Ivan the Conqueror II Impressions

[fern]

With Excalibur belly up -as so many other companies of the same kind- the dedicated units of this maker that you still can get from specialized stores (though no with our sponsor, I am afraid) are becoming, very fast, pieces of museum, attractive stuff for collectors for the simple reason they will one day disappear of the shells and no one will stock them again.

Excalibur, from the beginning, aimed to the so called mass market and never ever tried to produce a really strong unit getting and using, by example, any of the dozens if not hundred of above-2200 engines today available for free or for a pittance from any chess programmer resigned to receive not even a cent for his effort. Instead they kept using Ron Nelson stuff, an old chess programmer 1978 vintage, a man that has more rights to glory by being a precursor with his famous Chess Challenger 1,3,7 and 10 than by the quality of his programming. After the arrival of the Spracklen, he stayed as chief engineer of Fidelity and after Fidelity disappeared, he became the chess guy with the successor company, Excalibur, owned by a son of the owner of Fidelity. In all this history, as you can see, there are more elements of brotherhood or mafia family stuff than chess acumen.

Whatever, Ron Nelson was the father of every chess program for the units produced by Excalibur almost to the last day. That fact is more than enough to teach us that the target of Excalibur were low level players, kids or beginners, people than could be attracted by a relatively cheap and colorful machine, but that would be repelled by a monster winning them at every level. Only with customers getting "results" against this or that machine is that a company as Excalibur can have some hope that they will purchase another model in the future.

All that said, we must be fair; Nelson programming got better along the years. Certainly almost every machine made in Excalibur under his auspices was far strong than his Fidelity machines. No doubt Nelson made use of faster hardware and perhaps his codes of old times were more or less revamped with the new techniques.


So, for all that interrelated reason and in the context of them is that we can understand the existence, these days, of a machine like Ivan the Conqueror II or Alexandra or even Excalibur Grandmaster, the most expensive and perhaps the stronger of the line that Excalibur produced. And even that strategy went wrong at the end, though I do not know how much Excalibur crushed because of the commercial failure of its chess products or they were successful with it,l but the company broke in spite of that, for other reasons.

Now, what can a machine like Ivan the Conqueror II offer beyond these historical remembrances and associations? What about his chess capabilities? What it does give to us, more or less experienced player at the very least?


As it happens with every one of these contrivances, exception made of the weakest of the weak, you must be careful because no matter what, even Nelson programs are capable of spotting a mate in two or three, a pawn to grasp, a simple combination with a discover attack and all sort of tactics like those, perhaps "cheap" but effective if you do not see them coming. In this sense, this kind of machines which are in the range of 1500 to 1800 Elo are useful to remember and put to good use a very old art, the art of winning when you are better player in every sense but you must show that in the board, the art of not believing a game is a ready over because we are superior; this is a most forgotten art by all of us as much, with PC chess engines, the only art we are capable of perform all the time is the art of not kicking the computer after we have been mauled once and again.

So, Ivan do that, keep us alert and give us the comfort that if we are 1800 or above player we MUS win the game or at least get a draw as much we keep alert.

Not easy to win Ivan. Of course it plays, when no idea comes to his little mind, to that old resource of 70 and 80's vintage computers, the move King from g8 to H8 or g1 to H1. You see him playing that and you at once remember old good times. Nevertheless, it does play sensate moves and is all the time looking for chances to catch you with those elemental but brutal tricks base in basic tactics. It even know to move the King to the center of the board if you have not crushed him lot time before the ending.

It not easy, either, to win a game, even to play one when the adversary does not push you -as PC engines do- to this or that problem, but on the contrary, you face quiescent positions where YOU must be the guy to create something from nothing. This is also a very good exercise.

The frills are fun. I like listen Ivan making nasty comment of crying as child when his score is 9.9 in my favor. The bastard has nerve enough to ask for a draw!

May i say I have had lot of fun with Ivan, as before I had with Alexandra and other machines not better than 1800 Elo? And remember: no matter how weak an adversary, a win is a win and you feel soo soo good...


