- Dimensions: 11Â L x 8 1/4Â W x 3Â D
- 64 Playing Levels Including Tournament, Blitz, and Fun
- Coach and Info Modes for extra strategic insight
- Position Evaluation and Setup functions
- 50-move take back
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Product Details
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Product Description
The Expert Travel Chess Computer's aproximate rating is 2200, making it the strongest travel chess computer around! Garry Kasparov, the 13th World Chess Champion, has been personally associated with Saitek since 1983, and gives his much coveted endorsement to the Mephisto range of chess computers.
Without a doubt Saitek's strongest portable chess computer. Strength combined with many advanced features makes this the ultimate compact computer available for the expert chess player.
Playing Options: user-selectable Search Algorithms for customization
Self Study Options: Setup positions; all major openings and Grandmaster moves stored; plus extra insight through Info Mode. Compact Design: compact laptop style case; flip down lid, pieces storage area and integrated LCD screen.
Powered by 4 AA batteries (not included).
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ruined by Poor Design,
By The lid is poorly designed. It doesn't always keep all the pieces in their respective holes, and this can lead to pieces spilling out when the lid is opened. I also don't much care for the lid itself - there's no effective way to 'store' it when it's open, and it gets in the way if you want to play as black without the tedium of setting up all the pieces the other way around. It has 30 holes on the side of the board for captured pieces. Whilst it is true that only 30 pieces can be captured in a game, the set comes with 8 spare pieces (2 pawns and 2 queens for each side). So, as I diligently practice my king, knight and bishop vs. king endgame, I run out of places to put the spare pieces. Annoying. My last issue is around the programming itself. The machine does have an impressive range of options, and can play chess from beginner to advanced level (I can't confirm how advanced though, as I'm certainly no grand master). However, if I set it to its `Fun' levels and then try to set it back to its normal modes, it suddenly becomes stupidly easy to beat. This was explained in a loose piece of paper in the packaging - apparently, the fun levels restrict its search algorithm, but they forgot to program it to remove this limitation when it's switched to the other modes. There is a workaround - it involves using the master reset button, but this loses all your settings. This has probably been fixed in later versions, but it's no help to me. Overall, a good chess machine ruined by sloppy implementation.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I like it.,
= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Expert Travel Chess Computer (Toy)
This is my fourth chess computer, not counting chess software. I own an old Radio Shack chess computer, Chessmaster for Nintendo DS, and Excalibur's tournament size Grandmaster chess computer. I bought the Saitek Expert Travel Chess Computer because I wanted a chess computer I could play while reclining in bed or on a couch, that is larger than the Nintendo. The Saitek fills the bill with it's pegged pieces.
As another reviewer notes, the lid is easily removed by pulling on the pins on either side of the hinge. This makes the Saitek easier to hold. I took a star off for durability because the catch on the lid looks like it could easily break. Otherwise the Saitek appears to be well-built for its price. Before buying it I looked at every photo I could find on the web to get a sense of its size - knowing the dimensions wasn't enough - and after all that it seems a tad smaller to me than what I'd expected. I wish the pieces were a big larger, but they are okay as they are. According to Chessmaster software for the PC, my ELO is about 1000, though I don't know if one can really go by a chess software rating. That said, the Saitek is a challenge for me at the non-"Fun" levels. I haven't even bothered playing the Fun levels, because I would get little satisfaction from winning because my AI opponent made a "deliberate" mistake or mistakes. (Plus I don't want to have to reset the unit after using a Fun level, which an addendum to the manual says one must do.) The manual that comes with the unit is nice, but for my older eyes I find it easier to read the manual in Adobe format, which is available free at Saitek's website. The unit also comes with a stiff, photocopyable scoresheet. I don't like having to press squares on the Radio Shack chess computer I own. One must press squares either with the edge of the pieces or with one's fingertip. The Excalibur Grandmaster doesn't require any pressing; you just lift each piece and move it and the moves register. The small Saitek Expert Travel pieces must be pressed into the peg-holes to register each move, but I don't find this a bother at all. And it is nice that I can lie back in bed or on a couch or in a recliner and angle the unit to just about any position I like without fear that the pieces will fall out. Dutch professional chess programmer Frans Morsch, who co-authored Fritz chess software, developed the program for the Expert Travel computers.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ruined by Sloppy Design,
By
= Durability:1.0 out of 5 stars = Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Expert Travel Chess Computer (Toy)
I suppose I could have just been unlucky but, within a few days of using this machine, the LED that is used when the computer wants to make a move on the E file stopped working. I can sometimes get it going again with a couple of hard taps but this does not feel like a robust machine to me.
The lid is poorly designed. It doesn't always keep all the pieces in their respective holes, and this can lead to pieces spilling out when the lid is opened. I also don't much care for the lid itself - there's no effective way to 'store' it when it's open, and it gets in the way if you want to play as black without the tedium of setting up all the pieces the other way around. It has holes on the side of the board for storing captured men. However, because the set comes with 8 spares (2 pawns and 2 queens for each side), it doesn't actually have enough holes. So, as I diligently practice my king, knight and bishop vs. king endgame, I run out of holes, and so have to leave some of the tiny men lying precariously on the table. Annoying. My last issue is around the programming itself. The machine does have an impressive range of options, and can play chess from beginner to advanced level (I can't confirm how advanced though, as I'm certainly no grand master). However, if I set it to its `Fun' levels and then try to set it back to its normal modes, it suddenly becomes stupidly easy to beat. This was explained in a loose piece of paper in the packaging - apparently, the fun levels restrict its search algorithm, but they forgot to program it to remove this limitation when it's switched to the other modes. There is a workaround - it involves using the master reset button, but this loses all your settings. This has probably been fixed in later versions, but it's no help to me. Overall, a good chess machine ruined by sloppy implementation.
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