Novag Obsidian

[sje]

I ordered a Novag Obsidian from Our Sponsor about two weeks ago. The item was listed first as in-stock, then out-of-stock, and is now back in stock. Maybe it will arrive later today.

Although essentially the same program as the Novag Citrine (I own one), the Obsidian's interface is much more easy to use. Also, the Obsidian is much smaller, so I can find space for it on my cluttered desk.

I've also thought about ordering a Novag Star Aquamarine. It's program is rather weaker, but the model is even more portable than the Obsidian while having nearly the same interface. Long ago I had a Novag Emerald which had the same package and I used it as a sparring partner for my old program Spector. I'd still have the Emerald except that I inadvertently damaged the sensor board by stacking heavy stuff on top of it. It's tough to play chess when the whole h-file is inoperative.

[sje]

My Obsidian arrived earlier today, well packed by Our Sponsor. Here are some first impressions.

First, the bad stuff:

1. The battery chamber access door is plastic and is held in place with a metal screw which threads into plastic. It is only a matter of a few battery changes until the threads are stripped and then comes duct tape to the rescue.

2.There is a nice draw string pouch to carry the chessmen. Alas, it is too small by about 10%.

3. As mentioned in other reviews, the LCD display has poor contrast and is visible only from a small angle from nearly directly above it.

Every thing else is pretty good. The wood chessmen have the classic Staunton pattern and are well proportioned to the board. The 16 control buttons are the usual Novag group and are simple to use. The press sensory board requires only the lightest of touches to register a move.

I played a blitz game as White and held on for 46 moves until I lost a rook. Needing revenge, I fired up the old Symbolic and had it play blitz game number two:

[pgn]
[Event "Unknown Event"]
[Site "gail"]
[Date "2013.06.20"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Symbolic 2012.09.28"]
[Black "Novag Obsidian"]
[Result "1-0"]

b4 e5 Bb2 f6 e4 Bxb4 Bc4 Nc6 f4 d6 f5 g6 c3 Ba5 Na3 Nge7 fxg6
hxg6 Qf3 f5 Nh3 Bb6 Ng5 Rh4 O-O-O Bd7 g3 Rg4 Nh7 Nc8 exf5
gxf5 Rdf1 f4 h3 Rg6 Qh5 N8e7 Nf6+ Kf8 Qh8+ Ng8 Nxg8 d5
Nh6+ Ke7 Qh7+ Kf6 gxf4 Qe8 Bxd5 Ne7 fxe5+ Kxe5 Bf7 Qd8 Bxg6
Be6 Nf7+ Kd5 Be4+ Kc5 Nxd8 Kd6 Nxe6 Rg8 Nf8 Rxf8 Rxf8 Kd7
Bf5+ Kd6 Rf6+ Ke5 Qh4 Nxf5 Qg5 Bc5 Qxf5# 1-0
[/pgn]

[fern]

Nice post, Steve. Nothing compares to plays these contrivances. This afternoon I will play my beloved chess champion challenger. It is a gift by Steve Blincoe, who gave it to me after knowing that I have lost my original one.

dedicated units united never will be defeated
Fern

[fern]

I wonder, Steven, which old programs by Kittinger these models make use. Perhaps some of them still use Constellation 16 K? Or Super connie 32K? Or some of those Expert models' and if so , were they left as THEY WERE or suffered some kind of deterioration or they were improved a bit?

Peehaps Blincoe knows...

Fern

[sje]

I wonder, Steven, which old programs by Kittinger these models make use. Perhaps some of them still use Constellation 16 K? Or Super connie 32K? Or some of those Expert models' and if so , were they left as THEY WERE or suffered some kind of deterioration or they were improved a bit?

The assumption is that they are different programs as they are running on more modern CPUs. All of the Novag Constellation family used the 8 bit 6502 while the Obsidian and the Citrine use the 16 bit Renasys H8/300 designed by Hitachi and based on the DEC pdp-11.

[fern]

But is not possible that the code is more or less the same at least in some aspects?

[sje]

But is not possible that the code is more or less the same at least in some aspects?

Perhaps, but the differences between the 6502 and the H8/300 are so immense that it would make little sense to copy over anything other than the top level ideas.

The 6502 has only ONE general purpose 8 bit register. The H8 has SIX 16 bit general registers, each capable of holding a pointer. This alone makes for a huge difference.

Given the differences of the two processors, the 16 KB H8/300 program (not counting the book) in the Obsidian and Citrine almost surely has more knowledge than the 24 KB 6502 program (not counting the book) in the Super Constellation. The strength delta is close to 250 elo and that's more than can be expected just due to the clock speed increase.

[sje]

Other items:

1. Like the Citrine, the Obsidian has a rotating information display shown during a search. Unlike the Citrine, the display does not include the number of nodes processed in the past second (ca. 2,000 to 12,000).

2. There is a protuberance in the plastic on the bottom rear of the unit near the display. I strongly suspect that this is the result of an abandoned late effort to include a serial PC link port as is present on the Citrine. Someday I will give in to temptation and take apart the machine to see if there is any interesting circuitry nearby.

3. Our Sponsor included a nice ChessUSA branded ball point pen in the shipping box.

[fern]

If I could I would get one, but the shipping and handling of the thing to Chile doubles the prize i am afraid..

Fern

[Larry]

Hi Steven, I also own an Obsidian, saw it and bought it on ebay
about 8 years ago. I'm trimming my collection somewhat now
after realizing that I'm being snowed under with chess comps. The
Obsidian is on the hit list. It's a fine machine, with typical Novag
dependability and fast Kittinger evaluations. But I do own other
Novags, including the strong Star Diamond.
Regarding the negatives you mentioned, I have also noticed the
same things. The pieces bag is too small. A screw holding the
battery door shut is strange. What if you have spare batteries but
no star screw driver handy? They made this mistake with the
handheld Star Sapphire too.
Regarding the poor contrast on the display, I'm wondering if
the display deteriorates with time, regardless of usage. Your
Obsidian was manufactured about 16 years ago.
Regarding the pieces, I agree they are great. I use mine on most
of my other chess comps.
Like Fernando, I also have to deal with the tyranny of distance.
The cost of shipping to and from down here is prohibitive.
enjoy your Obsidian,
Larry