Chess computer in the GDR
The development of chess computers in the GDR took place in several stages from prototype to series production.
background
In the VEB Microelectronics “ Karl Marx ” of the Kombinat Mikroelektronik Erfurt (“VEB Funkwerk Erfurt”) it was investigated how the resulting deficit compared to the western level of consumer goods can be reduced.
The combine had two main product lines:
- Electronic Components
- electronic measurement devices
The development and production of chess computers took place in the operating parts of the measuring device factory. Specialists from the component factory were initially commissioned to apply products that were comparable to the microelectronic components produced in the factory - including chess computers. The chess computers were already mass-produced on the western market at the time, but only sporadically in the socialist countries.
Microelectronics, then also the consumer goods industry with microelectronic components, were, from an economic point of view, subsidy segments of the GDR's economy.
SC1
The chess computer SC1, of which about a dozen were built, was a small series to demonstrate the performance of microelectronic components from the production of the GDR.
The housing consisted of a wooden frame, the chess board was an aluminum sheet on which the chess fields were printed. The design was obviously based on the Chess Challenger 3 and Chess Challenger 10C models from Fidelity Electronics . The chess moves were entered using a keyboard analogous to that of a pocket calculator. The output of the chess moves was done with an LED display.
The prototype program was not yet an in-house development.
The SC1 immediately met with enthusiastic approval from those responsible for starting series production and led to the order to further develop this chess computer immediately until it was ready for series production. The following focal points for development work emerged:
- inexpensive manufacturing
- Use of components from our own production
- inexpensive housing
- powerful program.
The housing of the SC1 with a wooden frame and the assembly with many screws would have been very expensive for series production. In addition, the Funkwerk had no manufacturing capacity for wood products.
SC2
In order to be able to produce inexpensively, it was decided to construct a plastic housing. The necessary tools should be produced quickly and cheaply, which led to the decision to use a housing made of polyurethane . This could easily be made. The disadvantage was the thick material, which meant that no high design requirements could be met. The solution was quickly implemented and the SC2 was created.
Since at that time they were unable to create their own program, the American Fidelity Chess Challenger 10 program by Ron Nelson was used in the SC2 , which was simply taken over from the West. The program, which was already 4 years old at the time, reached a level of ELO 1207 with a small opening library of 76 half-moves.
A few hundred copies of the SC2 were sold between 1981 and 1983 , mainly in Germany. The presentation of the SC2 at trade fairs and market research did not result in good export opportunities to western countries, which, however, was an important task for the producers of consumer goods in the GDR. The SC2 was again too expensive for domestic demand.
Export to western countries was set as an express goal as a means of obtaining foreign currency. As a result, the chess computer was further developed for export to western countries.
Because of the saturation of the western markets with cheap chess computer products, the target group was specifically defined as the high demand. This required in particular a high-quality cabinet and more demanding chess programs.
SLC1
SLC1 ( S chess and L ern c omputer 1) is a chess computer kit that was released in 1989.
CM
In 1985 a special department for the development of chess computers and other consumer goods was founded in the Funkwerk . Two excellent chess players with programming skills were recruited for this department. The best designers and developers were employed and two designers were hired to design the casing of the chess computer and other consumer goods. A total of up to 28 engineers and skilled workers have developed consumer goods, primarily chess computers. This created resources for an independent product line, which was also assigned its own production facility not far from Erfurt in Plaue .
Most of the products on the western market were mass-produced and housed in plastic cases. In the case of high demand, the target group also assumed active chess players as potential customers who would certainly prefer a wooden chessboard. The standard size of the chessboards was therefore seen as important and implemented under this aspect.
The input directly through the pieces on the respective chess field was seen as a further target property. A magnetic operating principle was chosen for input via the chess piece. All chess pieces were drilled out at the bottom and small, round magnets were glued in.
A problem to be solved technically was to get the magnetic field through the 12 mm thick chessboard onto the circuit board to the sensors (Hall generators) located there. This effect could only be achieved by inserting a steel pin into the chess field for each individual field. Then, using precise technology, the thin veneers were placed on both sides of the wooden support plate. The inventors received patents for this solution.
