The Chess Variant Pages

Older Ratings and Comments

DatePageRatingComment
25 May 2001Piececlopedia - Lion (2)Poor No comment.
25 May 2001Changgi - Korean Chess ChessNone No comment.
25 May 2001Rec.games.chinese-chess: FAQGood Need more orgin/info on chinese chess orgin
24 May 2001One or TwoNone Ah... I hadn't thought of that. I suppose we could say that White, by choosing which piece goes first, is also choosing where that first piece is moving. So in effect, White is making two choices at once. Which means he doesn't get to make any choices after Black makes his choice. To use your example:

White chooses that the Bishop will move first. In effect, White has chosen that the Bishop will move first, and that the Bishop will move to d7. Black then chooses how the Pawn will move without worrying about White's next choice, because White has already made two of the three choices.

Or one could make "double choices" (ie. a choice which is really two choices) illegal.

Now if White decided for his first choice, that the Bishop will move somewhere other than d7, then white has really made a "triple choice", in that he not only has decided that the Pawn will move first, but where the pawn will move, and where the Bishop will move. I would advise that triple choices be illegal. But I do think that a double choice for the opponent's first choice could be legal.

I know, it's still confusing. I think only those interested in mental self-torture may actually be interested in playing this variant variation... :)

24 May 2001One or TwoNone

(No anchor termination on the link to One or Two from the whatsnew page; lynx complains.)

"your rule regarding check makes sense." -- but notice how it interacts with the clever idea of alternating choices:

  • 1 e4 d5 2 Bb5+, and Black chooses the Pc7 and the Bc8.
  • I feel confused, but I think that W must choose either Bd7 or Pc6, beacuse choosing which goes first, or choosing a different move for either piece, leaves Black no choice.
  • Gosh, do I feel confused.

Because the rules are so confusing, add the rule that attempting to make an illegal choice loses the game!

--
gnohmon


24 May 2001One or TwoNone I agree... your rule regarding check makes sense.

Here's a variant that increases the advantage of choosing a Two Mover:

Same rules as 'One or Two', except:

When the opponent is moving the player's two pieces, choices alternate, starting with the opponent.

So, the opponent would make a choice, either which piece moves first, or how one of the pieces will move. The player would then make a remaining choice, and then finally (if necessary) the opponent would make the one remaining choice.

Here's the twist: Players must make choices in such a way as to give their opponent a choice (if possible).

So taking Ralph's example:

Ph2 and Ng1 are chosen by White. What follows is a break-down of Black's possible choices:

  • Black cannot choose Nh3 as this gives White no choices.
  • Black chooses Nf3. White can choose from Ph3, Ph4, Knight moves first, or Pawn moves first. White chooses Ph3. Black chooses the Pawn to move first (not that it matters).
  • Black chooses Ph4. White cannot choose Nh3 because that would give Black no choice. White can now choose between Nf3, Pawn moves first, or Knight moves first. White chooses Nf3. Black chooses the Pawn to move first (not that it matters).
  • Black chooses Ph3. This leaves White the same choices as the previous case.
  • Black chooses Pawn moves first. White cannot choose Ph3 or Nh3 as this will leave Black no choices. White can choose from either Ph4 or Nf3. White chooses Nf3. Black chooses Ph4.
  • Black chooses Knight moves first. White cannot choose Nh3 as this conflicts with Black's choice. White must choose between Nf3, Ph3 or Ph4. White chooses Nf3. Black chooses Ph4.

--D. Howe

23 May 2001Closing TimeNone

No, you can't make a move in the pub when it's closed except to exit it; and yes, the K is safe -- I had thought of that but didn't write everything down.

I thought of this game while I was on vacation (guess where) and wrote it down in haste nearly 2 weeks later.

--
gnohmon


23 May 2001Closing TimeGood This looks amusing, but I have some questions:

  • 1) What is the status of a Pawn that would take two moves to exit the pub at closing time?
  • 2) If King is in the closed pub, do opposing pieces give check? after all, they can't actually make the capture.

    PBA

  • 23 May 2001One or TwoNone

    Oh, I forgot to say -- there could be variants of One or Two, for example you name two pieces and the random number generator chooses the moves. --
    gnohmon


    23 May 2001One or TwoNone

    I think you need to give a choice of which to move first. Promotion is a good question; promoting to N instead of Q is a big sacrifice, and you won't be doing it unless your other move is also useful, so why not allow it?

    Another good question would be, can you get out of check with a doublemove? You have to give a choice of which moves first, and so both pieces must be able to get you out of check -- whichever one moves first perhaps has no choice, but both pieces have choices when moved second. That would be okay, don't you think?

    --
    gnohmon


    23 May 2001One or TwoGood Must the opponent also have the choice of which piece to move first? (eg. could I choose Ra1 and Pa2 for my first move?)

    Would promotion to a different piece count as a different move? (eg. would Pa7-a8=Q and Pa7-a8=R count as two different moves?)

    I've thought of a similar variant, where a player would either choose a piece to be moved (and the opponent would choose where to move it to) or the player would choose a square to be moved to (and the opponent would choose which piece moved there). In both cases, the opponent would have to have a choice (ie. it couldn't be a forced move). Not sure if it would be playable though.

    --D. Howe

    22 May 2001Twelve Mutation ChessGood

    Mutators should be shuffled and not known to either player; if there are 12 mutators on the board they should be chosen from a list that is larger than 14; when deactivated, replaced by unknown random one (but no mutator appears twice on the board).

