Radio Shack 1850 User manual

60-2201
RADIOSHACK1850CHESS
17 LEVELPROGRAM
PLEASEREADBEFORE USING EQUIPMENT
Radio/haek

Introduction
Radio Shack 1850isanuncomplicatedyetstate-of-the-art
chesscomputerwhichautomaticallyregistersyourmoveson
thebuilt-inchessboard.Itusesthe16lightsontheedgeofthe
boardtoindicateitsownmoves.Thiscomputeris battery
operatedandcontainsa low-powermemory whichwillretain
thelastpositionofaninterruptedgameforupto18months.
To ensuremaximum enjoymentofyournewchesscomputer,
we recommend that youreadthisentiremanual,familiarizing
yourselfwithallofthecontrolsandoptions.Asyoubecome
morefamiliarwiththeoperation,youcanrefertothe
individualmanualsectionsforanswerstospecificquestions.
2

2 3-7 16171819 15

KEYS ANDFUNCTIONS
1. Battery Compartment — Onbottom(seepage5)
2. ColorIndicators — Lightsto indicatewhichpiecesare
to bemoved.Whenitisthecomputersmove,the
appropriatecolor indicator blinksuntil computerhas
selecteditsmove.
3. SETUPIndicator- Lightswhenthechesscomputerisin
thesetup mode, (seepage9)
4. MULTI MOVE Indicator — Lightswhenthechess
computerisinthemulti-move mode, (seepage9)
5. CHECK Indicator — Lightsto indicatethatyour
computer'sKingisin Check, (seepage8)
6. DRAW Indicator — Lightsincaseofastalemateor draw,
(seepage8)
7. MATE Indicator- Lights(togetherwiththeCHECK
LED)to indicate Checkmate, (seepage8)
8. GamePieceButtons — Usetoselectgamepiecesinthe
set-upmodeortoverifypiece position, (seepage9)
9. COLORSelector — Usetoselectwhichcolorgame pieces
arebeingplacedintheset-upmodeorwhichcolorsetis
being verified, (seepage9)
10. ONButton — Presstoactivatethechesscomputer;play
is resumedatthepointwherethe"MEMORY" button
was pressed, (seepage 11 )
11. MEMORY Button — Presstoturnoffthechesscomputer;
thecurrentboardissavedin memory, (seepage 11 )
12. SOUND Button- Presstoturnonandoffthesound.
Withsoundon,thecomputerwillbeeptoindicate moves,
(seepage 11 )
13. NEW GAME Button- Presstoresettheboard
configurationtothebeginningofanew game, (seepage 3)
14. LEVEL Button- Usetoselecttheskilllevelofthechess
computer, (seepage6)
15. SETUPButton — Presstoplacethechesscomputerinthe
Set-up Mode, (seepage9)
16. MULTIMOVE Button- Presstoplacethechess
computerintheMulti-Move Mode, (seepage9)
17. DISPLAYMOVEButton- Presstoturnonoroffthe
DisplayMove feature, (seepage9)
18. TAKEBACK Button- Presstotakebackprevious
moves, (see page 8 )
19. PLAY Button — Pressto forcethechesscomputerto
immediatelymakeits move, (seepage7)

20. SensoryChessboard — Eachsquarehasa sensorfor
indicatingpiecemovement.
21. Movement Indicator — Lightstoindicatepiecesbeing
moved, (seepage3)
ImportantNote
•Your RADIOSHACK 1850 SensoryChessGameis
programmedtoplaychesswithyou,nottoteachthegameto
you. Wehaveincludedacopyoftherulesofchess,incaseyou
arenotfamiliarwiththegame.Ifyouneedadditional
information,yourlocal libraryhasseveralgoodbooksonthe
subject.
•Thecomputerisprogrammedwithavarietyofinstant
responsestoopeningmoves.Theseresponsesformthe
"Openingbook".Thecomputer will, however,calculate
responsesforanyunusualopeningmoves.
1. Gettingstarted
Slideoutthebatterycoverandinsert4 'Csizebatteriesas
showninFig.2.Press| ON | andthen| NEW GAME| .Ifthe
computerlocksup,duetostaticdischargeforsomeother
reason, usea p in(orsharpobject)topressandhold ACL
switch(locatedonthebottomlabel)for2secondstoreset.
Useof alkalinebatteries,whichwillprovideupto200hours
of playingtime,isrecommended.
2x "C"batteries _/\ I
——v^\\ \ y
2x "C" batteries
I
I
I
<S
/ I
/
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y
L-
5
Fig. 2 Installbatteriesbyorder.

