the move a3, the program received an estimate of +1.75. Starting to evaluate the move b3, the program saw that player B has two moves - a6 and a5. Estimated move a6 +0.5. Since player B chooses a move with a minimum score, he will not choose a move with a score higher than 0.5, which means that the score of b3 is less than 0.5, and there is no point in considering it. Thus, the entire remaining subtree of b3 is truncated.

For cutoffs, we store the upper and lower bounds - alpha and beta. If during the analysis the move gets a score higher than beta, then the current node is cut off. If the score is above alpha, then the alpha is updated.

Nodes in alpha-beta fall into 3 categories:

1. PV Nodes- nodes whose evaluation fell into the window (between alpha and beta). The root and leftmost node are always nodes of this type.
2. cut-nodes(or fail-high nodes) - nodes where beta cutoff occurred.
3. All Nodes(or fail low nodes) - nodes in which not a single move exceeded the alpha according to the estimate.

Move sorting

When using alpha-beta, the order of moves becomes important. If we can put the best move first, then the remaining moves will be analyzed much faster due to beta cuts.

In addition to using a hash and the best move from the previous iteration, there are several techniques for sorting moves.

For takes, for example, a simple heuristic can be used MVV-LVA(Most Valuable Victim - Least Valuable Aggressor). We sort all the captures in descending order of the “victim” value, and inside we sort again in ascending order of the “aggressor” value. Obviously, it is usually more profitable to capture the queen with a pawn than vice versa.

For "quiet" moves, the method of "killer" moves is used - moves that caused a cutoff by beta. These moves are usually checked immediately after hash moves and takes.

Hash table or permutation table

Despite the huge size of the tree, many of the nodes in it are identical. In order not to analyze the same position twice, the computer stores the analysis results in a table and each time checks if there is already a ready analysis of this position. Typically, such a table stores the actual hash of the position, the score, the best move, and the age of the score. Age is required to replace old positions when filling out the table.

Iterative search

As you know, if we cannot analyze the whole tree completely, minimax needs an evaluation function. Then, having reached a certain depth, we stop the search, evaluate the position and start climbing the tree. But such a method requires a predetermined depth and does not provide high-quality intermediate results.

These problems are solved by iterative search. First, we analyze to depth 1, then to depth 2, and so on. Thus, each time we descend a little deeper than the last time, until the analysis is stopped. To reduce the size of the search tree, the results of the previous iteration are usually used to cut off obviously bad moves in the current one. This method is called the "aspiration window" and is used everywhere.

Quiescence Search

This method is designed to combat the "horizon effect". Simply stopping the search at the right depth can be very dangerous. Let's imagine that we stopped in the middle of the exchange of queens - white took the black queen, and on the next move black should take white. But in this moment on the board - White has an extra queen and the static assessment will be fundamentally wrong.

To do this, before doing static evaluation, we check all the captures (sometimes also checks) and go down the tree to a position in which there are no possible captures and checks. Naturally, if all the captures worsen the estimate, then we return the estimate of the current position.

Selective search

The idea of ​​selective search is to spend more time looking at “interesting” moves and less time looking at uninteresting ones. For this, extensions are used, which increase the search depth in certain positions, and abbreviations, which reduce the search depth.

The depth is increased in case of captures, checks, if the move is the only one or much better than alternatives, or if there is a passed pawn.

Clipping and reduction

With cuts and cuts, everything is much more interesting. It is they who can significantly reduce the size of the tree.

Briefly about clippings:

• delta clipping- check if taking can improve the current alpha. To do this, we add the value of the taken figure and a little more to the evaluation of the node and see if the resulting value is greater than alpha. For example, if White lacks a rook, then capturing a pawn is unlikely to help him, on the other hand, capturing a bishop can help.
• Clipping of futility- the same, only for non-takes. If the current estimate is so much less than alpha that no positional advantage can compensate for this, then such nodes are cut off. Usually applied at low depth (1-2).
• Historical clipping- for each move, we store how many times a given move provoked a cut, regardless of position. Moves with a high value of this heuristic are cut off. Usually applied from a certain depth and will not apply to PV nodes. Sometimes combined with the previous method.
• Multi Cut- if from the first M (for example, 6) nodes at least C (for example, 3) are Cut-nodes, then we cut off all nodes.
• Clipping on a null move- if after a null move (a simple transfer of the move queue to the opponent) the score is still higher than the beta, then we cut off the node. Simply put, if a position is so bad that even after making two moves in a row, the player still cannot improve it, then there is no point in considering this position.