    And, activate them when you move onto the square! Thus you never know what you're activating but you do know what you're deactivating.

    That's my thought on the subject, anyway.

    --
    gnohmon


    22 May 2001Twenty-First Century ChessPoor

    The author's ignorance of the field of chess variants leads, as always, to the belief that the new game will replace all other forms of chess; nor is the author strong at chess, as shown by the idea that FIDE chess is not violent.

    Capablanca's Chess is very similar, and better because it includes both an Archbishop and a Chancellor.

    Bad rule: castling across attacked squares. Prevention of castling is important, and is worth sacrificing material to achieve.

    Nifty idea: the Jester. One never-moved P per game may transform into something a bit more powerful -- an original idea, I think, and one could wring intriguing variations from the theme.

    --
    gnohmon


    21 May 2001CONTINUOUS CHESSNone Thanks! I believe a Knight could (in theory) capture up to five pieces with one move, while the other pieces could capture up to three. Of course the opponent's pieces must be placed 'just so'.

    I'll clarify the capturing rules on this point.

    --D. Howe

    21 May 2001CONTINUOUS CHESSExcellent

    Beautiful idea.

    Looks like a piece can sometimes make more than one capture in the same move, although you do not explicitly say so.

    --
    gnohmon

    20 May 2001Rec.games.chinese-chess: FAQExcellent they tell more than i even want to know, wow
    20 May 2001CONTINUOUS CHESSExcellent Very interesting... As an alternative to the discrete variant, perhaps you could just have a minimum distance requirement per move. That would address the infinitesimal move problem, but still allow very flexible movement possibilities. - A.J. Winkelspecht
    18 May 2001KriegspielExcellent This game was mentioned in The Return of Nathan Brazil by Jack L. Chalker. Thanks for putting the rules on a web page so I know how to play now.
    18 May 2001The Chess Variant Pages: Alphabetical listing of variantsNone Brilliant Site!! Check it out all the time for new versions! Have some of my own i'll send your way soon! Thanks for it!! Beautifly done!! -k ps. if any of you don't have it, check out Zillions-of-games! (www.zillions-of-games.com) for an incredible (and affordable) software package that is a true compliment to this site. A chess engine that will play any variant you load into it!!
    18 May 2001CONTINUOUS CHESSNone Peter: Good point about making infinitesimal moves. A minimum move distance is a good idea. I'll update the page. I agree that enforcing some discrete increment for movement is probably necessary for implementing this game. Especially if players start using fractal equations or irrational numbers when specifying their moves. :)

    Jim: Perhaps a continuous version of Chesseract would be possible. Another thought occured to me: pieces with 'area' movemement. Well, anyway, it would be interesting to try some of these ideas out, but without a program, it's difficult. Anyone willing to write one? :)

    Mark: I was lazy and didn't check for trigonometric correctness. I will update the bearings for the Knight. Thanks for the correction.

    --D. Howe

    17 May 2001CONTINUOUS CHESSNone I'm curious as to why you say the bearings of the Knight moves are 30, 60, 120, 150, etc. degrees, rather than the bearings of the usual Knight moves. Note that the arctan(2) is not 60 degrees, but about 63.435 degrees. Since you preserve the maximum distance of the Knight move as square root of 5, I would think you would still want the same distance also. Mark Thompson, Chicago, IL USA
    17 May 2001Xiangqi: Chinese ChessNone No comment.
    17 May 2001CONTINUOUS CHESSGood A fascinating concept, but this first approximation hardly exhausts the possibilities. The suggestion that pieces might move in curved vectors rather than straight lines suggests immediately that the playing space might just as easily be 3-dimensional (or N-dimensional). Then there's the possibility that pieces might fluctuate in size for various reasons, large pieces having more power to overlap and thereby capture other pieces. A given piece might even fluctuate in size periodically under the control of its own equation during the course of the game. And of course it's not necessary at all that the two players each move one piece alternately in a regular rhythm. If anything, that's monotonous. Instead, each piece might come due for movement on its own timetable (either internally or externally governed), and might take a finite time to move from one location to another rather than moving instantaneously. This would lead to an almost continuous fluctuation in the game state. Players could play the game by describing (secretly) the moves that their pieces will make during the next, say, one "minute" of game time. The descriptions would then be unsealed, the moves made, presumably by a computer program, and the results in terms of captures tallied by the computer. --Jim Aikin ((email removed contact us for address) icplayer.com)
    17 May 2001Growing and Shrinking: Playing with the Size of Chess PiecesExcellent Great idea! I also once thought of pieces of varying size, but I never got as far as constructing a variant for them. But now I have a new idea. Just for the sake of complicating matters... how about a variant where all the pieces start out at normal size, but they can grow or shrink during the game? Naturally there would have to be well-defined rules about when changes in size would happen. For instance, a size-1 Rook could capture a size-1 Bishop and become a size-2 Queen. Or pieces could change size when passing over certain squares or line segments of the board. Comments are welcome. Mike Smolowitz
    17 May 2001CONTINUOUS CHESSExcellent This is wonderful! However, I wonder if a minimum movement distance is necessary to prevent infinitely small waiting moves -- I don't think allowing a player to pass improves Chess.

    A computer version would have to of necessity use discrete movements, I would think, as generally the input devices used to take input are themselves discrete. There is also the representation issue, but perhaps that could be avoided by using an unlimited precision arithmatic package, such as LISP BIGNUMs.

