Comments by jean-louiscazaux
It seems to me that the black player who chooses the setup has an advantage to his white opponent who doesn't know what will be the setup. It is true that the black player may know an opening theory for his favorite setup but as they are a lot of possible setups, one would have to know a lot of opening theories which is reducing the impact in my opinion.
About Game Courier. Web-based system for playing many different variants by email or in real-time.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Dear all, HG, yes I feel the same need. I hope you will be able to implement these features. Many thanks to all editors.
Mainzer Schach. Large variant with Janus, Marshall, and different setup. (11x8, Cells: 88) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Game Courier Developer's Guide. Learn how to design and program Chess variants for Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I apologise if my question is trivial, all this looks very complex for me. I want to use a set "Alfaerie for Metamachy" but for the moment it is limited to 26 pieces, using the 26 letters of the alphabet. Would it be possible to add few more using other letters such as the diacritic letters may be like é/É? Thanks
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The link for the rules in the page of the preset for Chess 9x9 does not send to the rules of this game but to the rules of Cardinal Chess instead. Maybe this should be corrected
Jetan. Large variant from the book The Chessmen of Mars. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I wrote this page 24 years ago and I included this:
A variant
Even the Martians have variants on their own type of chess. According to Burroughs, the older version of Jetan had Odwars instead of Fliers that could not jump over intervening pieces.
I can't find where I had taken this information. It is simply wrong. Burroughs did not write this, actually he wrote that the Odwar and the Flier have the same power and move. It is just a different name for the SAME piece.
Letting this wrong information is confusing a lot of people. I cannot modify this page myself, so I beg an editor to simply remove this small paragraph which is incorrect. Thanks
Well, although I'm not sure it is so bad if the board is large enough.
This is true.
Does anyone know games which are using Alfil/Dabbaba/Threeleaper/Tripper. Musketeer Chess has it as an Hawk. Is there other games, and how they call this piece?
40x12 chess. Members-Only Missing description[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Since this comment is for a page that has not been published yet, you must be signed in to read it.
Simplified Makpong. Makruk variant.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thank you. So, I see that I had not understood everything right.
Also, I am not sure to well understand the most important rule:
The King may capture an attacking piece if in range, but cannot capture out of double check.
what means "if in range"? Does that just means that the King may capture an attacking piece? If the attacking piece is not 1-square away from the King I don't see how the K would have been able to capture it anyway.
and what means "capture out of double check". Here I understand that if 2 pieces are attacking the K, he cannot capture both of them. But that is trivial too, no?
So I guess that the important rule is that when a K is under check he can capture the attacking piece but it is forbidden to move the K out of check, to interpose a piece between the K and the attacking piece, or to take the attacking piece with another piece than the K. Is it correct? Or to say that when a K is under check, the only authorized move is if the K can capture the attacking piece.
Would it be possible to re-write this with no ambiguity?
Thank you
I have not understood if the name of this game is Makpong or Simplified Makpong. If it is Simplified M., what is Makpong?
Enlarged and Improved Chess. Early large-board variant from Holland.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]good finding Danke schön
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thank you. Done.
The History of Chess Variants. A brief history of Chess variants from Chaturanga to the 21st century.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]It is rich matter, not simple to discuss in short sentences on a forum especially for me who doesn't master English language like you who makes the points like a lawyer. The fact that no other Asian chess than xiangqi has a river is not a discovery. Shogi is certainly more borrowing to South Asian varieties than from the continent as it has been demonstrated by Japanese historians, Sittuyin/Makruk are obviously descending from Indian varieties as these regions were under strong Indian cultural influence at least until the 13th c., and Janggi is not known in its ancient form so nobody knows if it had a river first or not. I, and Jim Png like me, do not believe that xiangqi is a direct descendent of Liubo, but that there is a link between them. For what I'm concerned I believe I've been clear on that in my books and my website. But I stop to discuss, people want to simplify everything. There are many people now on social networks, Wikipedia, etc., who knows everything at first sight, and say it loud especially against the authors of books who are never sure of nothing. So we are happy that with your "inductive case" it is now clear that Liubo has not influenced the formation of xiangqi. We are progressing and we can go on.