2. Settingthelevelofskill
YourRadioShack1850ChessComputerhas 17 different skill
levels.Thefirstninelevelsaredesignedforcasualplay.The
computerwillselectitsmovefortheselevelsbasedonthe
followingaverageresponsetimes:
LevelAverageresponsetimepermove
00.5second(HandicapLevelforbeginners)
12seconds(Defaultsetting)
25seconds
315seconds
430seconds
51minute
62minutes
73minutes
86minutes
Theactualresponsetimewillvarywitheachlevelandthe
complexityofthecurrent positions.
Thenextfourlevels — A,B,C andD — aretournamentlevels.
Theselevelsaretimecontrolgames,andare classified as
follows:
LevelPrimarytimecontrolSecondarytimecontrol
A30moves/1st30 min. 30moves/30minutes
B40moves/1st2 hours20moves/hour
C40 moves/1 st 21/2 hr 16 moves/hour
D50moves/1st 2
1/2
hr20moves/hour
TakingLevelB asanexample,thecomputerwouldhaveto
finishitsfirst40moveswithin2 hours(2hourscomputer
time — not includingtimeforyourmoves),andthenmakethe
following20moveswithinonehour(computertime).The
remainingmovesinthegamewouldcontinuetobelimitedby
thesecondarytimecontrol.
NOTE: AnytimeremainingonthePrimaryTimeControlis
carriedforwardtotheSecondaryTimeControl,soitis
possiblethatthesecondarytimecanbelongerthanindicated.
Forexample,inLevelB,ifthecomputerisfastenoughto
completeitsfirst40movesusingonly1hourofthinkingtime,
thenitwouldhavea totalof2 hoursthinkingtimeforthe
next20moves.Theremainingtimeforeachtime control
periodwillbeaccumulateduntiltheendofthegame.
LevelDescription
E5min/game — Thecomputerwilltrytocomplete a
gamein5 minutestime (totalcomputer thinking
time — playertimenotincluded).Thisissometimes
abbreviatedasa 'blitz'game.
F10 sec/move— Thecomputerwillindicateitsmove
within10seconds.
G InfiniteLevel — Thecomputerwillsearchforabest
moveaslongaspossible(unlessitisinterruptedby
pressingthe'play' key). In verycomplicatedset-ups
it couldtakeseveraldaystomove.
HProblemSolvingLevel — SeeSection14ofthis
manualforacompletedescription.

Press I LEVEL I untilthelighted indicatorcorrespondstothe
levelyouwantornolightsareontoselectHandicapLevel0.
Pressing| COLOR| willincrementthelevelby8 stepsas a
short-cutinsettinghigherlevels.Thelevelsettingmaybe
changedatthebeginningoratanytimeduringagame.(But
onlywhenitisyourturntomove)
3. Makingmoves
To makea movepressdownonthepieceyouwishtomove,
thenplaceitonitsdestinationsquareandpressdownagain.
If youwish,youmayselecttoletthecomputermakethe
openingmove.Todothis,simplypress| PLAY| .The
computerwillmakeitsmove.Notethatwhenthecomputer
movesfirst,itwillhavethewhitepieces,sotheboardshould
be setupaccordingly.Whenyoumovefirst,thecomputerwill
havetheblacksetand you willhavewhite.
Whencapturing,keyinthecapturingpiecesmove.The
computerwill automaticallyremovethecapturedpiecefrom
theboardmemory.Whencastling,movetheKing'smovefirst,
thenthe Rook's.
Note: Thecomputerisprogrammedto allow enpassant
captureswherethepawncancapturea piecebymoving
diagonallybehindit(refertotherulesofChessfora more
detailedexplanation).Whenitmakesanenpassantcapture,
thecomputerwill remindyoutoremovethecapturedpiece
by lightingthetwolightscorrespondingtoitsposition(press
thepiecedownbeforeremovingit).
4. Computermoves
Thecomputerwill indicateitsownmovesbysoundinga beep
andturningontwolightsonthesideofthechessboard.These
lightsindicatethehorizontalrankandverticalcolumnofthe
piecethecomputerwishestomove.Pressthepiecedownon
itssquare.Thecomputerwillnowshowyouwherethepiece
mustgo.Movethepiecetothesquareindicatedandpress
downtocompletethemove.
Note: Whena pawnhasbeenadvancedtothelast rank;it
maybepromotedtobeanyotherpieceontheboard(except
King). Firstadvancethepawntothelastrank,thenpressthe
key(tothe rightoftheplayingboard)correspondingtothe
pieceyouwishthepawntobecome.Thecomputerwillnot
begintomakeitsnextmoveuntilyouhaveselectedthe
piece. Whenthecomputerpromotesa pawn,youwillhaveto
confirmitspiecetypebypressingthepiecekeysoneat a
timeuntilitacceptsthekey.
5. Illegalmoves
If youattempttomakeanillegalmovethecomputerwill
sounda doublebeep(high-low)andshowyouwherethepiece
youaretryingtomovecamefrom.Youmayplacethepiece
on a legalsquareorreplaceitontheoriginalsquareandmove
anotherpiece.
Youwillalsohearanerrorbeepifyoudonotexecute a
computermovecorrectlyorpressanimproperpanelkey.

