Two different Tiger Marathons

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paulwise3
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Two different Tiger Marathons

Post by paulwise3 »

Hi Nick,

I have a Tiger Marathon that looks different from the one on your site. Yours has the lcd and buttons at the front, and mine has them on the right side. Also you specify it can solve mate in 4, while mine (according to the manual) can only solve mate in 2. That is quite confusing!
The wiki-elo-liste shows your model with a rating of 1341, which seems reasonable for a machine that can solve up to mate in 4, but not for one that can only solve mate in 2.

So could there be different models with different playing strength?

Regards, Paul
2024 Special thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12741
2024 Special results and standings: https://schaakcomputers.nl/paul_w/Tourn ... 25_06.html
If I am mistaken, it must be caused by a horizon effect...
Mike Watters
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Re: Two different Tiger Marathons

Post by Mike Watters »

paulwise3 wrote:Hi Nick,

I have a Tiger Marathon that looks different from the one on your site. Yours has the lcd and buttons at the front, and mine has them on the right side. Also you specify it can solve mate in 4, while mine (according to the manual) can only solve mate in 2. That is quite confusing!
The wiki-elo-liste shows your model with a rating of 1341, which seems reasonable for a machine that can solve up to mate in 4, but not for one that can only solve mate in 2.

So could there be different models with different playing strength?

Regards, Paul
There is also a Marathon DeLuxe which looks similar to your Marathon, Paul.

http://chesseval.com/BrandBoard/Tiger.htm

http://tluif.home.xs4all.nl/chescom/EngTigMar.html

and also the Krypton Marathon which is similar to Nick's Tiger and the Krypton Marathon Deluxe. With the Chinese products it seems possible to have two chess computers which look the same but with different hardware inside and chess computers with the same hardware and program which look quite different. Nice puzzle for someone to sort out.

Mike
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Hi Paul,
Yes I played 46 games with it long time ago and it scored as below.
  • U1400 Blue Stage 6 U1300 Final rapid 2008

    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Saitek Kasparov Sensor XL,LV H5 1350 2.5 - 7.5 +2/=1/-7 25.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Mephisto Junior Handheld,LV A3 1294 4.5 - 3.5 +4/=1/-3 56.25%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Saitek Travel Companion,LV B8 1050 6.0 - 0.0 +6/=0/-0 100.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Saitek Kasparov Sensor,LV 4 1350 4.0 - 0.0 +4/=0/-0 100.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Excalibur Chess Station,LV 16 1300 0.0 - 2.0 +0/=0/-2 0.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Fidelity CC Sensory Voice,LV 4 1394 1.0 - 1.0 +0/=2/-0 50.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Excalibur Kingmaster II,LV 26 1390 2.0 - 0.0 +2/=0/-0 100.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Fidelity Sensory 6,LV 2 1300 2.0 - 0.0 +2/=0/-0 100.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Novag Escort,LV 5 1370 2.0 - 0.0 +2/=0/-0 100.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - SciSys Chess Partner 3000,LV 8 1350 2.0 - 0.0 +2/=0/-0 100.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Fidelity CC 3,LV 3 1000 2.0 - 0.0 +2/=0/-0 100.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Radio Shack 1650 Fast Respons,LV 3 1390 1.5 - 0.5 +1/=1/-0 75.00%
    Tiger Chess Marathon,30s 1300 - Saitek Mephisto Travel Chess,LV B8 1100 2.0 - 0.0 +2/=0/-0 100.00%
Here is a short game that you could try to repeat to see how many moves your Marathon plays the same.

[Event "U1400 Blue Stage 4 U1300 Final 8/3"]
[Site "Active Chess 0:30/1 Hoover AL"]
[Date "2008.04.07"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Saitek Travel Companion, LV B8."]
[Black "Tiger Chess Marathon, 30s"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "1050"]
[BlackElo "1300"]
[Annotator "Mind,Spacious"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2008.03.01"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "6"]

