The program in the Mephisto Polgar 10MHz is the same as the standard Polgar (5MHz) but running exactly twice as fast. The Polgar 10MHz modules were only issued by Mephisto in suitably adapted Modular or Exclusive boards. The Modular combination cost £749 in the UK, and the Exclusive £879. They both came with a stern warning not to attempt to use the modules in other boards or to use the adapted boards with other types of module. The orange notice (pictured below) warns that only the enclosed Polgar 10MHz modules work with that board because of changes made in the electrical supply. All other modules which normally run with the board may be destroyed (or words to that effect).

You might question the wisdom of releasing a special board for one set of modules with the potential future compatibility issues this could cause. However the Polgar 10MHz is a significant and special chess computer being by some way the strongest 8 bit machine ever produced. It arrived in mid 1990 and quickly established a reputation for matching some of the strongest chess computers of the day, including some of the 32 bit ones. Once at 2219 Elo on the Selective Search rating list, almost alongside the new World Champion - Portorose 68000, it has now settled down to 2034 Elo on the last published list. The strength of play is matched by the excellent 32-character dot matrix display and all the features for which Ed Schroder’s  Polgar program is well known. The training mode, opening book training and playing to a specified Elo rating are complemented by a 76 page “Improve Your Chess” manual issued with all Polgars.

In Computer Chess Reports Larry Kaufman found the Polgar 10MHz to be better at slower tournament speeds, so how it will fare at Active Chess remains to be seen. I expect it to finish somewhere near the bottom of Strong Group Two.