    PBA

    16 May 2001Knot ChessPoor Movement on this board needs to be explained.
    16 May 2001Hexagonal chessExcellent I searched all over the internet for basic information on Hexagonal chess and this one website gives me more information than all other websites combined!
    11 May 2001PUT TITLE HEREGood I think the word limit is too generous. To be really modest, the variant should be explainable in one sentence of normal length.
    10 May 2001String ChessNone The Grasshopper's move can be found at:

    Piececlopedia:Grasshopper

    Basically, the Grasshopper moves on the queens lines, but must jump and lands at the first square after the piece it jumps.

    PBA

    10 May 2001Capablanca's chessNone No comment.
    10 May 2001String ChessNone I did find a few bugs in it, yes! All joking aside, could you say how the Grasshopper moves?
    8 May 2001AmontilladoExcellent No comment.
    8 May 2001Many Rules in One GameExcellent In the realm of 'going beyond sanity', I would nominate my game Twelve Mutation Chess. Not only are there multiple rule sets, but any of them can be active at the same time! List Chess seems a purer and simpler form.

    So I would have to agree with the sentiment that a 'short and conservative list of rulesets' is best... --D. Howe

    8 May 2001Xiangqi: Chinese ChessExcellent Make sure you add something about who made/created it and what year it was created.
    8 May 2001SmessExcellent I got smess from my grandparents, who had had it in a closet for years. it is a great game and i have had many fun hours playing it with family and freainds. parker bros. should reinroduce it.
    8 May 2001Illustrated rules of chessExcellent ITs really very informative for all chess players and specially for beginers and inter-mediatory level
    7 May 2001WWW link: 3D Chess 4None No comment.
    3 May 2001WWW link: 3D Chess 4None No comment.
    3 May 2001Kung Fu ChessExcellent very creative pieces!
    3 May 2001Knight courtExcellent Certainly the best 3x3 CV I have ever seen; I have been trying to come up with a better one, but am unable to do so.
    3 May 2001Knot ChessPoor Very unoriginal. Was this a play on words or something?
    2 May 2001Byzantine or round chessExcellent Very cool information.
    2 May 2001Turning and ChurningNone

    If I draw a line from e1 to d4 (1,3 jump, which is a 1/24 turn), the connecting squares seem to be e2 and d3.

    A 1/24 left turn of the Q, path e1-e4 changes to e1,e2,d3,d4.

    But 1/24 left changes path e1-h4 to e1,f2,f3?,g4

    Perhaps a value-preserving map of turned pieces is possible.

    --
    gnohmon

    1 May 2001Pixelpusher: the weakest chess program in the worldExcellent This page is perfect. It gives me joy to finally find a chess program that I can consistantly beat. Don't change a thing!
    1 May 2001Turning and ChurningNone Sometimes it pays to think visually, so I got out the old graph paper, and started drawing 1/16th turn lines. It seemed to me that result actually looked more like a TwiCamel than anything else.

    PBA

    1 May 2001Turning and ChurningNone On second thought, defining the Q to move in a Rhinoid fashion after a 1/16 turn has its attractions because it's value-preserving.

    Not a Twi-Knighter, however. Perhaps if it moves one way when turning left and the other way when turning right? This could be confusing.

    And then how do we handle the 1/24 turn in a value-preserving manner?

    --gnohmon

    1 May 2001Crowd Chess 2: All Go TogetherNone When these rules are combined with other variants, uncapturable pieces can be captured if they are part of a crowd. (For example, the N in N Relay II). -- gnohmon
    27 Apr 2001Retrochess - A chess variant challengeExcellent I was referred to your excellent page after I independently suggested the idea of retro-chess. I like your idea - I don't know if you have developed it further since your idea, I would like to know if you have. My idea was of a game between the two. You could start with an end position, then work back until the loser felt a desire to move forward, then you could start a normal forward game from that point. Of course, when a mate occured after that you could start the process again. Any thoughts?
    27 Apr 2001AmontilladoExcellent "But if someone were to taunt the elephants?" Two words: Toe Jam.
    27 Apr 2001AmontilladoNone Pawns replaced by elephants? But what if someone were to taunt the Elephants? --gnohmon
    27 Apr 2001The Chess Variant Pages: Oriental chess variantsNone http://www.fortunecity.com/underworld/soundcard/1161/ contains stuff on shogi, chinese chess and other chess games that may provide additional information for these pages. JK (email removed contact us for address) s.ch
    26 Apr 2001Mad Elephant ChessExcellent Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!
    26 Apr 2001Crowd Chess 2: All Go TogetherNone ?? Hey, you said "rule sets" before reading what I wrote! Telepathic?? (Hmm, telepathic chess, what would that be?) -- gnohmon
    26 Apr 2001Crowd Chess 1: Safety in NumbersNone A bomber? Not in my crowds, please, as I am in them too often.
    26 Apr 2001Space ChessExcellent I was looking for the rules to Space Chess and asked for them. The rules were not on the site as they are now. The owner added the rules after I asked about the rules and emailed me with the update. I appreciate it so much! Thanks, Mark
    26 Apr 2001Bifold HalfgiExcellent Very nice! Some alternate split ups of the Knight:

    Knight = Mao + Mao-Hopper; or
    Knight = Mao + Moa.
    

    Of course, it does simplify things to use only one type of split piece, which argues for only one sort of half King too.

