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Fidelity Germany was not content with just selling Fidelity machines manufactured in the USA. They became involved in producing models, combining their own design ideas with Fidelity hardware and software. Hence the Grandmaster Voice, Elite Private Line, Elite Privat and Playmatic ‘S’, all Fidelitys made in West Germany.
A further development of this process came in late 1985 when former Managing Director of Fidelity Electronics Germany, Peter Reckwitz, founded his own company Remote Control Systems GmbH (RCS) at Mülheim. Apart from tuning Fidelity chess computers, mainly Elite A/S and Prestiges, he set out to develop his own chess computer. He started with an improved 5.5 MHz version of the Excellence program in an ultra thin tournament sized plastic coated sensory board. Due to difficulties in getting components he switched to using Playmatic ‘S’ boards and produced the first ‘Granit’ in very small numbers with the program running at 6.5 MHz. The Granit competed at the Man-Machine tournament at Aegon in Spring 1986.
There followed a further radical change in direction, and a chess computer was released said to combine an improved Par Excellence program running at 8 MHz with a Sensory 12 housing. This was called the RCS Granit ‘S’ and it is the machine pictured on this webpage.
Few were made and Granit ‘S’ is very rare. When I have worked up the courage to look inside I may be able to confirm the type of pcb, processor and speed. Bearing in mind the history of RCS there is no guarantee that the electronic components used will be as described in publicity information and articles of the day......(cont >)
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