Due to the inability of FIDE to organise their final of the World Championship Nigel Short and Garry Kasparov solved the problem themselves by forming a rival organisation. So in London during September and October 1993 Short met Kasparov for the Professional Chess Association version of the World title.

Hoping to take advantage of a commercial opportunity Mephisto released the Nigel Short at the time of the match. The chess computer briefly sold quite well in the UK, but the manner in which Kasparov crushed Short would not have helped sales. Within 12 months the price fell from £269, to £229, and then down to £199.

In the UK there are probably quite a few Nigel Shorts bought in that first year. Because they are useful machines for good club players the owners may not have considered selling them on Ebay, as often happens with chess computers of less practical value. Outside of the UK Mephisto Nigel Shorts are hard to find at all. This is a chess computer which is rare, but how rare?

The Nigel Short is based on the Mephisto Milano. I do not know what the hardware or software differences are between the two. On the latest Selective Search list the Nigel Short stands 29 Elo points above the Milano.

The one you see was bought from Eric Hallsworth in July 2006.