CHESS MASTER 3 (6 july 2004)
Since their introduction around 1978, commercial chess computers have become incredibly much stronger.
Many of the strongest chess computers have been made by Hegener und Glaser, the German manufacturers of Mephisto .
Today I received an old Mephisto chess computer, the Mirage, which dates from 1984.
First, I organized two games against the Zire palmtop (click , click, click), which were lost by Mirage.
But let's be honest: the Zire is about fifteen years younger than Mirage, so has a clear advantage.
So I went looking for a computer that was made around 1984. Suddenly I found the answer: Chess Master, a computer made in the former German Democratic Republic. The outside of this machine is made of wood, which gives it a very attractive appearance:
The computers played two games, However pretty the Chess Master may look, it was beaten twice by its colleague from capitalist Germany.
Chess Master - Mephisto Mirage (30 secs/move)
... and black eventually wins.
Mephisto Mirage - Chess Master (30 secs per move)
To be honest, I had expected more from Chess Master, especially since it looks rather impressive.
But maybe this just shows that the good-looking ones are not necessarily the bright ones.
