Aurora Odell Amore
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re:Excalibur`s Chess Station computer: a review - 2006/08/19 02:16
says... that Excalibur chess computers are not serious instruments for computer chess.
Keep in mind a computer playing at around the 1700 Elo level is stronger than (in my estimate) 85% of all chess players. Some of us, (I`m afraid) will never get good enough to beat the Excalibur systems at their higher levels.
I will be the first person to recommend a Palm (or Palm compatible) unit with Chess Tiger or ChessGenius for seriously strong (greater than 1700 Elo) players. A Palm with Chess Tiger can play at Elo 2200 and will beat the Excalibur units every time.
Nevertheless, I have a lot of chess friends and we take our Excalibur systems quite seriously. Currently I`m strength testing the original Excalibur (around 1400 to 1600 Elo) against Talking LCD Chess which is estimated to be as many as 400 Elo points stronger than the original. Is it really that strong? I don`t know yet but I`m sure having a blast finding out.
I`ve played and recorded many Computer vs. Computer games with the Excalibur units. On occasion my Excalibur`s have put up one hell of a fight with Chess Tiger and even ChessMaster 6000 personalities (those rated at just under Elo 2000)at times. Where the Excalibur really begins to show its weakness is in the end game. Often I`ve seen a won position lost as Excalibur`s end game weaknesses are exploited.
But overall the Excaliburs are just fine for me and most of the chess world. In addition to playing decent chess they`ll run for months (if not years) on one set of batteries. They are perfect for playing "correspondence style" chess against the computer. That is, you can make a move than walk away and let the computer make its move. The unit will then shut itself off automatically and you just need to turn the unit back on to resume your game!
They are fantastic buys for the money. No one comes close to offering as good a value. I`ve received hundreds of emails from all around the world from very serious players with Excalibur computers. (Many own multiple Excalibur systems.) They love their units!
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Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others.
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