Previous Next

Pit your wits against an emissary from the past. This is no space invader but an automaton called The Turk who will give you a good game of chess.

Chess: The Turk is for the 48K Spectrum and contains many options which are unusual in chess games for the computer. Before you play, you can see how good the Turk is by watching the program play against itself. Levels of play range from one to six and will take a few seconds on level one to six hours on level six.

If you are an averagely good player for your age you may care to try level two, or perhaps three at most, as they will give you at least some chance of winning.

If you have been adept at the game for some time you might like to take on the program at Blitz Chess. The name is apt, as our board looked like a map of London after the war in just 20 minutes of torment. The reason is that Blitz Chess is against the clock.

The game will allow all legal moves, including en passant and pawn promotion. It also allows you to switch sides during the game or, if you want to cheat even more, remove the Turk's queen from the board.

Chess: The Turk is well packaged. It can be obtained from Oxford Computer Publishing, PO Box 99, Oxford. It costs £9.95.