HIARCS Chess Forums

[Larry]

Hi Steve, and others,
Here is a good example of the Par Excellence:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290270582986
Note the seller says there is an LED out. My bet is that the solder joint
under the LED just needs melting. If I'm wrong then the new owner might
have trouble finding one of those flat topped LED's.
Steve, is this the popular "Par" program you mentioned that the other
wooden Fidelity 6088 in the nearby thread has? It seems to me that the
Par Excellence is just an overclocked Excellence, and, at least in my
country, retailed at near twice the price. This explains why the Excellence
is way more common on ebay.
The Par Excellence goes back to the year 1986. Do you guys, assuming
you were around back then, reminisce about where you were and what
you were doing at the times of various dedicated chess comp releases?
I was raising a family , and, while I was interested in the 'Par',
I had recently bought a used Novag Expert and could hardly justify the
cost of a new (plastic) machine when there was money needing to be
spent around the house, and fun parks to take the kids to.
Sorry about the waffling on, it's 7am here, and my morning cuppa
has made my fingers want to type.
have a nice day
Larry
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Growth is the problem, not the solution.

[Steve B]

Hi Larry
yes this is the Par Program
popular because it sold heavily for Fidelity and appeared in many models
an example of models with the Par Program:
FIDELITY PHANTOM
FIDELITY ELITE A.G. 2100
FIDELITY CHESSTER
PAR Excellence and other


the Par is not really just an over clocked Excellence..
the program was enhanced over the Excellence by increased check extensions,improvements to the position evaluation and improved time management in addition to the 5 Mhz clock

i have been collecting these babies since they were first released 30+ years ago ..so its hard for me to remember where i was exactly when any one particular model was released for sale
in fact..at my age ..i am happy if i can remember where i am today

Senior Moment Regards
Steve

[Fernando]

Par Excellence, as Steve said, is a different, enhanced machine. I recall very well -but of course I have muy brain in lot better conditions than the one of Blincoe, severely hurted and maimed by the crisis- when and where I bought it. It was in one of my journalistic trip to US, when passing trought Miami. I bought it there, in a paltry store in the commrcial area near the area of cruisiers ships. It happened in 1990.
In 1989 I have seen a Par in "Le Damier de l'Opera", in Paris, the most known chess stuff place in those years. The guy there showed to me the machine, but that time I prefered to get a MMIV module. I was right as much as it is slightly stronger. But Par is a magnificent product, one of the best by Fidelity.
I still have mine fom those timesa nd I play it regularly. Normally I beat it, but it takes serious concentration and patience. I have lost many games to it, also. It is a resourceful progeram only limited by the narrow depth of his search.

Par Excellence regards
Fern
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