    PBA

    24 Apr 2001Space ChessExcellent I was looking for the rules to Space Chess and asked for them. The rules were not on the site as they are now. The owner added the rules after I asked about the rules and emailed me with the update. I appreciate it so much! Thanks, Mark
    24 Apr 2001Xiangqi: Chinese ChessNone No comment.
    24 Apr 2001Crowd Chess 2: All Go TogetherExcellent All Go Together might be a fun combination with Replacement Chess or one of its variants. It all becomes about position . . .

    Mixing rule sets on the same board!? Not a game to play when tired.

    PBA

    24 Apr 2001Crowd Chess 1: Safety in NumbersExcellent This game just begs for a "bomber" type piece that can blow up, capturing all pieces in its square... :) This would provide a counterbalance to large crowds. --D. Howe
    23 Apr 2001A cylinder chess puzzle - 1 - SolutionNone Well, perhaps it's unclear from the diagram, but black's pawn is moving toward the bottom row, not toward the top row. So h3 or h4 would be a backwards move for the black pawn.

    Also, even if black were able to move the pawn to h3 or h4, Qa1 doesn't give mate since black would capture the white Queen with his King!

    --D. Howe

    23 Apr 2001A cylinder chess puzzle - 1 - SolutionNone In your puzzle, "A cylinder chess puzzle - 1," (which was a very good problem), you give the solution as "White moves queen to a3. Black is forced to move king to g1. White moves queen to c1, checkmate." I agree that Qa3 is the first move, but is Black really forced to play Kg1? It seems to me that Black could also play h3 (or h4), in which case White must play Qa1 to give mate. Qa1 is in fact a mating move regardless of Black's move. Jon Siegel
    21 Apr 20011999 Large Variant Contest Voter Comments PagePoor No comment.
    20 Apr 2001Fun-in-a-Box ChessExcellent Another possibly interesting variant is to view the queen as the "Cat in the Hat", after all, the letter Q, does look like a fat cat sitting on its tail. Back to the rule for this piece: The Cat(Q) moves as a standard Queen with one extra power: when it moves off the top of the box, it unlocks it. So if the things are in the box and the cat, white i.e., moves from d1 or e1, the things can then come out. After the things are put in the box, they can't come out until the cat visits d1 or e1 again, and then leaves. For Black, it would be d7, e7. With this variant, the box starts out locked. -- jianying (email removed contact us for address) oo.com
    20 Apr 2001Fun-in-a-Box ChessNone Hmmm... well I confess ignorance. Until I read your comment, I had never heard of the term 'hasami' (Japanese for scissors), nor had I read about Hasami Shogi. I attributed the idea to Ultima, because that is where I first came across the concept. I didn't mean to imply that Robert Abbott invented the concept.
    20 Apr 2001AmontilladoNone How can you have a game with Hamilcar, Hasdrubal and Hannibal Barca without any Elephants? (Mind you, Will Cupy, in The Decline and Fall of Practically Everyone points out that Hannibal usually lost when he had elephants, and won when we did not.) Pritchard says that the Alfil -- the old Elephant piece -- is worth about the same as a central Pawn in Shatranj, so in games where Pawns promote to powerful pieces, they must be worth even less. Thus, you should be able to replace a pair of Pawns with Alfils in the Amontillado Army, and give Hannibal something to cross the Alps with.

    PBA

    20 Apr 2001Growing and Shrinking: Playing with the Size of Chess PiecesNone What neat idea, extending Bifold pieces to Royalty. But I think it would work better if a captured royal piece just stayed in hand, or maybe used Fergus' rule from 3-player Hex Shogi that if you have a captured royal piece, it's the piece you can drop. Also, you'd want to disallow pairs of bifold pieces containing a royal component from moving through check, else a bK+bhQ could give a looong endgame.

    PBA

    20 Apr 2001Fun-in-a-Box ChessExcellent Excellent, but just one thing... Capture by hasami is generally supposed to be as ancient as the Pyramids. -- gnohmon
    20 Apr 2001Home page of The Chess Variant PagesExcellent I was wondering if anyone could tell me where I can buy a circular chess board. I had an old cardboard one but I lost it and I would like to get something a little more durable. I can be E-mailed at (email removed contact us for address) .com thanks. Adam Bigge
    19 Apr 2001Chess Utrecht: A True Type chess fontPoor No comment.
    19 Apr 20011st Email Championship Chess with Different ArmiesNone Another discrepancy. On this page it says:

    Forfnibakking: jumps like a knight in forwards direction, or moves like a queen sideways or backwards.

    But on the Nutty Knights page it says:

    The Forfnibakking, or fhNrlbK, has the four forward directions of the Knight plus the sideways and rearward moves of the King.

    I'd suspect that the latter is correct, given the funny notation string that gave the piece its name.

    PBA

    19 Apr 2001Growing and Shrinking: Playing with the Size of Chess PiecesNone Re: Bifold Halfling Chessgi: I suppose even the King could be bifold:
    King = Bifold Royal Wazir + Bifold Royal Ferz
    Then the object of the game would then be to capture all royal pieces of the opponent. If a single bifold royal piece is captured, it must be dropped by the capturing player on the next turn. --DH
    19 Apr 2001Growing and Shrinking: Playing with the Size of Chess PiecesNone

    Excellent idea Peter! Now I'll see your Bifold Halfling Chess and raise you a gi:

    Bifold Halfling Chessgi

    Normal array with singleton pawns and King.

