Fun Levels; Casual Levels - Saitek Mephisto Chess Trainer Mode D'emploi

A QUICK AND EASY GUIDE
TO LEVEL SELECTION!
1. Press LEVEL to enter
LEVEL
Level Mode.
2. Next, select your level, using the
chart on the right. Simply locate
your level square and press down
on the square to display that level!
For example: To select
Level G2 (with an average
computer response time
of 25 seconds per move),
press Square G2. The
display will alternate
between L:G2 and 00:25 .
3. Finally, press LEVEL again
LEVEL
to exit Level Mode. Now
you can start playing on your
newly selected level!
For more details on the levels, see Section 3.
3.1 Fun Levels (Squares A1-B8)
LEVEL ALTERNATING
SQUARE DISPLAY
A1 ....... L:A1 / Fu 1 ..... B1 ....... L:B1 / Fu 9
A2 ....... L:A2 / Fu 2 ..... B2 ....... L:B2 / Fu10
A3 ....... L:A3 / Fu 3 ..... B3 ....... L:B3 / Fu11
A4 ....... L:A4 / Fu 4 ..... B4 ....... L:B4 / Fu12
A5 ....... L:A5 / Fu 5 ..... B5 ....... L:B5 / Fu13
A6 ....... L:A6 / Fu 6 ..... B6 ....... L:B6 / Fu14
A7 ....... L:A7 / Fu 7 ..... B7 ....... L:B7 / Fu15
A8 ....... L:A8 / Fu 8 ..... B8 ....... L:B8 / Fu16
If you are a novice or beginning player, the Fun Levels are
especially for you—they'll give you the opportunity to beat
the computer for a change! Here, the computer does not
exhaustively search for the best available move, as you
would normally expect. Instead, it disregards scores and
uses a strong randomizer to deliberately weaken play—
which causes it to sometimes make moves that are not
necessarily the best it has found. This variability makes the
computer prone to some very human errors in judgment.
Beat the computer by capitalizing on its mistakes, and you
may soon discover that you can win games against friends in
the same manner! The Fun Levels start out easy and get a
little stronger as they go, allowing you to strengthen your
playing abilities along the way.
3.2 Fixed Depth Levels (Squares C1-D8)
LEVEL SQUARE SEARCH DEPTH
C1 .................. 1 ply .................. L:c1 / Fd 1
C2 .................. 1 ply+ ................ L:c2 / Fd 2
C3 .................. 1 ply++ .............. L:c3 / Fd 3
C4 .................. 2 ply .................. L:c4 / Fd 4
C5 .................. 2 ply+ ................ L:c5 / Fd 5
C6 .................. 2 ply++ .............. L:c6 / Fd 6
C7 .................. 3 ply .................. L:c7 / Fd 7
C8 .................. 3 ply+ ................ L:c8 / Fd 8
------------------------------------------------------------
D1 .................. 3 ply++ .............. L:D1 / Fd 9
D2 .................. 4 ply .................. L:D2 / Fd10
Fun
Level 8
Fu 8
A8
Fun
Level 7
Fu 7
A7
Fun
Level 6
Fu 6
A6
Fun
Level 5
Fu 5
A5
Fun
Level 4
Fu 4
A4
Fun
Level 3
Fu 3
A3
Fun
Level 2
Fu 2
A2
Fun
Level 1
Fu 1
A1

