Saitek Mephisto Expert Travel Chess - Manual (Page 14)

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After you have made all your option selections from any or all of the
option groups, press CLEAR to return to normal game play.
Another method of selecting game options is by pressing the option
squares. As shown in the Options Chart, Squares A1-H1, A2-H2, A3-
H3, and A4 can be used to turn options on and off. First, press OPTION
to enter Option Mode; then take a chess piece and press the desired
square to access any option, using the chart as a guide.
• For Operation Mode, Playing Mode, and Rotating Display Mode
options, pressing the square repeatedly turns that option on and
off, with plus (+) for ON and minus (–) for OFF.
• For Bronstein Clock Options, pressing Square A4 repeatedly
selects your desired clock setting.
After making your selections, press CLEAR to return to your game.
When the computer is first powered on, certain default options are
set. Options which are automatically in effect at the first startup are
shown in the chart with a plus; options which are off are shown with a
minus. When you reset for a new game, most of your selected options
are carried over to your next game. Some exceptions are Auto Answer,
which is automatically set back to ON when you start a new game, and
Play White from the Top, which is set back to OFF.
5.1 Operation Mode Options (Squares A1-H1)
Press OPTION once to select the Operation Mode Options. Then
use the BLACK/+ and WHITE/– keys to select options within this group,
and press ENTER to turn options on (+) or off (–). Or, simply press the
option squares to turn options on or off.
a. Auto Answer Mode (Square A1)
On: +Auto Off: -Auto
Normally, the computer automatically answers with a countermove
whenever you enter a move. If you turn Auto Answer off, however, you
can enter any number of moves one by one, without allowing the
computer to answer. You’ll see that there are many great ways to use
this feature!
• Play through master games. Press ENTER to see what the com-
puter would do in any position.
• Keep records of your own chess games. When a game is over, play
to any position to see how other moves or different strategies might
have affected the outcome.
• Study opening lines by entering them manually.
• Play against a friend, with the computer acting as referee. It will
monitor your game, checking all moves for legality and keeping
track of the time for both sides.
When playing against another person, if either side should need help,
press INFO to see a suggested move. To see what the computer would
do in a certain position, press ENTER and the computer will make the
next move. After it has made its move, Auto Answer remains off, and
you may continue your game.
Note that this option will automatically go back to its default setting of
ON whenever you press NEW GAME.
b. Sound with Keypress (Square B1)
On: +SNd Off: -SNd
This option lets you turn off the sound that accompanies each key-
press. You will still hear beeps when the computer moves, when an
illegal move or keypress is made, or when NEW GAME is pressed.
c. Silent Mode (Square C1)
On: +SIL Off: -SIL
Normally, the computer always beeps when it has found its move. For
completely silent operation, turn on Silent Mode.
d. Coach Mode (Square D1)
On: +Co:ch Off: -Co:ch
Selecting +Co:ch turns on special coaching features that encourage
you to concentrate on your strategic planning. In Coach Mode, the
computer looks over your shoulder while you play, watching what you do
and helping you when you need assistance! In this unique “Guardian
Angel” capacity, the computer will warn you with a Capture Alert if you
are in danger of losing a piece. If one of your pieces is threatened by a
lesser valued piece, for example, the computer will sound a series of
warning beeps and flash the board lights of the threatened piece for a
few seconds. To continue the game, make your next move (or take back
your last move and make a different one).
With Coach Mode on, the computer will also sound a Tactical Alert if it
thinks you have committed a blunder and your move is about to lead to
an avoidable material loss. It does this by sounding a series of warning
beeps and flashing the move it intends to make. You can either enter the
computer’s move, or take back your own move and make another one.