INTRODUCTION TO WESTRAK’S COMPUTER CHESS 1 (CC1)

The COMPUTER CHESS is a highly sophisticated microprocessor based chess machine with twelve selectable levels of intelligence. It is so programmed that players of all levels -- from novice to professional -- can learn from, improve or match their skills against the Computer. The full sized electromechanical chess board totally eliminates the need for the player to enter his moves via a keyboard and to interpret the Computer’s moves from the data shown on a display. Instead, the player simply moves his pieces to the square desired and manually makes the move for the Computer as so directed by the LED indicator lamps on the chess board.

Other outstanding features include:

• Changing of levels during game at any time, on any move.
• Checking for and the prevention of illegal moves according to standard chess rules.
• Changing sides during game at any time, on any move.
• Playing of new game or from any given positions.
• Audio feedback consisting of two short beeps to indicate computer’s response to each move; two long beeps to indicate beginning or end of game; and two double tone beeps to indicate need of board programming.
• Special learn mode which the Computer can suggest to a player the best move.
• Computer playing against itself.
• MODIFY mode to alter the board status at any time during game to make it more even by adding or deleting a piece.
• Special moves:
• Queening
• En Passant
• Castling
• A built-in timer which will generate an audio signal to indicate that the players thinking time is up.

Excerpts taken from the “Westrak Model 1992 CC1” User Manual

THE CHESS BOARD

Each square (location) has a jack for inserting the piece and a red LED (Light Emitting Diode) which will light up to TRACE the moves.

The world’s largest sensory electronic chess peg board! But, no you cannot just put into your pocket and take it with you. It is a fully sized 10” x 10” (25.4 cm x 25.4 cm) chess board. The chess pieces are fully sized to the dimensions expected to fit a chess board of these dimensions. The metallic peg extension at the end of the pieces is almost 1” long. The WESTRAK CC1 has two storage compartments on the right side of the computer for the chess pieces. A very similar storage was also later used on some other computers such as the HANIMEX HCG1900 or CXG CHESS 2100.

Setting up the 12 available levels is also interesting on the WESTRAK CC1. As you go through your level choice, the level number is displayed on the board as the appropriate board LED’s light up to depict the level number that you have chosen.

This is quite a rare computer, very attractive in it’s bulky way. At first glance you might imagine that it was built in Russia during the Cold War era because of it’s heavy, bulky and very robust design.

The Computer has a memory capacity to handle 6,250,000 possible moves. All the levels are variable thinking time levels.

You can read more about the WESTRAK CC1 at Mike Watter’s great Chess Computers UK site. The HANIMEX version of the CC1 can be seen at Schachcomputer.Info\Wiki.