6. Check,MateandDraw
When the computerputsyourking in check the CHECK light
willcomeon. If a gam eends in checkmate, the MATE light
will be turned onas w e l l (the WHITE or BLACK lights
indicatewhichside has been checkmated).
In case ofa stalemate or draw by threefold repetition or fifty
move rule, the DRAW lightwill be turned on.
7. New Game
To start a new gamepress | NEW GAME | when itis y o u rturn
to move. New gam edoes not affect the levelsetting. If
| MULTI MOVE | or| DISPLAY MOVE| havebeenpressed,they
should be resetprior to starting a new game.
8. TakeBack
When itis yo u rturn to move youmay takeback(erase) the
lastcomputermove and you r previous move. Todo thispress
| TAKEBACK I .The computer will show you where the
piecescamefrom and where you should replacethem. The
Radio Shack 1850 cantakeback upt o8 times.
9. Changingsides
If you wish to changesideswith the computer youmaydoso
by pressing | PLAY | instead of makingyour move. The
computerwillplay the nextmove foryouandy o ucang oo n
playing forthe other side.
You can change sides as often asy o u likeduring the course of
agame. Youcan even press| PLAY | after everymove and
make the computerplay an entiregame against itself. The
PLAY ]keyis alsousefulwhen you needhelp and w a n t the
computer to suggest a mov e fory o u .
If you w a n t to begin a gamewith the black pieces, setupt h e
boardwith the black pieces atthe bottom.Press | NEW GAME]
and | PLAY |. The computerwillmake the firstmove for
white, playingdownfrom thet o po fthe board.
Note: WhiteKing iso n square D8 and blackKing iso n square
D1.
10. Interrupt
When the computer is computing a move youmay interrupt it
by pressing [ PLAY | . Thiswill cause itto stopcomputing and
play the bestmove it hasfound sofar.