FUN LEVELS

LEVEL ALTERNATING
SQUARE DISPLAY
ALTERNATING DISPLAY
Fun 3+ ply 6 ply
Level 16 search search
Fu 16 FD 8 FD16
B8 C8 D8
Fun 3 ply 5++ ply
Level 15 search search
Fu 15 FD 7 FD15
B7 C7 D7
Fun 2++ ply 5+ ply
Level 14 search search
Fu 14 FD 6 FD14
B6 C6 D6
Fun 2+ ply 5 ply
Level 13 search search
Fu 13 FD 5 FD13
B5 C5 D5
Fun 2 ply 4++ ply
Level 12 search search
Fu 12 FD 4 FD12
B4 C4 D4
Fun 1++ ply 4+ ply
Level 11 search search
Fu 11 FD 3 FD11
B3 C3 D3
Fun 1+ ply 4 ply
Level 10 search search
Fu 10 FD 2 FD10
B2 C2 D2
Fun 1 ply 3++ ply
Level 9 search search
Fu 9 FD 1 FD 9
B1 C1 D1
FIXED DEPTH
LEVELS
D3 .................. 4 ply+ ................ L:D3 / Fd11
D4 .................. 4 ply++ .............. L:D4 / Fd12
D5 .................. 5 ply .................. L:D5 / Fd13
D6 .................. 5 ply+ ................ L:D6 / Fd14
D7 .................. 5 ply++ .............. L:D7 / Fd15
D8 .................. 6 ply .................. L:D8 / Fd16
On the Fixed Depth Levels, the computer's search depth is
limited to a certain number of moves, or ply. A "ply" is an
individual move, or a move for either side. For example, on
Level C1, the computer searches to a depth of one ply, and
thus looks ahead only one individual move. On this level,
therefore, it will often overlook a mate in one. This produces
weaker play, giving beginners a better chance of beating the
computer! Use these levels to sharpen your skills—as you
conquer each level, graduate to the next!
The levels marked with plus signs (+ and ++) indicate
small, incremental jumps in the search depth. On these
levels, the computer will look ahead that particular number of
ply, plus a few extra moves (+), or a few more selected extra
moves (++).
Note that the computer may take a long time to move on
some of the Fixed Depth Levels. On Levels C6 and above,
for instance, it might not be unusual for the computer to think
for an hour or more. Please be assured that this is normal for
these particular levels! To interrupt the computer and force it
to make a move, simply press PLAY.
3.3 Casual Levels (Squares E1-H8)
LEVEL SQUARE
E1 .............. 1 second ............... L:E1 / 00:01
E2 .............. 2 seconds ............. L:E2 / 00:02
E3 .............. 3 seconds ............. L:E3 / 00:03
E4 .............. 4 seconds ............. L:E4 / 00:04
E5 .............. 5 seconds ............. L:E5 / 00:05
E6 .............. 6 seconds ............. L:E6 / 00:06
E7 .............. 7 seconds ............. L:E7 / 00:07
E8 .............. 8 seconds ............. L:E8 / 00:08
-------------------------------------------------------------
F1 .............. 9 seconds ............. L:F1 / 00:09
6
8 sec. 16 sec. 55 sec.
per move per move per move
00:08 00:16 00:55
E8 F8 G8
7 sec. 15 sec. 50 sec.
per move per move per move
00:07 00:15 00:50
E7 F7 G7
6 sec. 14 sec. 45 sec.
per move per move
per move
00:06 00:14
00:45
E6 F6 G6
5 sec. 13 sec. 40 sec.
per move per move per move
00:05 00:13 00:40
E5 F5 G5
4 sec. 12 sec. 35 sec.
per move per move per move
00:04 00:12 00:35
E4 F4 G4
3 sec. 11 sec. 30 sec.
per move per move per move
00:03 00:11 00:30
E3 F3 G3
2 sec. 10 sec. 25 sec.
per move per move per move
00:02 00:10 00:25
E2 F2 G2
1 sec. 9 sec. 20 sec.
per move per move per move
00:01 00:09 00:20
E1 F1 G1

CASUAL LEVELS

TIME PER MOVE ALTERNATING DISPLAY
15 min.
per move
15:00
H8
10 min.
per move
10:00
H7
6 min.
per move
06:00
H6
5 min.
per move
05:00
H5
4 min.
per move
04:00
H4
3 min.
per move
03:00
H3
2 min.
per move
02:00
H2
1 min.
per move
01:00
H1