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Hi. I would like to know if it is possible and how to go back few moves. In a game of Jetan that we need to record, I've made a wrong move, few moves ago. As the rules are not enforced, I made that mistake. Is it possible to go back and cancel all subsequent moves? Thanks very much
The History of Chess Variants. A brief history of Chess variants from Chaturanga to the 21st century.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I have this book and as an historian myself I am in close contact with Jim Png. We had a very long conversation just today. Coincidence. Jim Png is not saying that chess has been invented in China. I know that this issue is a complex one, too complex maybe for in hurry readers. What is explained here is that xiangqi had predecessors as a game, deep in ancient history. This is known and recognised by modern historians. What it is unknown is the relationship between these ancient mentions of xiangqi and the xiangqi that is known after Cen Shun story in the 9th century. Maybe it was another game, maybe not. The great merit of Jim Png is the meticulously collection of all testimonies from ancient Chinese texts and his trial to bring that to us. He does (because he is preparing another book) a work much valuable than many other writers have tried to do before him about Chinese Chess. And much more also that so many writers who are continuing to ignore a possible Chinese contribution just because they have once been told that chess had been invented in India and it cannot be otherwise.
Yes the connexion with liubo is puzzling and stimulating. Not only because the liubo board had a central "water" and there is a river in xiangqi. The rules of Liubo are still unknown, they are just guessed, and maybe more than one game was played with this material. There are 6 pieces per side, 1 being more important. There is 1 general and 5 pawns in xq. The liubo board is heavily marked, as the one for xq. Is that a coincidence or the trace of an influence? The fact that Janggi, which is not known before the 16th century, has no river is of course not a proof at all against a relation between liubo and xiangqi! Liubo disappeared just when xiangqi started to grow and this deserves some further studies.
I consider Jim Png as the person with the highest knowledge on history of Chinese games we have today.
Jetan. Play Edgar Rice Burrough's Jetan (Martian Chess).[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Hi Greg
Maybe I did something wrong. Currently I'm helping Fredrik having a hot and big project on Jetan. We need a preset with the correct setup (the existing one has Princess and Chief wrongly switched) and possibly with another character table (the existing design are cute and beautiful but not practical at all). I've tried to do something alone, and the only I could do was to create a new preset. So I changed the name but it is exactly the same game. It is here: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game%3DJetan-of-Barsoom%26settings%3DJetan-of-Barsoom I think that if you help me we could erase the preset I've made and just correct the new one. I'm sorry if I've made some confusion. Thank you for your help
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I have prepared a set of 16 icons to make a set of pieces for Jetan-of-Barsoom. Could an editor help me in making a set I could use to play this preset? Thanks a lot
Jetan. Play Edgar Rice Burrough's Jetan (Martian Chess).[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Finally, I have been able to do something myself. I called the new preset "Jetan-of-Barsoom". I wish an editor can now authorise this new preset to appear in the lists. Thank you.
Would it be possible for an editor to switch Princess and Chief as indicated by Fredrik and to propose another set to play as the one proposed is nice to see but really discouraging to play. Either my renewed set that I sent to Greg I believe several weeks ago or Alfaerie would be better. Thanks
Squirrel. Jumps two orthogonally, two diagonally, or like a knight.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Originally the Chariot is the sense of the Rook, it is still that sense in xiangqi (where the sinogram also means "car").
Heavy Chess. A high-density chess-variant-variant.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thank you for the notice. It is corrected now
Tamerlane II. Modern variant based upon ancient large chess variant. (11x11, Cells: 121) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]A very old variant of mine. King can switch only with Prince, so unpromoted, not with Queen. So the player has to decide if he promotes his Prince or not.
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thank you for the explanations and the correction. Now it works fine.
