This page is dedicated to my new hobby of collecting vintage chess computers. It all began shortly after I started my chess programming website www.chessbin.com. It was around that time I found my first chess computer (Fidelity Chess Marauder) at a Talize (used article store). It was only $3.99 Canadian (that's about $3.30 US).
At first this was not really a hobby or a collection since I only had one chess computer. I simply used it to have a chess opponent away from my computer. The Chess Marauder was strong enough and I poor enough of a player to make for some interesting games. I simply made a move or two every day and the chess computer would remember the board position when I turned it off.
However soon after my first find I became fascinated with looking for old chess computers whenever I visited a used goods store like Goodwill or Talize. Garage sales were transformed into a source of potential treasures. After months of no luck, I finally found an even older chess computer at a charity yard sale on my trip to Arizona.
My second chess computer was 1980 Tandy Computerized chess. It was a mobile computer chess (designed to travel). The chess pieces fit into tiny peg holes on the chess board to prevent them from moving around. The game also had a cover to protect the game pieces during transportation. I it was listed for $2 but I managed to purchased it for $1.10 US. I was not sure that it worked until I put in the 6 AA batteries it required at home. Tandy Computerized Chess greeted me with it’s welcome screen, and around 28 years since manufacturing it worked just fine.
As you may have noticed, collecting chess computers is not very expensive. People sell chess computers on the internet anywhere from $10 - $80 depending on age and rarity. I find it more exciting to look through used articles and find them buried amongst other useless junk. It gives me a feeling akin to what treasure hunting must feel like.Now that I have found 2 chess computers in a span of about 3 months I have a feeling that this collection is going to continue. I will update this page with my full list of chess computers as I get new ones, along with their photos and descriptions.
Full reviews of all my chess computers can be found below:
| If you would like to purchase your own chess computer but are not interested in searching through second hand stores, I would like to suggest this low priced Excalibur ET404 Einstein Touch Chess |
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