Excalibur 974, Operating Manual

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How to Update
Your Rating:
While viewing your rating with
the “O” symbol on, the first press of
the OPTIONS key shows:
Win—If you won the game, press
the RATING key to see your new
rating. Or press OPTIONS a sec-
ond time to show:
LOSE—If you lost the game,
press the RATING key to see your
new rating. Or press OPTIONS a
third time to show:
DrAW—If you drew the game,
press the RATING key to see your
new rating. Or press OPTIONS to
return to your unchanged rating dis-
play.
Playing the Black Pieces
When you want to play the Black
pieces (to let Electronic Chess
move first) press the GO key before
you make your first move as White.
You’ll see the White and Black
pieces switch places immediately!
Draw Messages
During the game, your Electronic
Chess will display the word DrAW
if a three-time repetition of position
occurs, or if there has been no pawn
moved and no exchanges for 50
moves. When either of these situa-
tions takes place, the rules of chess
state that a player can claim a draw.
If you wish, you can ignore the
message and continue the game.
When a stalemate is reached, the
display will read StALE.
Game-Ending Messages
Electronic Chess will announce
mate in two (MAtE2) and mate in
three (MAtE3). It will display
+MAtE when executing a check-
mate. When you checkmate your
Electronic Chess, it will display I
LOSE. When you want to claim a
win, draw, or want to resign—press
the 2nd key and then NEW
GAME .
Screen Symbols
When a “+” appears on the
screen, it is a reminder that you are
in check. When an “O” appears on
the screen, the game you are play-
ing can be rated. When an “=”
appears, it indicates you are in two
human player mode. And lastly
when an “!” appears on the screen,
you are being warned that one of
your pieces is threatened with cap-
ture. (This is similar to the friendly
"en garde" warning sometimes used
by human players when they are
attacking an opponent’s queen.)
Levels of Play
Generally, the higher the level
you select, the better your
Electronic Chess will play, and the
longer it will think during its moves.
The first four levels (1, 2, 3 and 4)
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SLEEP: Adjust the automatic
shut off time with this key. Setting
it to “0” will disable auto shut-off
altogether.
FLiP: Use this option to flip the
chess board around.
TOUCH: Use this option if you
are using the accessory chess board
DOCKER. When turned on,
Electronic Chess will not wait for
you to press on its
from
and
to
squares during its move.
SCORE KEY
Your display normally shows the
current move number. Instead, if
you want to see the piece-score of
your current position, press this key
repeatedly to turn this feature on or
off. The scoring totals the following
values: Pawns—1, Knights—3,
Bishops—3, Rooks—5, and
Queen—9.
SPEAKER KEY
Pressing this key will display
SOUnd. Press this key repeatedly to
select between: “2”—All sound on;
“1”—No sound on key presses;
“0”—No sound, except for error
buzzes.
THREAT KEY
If the Threat Warning indicator
“
!
” is on, pressing this key will
flash the threatening move on the
chess board.
PLAYER KEY
Pressing this key will display
PLAYr. Repeatedly press this key
to select between: “1”—Human vs
Computer; “2”—Human vs
Human; “0”—Computer vs
Computer.
SETUP KEY
Press this key to promote a pawn
that reaches your opponent’s back
rank to a piece other than a queen.
(The promotion to a queen is the
most common, so it is automatic.)
You can also use this key to set up
special positions (see page 14).
q / n
KEY
(CONTRAST)
Press this key repeatedly to adjust
the display contrast to one of six-
teen settings. This allows you to
compensate for differences in light-
ing and battery strength.
NEW GAME KEY
Use this key to start a new game.
RATING KEY
Electronic Chess rates your play!
Use this key to view your current
rating. Also use it to enter game
results for a new rating if the “O”
symbol is on, showing you played a
ratable game with no hints or take-
backs.
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