Shortcuts are used when we are not so sure that the move is bad, and therefore do not cut it, but simply reduce the depth. For example, razoring is a reduction provided that the static estimate of the current position is less than alpha.

Due to the high-quality sorting of moves and cuts, modern engines manage to achieve a branching factor below 2 . Due to this, unfortunately, they sometimes do not notice non-standard sacrifices and combinations.

NegaScout and PVS

Two very similar techniques that take advantage of the fact that once we've found a PV-node (assuming our moves are reasonably well sorted), it will most likely not change, meaning all remaining nodes will return a score lower than alpha. Therefore, instead of searching with a window from alpha to beta, we search with a window from alpha to alpha + 1, which allows us to speed up the search. Of course, if at some node we get a beta cutoff, then it must be re-evaluated, already by a normal search.

The difference between the two methods is only in the wording - they were developed at about the same time, but independently, and therefore are known under different names.

Parallel Search

Alpha-beta parallelization is a separate big topic. I'll go over it briefly, and if you're interested, check out Parallel Alpha-Beta Search on Shared Memory Multiprocessors. The difficulty is that in a parallel search, many Cut-nodes are analyzed before another thread finds a refutation (sets a beta), while in a sequential search, with good sorting, many of these nodes would be cut off.

Lazy SMP

A very simple algorithm. We just start all threads at the same time with the same lookup. Threads communicate using a hash table. Lazy SMP proved to be surprisingly effective, so much so that the top Stockfish switched to it from YBW. True, some believe that the improvement was due to the poor implementation of YBWC and too aggressive clipping, and not because of the advantage of Lazy SMP.

Young Brothers Wait Concept (YBWC)

The first node (big brother) must be completely analyzed, after which the parallel analysis of the remaining nodes (little brothers) is started. The idea is the same, the first move will either noticeably improve the alpha, or generally allow you to cut off all other nodes.

Dynamic Tree Splitting (DTS)

Fast and complex algorithm. A little about speed: search speed is measured through ttd (time to depth), that is, the time it takes for the search to reach a certain depth. This metric can usually be used to compare the performance of different versions of an engine, or an engine running on different numbers of cores (although Komodo, for example, increases the width of the tree with more cores available). In addition, while running, the engine displays the search speed in nps (nodes per second). This metric is much more popular, but it does not even allow you to compare the engine with itself. Lazy SMP, which does not have any synchronization, increases nps almost linearly, but due to the large amount of extra work, its ttd is not so impressive. While for DTS nps and ttd change almost the same.

To be honest, I could not fully understand this algorithm, which, despite its high efficiency, is used in just a couple of engines. For those interested, please follow the link above.

Grade

So, we have reached the required depth, made a search for calmness and, finally, we need to evaluate the static position.

The computer evaluates the position in pawns: +1.0 means that White has an advantage equal to 1 pawn, -0.5 means that Black has an advantage of half a pawn. Checkmate is valued at 300 pawns, and the position in which the number of moves to checkmate x is known is (300-0.01x) pawns. +299.85 means White checkmates in 15 moves. At the same time, the program itself usually operates with integer estimates in centipawns (1/100 of a pawn).

What parameters does the computer take into account when evaluating a position?

Material and mobility

The easiest. The queen is 9-12 pawns, the rook is 5-6, the knight and bishop are 2.5-4 and the pawn, respectively, is one pawn. In general, material is a worthy heuristic of position evaluation, and any positional advantage usually transforms into a material one in the end.

Mobility is considered simply - the number of possible moves in the current position. The more of them, the more mobile the player's army.