    Knight = Bifold Crab + Bifold Barc
    Bishop = 2 * Bifold Halfling Bishop
    Rook = 2 * Bifold Halfling Rook
    Queen = 2 * Bifold Halfling Queen
    

    When two bifold pieces of the same color are in the same square, they can (optionally) move as a unit as either piece. When two bifold halfing pieces of the same color and type are in the same square, they can move as a unit like a normal piece of that type. Bifold Crabs and Barcs of the same color in the same square may move as a Knight.

    When a piece is captured, the capturing player holds the piece in-hand, and may drop the piece on a subsequent turn. Pawns may not be dropped on the last rank. Only one piece may be dropped on a turn, so it is not legal to drop two bifold pieces as one drop. A bifold piece may be dropped onto a square containing another bifold piece. Pawns promote to either a Bifold Halfling Queen, Rook, Bishop, or a Bifold Barc or Crab. --DH

    19 Apr 2001Refreshing Bubble Fizz ChessExcellent This page is refreshing and invigorating, just like Bubble Fizz is. However, I was drinking some Refreshing Bubble Fizz while I read it, and now I need a new keyboard. You need a warning lable.
    19 Apr 20011st Email Championship Chess with Different ArmiesNone There's a slight inconsistency between the castling rules given here:

    Castling is as usual: pieces that start the game on a1, a8, h1, or h8 can castle like a rook in FIDE-chess.

    And those given on the Colorbound Clobbers page:

    Castling:When the Colorbound Clobberers castle Queen-side, O-O-O, their King goes from e1 to b1 and their BD goes from a1 to c1; this change was made so that the BD does not change from one color of square to the other.

    Which is correct?

    PBA

    19 Apr 2001Growing and Shrinking: Playing with the Size of Chess PiecesExcellent Very nice. :)

    Thinking about Bifold Chess: instead of doubling up the existing pieces, what if you replaced pieces as follows:

    
    Knight = Bifold Crab + Bifold Barc
    
    Bishop = 2 * Halfling Bifold Bishop
    
    Rook   = 2 * Halfling Bifold Rook
    
    Queen  = 2 * Halfling Bifold Queen
    
    
    And you add the following additional rules:

  • You can move a pair of bifold pieces occupying a square together as if they were one piece, with the power of movement of either.
  • Two bifold halfling pieces combine to move like the regular version of that piece; IE, two Bifold Rooks move like a usual Rook.
  • If you want to be restrained, both bifold pieces must belong to the moving player in order to be moved together. If not, you could require only one of them to belong to the moving player.

    PBA

    19 Apr 2001Growing and Shrinking: Playing with the Size of Chess PiecesExcellent Gnohmon wishes he had written this.
    19 Apr 2001JUEGOS HERALDICOS DE AJEDREZ CON NAIPES Y DADOSNone que es enrroque
    19 Apr 2001WWW link: XianqQi (Chinese Chess) HomepagePoor No comment.
    19 Apr 2001Hexagonal Chess - McCooey's variantNone I am surprised to see that someone else has a taste for Hex Chess. I actually purchased a Hex Chess Board by parker brothers in 1986. Very close to your design with the exception it has three sets of pieces and is for 2 or 3 players. The only thing it doesent have in the instructions is a Castleing move or en-passant.
    18 Apr 2001Turning and ChurningGood Since Betza provided 1/24 turning for Queen, a 1/6 Queen is easy to do with four 1/24 movements in a row. Now for Knights and others... no comment.
    18 Apr 2001RHINOS: A FAMILY OF VARIANT CHESS PIECESNone This page has now been updated to indicate prior inventions. This should do unless someone subsequently discovers that T. Dawson actually invented one of these pieces in 1925.
    17 Apr 2001PPiazza San Marco ChessNone The picture that Hans chose is remarkably appropriate, as it shows quite clearly the white lines along which the children were pushing the sawhorses, and, down in the lower left corner, you can also see a sawhorse! Bravo! Three cheers for the editor!
    16 Apr 2001Turning and ChurningNone I'll see about getting the correct history onto the Rhino page, or maybe have it removed.

    About piece strengths.

    I realize the Zillions of Games engine has its quirks, but at the Rhinos vs Queens and Rooks variant of the Rhino Chess ZRF -- which has the normal FIDE array for White, but replaces the Black Queen with a Bronx, the Black Queen's Rook with a KnightTwi, and the Black King's Rook with a TwiKnight -- Black always seems to win with 30 seconds or more thinking time on a 600 Mhz Pentium III.

    While certainly not conclusive of anything, it is interesting.

    PBA

    16 Apr 2001The Piececlopedia: RhinoNone It turns out that Ralph Betza invented the Rhino, Mirror-Rhino, and Double-Rhino in 1996!

  • Rhino = TwiKnight
  • Mirror-Rhino = KnightTwi
  • Double-Rhino = Bronx

    See Confusion Chess 1b for details.

    The Rhino webpage will be either updated with the proper history or removed.

