I have one of these, as well. Always enjoy playing with it. I wish it had lights on the squares, or row/column lights in addition to the LCD screen for indicating moves, as I am scared that little screen is going to die on me one day. I love all the different levels available. I just wish it were a LITTLE stronger.
My favourite chess computer: The EXCLAIBUR GRANDMASTER
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Amazing computer set that really simulated that "tournament feel" the board is definitely a bit of a space hog when trying to store it but I love the whole experience of using it.
Ron Nelson the programmer of the Excalibur Grandmaster used a new program that he wrote for the H8 processor which incorporated some of his new ideas, including the implementation of Attack Tables, a concept Nelson had years previously observed on some Spracklen computers at Fidelity Electronics. Nelson learned the ideas behind Attack Bit Map Tables through subsequent interactions with Ken Thompson who explained to Nelson how the Belle Attack Bit Map Tables worked in practice. Nelson went on to write his own Attack Bit Map Tables with additional new ideas that he wanted to try out that are now incorporated in Excalibur Mirage, Excalibur Ivan, Excalibur Grandmaster and Excalibur Igor electronic chess computers. GM Larry Kaufman was engaged as a chess consultant by Excalibur on the advice of Nelson to assist him in fine tuning the chess knowledge of the new H8 chess program that Nelson initially programmed into Excalibur Mirage and later also implemented in his future other H8 processor models, Ivan, Grandmaster and Igor.
The Grandmaster needs a longer thinking time to achiefe a good playing level, I always play it in "tournament mode", i.e. 40 moves in 2 hours + 20 in one, and so on. Then it plays decedntly, provided it comes out of the opening phase well enough. It often forgets to develop its peices properly. The opening library clearly lacks depth.
I let it play against another recent purchase, the SciSys Turbostar 432, which made quite a splash in 1985.
What’s the easiest way to reset the pieces on the board after a lose? What button should I press so I can then put the pieces back where they belong? It takes me about 15 minutes because the computer gives me an error and instructs me to put the pieces how it wants. Sometimes it isn’t even where they should go. I go through around 3 cycles for them to finally be placed where they should.
I just reset the pieces. The Grandmaster beeps every time I remove a piece and put it back in the starting position, but when all is done it automatically starts a new game.
Which do you recommend I should download online?
Download???
TracySMiller wrote:
I have one of these, as well. Always enjoy playing with it. I wish it had lights on the squares, or row/column lights in addition to the LCD screen for indicating moves, as I am scared that little screen is going to die on me one day. I love all the different levels available. I just wish it were a LITTLE stronger.
Your concerns are valid. Some of the LCD screens of my Excalibur-branded chess computes died on their own over time despite proper storage. The issue with this was the need to always pay close attention to the tiny lcd screen.
Well, at least you got LCD displays on both opposing sides of the board, so if one dies, you can still use the other. I've got three Grandmasters (two black ones, one silver), and all six LCD screen still work perfectly. Fingers crossed. 
LCD displays on Mephisto computers frequently malfunction over time. They either die or black fluid seeps in and obscures the display. I've seen that happen on many, many Mephisto computers, most frequently on Supermondial and Monte Carlo models.
chessmaster_diamond wrote:
Well, at least you got LCD displays on both opposing sides of the board, so if one dies, you can still use the other. I've got three Grandmasters (two black ones, one silver), and all six LCD screen still work perfectly. Fingers crossed.
I don’t look forward to the day when I have to repair any of the tiny LCD screens of the Excalibur. I already know that the reed switches on the board surface tends to fail over time.
I gave up the ghost on attempting to repair the touchscreens on my Excalibur New York Times handheld, Excalibur NYT Deluxe handheld and even the Saitek Travel Chess computer. Until now i wonder how their screens all became defective. As if their ribbons connecting them to the boards got damaged.
I've been collecting vintage chess computers on and off for about two decades (more recently, off), and over time this 1997 model from Excalibur Electronics, a Florida-based company owned by the son of home chess computer pioneer Sid Samole (founder of Fidelity Electronics), has become my firm favourite: The Excalibur GRANDMASTER. I've owned such a machine (again) for a few years now in its limited "Platinum" edition in silver and black - but I really like the standard black and green version more, so I took the opportunity to buy one a few days ago, and I received it today, in very good and fully functional condition - the Reed sensors can be a bit unpredictable in these older machines.
It's probably my favourite vintage chess computer, for a number of reasons:
The program by Ron Nelson (the pioneer who wrote the software for the very first commercially available micro chess computer in the world, the original Fidelity Chess Challenger (I), is of decent strength, about ELO 1,800 (SSDF, not USCF). Good enough for me at this point in my life.
And it's a pleasure to play on its near-tournament-size board. The pieces have a decent heft, the auto-sensory board usually works like a charm.
It's easy to operate, within 5 minutes or so you'll get it.
And, for a plastic chess computer it's actually rather pretty.