SPECTRUM VOICE CHESS
(Artic Computing, 1982)


Spectrum Voice Chess speaks to you from the built-in speaker in the
Spectrum. It is possible to amplify the speech by taking the output
through the cassette port and connecting to an amplifier. For best
results, use maximum Bass.
Before you start to play chess you will be asked a few questions.
The first question you will be asked is "PLAY, ANALYSE OR LOAD?".
L N/L will load a previously saved game. If you answer 'A' you will be
able to set up the board for analysis. However, we shall now look at
the normal situation, a reply of 'P'. You will then be asked your
choice of colour. Answer 'W' or 'B'. Finally you may select the level
of play for SPECTRUM VOICE CHESS. The levels range from 0 to 6:-
Level 0 replies in 2 seconds and is the easiest level.
Level 1 replies in 15 seconds and plays reasonably.
Level 2 replies in 40 seconds and is suitable for casual players.
Level 3 replies in 3 minutes and plays an above average game.
Level 4 replies in 5 minutes.
Level 5 and 6 are most suitable for correspondence chess but play a
very strong game.
These timings are approximate and vary depending on the game
situation. You are now ready to play chess.
The pieces are represented on the board by graphic shapes. Each square
is represented by a co-ordinate, A-H from left to right and 1-8 from
bottom to top.
To move a piece, enter the co-ordinate of the square it occupies, a
space, then the co-ordinate of the square you wish to move to, and
finally Newline; eg. E2 - E4 Newline. Providing this is a valid move,
Spectrum Voice Chess will then move. If you make an invalid move, the
INVALID [sic] is displayed and you must re-enter a valid move.
IF YOU WISH SPECTRUM VOICE CHESS TO RECOMMEND A MOVE TYPE 'M'
Spectrum Voice Chess will recommend a move on all levels except 0, and
at the beginning of game Spectrum Voice Chess will not be able to
recommend a move. In both cases typing 'M' will be ignored. If you
make a mistake while typing in your move, then you may use the DELETE
KEY to correct it.
If you wish to castle, you should just type the KING's move and
Spectrum Voice Chess will know you wish to castle. When Spectrum Voice
Chess castles, it displays 0-0 or 0-0-0. You may also capture using En
Passant privilege and if Spectrum Voice Chess uses the privilege it
displays PXPEP.
T will save the game at that position to tape, to be returned to at a
later date.
Z prints a copy of the board onto the ZX printer.
O prints all moves so far either onto the screen or printer depending
if the printer is present; ie. with no printer the moves are printed
on the screen. If printed on the screen, the first 20 moves are shown;
press any key to show following moves. Press N/L at the end of list to
return to game.
IF YOU WISH TO RESIGN DURING THE GAME TYPE 'S' (Stop).

POSITION ANALYSIS
Suppose you answer 'A' to the first question, then the board will be
displayed with all the pieces in the position they were in. You may
now alter any square on the board as follows:- xx000: Clears square xx
where xx is the square's co-ordinate; eg. E2. xx cpm: Puts piece 'p'
of colour 'c' on square xx where c, p and m are as follows:
c - colour 'W' or 'B'
p - piece: 'P' - pawn, 'R' - rook, 'N' - knight, 'B' - bishop,
'Q' - queen, 'K' - king
m - move flag: 'Y' if piece has moved, 'N' if piece has not.
This is mainly important for pawns, kings and rooks.
'X....' will clear the board. This is ideal for end game analysis.
When you have finished setting up the board, you exit by typing
'Q....' (Quit). You will then be asked your colour and level of play
as at the start of the program. The game may then be played from the
position you have set up. Another way of entering the position
analysis routine is to type 'S' during a game. You will then be
asked:-	"PLAY, ANALYSE OR LOAD?" Reply 'A'.
By this means you may alter the level of play or even swap colours
during the game! The game is usually finished by Checkmate.
Spectrum Voice Chess will then wait for any key to be pressed before
re-starting the program.