    Peter Aronson

  • 16 Apr 2001Turning and ChurningNone http://chessvariants.com/d.betza/chessvar/confu01.html calls the z[WF]z[FW] combination the Bronx, and guesses it's worth less than a Q. http://www.chessvariants.com/piececlopedia.dir/rhino.html calls the same piece a Double-Rhino, and guesses it's worth nearly as much as an Amazon. In any case, it is horrid because it is horribly powerful, somewhere within shouting distance of a Q.
    16 Apr 2001Turning and ChurningNone http://chessvariants.com/d.betza/chessvar/confu01.html calls the z[WF]z[FW] combination the Bronx, and guesses it's worth less than a Q. http://www.chessvariants.com/piececlopedia.dir/rhino.html calls the same piece a Double-Rhino, and guesses it's worth nearly as much as an Amazon. In any case, it is horrid because it is horribly powerful, somewhere within shouting distance of a Q.
    15 Apr 2001Turning and ChurningGood I don't see anything particularly horrid about movement sequences such as "from d1 to d2 to c3, c4, b5, b6, a7, a8; or perhaps also from d1 to c2 to c3, b4, b5, a6, a7". See the Rhino at:

    Piececlopedia:Rhino

    Really no weirder than the Knight in the first place.

    15 Apr 2001Turning and ChurningGood Adding an idea from Momentum chess gives pieces which, say, turn towards a piece every move. And thus was born... Homing Chess! ntchwai (email removed contact us for address) mail.com
    11 Apr 2001Xiangqi: Chinese ChessNone No comment.
    10 Apr 2001Potential/Demotion ChessNone Rooks and Queens do seem to collapse into each other. Any Queen replacement would have to be something other than a composite piece to avoid this sort of effect; or at least, not a composite of any of the other pieces on the board.

    Some combination of alternating sliders (Rhinos, Boyscouts, Crooked Rooks, etc.) might do. It would make the game less Chess-like, however. Another possibility would be Nightrider+Rook -- as long as it kept making multiple Knight's moves, it would not convert, and a Nightrider isn't that powerful on an 8x8 board (perhaps even better would be Rook+Short Nightrider -- that is, a Knight that could jump once or twice in the same direction).

    There are no limits on the number of pieces of a given type on the board at a time in this game. A player could have 15 Pawns at once.

    PBA

    10 Apr 2001The Chess Variant Pages: Historic VariantsExcellent Great Page, but just to let you know that the 'Origins of Chess' link has gone dead.
    10 Apr 2001Potential/Demotion ChessExcellent It would seem that Rooks and Queens are equivalent (except for castling). I'm trying to think of some other piece than a Queen that would make sense to use, but I'm unable to.

    Also, a question: in Potential chess, there are limits on the number of pieces of a certain type that can be on the board at once (excluding promotions). Is the same true in this game, or are there no limits (ie. if I already have 8 pawns on the board, will my rook still demote to a pawn if I move him one square forwards)? I assume it will...

    10 Apr 2001Turning chessExcellent One wonders about Turning Halfing Chess, or better yet, Turning Almost Halfling Chess, since both the Crab and the Marshall would turn nicely. The extra strength may well not be a problem, since the Halfling army is weaker than the FIDE army to start.

    This leads to thoughts of Turning Halfgi, which has some really interesting possibilities. Consider:

  • Classify Pawns and Crabs by the way they point: N-Pawn, NE-Pawn, E-Pawn, SE-Pawn, S-Pawn, SW-Pawn, W-Pawn, NW-Pawn, N-Crab, etc.
  • Then assume that both players use the same directions, with white moving north, and black moving south.
  • Also assume that captured pieces retain the rotation they were captured having.

    Thus, white starts with N-Pawns and N-Crabs, and black starts with S-Pawns and S-Crabs. Captured Pawns and Crabs (unless recaptured) are suddenly very different than one's starting Pawns and Crabs. It should be an interesting game.

    Peter Aronson

  • 9 Apr 2001Chess on a Longer Board with a few Pieces AddedNone Yeah, no cannons... ;) Using a cannon would have made knights and pawns less unique since cannons can leap other pieces, and their capturing move is different than their non-capturing move.

    Thanks for the suggestion about the Knight having a first-move as a Camel option. That would certainly fix the problem. I'll have to consider it. Perhaps an optional variant.

