Vu's View - October 99

Are you a chess variant enthusiast? Would you recognize one if you saw him? How many actual chess variant enthusiasts are there? What are the goals of a chess variant enthusiasts and how do you get to be one?

These are a few of the questions that we must ask ourselves, as members of chessvariants.com family, in order to better understand ourselves and to attract and retain followers and supporters such as you.

Here are my views on the subject. Further refinements and criticisms are welcome. Please voice your own opinion by e-mailing me at (email removed contact us for address) ssvariants.com

I believe that to be a true chess variant (CV) enthusiast, you must meet the following requirements:

1. Be fluent in two or more variants (versions) of chess or in the process of becoming so.

2. Be dissatisfied with the currently established games, such as FIDE chess and/or Chinese chess.

3. Have created at least one chess variant of your own or are in the process of doing so.

At chessvariants.com, we support and encourage each other to meet these requirements through our many activities and CV resources. We have tons of chess variants compiled and indexed to help you find the game that suits your interests. We have CV design competitions wherein you may introduce your newly created game. We have friendly members who will program your game for computer play. And we have a chat room wherein you can talk with other chess variants enthusiasts with similar interests. And this is only the beginning!

Vu Vo

Vu's View is a new monthly column devoted to examining the world of chess variants in theory and practice. Anyone wishing to comment is encouraged to send us email or join our discussion group at yahoo clubs.