26 BEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG P. 56 Model No. 908-EFG No de modele: 908-EFG Modellnr. 908-EFG ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH C C ongratulations on your purchase of Excalibur Electronics’ Alexandra the Great chess computer! You’ve purchased both your own personal chess trainer and a partner who’s always ready for a game—and who can improve as you do! Talking and sound effects add another dimen sion to your Alexandra computer for increased enjoyment and play value. The legendary King Arthur brandished a magic sword, Excalibur, from which we take our company name. With this unique weapon in his hands, he could not be vanquished. Although Excalibur Electronics can’t claim the magical secrets of Merlin, King Arthur’s court wizard, sometimes our patented technology may make it seem as if we could. The Alexandra the Great Talking Chess Computer is anoth er unmatched innovation of Excalibur Electronics. 2 Finding the Pieces Turn your chess computer over carefully with its chessboard facedown. Find the door marked “PIECE COMPARTMENT DOOR.” Open it and remove the chess pieces. Replace the door and set the pieces aside for now. Battery Installation With the chess computer facedown, find the door marked “BATTERY DOOR.” Open it and insert three (3) fresh, alkaline AA batteries in the battery holder. Note the arrangement of the batteries called for by the diagram in the holder. Make sure that the positive tip of each battery matches up with the + sign in the battery compartment so that polarity will be correct. When the batteries are properly installed, Alexandra the Great automatically turns on and starts talking, letting you know she's ready for action. If Alexandra does not start talking, use a thin pointed object and press the ACL button. Replace the battery compartment panel, and turn the computer over. Play a Game Right Away After you have installed the batteries, the display will show ENGLISH? asking you if you want Alexandra to speak in English. If you do, press the YES key. If you want her to speak French or German, press the NO key until your desired language is shown and then press the YES key. Place the plastic chess pieces on their start ing squares (see page 20). The display will show 01CHESS. This indicates you are at the first move of the game and ready to play chess. 3 ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH After pressing a FROM square, press the FROM square again to select a different FROM square. Unless you instruct her otherwise, Alexandra gives you the White pieces—the ones at the bottom of the board, as pictured above. White always moves first. You’re ready to play! Making Your Move Besides deciding on a good move, you have to move the piece in a way that Alexandra will recognize what's been played. Think of communicating your move as a two-step process— registering the FROM square and then registering the TO square. Lift the piece or pawn you want to move. Press the edge of the piece's base down gently on the center of its FROM square. Alexandra will say and display the coordinates of the FROM square—for example “E2.” Then press the edge of the piece down gently on the square you want to move it to—for example, “E4.” Alexandra will say the TO square, confirming that she has registered your move. Place the 4 piece gently on its new square. (Some players like to push the squares with their forefinger while holding the piece in the rest of the fingers of the same hand.) Moving Alexandra’s Piece You'll notice that Alexandra almost immediately displays her response to your move. Alexandra decides on her own move, of course, and lets you know what it is on the display below the LCD board. For example, if you play 1. E2-E4, she may respond E7-E5. But you need to move the piece on the board for her. Follow the same two-step procedure you did while registering your own move—gently pushing on the FROM and TO squares. You're already playing a game! Enjoy the contest. Putting a game “on hold” Any time it's your move and you wish to stop playing for a while, just press the OFF/SAVE key. Alexandra will switch off and go into a sleep mode. She will remember the last position, including the elapsed time, as long as you do not interrupt the power supply—for example, by removing the batteries. To resume play, just press the ON/CLEAR key. 5 ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH Layout of Buttons OFF/SAVE ON/CLEAR SETUP WHERE NO VERIFY OPTIONS NEW GAME TAKEBACK HINT/WHY LEVEL MOVE REPEAT SOUND MULTI-MOVE KEY YES o/nKEY (CONTAST) 6 Function Keys and Special Features NEW GAME KEY. Use this key to start a new game. OFF/SAVE KEY. This key turns the unit off, automatically saving a game in progress. NOTE: If she is not “thinking,” Alexandra will automatically turn off after a period of time, saving your game position. Use the ON key to resume the game. ON/CLEAR KEY. This key turns Alexandra on. Also use this key to exit any of the special modes like OPTIONS, SETUP, and LEVEL. This key may be used during move entr...