1. d4 d5 {Saitek Kasparov Travel Companion out of book} 2. Nf3 {Tiger Chess
Marathon out of book} Bf5 3. Bg5 Nc6 4. Nc3 Qd6 5. e3 Qb4 6. Bb5 Qxb2 7. Bxc6+
bxc6 8. Kd2 Nf6 9. Bxf6 exf6 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Qe2 Bb4 12. Rb3 Qa5 13. Rhb1 Bxc3+
14. Rxc3 Qxa2 15. Qf1 Kd7 16. Rc5 Kd6 17. Rb3 Bxc2 18. Rb4 Bf5+ 19. Kc1 Qa1+
20. Rb1 Qxb1+ 21. Kd2 Qxf1 22. Ra5 Qxf2+ 23. Kc3 Qxe3+ 24. Kb2 Qe2+ 25. Ka1
Qf1+ 26. Kb2 Qxg2+ 27. Kc3 Qxf3+ 28. Kb2 Qf4 29. Kc3 Qe3+ 30. Kb4 Rab8+ 31. Rb5
Rxb5+ 32. Ka4 Qb3# 0-1


Best regards
Nick
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paulwise3
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Post by paulwise3 »

spacious_mind wrote:Here is a short game that you could try to repeat to see how many moves your Marathon plays the same.

[Event "U1400 Blue Stage 4 U1300 Final 8/3"]
[Site "Active Chess 0:30/1 Hoover AL"]
[Date "2008.04.07"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Saitek Travel Companion, LV B8."]
[Black "Tiger Chess Marathon, 30s"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "1050"]
[BlackElo "1300"]
[Annotator "Mind,Spacious"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2008.03.01"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "6"]

1. d4 d5 {Saitek Kasparov Travel Companion out of book} 2. Nf3 {Tiger Chess
Marathon out of book} Bf5 3. Bg5 Nc6 4. Nc3 Qd6 5. e3 Qb4 6. Bb5 Qxb2 7. Bxc6+
bxc6 8. Kd2 Nf6 9. Bxf6 exf6 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Qe2 Bb4 12. Rb3 Qa5 13. Rhb1 Bxc3+
14. Rxc3 Qxa2 15. Qf1 Kd7 16. Rc5 Kd6 17. Rb3 Bxc2 18. Rb4 Bf5+ 19. Kc1 Qa1+
20. Rb1 Qxb1+ 21. Kd2 Qxf1 22. Ra5 Qxf2+ 23. Kc3 Qxe3+ 24. Kb2 Qe2+ 25. Ka1
Qf1+ 26. Kb2 Qxg2+ 27. Kc3 Qxf3+ 28. Kb2 Qf4 29. Kc3 Qe3+ 30. Kb4 Rab8+ 31. Rb5
Rxb5+ 32. Ka4 Qb3# 0-1
Hi Nick,

It looks like it is definitely different. Almost everywhere it could deviate reasonably it does. I tried style 3 (normal) first, and seeing the agressive queen moves I thought I should take style 5 (very agressive), but even then it does not play those queen moves.
A good position to compare it with your Marathon would be the last mating phase. At move 30 it plays 30. .. Qd2+ instead of Rab8+. After 31. Ka4 Bc2+ this also wins the white rook. But after 32. Ka3 it plays Qc3+ (style 5), and after 33. Ka2 black can give mate in 2 with 33. .. Qb3. This is the position you could try with your Marathon.
This one plays 33. .. Qxa5+ (style 3) or Bb3+ (style5) in all levels from 30s to 95s. Only in the infinite level it finds the move 33. .. Qb3 in 4 minutes en 30 secs.

So it will be interesting to see what your Marathon does in this position!

Fearing for having an inferior Marathon regards,
Paul.
2024 Special thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12741
2024 Special results and standings: https://schaakcomputers.nl/paul_w/Tourn ... 25_06.html
If I am mistaken, it must be caused by a horizon effect...
kosterix
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Posts: 81
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Post by kosterix »

so, in short: the tiger marathon is a subpar weak piece of crap?
Strive for avoiding anything flat that emits light. Love the unhackable chess computer with real pieces and a tactile feel. I do not collect, I live.
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paulwise3
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Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:56 am
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands

Post by paulwise3 »

kosterix wrote:so, in short: the tiger marathon is a subpar weak piece of crap?
Yep. I'm afraid the best it can do is find a mate in 2...

Deep computing regards,
Paul
2024 Special thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12741
2024 Special results and standings: https://schaakcomputers.nl/paul_w/Tourn ... 25_06.html
If I am mistaken, it must be caused by a horizon effect...
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paulwise3
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Posts: 1505
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:56 am
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands

Re: Two different Tiger Marathons

Post by paulwise3 »

Mike Watters wrote:
paulwise3 wrote:Hi Nick,

I have a Tiger Marathon that looks different from the one on your site. Yours has the lcd and buttons at the front, and mine has them on the right side. Also you specify it can solve mate in 4, while mine (according to the manual) can only solve mate in 2. That is quite confusing!
The wiki-elo-liste shows your model with a rating of 1341, which seems reasonable for a machine that can solve up to mate in 4, but not for one that can only solve mate in 2.

