Saitek Alchemist Plus Specifications download pdf (Page 3)

ENGLISH

Display on entering Teach Mode

Clock showing Hours/Minutes:

Flashing colon, no leading zero

King is in check

(White/Black)

Checkmate

(for White/Black)

Game has ended in a draw

Clock showing Minutes/Seconds:

Steady colon, with leading zero

Player to move for White

Note: Random expressions are shown for Alec. His animated expressions will

change according to specific game situations!

Computer is thinking for Black

TYPICAL DISPLAYS AT A GLANCE!

like, as explained in Section 3.

IMPORTANT: Pressing NEW GAME clears the current

game from memory—be careful not to press this key by

mistake!

1.6 Too Easy/Hard? Change the Level!

Your computer offers 64 levels of skill, each of which

corresponds to one of the 64 board squares—making level

selection so easy! Together with the built-in Teach Modes,

you have a choice of 768 level setting combinations!

For complete details on all the playing levels, along with

instructions on selecting levels, see Section 3.

2. ADDITIONAL FEATURES

2.1 Whose Move? Check the Display!

You can always tell at a glance if the computer is currently

thinking, and which side is to move—just by taking a look at

the color symbols (] for Black and [ for White)!

Whenever

the computer is thinking,

the color symbol for the side it is

playing

flashes

in the display.

When it is your turn to move,

the color symbol for your side shows

steadily

2.2 Special Chess Moves

Captures:

To capture, press down lightly on the piece you

want to move, take the captured piece off the board, and

press your piece down on the square of the captured piece.

En Passant:

In an en passant capture, the computer

reminds you to remove the captured pawn from the board by

flashing the pawn’s location in the display. Press down on

the captured pawn before removing it from the board.

Castling:

The computer automatically recognizes castling

after the King is moved. After you have pressed the King

down on its from and to squares, the computer displays the

Rook’s move, with the from square flashing. Press down on

this square, and the display flashes the square the Rook

should move to. Press down on the Rook’s to square to

complete the move.

Pawn Promotion: When you promote a pawn,

first press

your pawn down on the from

square, as usual. The com-

puter will flash the from square and the symbols for the

pawn and Queen, along with the clock display. You now have

two choices:

(a) To promote to a Queen,

simply complete

your move by pressing your pawn down on the to square.

The promotion will take place automatically, accompanied by

a series of beeps.

(b) To underpromote to a Knight, Bishop,

or Rook,

press the PIECE SYMBOL KEY for your desired

promotion piece (@, #, or $). That symbol will be displayed,

and pressing your pawn down on the to square will complete

your move. When promoting, always remember to change

your piece on the board!

When the computer promotes a

pawn,

the display shows its move, as usual, with the from

square flashing. You’ll notice, though, that the display shows

the symbol for the pawn

plus

the symbol for the computer’s

promoted piece. Press on the from square, and the to

square flashes. Press down on the to square, change the

computer’s piece on the board, and continue your game!

2.3 Illegal Moves

Your computer will never accept an illegal move! If you try

to make one, you’ll hear a low beep and the display will

alternate between showing the from square and the time.

Either move that same piece to another square, or press the

piece back down on its original from square and move a

different piece.

If you don’t move the computer’s piece correctly, you’ll

also hear an error beep. This means that you are either

moving the wrong piece, or moving the computer’s piece to

the wrong square. Check the display and make the move

again.

If you press down on a piece and the from square is

displayed, but you decide not to make that move, simply

press down on that same square again to cancel. Then

make another move. If you change your mind after entering

your whole move, take the move back as described in Sec-

tion 1.4.

Caution: Be careful when playing with the sound turned

off, since you won’t be able to hear the error beeps!

2.4 Check, Mate, and Draw

Check:

When a King is in check, the computer first dis-

plays the move as usual. After the move is made, the display

alternates between the time and ch, along with [ if White is

in check or ] if Black is in check.

Checkmate:

When a game ends in checkmate, you’ll hear

a series of beeps and the display will flash End, along with [

if White has won or ] if Black has won. Notice how delighted

Little Alec is when he wins—and how sad he gets when he

loses a game!

Draws:

The computer recognizes draws by stalemate and

three-fold repetition. After a draw has occurred, the display

will flash End and both of the color symbols ([ and ]), along

with the drawing move.

2.5 Interrupting the Computer’s Search

Think the computer is taking too long to move? No prob-

lem—you can interrupt it any time! Simply press PLAY while

the computer is thinking, and it will stop and make the move

it is currently considering.

This feature can come in handy for those of you who are

impatient—especially when using Fixed Depth Levels C6

and higher, where the computer can occasionally take an

hour or more to make its move.

2.6 Changing Sides with the Computer

To change sides with the computer, press PLAY when it’s

your turn to move—and the computer will make the next

move for your side. Change sides as often as you wish!

Want the computer to play the first move for White at the

start of a new game? Press NEW GAME to reset the com-

puter, and then press PLAY!

Want to watch the computer play chess against itself?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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Saitek Alchemist Plus Specifications Page 3

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