Saitek Mephisto Expert Travel Chess - Manual (Page 7)

7
ENGLISH
the board! When the computer promotes a pawn, the display shows
both the pawn and the promoted piece. Don’t forget to replace the
computer’s pawn with its new piece.
2.3 Illegal Moves
Your computer will never accept an illegal move. If you try to make
one, you’ll hear a low double beep, and the board lights and display will
simply continue to show the square the piece came from. Either move
that same piece to another square, or press the piece back down on
the original from square and move a different piece.
If you don’t make the computer’s move correctly, you’ll also get an
error beep. This means you are moving the wrong piece, or moving the
computer’s piece to the wrong square. If the computer wants to move its
pawn from C7 to C5, for example, and you press down on C7 and then
C6, the display shows
:C5 briefly, pointing out your error. The display
then returns to showing the move again ( C7-C5 ), and the computer
expects you to press C5 to complete its move.
If you press down on a piece and the from square is displayed, but
you decide not to make the move, press down on that same square
again to cancel. Then make another move. If you change your mind
after entering your whole move, take the move back (see Section 1.4).
2.4 Check, Mate, and Draw
When a King is in check, the computer first displays its move as
usual. After the move is made, CHECK flashes in the display for a few
seconds, along with the checking move. The display then goes back to
showing the clock.
If the computer discovers a forced mate against its opponent, it first
displays its move as usual. After the move has been made on the
board, the computer flashes a mate announcement along with the move
for several seconds (e.g.,
=in 2 for a mate in two moves). The display
then goes back to showing the clock.
When a game ends in checkmate, the display flashes MATE (along
with the mating move) for a short time after the move is made. The
display then goes back to showing the clock.
The computer recognizes draws by stalemate, three-fold repetition,
and the 50-move rule and insufficient material. After a draw has oc-
curred, the display flashes
EnD , EnD:3 , EnD:50 , or EnD:In (along with
the drawing move) for a brief time after the move has been made. The
display then goes back to showing the clock.
2.5 Interrupting the Computer’s Search
Think the computer is taking too long to move? You can interrupt it
any time! Simply press ENTER while the computer is thinking, and it
will stop and play the best move it has found so far. This feature can be
handy on the higher levels, where the computer can take a long time to
move, and on the Infinite Level, where the computer thinks indefinitely
unless you stop it.
On the Mate Search Levels, pressing ENTER won’t force the com-
puter to make a move. Instead, the computer will sound an error beep
and display – – – – – to indicate that it was interrupted before it found a
mate. To continue play, switch to another level.
2.6 Changing Sides with the Computer
To change sides with the computer, simply press ENTER when it’s
your turn—and the computer will make the next move for your side.
Change sides as often as you wish!
Note: If you press ENTER at the beginning of a new game, the
computer will play White from the top of the board (see Section 5.1).
2.7 Built-In Openings
At the beginning of a game, the computer will often move instantly on
many levels. This is because it is playing from memory, using its own
built-in “book” of opening chess moves. This book contains thousands
of positions, including most major openings and many positions from
grandmaster play. If the current board position is in its book, the com-
puter plays a response to that position automatically, instead of having
to think about the move.
A special feature of your computer’s opening book is its ability to
handle transpositions. A transposition occurs when a position reached
by a certain set of moves can also be reached when those same moves
occur in a different order. The computer’s integrated Automatic Transpo-
sition Manager handles these cases with ease.
Also included is a unique user-selectable book feature, which lets
you choose from different types of opening books, or even turn the
book off, if desired. For complete details, see Section 5.2.
2.8 Thinking on the Opponent’s Time
As you play, you may notice that the computer sometimes replies to
your moves immediately, even in the middle of games played on the
higher levels. This is because the computer thinks on your time, using