The Portable Collector: Novag Sapphire II Portable Wood

[SirDave]

For some time I've been looking for a portable wood board to use with the Novag Sapphire II when on the road. Over the last few months I bought at least 3 small portable sets, but all of them were lacking in design and all had pieces that were poorly designed and bore no resemblance to the Staunton standard.

Then I came across the House of Chess (not to be confused with The Chess House). It is based in India and has an excellent selection of well-designed portable wood chess sets. I have placed two separate orders there and the sets have arrived as described, carefully packed in about 7-10 days to the U.S. west coast.

The unit below is the 5x7 inch one with mini Staunton magnetized pieces (king is 3/4in.) that keep their place even when the board is turned upside down. It happens to perfectly hold the Novag Sapphire II in place (as shown) when playing a game. You can't easily close the lid with the Sapphire II in place, but it's practical to have it placed in the lid while playing. The 6x8 board which I'm likely going to buy next would hold the Sapphire II easily.







Here is the webpage for the 5x7 inch board: (I have no relationship with this company whatsoever. I'm letting people know about it because I wasted money on lesser sets before I found this site and I have found these boards and the company's service excellent.)

http://www.houseofchessstore.com/magnet ... nside.html

[Larry]

Looks really neat, Dave. I've got a Sapphire2, had it for years and seldom
use it. Probably for the reason that you need to lug a manual chess set
around.
I'll check out the link you gave, for sure. Shipping should be less for me.
Just waffling on, I remember when I got my Sap2. I paid peanuts for it
because it was defective. When I took the back off, I found the problem.
The CPU, which is a push fit into a cradle, was not inserted properly. The
legs were all in their wrong holes, so that the two unoccupied holes
were at one end, while at the other end the two end legs of the CPU were
hanging into thin air. A quick fix and suddenly it worked fine.
L

[Theo]

Awesome board! Is the Sapphire 1 exactly the same size as the Sapphire 2 ?

[SirDave]

Awesome board! Is the Sapphire 1 exactly the same size as the Sapphire 2 ?

I believe so.

[SirDave]

Looks really neat, Dave. I've got a Sapphire2, had it for years and seldom
use it. Probably for the reason that you need to lug a manual chess set
around.
I'll check out the link you gave, for sure. Shipping should be less for me.
Just waffling on, I remember when I got my Sap2. I paid peanuts for it
because it was defective. When I took the back off, I found the problem.
The CPU, which is a push fit into a cradle, was not inserted properly. The
legs were all in their wrong holes, so that the two unoccupied holes
were at one end, while at the other end the two end legs of the CPU were
hanging into thin air. A quick fix and suddenly it worked fine.
L

Larry, that was an impressive 'fix'. What do you think was behind the CPU being inserted that way?

[Larry]

What do you think was behind the CPU being inserted that way?

Just some clumsy dumb "bull in a china shop" previous owner that
understood that the CPU needed lifted and replacing, but was too careless
to do the simple job right. A little knowledge can be worse than none.
When it did'nt work he quickly assumed it was kaput and went into the chess
shop where I found it and traded it for a book, perhaps.
I have had the good fortune of finding several chess comps that were
destined for the scrap heap, but in fact only needed a soldering
iron pointed at a soldered joint. Or, maybe a push fit chip that needed
lifting and replacing.
You've got to wonder how many rare and expensive chess computers
world wide have gone into landfills because of a bad LED, or a dried out
solder joint.
L

[sje]

I have a Novag Super VIP and it has the same form factor as the Novag Sapphire II pictured above.

The chess set is pretty, but too small for my taste. Also, my house is infested with cats and they just love scattering chess pieces, even if they see me watching. The smaller the chess piece, the greater the probability of never finding it after a feline incursion.

[sje]

You've got to wonder how many rare and expensive chess computers world wide have gone into landfills because of a bad LED, or a dried out solder joint.

Or a bad reed switch or a fault in the sensor press board.

Quite a few, I'd guess. The reliability, particularly of some the less expensive models, was not very good in the Early Days.

[SirDave]

I have a Novag Super VIP and it has the same form factor as the Novag Sapphire II pictured above.

The chess set is pretty, but too small for my taste. Also, my house is infested with cats and they just love scattering chess pieces, even if they see me watching. The smaller the chess piece, the greater the probability of never finding it after a feline incursion.

Yes, it's small, but since the primary plan is/was for use on the road (traveling etc.), that is the whole idea.

[Steve B]

Hi Dave

while we are on the subject of the Sap II

I was fooling around earlier today and i took the black side of the QGA against the Sap II
1 Min. per move avg..
we reached this position with the Sap II (White ) to play


[fen]r2qkb1r/1p3ppp/p1n1pn2/8/3N4/2N1P2P/PP2bPP1/R1BQR1K1 w kq - 0 12[/fen]

instead of the more normal ...
Qxe2 or N3xe2
Sap II plays the awkward Rxe2

if you get a chance one day while traveling with that nifty portable peg set...
could you try this position out with your Sap II and see what it plays at the level AT6(1 Min/Avg.)

On The Road Again Regards
Steve

[sje]

I have a Novag Super VIP and it has the same form factor as the Novag Sapphire II pictured above.

The chess set is pretty, but too small for my taste. Also, my house is infested with cats and they just love scattering chess pieces, even if they see me watching. The smaller the chess piece, the greater the probability of never finding it after a feline incursion.

Yes, it's small, but since the primary plan is/was for use on the road (traveling etc.), that is the whole idea.

I once had a nice wooden set similar to the once pictured, except it used pegs. It saw much use, usually for covert gaming while I was in school. The set could be quickly hidden from the teacher's glare and the pegs would keep the position unchanged.

[SirDave]

Hi Dave

while we are on the subject of the Sap II

I was fooling around earlier today and i took the black side of the QGA against the Sap II
1 Min. per move avg..
we reached this position with the Sap II (White ) to play


[fen]r2qkb1r/1p3ppp/p1n1pn2/8/3N4/2N1P2P/PP2bPP1/R1BQR1K1 w kq - 0 12[/fen]

instead of the more normal ...
Qxe2 or N3xe2
Sap II plays the awkward Rxe2

if you get a chance one day while traveling with that nifty portable peg set...
could you try this position out with your Sap II and see what it plays at the level AT6(1 Min/Avg.)

On The Road Again Regards
Steve

Steve- yup, it plays Rxe2 (E1xE2)

[Steve B]

Thanks Dave
love the photos


strange looking move Rxe2
i might have the Sap II try to defend this position against the TM Portorose
which is still currently set up on my desk
normally i rotate computers on my desk after 2-3 days or so but
the TM Porto has been allowed to remain on my desk for an unusually long period of time in recognition of its trouncing of the Diamond II here:

http://hiarcs.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=61808#61808

Victory Has Its Rewards Regards
Steve

[SirDave]

Hello SirDave. Are you interested in selling your Novag Sapphire2 chess computer?

Sorry, as you can see I've grown rather attached to it. Besides, it's big brother, my recently acquired Diamond II, would get lonely.

[Steve B]

Hello SteveB. Are you interested in selling your Novag Sapphire2 chess computer?

No Sorry
SirDave has grown very attached to my Sap II as well

SirDave Is Watching Regards
Steve