    9 Apr 2001Chess on a Longer Board with a few Pieces AddedNone In the previous comment, the "What, no cannons!?" was meant as a joke. The Grin symbol (open angle-bracket, "g", close angle-bracket) was proably swallowed as HTML.
    9 Apr 2001Rec.games.chinese-chess: FAQGood No comment.
    9 Apr 2001Chess on a Longer Board with a few Pieces AddedExcellent What, no cannons!? You could allow Knights for their first move only to make a forward Camel's move. True, this is slightly artifical, but many historic Chess variants have special opening moves. (And there *is* castling.)
    8 Apr 2001JUEGOS HERALDICOS DE AJEDREZ CON NAIPES Y DADOSNone No comment.
    8 Apr 2001Link to: Gothic ChessExcellent I must say, your whole website is fascinating! I was unaware they were so many variants, I was partially overwhelmed. As far as the "masses of variants" go, it appears that Gothic Chess is the most logically-motivated variant around. It just "makes sense" to me. I guess everyone has a favorite, but in my opinion, this one could eventually replace chess altogether.
    7 Apr 2001Hexagonal Chess - McCooey's variantExcellent A fine description of McCooey's variant. This is the sanest hexagonal variant I have seen and closest to orthodox chess. I highly recommend this variant to anyone interested in Hexagonal Chess. This game is also perfect for those who prefer orthodox chess and don't want to venture too far from home. The sample games provide a varied and useful introduction to the game. Dave is a USCF rated Expert and this becomes apparent when playing over the sample games. He not only understands chess, he understands Hexagonal chess. The review of this variant provides some history of its development and an interesting comparison/contrast with orthodox Chess. Both Dave McCooey and the reviewer are freely available to answer questions and play games.
    7 Apr 2001Chess ChaosNone Hi LMK, of course we'd be interested. Please send us whatever information you think is appropriate. The appropiate email address would be (email removed contact us for address) ssvariants.com Thanks! --D. Howe
    6 Apr 2001Chess ChaosNone I am one of the designers of Chess Chaos, and the trademark will soon be reverting to me. If you woul dlike more information on this project, LMK.
    6 Apr 2001Link to: SenterejNone I really wonder about the Werera phase being simultaneous. There are various regional Chess variants, such as Burmese Chess or 19th Century Indian Chess where both players either set up their pieces or made anywhere from 3 to 12 non-capturing moves to start (these moves usually couldn't cross the center of the board). It has been noted that in case of Burmese Chess (Situyin) and for Shatranj, players usually creating their opening positions without regard to what their opponent was doing. I can't help wondering if in the case of Senterej, some vistor saw both players making their usual 10-12 starting moves at the same time (while basically ignoring each other's move -- these were their standard opening moves, after all), and assumed they were actively playing simultaneously.
    6 Apr 2001Tandem Chess / BughouseNone the most common time control for bughouse seems to be 3 0 on ICS's, and there, players may say anything to their partners, including flagging, time advantages, etc. Furthermore, players sit as long as they are up on time, and this makes sitting a part of the game. and players will sit until their time runs out if mated. First checkmate wins, regardless of the other board.
    6 Apr 2001The Piececlopedia: RhinoNone The standard Rhino piece appears to have been discovered previously. You can find it on Ed Friedlander's Exotic Chess Applet page at http://www.pathguy.com/chess/ExoticCh.htm as the cubscout. I'll update this page to reflect this once I get more information. Peter Aronson, April 6th, 2001
    6 Apr 2001Chess Utrecht: A True Type chess fontGood I like it (i haven't tried it out yet) but it looks quite nice. Q. Where the hec d'you find the time to write a web site and a chess font??!!
    4 Apr 2001The Marine GameNone I am very interested in playing The Marine Game (one of the chess variants) but there are very few gamers in my area. Was there ever a computer version of this game made?
    2 Apr 2001Home page of The Chess Variant PagesNone Hello, I have a Chess Variant you may be interested in. It is played on an 8 by 10 square board with the addition of Diplomats next to the King and Queen. These pieces can move either as a Bishop or as a Knight and are almost as powerful as a Queen. The extra power on the board makes draws almost difficult and the Jester makes anything more than rudimental opening theory almost impossible. I can be contacted at my E-mail address of: Karl_(email removed contact us for address) oo.com if you would like additional information. Karl P. Munzlinger
    31 Mar 2001Stupid - the chess variantGood No comment.
    29 Mar 2001Xiangqi: Chinese ChessNone Hi: The statement that "You cannot put the opponent in check more than 3 times in a row with the same piece without either side moving any other piece" is incorrect. Rather than the number of checks being limited, it's the number of repeating "cycles" (which is three cycles, or a triple-repetition, which in most cases, six checks). This common misconception seems to stem from Lau's book, Chinese Chess. We would be glad to discuss with you further on this issue. My e-mail is cci_(email removed contact us for address) mail.com Dave Woo Chinese Chess Institute USA
    29 Mar 2001Patricia: construct a stalemate puzzleNone The examples provided of stalemate can not occure in a real game because each player only has 5 pieces. When we add more pieces it is indeed possible to create stalemate altough it is not a big challenge then becaus we can simply surround the king with his own pieces and block those pieces with more pieces of the same color. I think that in a real game a stalemate can not occur because the king has to be in a corner. He has to be surrounded by his own pieces or he would be able to hit them. There are only two pawns (it is certainly impossible to create stalemate when the pawns are knights )who can be easy blocked but the two officers have to be on the bord and there are no pieces left to block them. It is not possible to block them with pieces of the opponent because they can be cappetured. This is my oppinion and i would like to know if there are any examples of stalemate than can occur in a game to proof otherwise. Guido Dechamps
    29 Mar 2001Construction ChessGood A question: Why not allow pawn promotion? Would it have a deterimental effect on this variant, or does the author just not like the concept? A suggestion: Separate the capturing powers from the movement powers. It might be interesting to have the possibility of a piece that moves like a rook but captures like a bishop :-)
    27 Mar 2001/feedback.htmlExcellent Chess Dictionary - Chesmayne. 50,000+ Keywords, Links, Melodies and Graphics. http://www.fortunecity.com/underworld/soundcard/1161/ Contact me on ICQ: 81985510.
    25 Mar 2001Index: Three Dimensional Chess VariantsNone I was looking for a chess board and can not find it on your sight. Can you tell me if it exists still, and where I could buy one? Email= (email removed contact us for address) mail.com The Board: It is a 8x8x8 board for each level, and there are three levels. Each player has 16 pieces on each level. That makes for a total of 48 pieces for each player and 96 pieces on the board to begin with. Pieces In addition to the regular pieces, there is a Prince, Cannon, and some other pieces that I can not remember. Rules: The one cool knew rule I remember is that there are two ways to win the game. The classic Check Mate or by capturing both of your opponets princes. You do not have to warn your appoinit when you are about to take a Prince. That is all I remember of it, please let me know if it actually exist or if it was just made up. (Saw it on TV)
    24 Mar 2001Illustrated rules of chessExcellent No comment.
    24 Mar 2001Hexagonal chess - problem 2 - solutionNone Ok, the links are fixed. Thanks for pointing out the problem. --D. Howe
    24 Mar 2001Hexagonal chess - problem 2 - solutionNone The "Solution" links for all four hexagonal chess problems all point to the solution for problem 2.
    23 Mar 2001WWW site: World Chess ChampionsNone No comment.
    23 Mar 20013D chess from Star Trek - RulesNone No comment.
    22 Mar 2001List of Chess VariantsNone This site sucks!!!!!! I've seen better trash in a dumpster!!!!!!!!!!!!
    22 Mar 2001List of Chess VariantsNone This site sucks!!!!!! I've seen better trash in a dumpster!!!!!!!!!!!!
    20 Mar 2001ChessballNone Chessball doesn't work because you can achieve a draw in two moves:

