Computer chess game, 'Mini Sensory Chess Challenger', made by Fidelity Electronics, USA, 1981

A computerised chess game housed in a red cardboard box with a photograph of the game on the box cover and the wording:
MINI SENSORY
CHESS CHALLENGER
"It's you against the computer!"
·Infinite levels of play.
·Senses each move,
no keys to push.
·Audible tone and LED's
indicate responses.
The plastic brown and cream chess board is fixed onto a hand held brown base, housing the battery compartment and computer components.
Each of the 64 squares on the chess board has a hole in the centre, for the playing pieces to slot into. Running up the left hand side of the board and across the bottom of the board, in line with the board squares are small red LED lamps, labelled 1 to 8 on the left hand side and A to H at the bottom. Running down the right hand side of the board are symbols of the playing pieces and letters within circles which are special feature keys. From the top down, the special feature keys are:
RE (reset key)
CL (clear key)
LV (level key)
Symbol of a speaker
DM (display move)
RV (reverse key)
Underneath the keys are two more small red LED lamps; above one is the wording: 'I LOSE' and above the other: 'CHECK'
The moulded plastic computer games base has a deep groove to house the playing pieces and a plastic, brown transparent cover which sits over the chess board. There is a sliding on/off switch on the side of the base and a power output. A battery compartment with a removable cover is accessible from underneath the base.
The moulded plastic playing pieces consist of sixteen white and sixteen brown pieces, each moulded with a small peg on their bases to hold them in place on the board.
An eleven page Instruction Manual explains the keys and playing instructions.

Given by Iain Chambers

This chess computer game belonged to Iain Chambers who was given it for Christmas in 1983 when he was eight years old.

Iain grew up with two sisters in Peterborough and played chess from the age of five at an after school club. When he was eight or nine he competed and won the Peterborough nine and under chess championship. He went on to represent Peterborough at the schools championships in Walsall, an event he recalls: "I went there for the day with my Dad. I wrote down all the games I played in my chess book, which I still have. I didn't play very well that day." While at secondary school, Kings School in Peterborough, Iain represented the school in national games as part of The Times schools chess tournament. He featured in Peterborough Evening Standard newspaper articles covering primary and secondary school chess events.

Recalling the time he spent playing the Mini Sensory Chess Challenger as a child, Iain remembers being "very fond of the chess computer, as people to play chess with weren't always available when I wanted. I kept it in really good condition, always putting it back in the box after playing. I remember the machine was pretty fiendish to play. It has a HAL-style personality with alternating blinking red lights to indicate when it's 'thinking' about a move. I like the fact it doesn't instantly respond to your own move, but has to have a think about it first - and for the harder levels it takes even longer to think."

Iain is now passing his chess knowledge on to the next generation and teaching his young daughter how to play.

The Mini Sensory Chess Challenger is an early example of a home chess computer from the 1980s, a time when home computer companies such as Amstrad and Sinclair were producing digital versions of well-known board games. This however is a stand-alone computer that senses a player's moves and responds accordingly using LED's and beep tones.

The manufacturers, Fidelity Electronics, made the first dedicated chess computer, the Chess Challenger 1, in the late 1970s. In the following years, Fidelity produced a series of ever more sophisticated models and this example was first made in 1981. It is designed and programmed to help a beginner learn to play chess as well as providing a challenging opponent for more skilled chess players.

This game was owned by a young chess enthusiast named Iain who played in competitions from the age of eight, representing his primary then secondary school in national chess tournaments. He was given the game as a Christmas present in 1983, aged eight and played with it regularly, taking great pride in looking after it well. Iain remembers being "very fond of the chess computer, as people to play chess with weren't always available when I wanted....the machine was pretty fiendish to play."

B.64:1 to 37-2015