11. Multi Move
The| MULTIMOVE |keyputsthecomputerintoa special
modethat allowsyouto enter openingsorto forcethe
computertoplayacertaincontinuation.Inthismodethe
computerwillnot beginto computea replywhena movehas
beenentered.Itwillonlykeeptrackofthe board positionand
makesurethatthemoves enteredare legal.To returnto
normalplayyoumust press| MULTI MOVE| asecondtime.
TheMultiMovemodeisalso usefulwhenyouareplaying a
gamewithafriend.Thecomputerwillactasa refereeand
eachsidecanalwaysaskitfor adviceby pressing| PLAY | .
TheMulti-MoveLED staysonwhencomputerisinthe
Multi-Move mode.
12. Verifyingpieceposition
If you upsetthe piecesorfor other reasonsarenotsurethat
theboardpositioniscorrect,thecomputerwillshowyouthe
proper locationofeach piece.
Pressoneofthepiecekeys(tothe rightoftheplaying surface)
whenitisyourturnto move.Thecomputerwill lightup a
horizontalrankandonevertical columntoshowyouthe
positionofthe selected piece.Pressthesamepiecekey again
to seeif thereareanymore piecesofthatkindontheboard.
Whenthecomputer findsnomoreofthe piece selecteditwill
soundadoublebeepandreturntoplay mode.
Youmay verifythe piecepositionsfor eithersideby pressing
I COLOR I .Always checktheWHITE/BLACK lightswhen
youareverifyingaposition.Theywillshowwhichsideis
beingverified.
TheVerify functionmaybeusedatanytime;evenwhen
Radio Shack1850iscomputingamove. Press | PLAY] again
afteryou haveverifythe piecesto continue computing a
move.
13. Settingupa specialposition
SETUP
If youwishtosetupa specialposition firstpress
TheSETUP lightwillbeturnedonandyoumaythen move,
add, or remove piecesat will.
If thepositionyouwanttosetup containsonlyafew pieces,
press| NEW GAME] immediately after pressing| S E T UP| .
Thiswill clearthe boardofall pieces.
To setupor modifytheposition selecta color(by pressing
| COLOR I )andthena piecekeyforthe pieceyouwishto
enter,move,or delete.
—Tomovethe piece,pressitdownonitscurrent square,
moveittoitsnew positionandpressitdown again.
—To removethe piecesimplypressitdownonits current
squareandremoveitfromthe board.
—Toadda piecesimplypressthe piecedownonan empty
square.

Whenyouhavesetupor modifiedthe positionasrequired,
makesuretheWHITE/BLACK lightscorrectly indicatethe
sidetomovenextandthenpress| SETU P |to resumeplay
(theSETUPlightwillgoout).
Afteryou havesetupa position alwaysverifyitasdescribed
in section 12. Donot enteran illegal positionasthismay
yield unpredictable results.
Example:Tosetupapositionwith whiteKingonE1,white
rookonA1,blackkingonD5,and blackrookonB2,first
placethe piecesonthe board.Nowpress[ SET UP|and
I NEW GAMEI to clearthe board.PressI COLOR I (if
necessary)toturnthe WHITE indicatoron.Press <2? and
thenpressthewhiteKingonitssquare.Press| COLOR|
(BLACK indicatoron)andthenthe blackKingonits square.
Nowpressthe i andthenthe blackRookonits square.
PressI COLOR (WHITE lighton)andthewhiteRookonits
square.Press| SETUP| to returntoplay mode.
Note: Inthe abovepositionthecomputerwill permit castling.
If youpress| PLAY | itwill castleand capturethe blackrook
on thenext move!
14. Problemmode
Your computerhasa special problemmode (LevelH)in which
it will solvechessproblemsuptomatein10moves.Press
I PLAY Ito startcomputingfor checkmate.A corresponding
lampwill lightto indicatethedepthof computing.Inthis
modethecomputerwillonlymakea moveifitcansee a
forcedmatein 10 movesorless.Complicated movesmay
take hours/weeks.Press PLAY |tostopthe searchanytimeyou
like.
If the computer findsa forcedcheckmateitwillplaythe first
move — the"key move" — whichwillleadto mate.Youmay
tryto defendthepositionfortheoppositeside(theside being
checkmated)by entering movesasusual.Thecomputerwill
continue playingthe checkmatingside untilthegameis over.
If the computerdoesnotfindaforcedmateforthesideitis
playing, itwillgivea doublebeepandmakeno move.
15. DisplayMoves
Thisisa unique featurethat allowsyouto observethe
"thought process"ofthecomputer.To activatethismode
press| DISPLAYMOVE |. Thecomputerwillnowshowyou
the movesitisconsidering whileit computesa move.Itwilldo
thisbyturningontheFROM squarefor three secondsand
thentheTO squareforone second.Youcanwatchhowit
changesitsmindasitcomputes deeper.Pressing
| DISPLAY MOVE[ again switchesoffthis feature.
If youwishto interruptthecomputer whileitiscomputing a
movesimplypress| PLAY .Thisdoesnot operateinthe
problem mode.