Tables of positions of figures

A knight in a corner of the board is usually bad, pawns closer to the enemy's rear become more valuable, and so on. For each figure, a table of bonuses and penalties is compiled depending on its position on the board.

pawn structure

• Double pawns- two pawns on the same file. They are often difficult to defend with other pawns and are considered a weakness.
• lagging pawns- pawns whose neighbors are in front of them. Such pawns cannot be defended by other pawns and are therefore considered a weakness.
• passed pawns- pawns that can reach the last rank without interference from enemy pawns. Strong threat to the opponent, especially in the endgame
• Isolated pawns- pawns that have no neighbors. Such pawns cannot be defended by other pawns at all and are therefore considered a serious weakness.

Stages of the game

All of the above parameters affect the evaluation of the game in different ways, depending on the stage of the game. In the opening, there is no sense in having a passed pawn, and in the endgame, you need to bring the king to the center of the board, and not hide it behind the pawns.

Therefore, many engines have a separate rating for the endgame and for the opening. They evaluate the stage of the game depending on the material left on the board and calculate the evaluation accordingly - the closer to the end of the game, the less the opening evaluation influences and the more endgame evaluation.

Other

In addition to these basic factors, engines can add other factors to the evaluation, such as king safety, locked pieces, pawn islands, center control, etc.

Accurate estimate or quick search?

The traditional debate: what is more effective, to accurately assess the position or achieve a greater depth of search. Experience shows that too "heavy" evaluation functions are ineffective. On the other hand, a more detailed assessment that takes into account more factors usually leads to a more "beautiful" and "aggressive" game.

Opening books and endgame tables

Debut books

In the early days of computer chess, programs played the opening very poorly. The opening often requires strategic decisions that will affect the entire game. On the other hand, opening theory was well developed among people, openings were repeatedly analyzed and played from memory. So, a similar “memory” was created for computers. Starting from the initial position, a tree of moves was built and each move was evaluated. During the game, the engine simply chose one of the "good" moves with a certain probability.

Since then, opening books have proliferated, with many openings analyzed by computers right up to the endgame. There is no need for them, strong engines have learned to play the opening, but leave the main lanes fairly quickly.

Endgame tables

Let's go back to the introduction. Remember the idea of ​​storing many positions in memory and choosing the right one. Here she is. For a small (up to 7) number of figures, all existing positions are calculated. That is, in these positions the computer starts to play perfectly, winning in minimal amount moves. Minus - the size and generation time. The creation of these tables helped in the study of endgames.

Table generation

Let's generate all possible (including symmetry) positions with a certain set of figures. Among them we find and designate all the positions where there is a checkmate. By the next pass, we denote all the positions in which it is possible to get into positions with a checkmate - in these positions a checkmate is put in 1 move. Thus, we find all positions with mate 2,3,4 moves. In all unmarked positions - a draw.

Nalimov's tables

The first endgame tables published back in 1998. For each position, the result of the game and the number of moves to the checkmate in a perfect game are stored. The size of all six-figure endings is 1.2 terabytes.

Lomonosov tables

In 2012, on the Lomonosov supercomputer at Moscow State University, all seven-figure endings were counted (except for 6 against 1). These bases are only available for money and are the only complete seven-piece endgame tables in existence.

Syzygy

De facto standard. These bases are much more compact than Nalimov's bases. They consist of two parts - WDL (Win Draw Lose) and DTZ (Distance to zeroing). WDL bases are intended to be used during searches. Once a tree node is found in the table, we have the exact result of the game at that position. DTZ are intended for use in the root - they store the number of moves until the move that resets the counter of moves (pawn move or capture). thus, WDL bases are sufficient for analysis, while DTZ bases can be useful in endgame analysis. The size of Syzygy is much smaller - 68 gigabytes for six-figure WDL and 83 for DTZ. Seven-figure bases do not exist, since their generation requires approximately a terabyte of RAM.

Usage

Endgame tables are used mainly for analysis, the increase in the power of the game engines is small - 20-30 ELO points. However, since the search depth of modern engines can be very large, requests to endgame bases from the search tree occur as early as the debut.

Giraffe or neural networks play chess

Some of you may have heard of chess engine on neural networks that have reached the IM level (which, as we understood in the introduction, is not so cool for the engine). It was written and posted on Bitbucket by Matthew Lai, who unfortunately stopped working on it due to the fact that he started working at Google DeepMind.

