Excalibur electronic LCD CHESS - Manual (Page 3)

any of the special modes like
OPTIONS, SETUP, LEVEL, RAT-
ING, and CONTRAST.
HINT
Press this key if you want to get
hints from your LCD Chess part-
ner. If the threat warning is on (see
“Options During the Game”), the
display shows “THRT” and the
threatening move is flashed. Press
HINT once more to view a tip on
how to avoid the danger!
If LCD Chess sees a hint for you, it
displays “HINT” and flashes a rec-
ommended move on the screen. To
make the HINT move, just press
the MOVE key. Or press NEXT
PIECE or LAST PIECE to select a
different piece to move.
TAKE BACK
This key lets you take back a move
or moves you’ve decided against.
Press this key repeatedly to contin-
ue taking back moves. After you
take back a move, you can use the
MOVE key to replay the taken-
back move.
LAST PIECE
This key is used in one method of
moving the pieces. Pressing it
makes it “scan” left of the flashing
piece to find another piece. If there
is no piece to the
left, it scans down one rank and
starts scanning from the right to the
left.
NEXT PIECE
Use this key, along with the LAST
PIECE key, to move pieces. It
scans right from the flashing piece
to find another piece for you to
move. If there is no piece to the
right, it moves up one rank and
starts scanning from left to right.
MOVE
Press this key to register your
move, or press it twice before you
register your move to switch sides
(colors) with your computer.
(Between presses, the display will
read “FLIP.”) Also use MOVE to
replay moves in the TAKE BACK
mode (see "TAKE BACK,” above).
OFF
This turns the unit off, automatical-
ly saving a game in progress. Use
White. (See "Special Features and
Function Keys" below.) You’ll see
the White and Black pieces switch
places immediately!
Draw Messages
During the game, your LCD Chess
will display the word “DRAW” if a
three-time repetition of position
occurs, or if there has been no pawn
moved and no exchanges for 50
moves. When either of these situa-
tion takes place, the rules of chess
state that a player can claim a draw.
If you wish, you can ignore the
message and continue the game.
When a stalemate is reached, the
display will read “STALE.”
Game-Ending Messages
LCD Chess will announce mate in
two (“MAtE2”) and mate in three
(“MAtE3”). It will display
“+MAtE” when executing a check-
mate. When you checkmate LCD
Chess, it will display “LOSE.”
When you want to claim a win,
draw, or want to resign—press the
MODE key and then NEW GAME.
Special Features and
Function Keys
Your LCD Chess partner is packed
with valuable special features that
can help you learn to play better
and better chess—and to have a lot
of fun!
Features are controlled by the func-
tion keys—the black buttons on
your LCD Chess. But there are
more special features than there are
keys! So each one has two labels,
one above and one below.
The black label below each key
shows the primary function of the
key. The blue label above the key
shows its secondary function.
Below are the features available to
you through the primary functions.
Remember, to access any of these
features, you simply push the prop-
er button, looking at the black label
below the key.
Primary Functions
(Simply push the indicated key.)
MODE/ON
This is a special key, so both its
upper and lower labels are blue.
Use this key to turn on LCD Chess.
Also use it to select the secondary
function mode of the other keys.
(See "Secondary Functions,"
below, page 4.) You can even use it
as a clear or "escape" key to exit
Your Excalibur LCD Chess is packed with
features! Each key has two labels. To activate
the feature named below the key, just press
the button. To enjoy the feature given above
the key, first press MODE/ON and then the button.
You have your choice
of two methods of
moving your pieces.
LCD Chess
automatically makes
its own moves!
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