The calculated chess moves were again displayed with LEDs on the relevant chess fields.
The case of this chess computer was a sophisticated wooden construction with steel pins worked into it with precision. A furniture production cooperative (PGH) was won as a producer for this, which has mastered an extraordinary challenge with the required precision work.
The result is a high-quality chess computer, also sold in western countries: the Chess Master - CM with a new program, wooden housing, magnetic input and output with LED displays.
In contrast to the earlier models SC1 and SC2, a specially developed program by Rüdiger Worbs and Dieter Schultze was used in the CM, but it only reached an estimated skill level of ELO 1100. The CM's microprocessor was a UB880 D with 8 bits and a clock frequency of 2.5, later 4 MHz.
The CM was later further developed with components with a higher operating speed under the same name, whereby the other properties were retained. It was presented at trade fairs in 1984 and then sold in the thousands to western and eastern countries as well as at home. The selling price in the GDR was 1580 marks . At a chess computer world championship in Budapest , he took second place.
This chess computer was named after the GDR computer game Video Chess-Master .
CM diamond
For the further development of the CM, the developers were asked to make additional programs quickly accessible to customers. The chosen technical solution for this was replaceable cassettes that could be inserted from the outside. The optional scope of delivery included an opening and an endgame module that could be plugged in below the keyboard.
The most important external distinguishing feature in relation to the CM was an additional communication field at the top right (see illustration), which was designed as a four-digit LED display. The chess program was able to show current information on the score and operation using 16-segment displays. It again came from Rüdiger Worbs (this time in association with Wolfgang Pähtz), but only reached ELO 1189 - at a time when western chess computers were already offering an incomparably higher level of ELO 2000 ( Mephisto Roma ).
With a view to sales in western countries, the name of the CM has been complemented with a sonorous tone: CM diamond .
The export is also due to the very attractive design of the packaging and the operating instructions for the chess computer, made by a designer experienced in the western market.
The CM diamond was sold at home and abroad from 1987 onwards, and now more in western countries.
CMT
If the increased demand was already successfully covered with the CM, the target direction for further development went to a special, solvent group of customers who also appreciated the representative effect of the chess game. The designers developed a chess table in which all of the electronics were integrated. This was a world first, which was implemented immediately after a brief assessment of the market.
The electronics of the CM were used. The table itself was a special construction taking into account the specific requirements. So that the function as a table could be ensured, the operating elements were kept slidable to the side so that a normal chess table was visible when pushed in. The table leg was hollow to accommodate the power cord. Under the table top, aluminum profiles absorbed the forces of the table top and transferred them to the table leg.
The table leg and feet were unscrewed for transport, resulting in a relatively transport-friendly size (the same principle that is also used for IKEA furniture). A wooden box was used as the outer packaging, which also ensured that the chess computer table was shockproof during transport.
A few dozen of the chess table were produced and mostly exported to western countries.
More plans
With the mass production of microelectronic components, these also became cheaper, so that the production of chess computers at affordable prices could be considered. Designers worked for this concern. For a completely new chess computer, a first design sample, without any electrical function, was produced. The implementation of this product was no longer realized with the decline of the GDR .
Web links
- Thuringian Museum of Electrical Engineering V.
- Chess computer on robotrontechnik.de
- Documents on the SC2 in the KC85 Museum
- SC2 emulator
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fidelity Chess Challenger 10 C - Schachcomputer.info Wiki. Retrieved April 18, 2019 .
- ↑ SC 2 - Schachcomputer.info Wiki. Retrieved April 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Fidelity Chess Challenger 10 - Schachcomputer.info Wiki. Retrieved April 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Chess-Master - Schachcomputer.info Wiki. Retrieved April 18, 2019 .
- ↑ GDR microelectronics strongly represented at the Leipzig spring fair: electronics combinations show user solutions - computerwoche.de. In: www.computerwoche.de. Retrieved November 1, 2015 .
- ↑ Chess-Master Diamond - Schachcomputer.info Wiki. Retrieved April 18, 2019 .
- ↑ 7. WMCCC Rome 1987 - Schachcomputer.info Wiki. Retrieved April 18, 2019 .