Tuning parameters

Adding a new function to the engine is easy, but how do you check that it gave a buff? The simplest option is to play a few games between the old and the new version and see who wins. But if the improvement is small, and it usually happens after all the main features are added, there should be several thousand games, otherwise there will be no reliability.

stockfish

There are a lot of people working on this engine, and each of their ideas needs to be tested. With the current strength of the engine, each improvement gives an increase of a couple of rating points, but the result is a stable increase of several dozen points annually.

Their solution is typical for open source - volunteers provide their power to run hundreds of thousands of games on them.

Only registered users can participate in the survey. , Please.

Literature and cinema of the second half of the 20th century are full of stories about the capture of mankind by machines, about the introduction artificial intelligence into our lives and wars for survival. Not much time has passed since then, and today it is possible with confidence that the future has come. A man fights with a computer, not only for survival, but for the title of the strongest chess player in the world. The excitement with which the victory took place deep blue in 1997, it's hard to put into words. It is curious that the tension and pressure that both the grandmaster and the spectators experienced did not subside over time, but, on the contrary, became stronger every year.

The strongest chess players in the world

The title of chess champion appeared in 1886 when the Austrian Wilhelm Steinitz defeated the Prussian chess player Johann Zuckertort. Up to 10 victories were played in the tournament, and for the victory the Austrian chess player received $ 1,000, a huge amount for those times.

History has dozens of brilliant chess players, such as Emanuel Lasker, who beat the then four-time world chess champion Wilhelm Steinitz in 1894, Russian grandmaster Alexander Alekhine, whose victory was sudden for everyone, Mikhail Botvinnik, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and many others .
It is worth noting separately the duel between Boris Spassky and Robert Fischer, which took place in 1972, at the height of the Cold War. Due to strong political pressure and Fischer's outrageous behavior, the victory went to the American chess player.

The history of the chess championship has many interesting and extraordinary cases. And if the first century the minds of mankind were occupied by confrontations between people, then at the dawn of the 21st century, the fights between a person and a computer became the most discussed.

Kasparov vs Computer

Until the mid-90s, Garry Kimovich Kasparov was known not only as the greatest chess player in history, world champion in 1986, but also as the winner of duels with the strongest chess computers Deep Thought twice in 1991 and Deep Blue in 1996.

In 1997, another duel took place between man and machine. Garry Kasparov vs. new version deep blue. And it was a revolution in the world of chess. Garry Kasparov, an international grandmaster, lost to the machine 3.5:2.5 in favor of Deep Blue. Regarding the reason for the loss of the grandmaster, opinions were divided, someone believed that an error in the code of the program played a cruel joke, which Kasparov accidentally mistook for a deeply thought-out and strong strategy, someone defended the opinion that the notorious human factor was to blame for everything, sometimes the assumptions reached up to worldwide conspiracy and substitution of a computer by a living person.

Kasparov himself could not believe his loss for a long time and at the close of the championship announced a dishonest game, demanding a rematch, but IBM, which was the manufacturer of Deep Blue, refused and disbanded the team servicing the chess machine.

Despite all the controversy about cheating with a computer, after this incident, it became clear that the level of technical development of computer programs had come to the point where he could surpass humans.

Its origins computer chess tournaments they have been taking it since 1968, when world-class grandmaster David Levy bet that in the next nine years no machine could defeat him in chess. He won the argument and in 1978 defeated the strongest machine of the time Chess 4.7. However, the growing power of artificial intelligence eventually took its toll, and in 1989 Levy succumbed to the Deep Thought program.

Of course, the chess programs of the 70s and 80s did not reach the level of the strongest players in the world. As we mentioned, Garry Kasparov beat Deep Thought multiple times in 1991 and 1996.

The revolution was launched by IBM in 1997. From that moment, chess programs began to actively increase their computing power, which eventually allowed them to reach the level of the world's strongest chess players.

