Erm... yes, sorry about that. Hit enter before I meant to... here is what it was supposed to say (perhaps a mod will be kind and change the thread title):
Thread: Worst Chess Computer/Software Ever?
This is my first post and I'm sure there are LOADS of threads asking what is the best chess computer/software, so I thought I would be different and ask about the worst.
I am not necessarily looking for a definitive list, if you have used a particularly poor computer or software you may have erased the name from your mind, however, it would be fun (I think) to read examples of just how poor some of them were.
So for example, back in the 1990s I bought a chess computer for £30 from a catalogue. However, I quickly found it's flaw (and I'm NOT a good player). It was purely points based with the value of the pieces always uppermost in its mind. If it could take your queen it would... even if you could checkmate it next move! It didn't matter whether taking the queen was the ONLY move it could do, or even if it shouldn't take the queen, or if the queen had nothing to do with the prospective mate whatsoever, if the computer could take it, it would.
Of course it was fun to use that against the machine for about a day, but I never used it again.
Originally posted by heinzkatDoesn't it show a real lack of a basic understanding of the game, or of programming?
Ah, that's a good question. I remember an online application falling for the Scholar's mate every time you tried it. There is an old thread on it, perhaps our GreenPawn will remember it?
I guess some firms feel they can just "knock something together" and someone will buy it. It's like when you go to general gift shops and you see a chess computer for £10 or £15 and you have to think to yourself "How good is it really?"
Originally posted by Ashley Pricevery interesting question. but a very simple one. it just HAS to be the famous "chess analysis pro 7000".
Erm... yes, sorry about that. Hit enter before I meant to... here is what it was supposed to say (perhaps a mod will be kind and change the thread title):
Thread: Worst Chess Computer/Software Ever?
This is my first post and I'm sure there are LOADS of threads asking what is the best chess computer/software, so I thought I would be different and a urse it was fun to use that against the machine for about a day, but I never used it again.
it's not only the worst chess software ever, it's the most pathetic software scam I have ever seen in my life. it was a full package too.
actually, it's so pathetic that it's official website has been suspended, lol. google it, and click cache.
it also came with a full package, books like "think like a grandmaster", written not even by an expert. the author of the software then came to chess forums as a random chess amateur and started forum threads about the software, like he was a regular user casually posting. then he opened another account to answer the thread the first user hot opened, of course confirming the software was very good. he eventually got banned.
I mean, the software itself, the books, the name, the casual-like forum spamming, the website being suspended, the whole thing is just ridiculous.
They were really bad when they first started to appear.
In this position.
The King had been told to occupy central sqaures.
And it did,. It never left them, this was a draw v ZX81 (ik).
Then it was improved and told to be aggresive.
So if you got the Queens off the King would start marching at
you and as long as you made it a path it would come right down
in amongst your men where you mated it.
The Chess Champion III.
It would spot the mate in this position.
but not in this position.
In the second position the h-pawn is not being threatened
so it missed mate in one just as long as you never threatened to
capture a anything.
In other dedicated machines human non-players had programmed
in some openings up to 5/6 moves and no more.
So the poor thing would wake up on the White side of a randomly
selected Danish Gambit, find itself 2 pawns down and try to win them
back.
You would see this fully develop White army ignoring the King and
laying siege to the a7 pawn.
Also I first saw Nak's move 1.e4 c5 2.Qh5 played by a computer
in the 70's. You can see it's logic - it does attack the c-pawn.
You could see it's reasoning behind every move till it got mated in
9 moves.
1.e4 c5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxc5 Nxe4
Where does the Queen go?
4.Qd5! ...
It stops Black from defending the Knight with 4...d5 and if
4...f5 then the Queen can take the pawn.
However....
4....f5!
5.Qxf5 d5
6.Qh5+ ....
It never missed giving a sound check.
6....g6
7.Qe5 Qb6
It's not getting mated, it's swapping a measly pawn for a Rook.
8.Qxh8 Qxf2+ and mate next move.
Everytime you switched it on and it played 1.e4 if you played 1...c5
this is the game you got - always.
When I was in college, a friend of mine claimed to have an unbeatable chess program which ran on her amiga.
I gave it game and was soon closing in for checkmate.
Whatever move the machine made, it was mate next move.
It swapped colours, and made me play the losing side!
I played about with it a bit and every time it was about to lose it would pull this stunt.
It was, as advertised, unbeatable.
It seems the only way to win was not to play.
Phil.
OK, this is not about the worse chess-computer ever. But it is about the first. It really was no computer actually. It was a scam.
It was mid 1700s. In order to impress the imperatrix of Austria, a lad, a noble man, decided to build an atomaton, a machene that would play chess. And would be unbeatable. First he tried to make it work with magnets, but then, upon failing that, he decided to use the room beneath the table to cover up a little guy, a dwarf. The dwarf would play the automaton's moves on his one board, inside the machene, and then he would replay it on the board above, with some kind of mecanism.
This dwarf, had, of course, to be a very good chess player, and indeed it didn't loose a game for years. Demonstration after demonstration it kespt on winning. But eventually it was uncovered. Then it travelled to england, and soon to america. It survived more than 100 years, until it eventually burned away in the Chicago (i think it was) museum. The machine, it was called "the Turk."
I have absolutely no ideia if this story is true, but I read it somewere and really like to believe it is. Anyhow maybe someone here knows something about it?
Originally posted by orion25It is true,except for the dwarfs.The machine was large enough to fit a normal sized man.
OK, this is not about the worse chess-computer ever. But it is about the first. It really was no computer actually. It was a scam.
It was mid 1700s. In order to impress the imperatrix of Austria, a lad, a noble man, decided to build an atomaton, a machene that would play chess. And would be unbeatable. First he tried to make it work with magnets, but then ...[text shortened]... mewere and really like to believe it is. Anyhow maybe someone here knows something about it?
I believe a few famous chessplayers took place in it but I don't recall any names.