Electronic Travel Set

Appreciate the comments Dalimod - all good. AlexiZalman's approach chimes in with the method I can recall using together and the consistent play rings true as well. My only advice would be to look for the means of turning off the buzzer - it saves the battery and I don't think you will need it on the lower levels anyway. Other suggestion would be watch out for the bishops little suckers can get mixed up with pawns sometimes especially if a little tired - could always go "old school" and put a dab of tippex on the mitres to id them. Final thoughts for a little perspective have an old GrandMaster Chess program that uses Audiogenic software technology (1986) that I inherited from my father highly portable.It has a couple of drawbacks though - the first is that it is analogue and the second is that the peripherals are a little more cumbersome and you need a table for the keyboard , "loader" and "cheese" or mouse . Thinking about it the Commodore 64 is probably a little off topic especially considering the transformer which weighs a tonne. Have fun and as others have said some feedback further down the line would be appreciated.

Keep in mind that the older the travel chess computer is, the more energy it consumes. Sometimes you get 20 hours or less out of 4-6 batteries.

Having played a few games on here now I'm learning just how bad / little I actually know 🤦‍♂️🤣 so its becoming increasingly clear event he most casual / basic computer is going to break my in probably one move or less 🤣

Hello @Pep2012,

have you received the chess computer? Have you tried it? I am very interested in your experience.

Old thread I know but I too see a lot of Systema Meteor chess computers for sale... anyone an idea of how well/badly this plays? Or a rough elo? I'm guessing as it's unloved it may not play too well.

Hi Chris,

Sorry for the delay but I don't play on chess.com much.

Regards the Meteor:-

I don't own this chess computer but the engine is used in many other computers (clones), you're looking at around 1000 to 1200 cELO at 30sec/move. The Meteor's main plus is portability. Note, most low-end chess computers will play up to 1400 cELO if you give them enough time, so it's really a matter of convenience.

As you are in the UK and as I buy a lot of chess computers, at the low-end I would recommend the Millennium Orion 2000 as a better alternative. There are usually 3 to 5 of these on ebay every month and are pitched at £20 or less. Playing strength is around 1200 to 1400 at 30sec/move, and it's stacked with features. It does have two main drawbacks, and hence why it tends to be for sale a lot.

(1) Because of all the features the mode-ing (what all the switches do) is very complicated and is by no means obvious. Expect to spend a few hours working it all out.

(2) To play Black you have to turn the computer around so the LCD screen is upside down.

Despite these drawbacks the Orion plays a very decent game within reasonable timescales, as well as having excellent variable time formats which can be pitched to a comfortable level for all players up to casual levels. Even for a c.1500 OTB player like myself, care is needed and it's no pushover when tuned up.

The Orion's big plus - aside form the endless features - is that it contains 1000 GM games built in (333 each of Fischer, Karpov and Kasporov) and a crude rating system to play through the games, making the computer useful even for intermediate players. I suspect it's opening book uses these GM games.

As I said the main problem is the mode-ing but any effort to read the manual will be rewarded. Imo it's the best buy on UK eBay in the sub-£20 range. You can get stronger chess computers in this price range but they will be less flexible and usually think-on-your-time making the odds on being able to win, even on very low settings, dodgy, and hence discouraging to play.

Hi Alexi

Thanks for the info. I will look out for the Millennium Orion 2000, I also wanted a checkers/draughts machine. I'm getting a bit addicted to buying these machines now.... already have a Saitek Traveller (red) and Avalon, they are v similar with ~1300 Elo. Great for a fun, easy game on the move. The Traveller is a joy to use! Plus a couple of stronger Mephisto machines (Expert Travel and Master) for more "serious" chess training, which are really a bit too powerful for my skill level. I do much prefer using these machines than playing on a PC/mobile phone.

My favourite travel set is "Excalibur The New York Times Deluxe Edition Touch Screen Talking". You can turn the talking stuff off, but has a number of very useful features:-

(1) LCD display uses graphic icons rather than symbolic.

(2) Has a back light, a trivial thing but can be very much missed.

(3) Has 500 crafted built in chess puzzles from the New York Times newspaper.

Lots of other more common features but most importantly has very flexible playing strength - this is not always the case with much stronger devices, imo*. Plays around 1400 at 30sec/move**.

I bought mine new for about £90 when it first came out, never seen one for sale on UK eBay.

Glad you found your portables enjoyable, strange as it may seem they often have more 'chess personality' than random on-line players!

*Many of the stronger machines think-on-the-human-player's time, which has the effect of mudding the playing strength level settings. I have found as a casual/intermediate player it's best to switch this off otherwise you may never beat a device outside the 'beginner' levels - suspect such devices end up being little used and hence why the old chess computers are often in excellent condition.

**Chess computer ratings are a bit iffy in human practice, as you can easily add 200 to 400 rating points if you have the patience to wait a minute or three. There are actually old charts which show these variabilities so the computer's rating is really matter of convenience more than anything else at lower playing levels.

Your Excalibur LCD looks a nice device. The fact it has puzzles is novel... not seen that in other devices.

I was looking at the Excalibur Squire and soon realised it was the Saitek Traveller repackaged! I guess this happened a lot e.g. Radio Shack, etc. Was your Excalibur LCD once a Saitek or Novag product...? I don't know much about the brand.

I prefer to play my chess devices than humans (at least for now), then I can focus on chess and not waste time worrying about ratings and other people's behaviour! Plus you save a lot of time not having to wait for the human.

If I had to choose one it would be my Mephisto Expert Travel. It's strong, a peg set (a bit larger than the usual peg sets) and well-made.

My fantasy chess computer is a Casio Chess Digital Watch... same layout as the calculator watch and moves are exchanged via algebraic notation

Regards the "Excalibur The New York Times Deluxe Edition Touch Screen Talking", the engine is used for other Excalibur computers but the 500 chess puzzles appears to be completely unique in chess computers. Also it's computer chess rating is a bit higher than quoted above, c. 1600 (can solve mates-in-8!), and doesn't think-on-your-move. The company was American and sourced there own engines - usually from Dave Levy / Ron Nelson - and I believe stopped production in 2010, branding may appear elsewhere, of course.

Not so sure the Squire and Traveller use the same engine as the programmers are different. Radio Shack had lots of excellent rebrands and are well worth looking at - never found any of there devices to be disappointing. Compared to a company like Lexibook which still produces chess computers but almost all use the same - albeit excellent - 4bit engine!

Anyone own a Saitek Kasparov Express (1996) chess computer?

Spacious Mind lists it as having a rating of 820 SSDF which seems low for a 1996 device.
https://www.spacious-mind.com/html/express.html

Best source is a German website, try something like "www.schach-computer.info" with a translator. Site confirms the 820 rating, check the clone list. As the Express has a program size of 2K would definitely put in the sub-1000 class.

In my experience the age of a device is no indicator of playing strength since if a person is say 500 elo there is little point in trying to sell them a 2000+ machine. A device capable of say 1400+ elo would probably be pretty decent for 90% of players - guessing the numbers.