So in 1998, the Rebel 10 program defeated Viswanathan Ananda, the second in the world ranking of chess players. In 2000, Kasparov and Kramnik played to a draw against the Junior and Fruitz chess programs, respectively. In the autumn of 2006, Vladimir Kramnik, the current world champion, lost to the Deep Fitz program with a score of 2:4. Chess fights against the computer continue to this day. Today, the creation of chess programs is not the most difficult workflow, according to the developers. Because computer programs for playing chess can now be found not only on powerful laptops and PCs, but also in ordinary smartphones and tablets. If you want to try to compete with the computer, then you will like online chess games - go for it: http://quicksave.su/chess-games.

How a chess computer works

The first principles of chess computers were developed in 1951, and the first chess program was released in 1957. Over time, programs have been improved and refined, and in our time, programmers and developers have managed to create one that can defeat the strongest chess players.
Despite the fact that the principles by which the chess program operates are not so complicated, they are not familiar to everyone.

Each of the players at any moment of the game can make a certain number of moves allowed by the rules of the game. And the number of these moves is not infinite, if we exclude the strategies that lead to the looping of the game. The rules of chess define the finite number of allowed moves for each player.

The conclusion suggests itself: the computer only has to go through all the possible combinations of the development of the game and, voila, when all the options for moves and counteractions are known, it is impossible to lose. However, not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. An American scientist calculated that after three moves on each side, the number of possible combinations is nine million, and the number of all possible combinations exceeds the number of atoms in the visible universe. If a computer went through all the possible combinations in a duel against a person, our life would not even be enough for one game of chess.

In order for the duels with the computer to be real, the developers of chess programs are guided by the following algorithm:

1. Building a function for evaluating an existing position on the board. Ranking, as a rule, occurs along the axis, that is, the larger it is, the more profitable it is for whites, the smaller it is for blacks.
2. Building a tree of possible moves, while the number of possible moves is determined by nothing more than the available production capacity of the processor.
3. Analysis of the tree of all possible moves and cutting off unpromising options. The most promising branches are carefully calculated, after which the computer selects the optimal one.

One of the problems of the chess computer for developers was the beginning of a chess game, since at this moment it is very difficult to assess the future prospects in the game and choose a specific strategy. Usually, in this case, libraries of examined openings are used, but if the opponent makes a non-trivial move, the above action analysis algorithm is triggered in the program.

All the algorithms described above, of course, are given in a simplified form, but despite this, they do not carry any particular complexity. More than 20 years have passed since the first man lost to a machine in chess, now this does not surprise anyone. And one can only guess whether a person will be able to defeat the artificial intelligence created by him.

In the current century, computer chess is widely used by fans of this ancient game. Modern technologies allowed a person to find a rival in the face of artificial intelligence. Also, with the help of chess programs, people have the opportunity to compete with each other, being at any distance, using the Internet.

Below are 15 chess programs for playing chess on your computer. To take advantage of them any will do personal computer- these programs are not demanding on the characteristics, and they will not take up much space on your disk. Among other things, it's free. Those interested can download the game of chess for free from the links provided after the descriptions of each of the programs.

Download chess for free on a computer

You can download chess for free to your computer using the following services, which we will briefly discuss now. You can choose any of them and enjoy your favorite game

stone Chess

Classic chess set in 3D and decorated in stone style. The game can be played against a computer that has 5 difficulty levels, as well as against a person on the Internet or on the same PC. There is a function of displaying dangerous and safe positions, as well as the ability to receive hints from the computer. The game process can be saved and continued at any other time. The statistics of played games is supported.

Chessimo

A chess simulator that provides the user with the opportunity to learn in areas: combination, strategy, endgame, etc. Has a 2D interface. It will be useful for beginner chess players who want to improve their level of play. Actually, the real program is a kind of chess coach. Previously, it was called “Professional Chess Coach”, later it was finalized and received the current name. Has a small volume.

Mephisto

A full-fledged chess program of the CCM level with nice graphics and ease of setup. It has the function of saving games to the database, import and export in PGN format, as well as an analysis mode, setting handicaps, various time controls, etc. Perfectly translated into Russian interface, including help.

ChessPartner

Program for playing chess on the Internet. An intuitive interface and uncomplicated design will allow you to start playing right after installing the program, choosing a partner for yourself.

