PART 1 • A chess computer on the table
a time when a cheap compact car cost $3,000 to $4,000, a tabletop
chess computer could cost over a thousand dollars). These early chess
computers were luxury items, but were also built to reflect that status,
frequently being housed in expensive wood frames suitable for proud
display in the home.
Tabletop computers of the time typically required the user to input a move
via a keypad, similar to a calculator. You would type in the algebraic
coordinates (we'll learn about algebraic chess notation in Part Two of this
book) of a piece's starting square, then the coordinates of the destination
square, then hit an “enter” key to submit the move. After some thinking
time the computer would beep (or make some analogous sound) and
display its move on a red LED (light emitting diode) display.
A bit later, the price of chess computers came down a little (but were still
out of the price range of the average middle class family) and these units
became more common. One of the more popular machines, which made
its appearance in 1978, was known as BORIS:
BORIS used the keypad move entry method and displayed its own moves (along with
an occasional funny comment) on its LED screen. It came with a cardboard chess
board and a set of plastic pieces, but the computer itself was housed in a fancy
wooden box (as seen above) which easily fit on the typical coffee table. You'd open
the box, remove the AC adapter, plug one end into a jack on the side of the box and
the other end into any convenient wall outlet, set up the board, turn on the machine,
and start a game.
BORIS was a really cool little computer which had a very big flaw: it
played terrible chess. Microchips and programming hadn't yet advanced
to the point at which a chess computer could give even an average player
a decent game. I own a working BORIS from that period, but seldom play
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