From: stein@tellabs.com (stein)
Subject: Re: Mchess Pro
Organization: Tellabs, Inc.
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 23:50:35 GMT


In Article 11205 of rec.games.chess (Howard Wachtel):
>In article <1grateINN9dq@pith.uoregon.edu>, kgowen@cie.uoregon.edu (Kevin Gowen)
>says:
>>
>>In article <1992Dec17.212902.22413@osf.org> cliu@osf.org (Chauncy Liu) writes:
>>>I have 286 with 1M RAM (30M hard disc) 12MHz,
>>
>>My condolences.
>
>   You can send me your condolences too, since I have the same hardware
>as the above (but a larger hard drive).
>
>>
>>Seriously, don't even *think* about running M-Chess Pro on this primitive
>>system.  It wants 12 Meg to run its hash tables, will take 4Meg if that's
>>all that's available, and God only knows what it'll do with only 1Meg.
>>Will it even run?  Please consider upgrading, if you can afford it.  You'll
>>get a lot more "oomph" out of MChess if you do.
>
>   I don't have any version of MChess yet.  Would it be better from a
>chess standpoint to upgrade to a 486/33 with 12 MB RAM and also buy
>MChess Pro rather than simply buying the ChessMachine, whose strength
>is claimed to be the best available for the PC and independent of
>machine speed?  I would have guessed that the latter is more cost-effective
>unless one needs a faster machine for other purposes.
>________________________________________________________________
>Howard K. Wachtel              University of Illinois at Chicago
>U13054@UICVM.CC.UIC.EDU        Phone (312) 975-7970

Excellent point. BTW, I have played the prior version of Mchess and wasn't 
particularly impressed, but I still would have anted up if it wasn't for
the juvenile copy protection scheme (you can't make backups). That thread
has surfaced a number of occassions, you're basically SOL if your master copy
is damaged or lost. I'm glad I spent the $150 on the ChessMachine instead. 
It's a monster! It warms the cochles of my heart to see that the ChessMachine
won the recent computer event and Mchess finished back in the pack!

Besides being super strong the ChessMachine has the best interface I've seen
in a chess application. As someone who is quite happy to operate from the
command line I never thought I'd be praising an "interface". But the prior
Mchess and the ChessMachine represent extremes in user interfaces. An
interface doesn't need a lot of bells and whistles, but at a minimum it should
not make the application difficult to use or be an annoyance. The prior Mchess
was the ultimate in interface schlock, even Sargon blew it away. Changing
options and even moving pieces was an extraordinary nuisance! While I don't
know about the Pro version I'd bet the interface hasn't gotten a lot better.
The ChessMachine has a smooth intuitively organized pop-up menu scheme. Since
receiving it I've only had to resort to the manual once (and that was due to a
misinterpretation on my part).

Since the processor wars are escalating with the advent of the P5 (can't remember
the goofy name they gave that thing) and Motorola's 68060, you may wish to take
into account the rapid depreciation of the 486 family. While the ChessMachine
represents a larger ($600) up front investment consider the cost of 486 systems
a year from now. It largely depends on what you plan to use it for. If primarily
chess I would recommend getting the ChessMachine and waiting for 486 prices to drop
further. If chess is just part of the spectrum and you need a more powerful system
anyway you might give Mchess a whirl (providing the above issues have been addressed).
Thats my 2 cents worth.