Chess Kids

Program for teaching chess to children. It has a graphic design specially made for the child. The system of education included in the program is focused on involving and interest the child in chess. The measured and playful presentation of the material may appeal to a future chess player.

Nagasaki

Chess with 2D interface and ten levels of difficulty (from beginner to professional). Supports game board and pieces style settings. There is a save function.

Kasparov Chessmate

Or Chess with Garry Kasparov. Created with the direct participation of the 13th world champion. It contains a number of Kasparov's historical games, as well as exercises and tasks compiled by him. The program has two single player modes: in the first one, the player has the ability to take hints, change the time per move and the difficulty level; the second mode is a tournament with the level of opponents increasing from each round, in the final round the player will have to play with Kasparov himself.

A simple but solid chess program with a decent level of play. No installation required. It has a friendly graphical interface with a classic whiteboard look and a small size. Supports FEN format.

Shredder Classic Chess

A program widely known to chess lovers. It has an analysis function and a built-in simulator. The level of the game is quite high, suitable for experienced chess players as well.

Chess 3D

Chess program, interesting primarily three-dimensional graphics. The rest is a typical chess simulator with a moderate level of play. Has a small size.

Elite Chess

A classic-looking chess with a convenient and unobtrusive interface with a good level of play. The small volume of the program and its multilingualism are undoubtedly another couple of advantages.

Box Chess

A chess program in a minimalistic design without pretensions to luxurious effects and the highest level of complexity. However, it plays well, and simplicity and accessibility preferably distinguish it from the background of analogues.

Mini

Like the previous one, this chess program is a small compact, even "pocket" chess simulator. First of all, it may be of interest to novice players, experienced chess players unlikely to choose her as a partner for the game.

Net Chess

A program designed to play chess over the Internet or on a single computer. The computer can also act as an opponent various levels difficulties. It has the ability to connect various chess engines. Contains position editor.

Grandmaster

A chess program that will satisfy both beginners and experienced chess players. It has beautifully rendered graphics and animation. Supports two visual modes: 2D and 3D. Great amount settings from the algorithm of a computer enemy to sound and visual effects.

Download the game chess in Russian

Modern chess has been known since the end of the 15th century. Throughout its history, 3 components were necessary to conduct a chess game:

• chessboard 8x8;
• 16 black and 16 white pieces;
• and 2 people.

The current situation is such that digital technologies make it possible to do not only without physical, otherwise material, boards and figures, but also without people at all. Digital models and algorithms, consisting of ones and zeros, can replace all 3 components. They are called chess programs. Moreover, as for the component - people, it has already come to the point that at present there is no intrigue in the confrontation between a computer and a person, and chess programs compete with each other, within the framework of entire annual tournaments. In the era of computerization, such tournaments look natural.

Computers have firmly entered a person's life and today anyone can acquire a chess program - there is a huge variety of them that will satisfy the most demanding user. The motive for playing chess against a computer may be a sporting interest or training in the game. Chess programs also serve as a means of position analysis. In this article, 15 chess programs with brief description their merits and download links. In addition to the fact that each of them will allow you to test your strength against artificial intelligence, many provide an opportunity for players to play among themselves, both on the Internet at a distance from each other, and on the same computer.

For your convenience, our site has collected more than a dozen programs for playing chess and not only for playing. They can also help in learning chess and act as a kind of coach. Of course, it is important for a Russian-speaking user that these programs are in Russian. And indeed, some of them support the Russian language, and the other part, if they don’t support it, then don’t really need it because of the intuitive interface that anyone can understand. You can download the chess game in Russian from the links.

I have only (whole) four models of domestic chess computers. In fact, they produced a little more. I heard about the names "Intellect-01", "Intellect-02", "Debut" and "Phoenix", but I did not see them live. There is also the Kasparov series, although I'm not sure if they are domestically produced.

"Chess partner" is made with an indicator on liquid crystals. The photo shows what elements the figures are made of. A little unusual, but it's better than what they did for the MK-90 calculator. There is nothing at all clear link to youtube)

I don't have much to say about "Chess Partner", but the series "Electronics IM-01", "Electronics IM-01T" and "Electronics IM-05" are quite interesting chess computers.

