en computerschaak
First I would like to tell a little anecdote about this original 1986 SciSys VHS videotape. I received this videocassette as a gift from Luuk Hofman in 2005. Sometime in the following years I had lost this cassette in my ever growing archive among a collection of unarchived documents. In early 2024, I had to give up my study to turn it into a new bedroom. The entire room had to be emptied, and all the books, binders and chess computers had to be moved to in a rented storage unit. That was my luck, because then I found the videotape again after all these years! The video recording was then immediately transferred to DVD by Luuk Hofman to ensure quality. To our luck, after 38 years the videotape is still in reasonably good condition and thus worth watching. I gladly present this nostalgic video for anyone who wants to see it.
After a historical introduction about chess in general, the video starts after around 3 minutes on the range of chess computers. Garry Kasparov had become world chess champion at the end of 1985, and SciSys was only too happy to use his name to promote their chess computers.
The following chess computers are touted and commented on: Kasparov Pocket Chess, Kasparov Turbo 16K, Kasparov Mark 12, Kasparov Turbostar and last and most advanced model the Kasparov Leonardo.
Those who lived through the 1980s can revisit what a living room setup looked like back then. Of course, as a high-end chess computer, the Kasparov Leonardo with the Maestro and Analyst module is presented with drum roll in almost half of this video. Nice to hear that the Leonardo will never age! When have I heard that about chess computers before? Of course, it is and remains advertising and many enthusiasts at the time purchased such a chess computer. I myself own a Saitek Kasparov Renaissance with Brute Force module, and it will remain in my possession until the end of time....
For more information on these chess computers from the 1980s, see the following brochures:
SciSys brochure - New for Spring 1986
SciSys brochure 1986
Luuk Hofman manages to win some chess games from the Kasparov Turbo 16K, see:
Kasparov Turbo 16K
And here is a short video of the SciSys Leonardo with the Analyst program module, see:
SciSys Leonardo with the Analyst program module
With kind regards from historiker, Hein Veldhuis from the Netherlands, dated November 6, 2024