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Kevin Pacey wrote on Sat, Mar 4, 2023 03:19 AM UTC in reply to Anthony Viens from Tue Apr 14 2020 01:09 AM:

Anthony Viens wrote on 2020-04-14 UTC "I quite like the simple approach you have to this variant.

However, both the working elephant and the lead elephant are fairly similar pieces. They are both very good pieces, but I would think in a game with standard chess pieces +2, that the 2 additional pieces would be better off more divergent.

Just a thought...."

I'd wondered about how to compare 'divergency' of piece types in some sort of objective way. In case of comparing a Q to a R, a Q is a compound of a full R and a full B. In case of a lead elephant (lieutenant from Spartan Chess), it is a compound of a large chunk of a work elephant with a ferz (i.e. the lead elephant is almost clearly a stronger piece than a work elephant (phoenix), and seems so on average I'd guess).

The work elephant has 8 capturing moves and 8 non-capturing moves. The lead elephant has 4 of the former, and 6 of the latter, when comparing it just to the work elephant's; thus you might say a lead elephant is a compound of 10/16th of a work elephant, plus the full ferz piece type (a whole new different piece type), which has 4 capturing moves and 4 non-capturing moves. So, 10/18 ways same as a working elephant, 8/18 ways different.

Maybe a lead elephant is not at all that striking in appearance and/or effectiveness compared to the Q (a compound of R and B), as a ferz is a less fearsome piece than a B, and on the graphics of CVP the ferz is often just denoted by the modest 'x'; also, the lead elephant has to keep the alfil symbol on CVP graphics, whereas the Q gets a whole new symbol (rather than a R somehow crossed with a B).

Note that if you compare a FAD to a WAD (aka Champion), the WAD is 16/24 ways the same and only 8/24 ways different. At least a Champion gets its own distinct symbol sometimes on CVP site, with no elephant or D symbols showing for it, unlike for the FAD.


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