On the box of the first model "Electronics IM-01" there is a label order date - 1986. In principle, this date can be considered the beginning of the release.
One of the first domestic electronic games, and completely our development (Leningrad association "Svetlana"). Before that, from electronic games, we produced only "Well, wait a minute!" (see) since 1984 and different versions of the game "" (since about 1980). The first was a clone of "Nintendo", and the second, apparently, a clone of AY-3-8500 from General Instrument.

Our chess computer used the popular K1801BM1 microprocessor in 1986. This is a 16-bit microprocessor, widely used in computers DVK-2 or the BK-0010 family. Most likely, it was debugged on DVK-2. It is noteworthy that the processor itself is manufactured by the Moscow Angstrem. At that time, Svetlana itself produced a K586VM1 microprocessor of its own production for computers of the C5 series, and it is not clear why they took someone else's. Probably because of that possibility of debugging.

This is a real computer. It has a processor, and RAM, and ROM. Only the screen is small.

Please note that random access memory chips (RAM) are on panels, and chips with a program (ROM) are hard-soldered. You see the filling of the computer "Eletkronika IM-01T". In the previous "IM-01" both RAM and ROM are soldered without panels. The fact that it is RAM, and not ROM, that are on the panels is very unusual. Traditionally, on computers, it was the firmware (BIOS) that stood on the sockets.
While you are thinking why this is done, I will say that it is good that I am surrounded by very good, erudite and literate people (like you) who will always tell some interesting story. One of these stories, which I heard about a year ago, was the story that the MY drive controller for the DVK-3 computer tested the memory before starting work and started working in the area that did not contain manufacturing errors (broken bits). This chip was called K1809RU1. Exactly the same was put in "Electronics IM-01T". Obviously, during the production of computers, the technical control department (OTC) of the enterprise suffered with these microcircuits, and decided to put them on panels in order to be able to quickly change them.

A chess computer consists of a playing field, input buttons and an indicator. The indicator can display the course of a person or a computer (from where and where he went), the level of difficulty, the number of moves made and other information.
In general, the computer "Electronics IM-01" is quite functional. In addition to the game itself from the initial position, he can also solve chess problems (checkmate in N moves) or start the game from an arbitrary setting.
If no move comes to mind, you can entrust this work to the computer. A variant of computer games with a computer is also possible.

I was lucky that for "Electronics IM-01" and "Electronics IM-01T" there are instructions, and you can compare their functions. They really are different. The developers did not sit idle and make changes to the program.
One of the most noticeable changes is the levels of the game. In the first version there are six, and in the second - seven. Here is a table of differences in time to think about a move.

As you can see, now the user does not have to wait 8-24 hours to find out the progress of the computer at the most difficult level, and the maximum calculation time is limited to 10 minutes. Of course, few people will wait that long for a move. But after all, people used to play chess "by correspondence", and nothing!

And for IM-05, it was not possible to find instructions. Inside it is different, there are other microcircuits. Microprocessor K1801VM2 instead of K1801VM1. The buttons have also become different, the user interface has changed a bit. For example, now instead of contemplating alternately flashing dot and level number, the screen displays the time since the beginning of the game. They also removed the "Fig" button and replaced it with the "Dir" button.
Year of release of "Electronics IM-05" - 1993. The flywheel of the industry, which was turned off in 1991, practically stopped by 1993, and on this model, most likely, the development of chess computers was completed. A new era has begun, other goods, but that's a completely different story.

I scanned the instructions and they can be downloaded from the link.

chess computer

chess computer- a specialized device for playing chess. Usually used for entertainment and practice of chess players in the absence of a human partner, as a means for analyzing various game situations, for competing computers with each other. They represent the development of the idea of ​​a "chess machine" that arose in the 18th century.

Consumer chess computers are typically implemented as chessboard with a display and a set of keys to perform the necessary gaming actions. Depending on the design, the board may not be connected in any way to the computer part and have no electronics, or vice versa, it may be a display that displays a graphical representation of the game situation.

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• Chess giveaway
• Chess in the USSR (magazine)

See what "Chess Computer" is in other dictionaries:

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