So could there be different models with different playing strength?

Regards, Paul
There is also a Marathon DeLuxe which looks similar to your Marathon, Paul.

http://chesseval.com/BrandBoard/Tiger.htm

http://tluif.home.xs4all.nl/chescom/EngTigMar.html

and also the Krypton Marathon which is similar to Nick's Tiger and the Krypton Marathon Deluxe. With the Chinese products it seems possible to have two chess computers which look the same but with different hardware inside and chess computers with the same hardware and program which look quite different. Nice puzzle for someone to sort out.

Mike
Hi Mike and Nick,

I got another one, couldn't let it stay for 2,- euro...
Now I checked the model number, it is 11-003. So it is definitely a different computer, can only solve up to mate in 2, and has a most minimal "opening library": it opens d4 or e4, and then is immediately out of book. It answers d5 to d4, and e5 to e4, and that's it.
For a picture, see also Luuk Hofman's site: http://www.schaakcomputers.nl/schaakcom ... merk=Tiger
I played a short match with the CXG Sphinx Comet (a 4kb Danielsen clone), and the Comet beat it with 5.5-0,5.

It does have 5 playing styles, but I fear that is about the only similarity with Nick's model 11-010.

Beginner's model regards,
Paul
2024 Special thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12741
2024 Special results and standings: https://schaakcomputers.nl/paul_w/Tourn ... 25_06.html
If I am mistaken, it must be caused by a horizon effect...
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spacious_mind
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Re: Two different Tiger Marathons

Post by spacious_mind »

paulwise3 wrote:
Mike Watters wrote:
paulwise3 wrote:Hi Nick,

I have a Tiger Marathon that looks different from the one on your site. Yours has the lcd and buttons at the front, and mine has them on the right side. Also you specify it can solve mate in 4, while mine (according to the manual) can only solve mate in 2. That is quite confusing!
The wiki-elo-liste shows your model with a rating of 1341, which seems reasonable for a machine that can solve up to mate in 4, but not for one that can only solve mate in 2.

So could there be different models with different playing strength?

Regards, Paul
There is also a Marathon DeLuxe which looks similar to your Marathon, Paul.

http://chesseval.com/BrandBoard/Tiger.htm

http://tluif.home.xs4all.nl/chescom/EngTigMar.html

and also the Krypton Marathon which is similar to Nick's Tiger and the Krypton Marathon Deluxe. With the Chinese products it seems possible to have two chess computers which look the same but with different hardware inside and chess computers with the same hardware and program which look quite different. Nice puzzle for someone to sort out.

Mike
Hi Mike and Nick,

I got another one, couldn't let it stay for 2,- euro...
Now I checked the model number, it is 11-003. So it is definitely a different computer, can only solve up to mate in 2, and has a most minimal "opening library": it opens d4 or e4, and then is immediately out of book. It answers d5 to d4, and e5 to e4, and that's it.
For a picture, see also Luuk Hofman's site: http://www.schaakcomputers.nl/schaakcom ... merk=Tiger
I played a short match with the CXG Sphinx Comet (a 4kb Danielsen clone), and the Comet beat it with 5.5-0,5.

It does have 5 playing styles, but I fear that is about the only similarity with Nick's model 11-010.

Beginner's model regards,
Paul
Hi Paul,

Yes it definitely seems to be a different computer. Do you also have the one I show at my website?

http://spacious-mind.com/html/marathon.html

If not you should get it if you ever see it. It played quite competitively in my U1400 tournament.

Regards
Nick
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paulwise3
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Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 10:56 am
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands

Re: Two different Tiger Marathons

Post by paulwise3 »

spacious_mind wrote: Hi Paul,

Yes it definitely seems to be a different computer. Do you also have the one I show at my website?

http://spacious-mind.com/html/marathon.html

If not you should get it if you ever see it. It played quite competitively in my U1400 tournament.

Regards
Hi Nick,

I am scanning the internet regularly (ebay and local market sites) for 3 years now, but I cannot remember having seen the model you have.

Seems to be a collector's item...

Best regards, Paul
2024 Special thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12741
2024 Special results and standings: https://schaakcomputers.nl/paul_w/Tourn ... 25_06.html
If I am mistaken, it must be caused by a horizon effect...
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