edward@comp.vuw.ac.nz.UUCP (10/07/87)
Does anyone know of some sort of electronic chessboard for use by
postal chess players? e.g. one with LCD squares which can display
all possible pieces & then remember positions when switched off?
If there is such a thing, I would be most interested in getting
hold of one, as I play much correspondence chess.
If not, would someone be interested in designing & building one?
I have had a few thoughts about what features may be useful. The
board could remember a number of positions (10-20?) when turned
off, so that postal chess players can easily recall postions. The
board can even be used as a portable chess board, where the
pieces cannot fall off & get lost! There need be no intelligence
checking for legality of positions, as that would probably in-
crease the price a little too much. There could be keys to select
square & piece & colour when setting up positions, with another
method to move the pieces around.
There could be boards made in small & large sizes - small for
portability & some larger for say, home analysis. I'm not sure if
LCD is the ideal medium to use, but it might do for a start. If
the board only displays pieces & allows their movement without
any analysis, it could be produces quite cheaply. I for one would
find it exceptionally useful, as I am currently playing about 15
games of postal chess. It sure would beat the old cardboard chess
sets used previously to record current position, especially as
there would be no pieces to lose!
Please tell me if this has already been done & if not, what you
think of the idea. Would you use it yourself? Could one be made
cheaply enough? e.g. $10? $20? Any ideas & discussion of this
might be useful, & if it looks promising, some electronics firm
or wizz could consider building a demo version.
Ed Wilkinson ...!uunet!vuwcomp!edward
New Zealand