    1. b2-a3 ad libitum
    2. d2-e3 ad libitum

    White can move his goalkeeper or the defender on c2 eternally ad libitum. His first row is completely isolated. His opponent cannot win, never! (The same strategy is possible for Black).

    Ralf

    19 Mar 2001ChessballNone I believe the goalkeeper can move like a queen, but only horizontally. The other pieces move like queens, but the rules state the goalkeepers move only horizontally. So the obvious inference is that the goalkeepers move like queens, except only horizontally.

    --D. Howe

    19 Mar 2001ChessballPoor Chessball: How many squares can the goalkeeper move? One, two, three of four? It is not sufficient to say: "The goalkeepers only move horizontally." Ralf
    19 Mar 2001HalfgiExcellent Yes, this is what DemiChess should have been, but the pieces in its army weren't as nice; thus, HalfChess with its very satisfactory army can become a carrier for powers that make the game too intense when added to FIDE Chess. Halfgi is an excellent example of this. I like the name, too.
    15 Mar 2001 Timeline Excellent No comment.
    13 Mar 2001ChaturangaExcellent Great! I have to try Chaturanga with my friends. Very interesting!
    12 Mar 2001Illustrated rules of chessExcellent Good detailed info. Helped me a lot.
    10 Mar 2001Fischer Random Chess PositionsGood No comment.
    8 Mar 2001Dragonchess - rulesExcellent There weren't any real instructions in the magazine just some suggestions, if I remember correctly. I think there was a suggested miniatures list, though. I'm thinking of making my own set, also. I will make the boards out of Plexiglas, clear for the top, transparent green for the middle, and red for the bottom (trans or not, it's on the bottom). I plan to use transparent contact paper for the alternating squares, blue on top, orange (which should make a decent brown when on the green board), and black on the bottom (if I can't find black, I'll just use some limo black window tint sheets). The hard part is the miniatures. You'll have to combine different scale miniatures, since some figures would be much to large or small if they were the same scale. You want your Oliphant and Dragon to be roughly the same size as the humanoid figures, so they will fit in the squares. The size of the board I am designing will be 19" x 13". This allows 1" squares, and an extra 1/2" border. I haven't decided what to use to support the boards and keep them apart, but it will most likely be allthread rods and bolts, with some sort of fineal on the top, likely lamp hardware...
    7 Mar 2001UnachessExcellent thanks for excellent page.i read 1995 article and could never find anything on miller chess or meltdown chess til now.i like the concept of parachute chess.congrats to mr miller and mr jackman.
    7 Mar 2001Carrera's ChessNone I am unaware of any existing facsimiles of the original. I did find one reference to an english translation of this book. Go to the following site, and look in the section under Chess: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/8851/books.html

    --D. Howe

    6 Mar 2001Carrera's ChessNone I was seeking information on Carrera's book. Is the manuscript still extant? Has it been translated? Are there images of the original text or a facsimile?
    4 Mar 2001co_artPoor my own comment on this project * * if people don't understand what's it all about - the whole [net.art]-project has failed: t'was just a try to wake net-people up, don't 'zapp' from one channel to the next, don't steadily wait for thrills! * ulli p.
    4 Mar 2001 Timeline Excellent Absolutely one of the most unique and amazing chess variants of all time, IMHO. It warps one's mind into unrecognizable forms. A small proposal: is a 7-days variant which each side gets 7 numbered chits, that when a player makes a move that needs more chits, they are removed from the other end. This in effect limits how far in the opponent's timeline you can effect and make the game a bit more manageable. In fact this opens up a whole family of variants based on how many chits each player are given. It also paves the road toward equilization between stronger and weaker players.
    2 Mar 2001The 41-squares chess variant design contestExcellent No comment.
    28 Feb 2001ShatarExcellent No comment.
    28 Feb 2001Perpetual checkExcellent No comment.
    28 Feb 2001Black Hole Chess by David ShortGood This is a straightforward "big board" variant with few new pieces and modest rule changes. That said, however, I did not find it especially engaging. Even with the ability of "quick pawns" to move three on their opening, it takes time to bring up each sides' pieces and engage. The 'chancellor' (knight plus rook) piece helps in having another dynamic piece to cover the long distances (11x9, +1) of the the basic layout. The 'black hole' acts unobtrusively but importantly to divide some of the action (as in my Back to Back variant). The endgame can center on one quadrant of the board.
    27 Feb 2001Cursed ChessPoor It's boring!
    27 Feb 2001Xiangqi: Chinees schaakExcellent No comment.
    26 Feb 2001/d.chess/echec.htmlExcellent No comment.
    26 Feb 2001WWW link: PowerChessExcellent No comment.