www.ChessComputers.org
Model: Fidelity Phantom 6100
Manufacturer: Fidelity International
Year: 1988
Est. ELO rating: 1835
Levels of play: 24
Type: Pressure sensory - robotic arm under the board
CPU: 65C02 5 Mhz
Programmer: Dan & Kate Spracklen
Opening library: 12,000 positions
(click on pictures to enlarge them)
Fidelity Phantom Chess Computer
6100. (Robotic Chess)
This is pretty much the Phantom from
Milton
Bradley with a few
enhancements and a couple of things that changed that I personally
didn't like.
Fidelity bought the rights to the Phantom chess computer from Milton
Bradley
(MB) (see above). They added a stronger chess program, and LCD display
and some more features. However, with the Phantom from MB, you could
start playing as soon as you turned the computer on. It would still
adjust all the pieces but you didn't have to wait for that. In this
version from Fidelity, you have to wait until the computer adjusts all
the pieces before you can start playing. That takes around 50 seconds
or so.
Also, when you capture a piece, the version from Fidelity doesn't
adjust your piece to ensure it's tidily in the square. The version from
MB will do that.
The pictures below are of a same model
6100 except for the collors. It has the green lettering and a black and
white board. It was purchased in March 2005 and it came from a
warehouse. Because of its condition, I believe this unit was never
used. The unit still had a sticky plastic covering the board! I almost
didn't
want to remove it but I had to test it. It was so clean, the motor
sounded so smooth and the complete internal packaging so neat that it's
hard to think that it was not a new unit that was just never sold! Even
the way the
power supply cord was wrapped seems to be the way it came from the
factory! I didn't even let it play a whole game and repacked everything.
Note:
the ELO rating I use come
from tests performed by other collectors using some standard tables and
tests but for this model, Fidelity got an USCF Expert Rating of 2100!
You can see that seal on the box.
Fidelity Phantom Videos (with sound):
Phantom adjusting pieces when you turn it
on (1:00min - 8Mb)
Phantom replays the "Game of the Century"
(5:00min - 79Mb [MOV file])