

Schach (German for "chess") was released for the Saba Videoplay, a Channel F-compatible system that Fairchild licensed for the European market. In this early chess simulation you can only play against the machine, as there is no multiplayer support. The player can chose either the white (actually green on screen) or black (actually red) pieces, and can select from 4 different AI difficulties. The easiest AI plays its turns in a matter of seconds but, as the difficulty increases, each turn can take several minutes. In the highest difficulty, the AI can take up to 50(!) minutes to decide its move. To allow the player to watch something else on the TV while the system is busy, the game cart has a very special feature: an integrated red led lights up while the machine is "thinking". During the game, the player can ask the computer to help him with his next move. In those situations, the system analyses the board and plays impartially.
SimulatorStrategyturn-basedsteamonlinefree-to-playsteam achievementsdigital distributionsteam cloudsteam leaderboardsmultiplayer lanFairchild Channel F
Log it
Sign in to log this.
Where do you stand?
Three questions people argue about. Answer first, then see how your circle and the community split.
Is the difficulty the point?
Sign in to answerBe the first to answer.
Ask the title a question
Answered from what people have written, never made up: a verdict, how much when it's a matter of degree, and the sentences that say so, quoted with their names. Reviews here first, then TMDB's reviews and the title's Wikipedia plot and reception. If nothing settles it, you can put it to the curators.
Character
Plot-driven, contemplative, cool and spare.
- character-ledplot-driven
- contemplativerelentless
- cooloverwhelming
- sparerichly built
- intimateepic
Who loves it, who doesn't
No profiled raters yet.
Reviews
No reviews yet.
About the game
- Platforms
- Fairchild Channel F
- Developer
- SABA
- Publisher
- SABA
- Released
- December 31, 1979
- Modes
- Single player, Multiplayer
- Perspective
- Bird view / Isometric
Screenshots



Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Curator Co. Other media included when they land close.
USCF Chess 198287% alikeBoth plot-driven, cool, earnest.
Radical Bomber!! Jirai-kun 198887% alikeBoth plot-driven, cool, spare.
Psi Chess 198686% alikeBoth plot-driven, cool, intimate.
Tamori no Picross 199586% alikeBoth spare, plot-driven, earnest.
Both plot-driven, cool, intimate.
Chess 198185% alikeBoth plot-driven, cool, earnest.
Video Chess 197985% alikeBoth plot-driven, cool, earnest.
The Riddle of the Maze 199485% alikeBoth plot-driven, cool, earnest.
Film · Both earnest, grave, cool; this one is more epic.
The Matrix Revisited 200150% alikeFilm · Both earnest, cool, grave; this one is more epic.
Often played with
Similar games per IGDB. Opening one adds it to Curator Co.