16. Turningsoundoff
ff thecomputer "beeps"aredistractingyouorothersduring a
gameyoumaytemporarilyturnoffthesoundbypressing
| SOUND| whenitisyourturntomove.Pressthiskeyagain
to turnthesoundbackon.Youmustwatchthe indicator
lightsandpresspiecesandkeyscarefullywhen playing
withoutsound.
17. Gamememory
Your computerallowsyouto interruptagameatanystage,
evenwhenitiscomputingamove,bypressingthe| MEMORY]
Key.
Playwillbestoppedatthatpointandbatterypower
conserved. Thecomputerwill "remember"thepositionand
resumeplaywhenyoupress| ON | .Withafre s hsetof
batteriesthepositionwillberetainedforupto 18 months.
18. ACLButton (on theback)
If thecomputerlocksup,becauseofstaticdischargeorsome
otherreasons,pressthe| MEMORY] switchonce,thenuse a
pinorothersharpobjectstopresstheACLbutton.This
resetsthecomputerandclearsthe memory.
MAINTENANCE
YourRadio Shack 1850representsa fineexampleof
electronicengineeringandconstruction.Assuchitshouldbe
treatedaccordingly.Weofferthefollowingsuggestionssoyou
willenjoythis productformanyyearstocome.
If atanytimeyoususpectthatyourunitisnot performingasit
should, stopbyyourlocalRadioShackstore. Our personnel
aretheretoassistyouandarrangeforservice,ifneeded.
Keepitdry.Ifwatershouldgeton
it, wipeitoff immediately.Water
containsmineralsthatcancorrode
electroniccircuits.
Do notstoreinhotareas.High
temperaturescanshortenthelifeof
electronicdevices,damage
batteries,andcanevendistortor
meltcertainplastics.

Do notdropyour product.This
will likelyresultinfailureto
operate.Circuitboardscancrack
andcasesmaynotsurvivethe
impact.Handlingyour product
roughlywillshortenitsusefullife.
Do notuseorstoreinareasofhigh
levelsofdirtordust.The
electronicsmaybecontaminated.
Anymovingpartswillwear
prematurely.
Do notuseharshchemicals,
cleaningsolventsorstrong
detergentstokeepyourunit
lookingnew.Youneedonlywipeit
withadampenedclothfromtime
to time.
12
Alwaysmakesureanybatteries
usedare fresh andareo fthecorrect
type. Neverusegeneralpurpose
batteriesif alkalinecellsarecalled
for.Oldoralmost-deadbatteries
arealsodangerous.A wornout
batterycanleakchemicals which
willdestroyelectronic circuits.

SCHEMATICDIAGRAM
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13

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RADIO SHACK LIMITED WARRANTY
Thisproductiswarrantedagainstdefectsforninety(90)daysfromthedateofpurchasefrom
RadioShackcompany-ownedstoresandauthorizedRadioShackdealers.Withinthisperiod
RadioShackwillrepairtheproduct withoutchargeforpartsandlabour.Simplybringyour
RadioShacksalesslip as proof-of-purchasedatetoanyRadioShackstore.Warrantydoesnot
covertransportationcosts.Nordoesitcovera productsubjectedtomisuseoraccidental
damage.
EXCEPTASPROVIDEDHEREIN,RADIOSHACKMAKESNOWARRANTIESEXPRESSOR
IMPLIED,INCLUDINGWARRANTIESOFMERCHANTABILITYANDFITNESSFORA PAR-
TICULARPURPOSE.
This warranty gives you specific legal rights andy o um a y haveother rightswhichvaryfrom province to province.
WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL
||P^ P®
jgJp|Ug|w! sAtfe
RADIO SHACK DIVISION,TANDY ELECTRONICS LIMITED
CANADA: BARRIE,ONTARIO L4M 4W5
U.S.A.: FORT WORTH,TEXAS 76102
AUSTRALIA
TANDY CORPORATION
BELGIUMFRANCE U.K.
91 Kurrajong Avenue
Mount Druitt. N.S.W.2770
Rue des Pieds d'Alouette, 39
5140 Naninne (Namur)
CentreCommercialdes3 Fontaines
B.P. 147
95022 Cergy PontoiseCedex
BilstonRoad Wednesbury
West Midlands WS10 7J N
555 PrintedinHongKong