Fidelity Electronics

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Fidelity Electronics (Fidelity International Inc.), was an American hearing-aid manufacturing company, founded in 1959, and in March 1970 purchased by Sidney and Myron Samole. Among its other cutting-edge technology, Fidelity Electronics produced high-tech, bio-medical products, such as myo-electric hands, prostheses that could actually be controlled by the brain impulses of amputees. Since 1976, Fidelity Electronics developed and produced dedicated chess computers.

=Photos= Director of Engineering: Ron Nelson Kathe and Dan Spracklen debugging Challenger with Apple II in-circuit emulator

=History= Sidney Samole was the man who dreamed, patented and produced the first commercial chess computer. He closely cooperated with Ron Nelson and later with Dan and Kathe Spracklen. He was credited with inventing the first commercial electronic chess game in the 1970s after watching a Star Trek episode. It seems that he actually had the idea but it was Ron Nelson who really created the machine, called Fidelity Chess Challenger 1. After building three working models and four non-working models, Sidney Samole decided to promote his new brainchild at Chicago's Consumer Electronics Show in January 1977. Fidelity prospered. In fact, it seems that the success of the Fidelity Chess Challenger 7 computer, which sold about 600,000 units was responsible for the move from Chicago, Illinois to Miami Florida in January 1981. Fidelity also produced computerized Bridge, Checkers, and Othello games. Fidelity manufactured all its games in the US.

By 1989, a recession was in the wind, and Sidney Samole was sensitive to its warning breezes. He sold Fidelity Electronics at the top of its value to Hegener & Glaser. Sidney's son, Shane Samole, who already started Fidelity Canada in 1984 took a loan from his father and started Excalibur Electronics in 1992. Sidney Samole died on July 30, 2000.

=Achievements= Fidelity chess computers won the first four World Microcomputer Chess Championships: Chess Challenger won in London 1980, Fidelity X in Travemünde 1981, Elite A/S in Budapest 1983, and Elite X in Glasgow 1984. Moreover, they won the four United States Open Computer Chess Championships, all held in Mobile, Alabama, in 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988 (Chessmaster 2100). A remarkable performance is its first place in the ACM 1988 Championship, tied with Deep Thought.

=People=

Programmers
Ron Nelson, Kathe and Dan Spracklen were Samole's protégés and "house" programmers. Nelson programs were all Intel 8080 or Zilog Z80 based, while the Spracklens relied on MOS Technology 6502 and later on Motorola 68000 and successors. Soon after Samole sold Fidelity to Hegener & Glaser, some more programmers were associated with Fidelity chess computers.

Misc

 * Boris Baczynskyj
 * Terry Everett
 * Tom Fürstenberg
 * Peter-Ingolf Gericke
 * Florian Glaser since 1989
 * Manfred Hegener since 1989
 * David Levy
 * Peter Reckwitz
 * Myron Samole
 * Shane Samole
 * Sidney Samole

=Fidelity Computers= Fidelity had various brand names for their chess computers, most notably Chess Challenger. While competing at official tournaments, development- or experimental versions were called Fidelity X or Challenger X.


 * Chess Challenger
 * Elegance
 * Elite
 * Excel
 * Excellence
 * Fidelity
 * Fidelity Phantom
 * Par Excellence
 * Private Line
 * Sensory 9

=See also=
 * Chafitz
 * Excalibur Electronics
 * Fidelity Chessmaster 2100
 * Hegener & Glaser

=Publications=
 * Schachcomputer: Markt und Müll, Der Spiegel 49/1979, December 03, 1979, (German) pdf
 * Schachcomputer: Tricks und Trug, Der Spiegel 50/1980, December 08, 1980, (German) pdf
 * Göran Grottling (1988). Thank you Mister Spock! Ein Interview mit Sid Samole. Modul 4/88, pp. 36-38 (German), pdf hosted by Hein Veldhuis
 * Lev Alburt and Al Lawrence (2000). "How About a Nice Game of Chess?" - Any Time. Sidney Samole (1935-2000). Chess Café, October 17, 2000, pdf

=Forum Posts=
 * The Fidelity vs. ICD/Your Move Lawsuit... The Epic by Steven Schwartz, CCC, October 19, 2000 » ICD Corporation
 * Ron Nelson by ChessChallenger, Hiarcs Forum, December 23, 2015 » Sidney Samole
 * Fidelity and Fast Hardware by ChessChallenger, Hiarcs Forum, December 31, 2015

=External Links=

Fidelity

 * Fidelity Electronics from Wikipedia
 * Fidelity Electronics from chesscomputers.org
 * Fidelity Electronic Chess Computers from The Spacious Mind
 * Fidelity | Photo collection by Chewbanta
 * Fidelity ..The Golden Years | Photo collection by Chewbanta
 * Search Fidelity from the Mastering the Game exhibition and on-line collection from The Computer History Museum
 * Fidelity from Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
 * Die Geschichte der Firma Fidelity - Teil 1 by Alwin Gruber, Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
 * Die Geschichte der Firma Fidelity - Teil 2 by Alwin Gruber, Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
 * Die Geschichte der Firma Fidelity - Teil 3 by Alwin Gruber, Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)
 * Die Geschichte der Firma Fidelity - Teil 4 by Alwin Gruber, Schachcomputer.info Wiki (German)

ICGA Tournaments

 * Fidelity's ICGA Tournaments
 * Challenger's ICGA Tournaments
 * Elite's ICGA Tournaments
 * Sensory's ICGA Tournaments
 * Elegance's ICGA Tournaments
 * Private Line's ICGA Tournaments

Chess Computers
=References=

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