Fern

[Steve B]

A pleasure to read your review
i do not believe you wrote this just in the last few minutes
you must written at least half of this weeks in advance

now we see why you are paid MEGA bucks for your books

also a nice tribute to the Father of all Commercial chess Engine authors
Ron Nelson


Bravo Regards
Steve

[fern]

It takes me just minutes to do these things, it is my craft.
BTW, I know very well that I wrote that only for you. Nobody else care much for this field and nobody else but you and me has this machine.
A fact I forgot to say and it is important: Ivan plays LOT better at 40 moves in 90 minutes, LOT better than my usual 40/60.

To date, one win and a draw. The bastard can be contumacious

writer regards
Fern

[Steve B]

Nobody else care much for this field and nobody else but you and me has this machine.
Fern

sadly its true
however i expect view totals to be enormous on this thread

Clicking on the thread endlessly Regards
Steve

[fern]

If you really want to have a big thread, this is the moment we begin to insult each other.
By example, I think you are thief and sissy.
Or is to be sissy not a problem anymore?

US Army regards
fern

[Steve B]

If you really want to have a big thread, this is the moment we begin to insult each other.
By example, I think you are thief and sissy.
Or is to be sissy not a problem anymore?

US Army regards
fern

Very true
contentious threads always go viral with 20,000 views in minutes
but i am still so impressed with your review of Ivan II that i cannot fight with you at the moment
give me a day or two to get over it and ill come back and call you a name or something

Re-Reading Regards
Steve

[Dr.Wael Deeb]

If you really want to have a big thread, this is the moment we begin to insult each other.
By example, I think you are thief and sissy.
Or is to be sissy not a problem anymore?

US Army regards
fern

Very true
contentious threads always go viral with 20,000 views in minutes
but i am still so impressed with your review of Ivan II that i cannot fight with you at the moment
give me a day or two to get over it and ill come back and call you a name or something

Re-Reading Regards
Steve

Hey Steve,
If you are in short of words to bash our dear friend Fern because of his impressive review of Ivan II,I'll be more than happy to accomplish the task
Just pm me the key words you consider to be used in my bashing session....
Always there for my dear friends regards,
Dr.D

[Steve B]

If you really want to have a big thread, this is the moment we begin to insult each other.
By example, I think you are thief and sissy.
Or is to be sissy not a problem anymore?

US Army regards
fern

Very true
contentious threads always go viral with 20,000 views in minutes
but i am still so impressed with your review of Ivan II that i cannot fight with you at the moment
give me a day or two to get over it and ill come back and call you a name or something

Re-Reading Regards
Steve

Hey Steve,
If you are in short of words to bash our dear friend Fern because of his impressive review of Ivan II,I'll be more than happy to accomplish the task
Just pm me the key words you consider to be used in my bashing session....
Always there for my dear friends regards,
Dr.D

What i am interested in is YOUR review of the Ivan II
you have very big shoes to fill regards
Steve

[Dr.Wael Deeb]

If you really want to have a big thread, this is the moment we begin to insult each other.
By example, I think you are thief and sissy.
Or is to be sissy not a problem anymore?

US Army regards
fern

Very true
contentious threads always go viral with 20,000 views in minutes
but i am still so impressed with your review of Ivan II that i cannot fight with you at the moment
give me a day or two to get over it and ill come back and call you a name or something

Re-Reading Regards
Steve

Hey Steve,
If you are in short of words to bash our dear friend Fern because of his impressive review of Ivan II,I'll be more than happy to accomplish the task
Just pm me the key words you consider to be used in my bashing session....
Always there for my dear friends regards,
Dr.D

What i am interested in is YOUR review of the Ivan II
you have very big shoes to fill regards
Steve

Is a 20 games match with a detailed commentary of the games and the playing style be enough
Dr.D

[yanquis1972]

If you really want to have a big thread, this is the moment we begin to insult each other.
By example, I think you are thief and sissy.
Or is to be sissy not a problem anymore?

US Army regards
fern

yr a thief, a sissy, &..quotidian. because i...quoted you.

i guess that makes me a thief as well. whoops.