What is the function of the "tag"? There is a tag "Jamison" on the preset of TerachessII. Is it because of that my saving is failing?
I have a problem with the Preset of Terachess II The White Missionary (Y) cannot move. I just need to add a "Y" in a string in Post-Move 1, I edited the file and added that character, but when I save it says it failed. Can someone help me?
3D Chess. Play 3D Chess in your browser with Jocly.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Yes the site describes the rules. As far as I can judge, those rules are the ones already reported in our page (made by the Michel G andJérôme C, the Jocly's people).
"L'espace3D" describes the board and the setup
"Les déplacements" describes the moves. The diagrams are not showing up in the French original page.
"Règles originales" completes the rules
There is only a mobile phone number to contact them. I'm a bit reluctant to do it because as far as I can estimate, it looks again to people thinking to have "invented" the next big thing, unaware of previous attempts. The site is made with no care, capitalising and fonts are random, it talks about "Stanton" pieces, etc. The subtitle is "The first variant of 3D chess which is really playable". There is no explanation why previous variants were not. Every time I got in contact with an isolated "inventor" and seller of physical sets of his invention it has been a complicated time, so I prefer not to do again. As they omit to say their name, I suggest that you refer to "Anonymous Equipe 3D-Chess, Paris". If they are people interested to chessvariants, I guess they will come to that page and will react in reading our discussion.
Game Courier Settings Files. Keep track of all the settings files you have written for Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I've detected a small error in the preset of Terachess II that I wrote. I corrected it but when I save, it fails: Failed to write to the file /home/chessvariants/public_html/play/pbmsettings/terachess_ii/Default-Alternate.php. Could you help me?
3D Chess. Play 3D Chess in your browser with Jocly.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]What are you looking for? The French website is not saying much. There are no name of inventors, simply an address and a mobile phone at the name of 3D-Chess. The quality of the site is rather poor to my opinion. If you need to translate any part let me know.
UC-170-13. Universal Chess version featuring 170 different kind of major pieces and 13 different kind of pawns. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]A charolais is a race of cow, originally specific to Charolais, a small region of France. Stag is a better name for a 2,4 leaper. An ungulate is logical for this kind of piece.
V.R. Parton. A page with information on V.R. Parton.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I make this announcement that would interest a lot of chessvariant lovers. After many years I finally got all booklets written by V.R.Parton. I have edited this work, adding a lot of illustrative diagrams because Parton was simply using a typing machine. I must thank a lot Peter Blommers (who corrected Pritchard's book) and Ulrich Schädler (from the Swiss Museum of Games) for their precious help in collecting the booklets that were not available before. Also Rick Knowlton and Paul Rapoport for their precious help in scrutinising the text to chase errors made by the scanning process. While Parton did not have the good fortune to see his works published, this volume endeavours to correct that omission. Some hard to find testimonies and correspondence are included to help better understand the complex personality of this inventor of games. Parton showed a sincere desire that his studies reach a broader audience, and this is what is accomplished by the present publication. At last, his creations are being made available to future generations, and will not be forgotten. This book (325pages) can be found on Amazon or better on Lulu.com:
Manticore. Moves one space orthogonally, then slides outward as a Bishop.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thank you. I understand. I have asked Hans, maybe he will remember. Maybe not, we will see.
In next future, I will try to obtain the correspondance between Gollon and Cohen.
@Bn Em. I fear a miscommunication. Sorry, English is not my mother language, you sentence is long and not direct enough for my poor English >> I"m not sure about what you mean.
What I know or understand:
- Cavalier in Renn Chess, Greenwood: is F-then-R or R-then-F, but not an adjacent
- Cavalier in Mideast according to Pritchard: it is the same than above.
- Cavalier in Mideast according to Hans: is F-then-R or W-then-B, but not an adjacent
I said that Greenwood took the Cavalier from Mideast, and this is true only if Pritchard is right and Hans is wrong. Pritchard seemed to be quite certain of what he wrote because he said that then the Cavalier has always two paths to reach a square.
My point is not an offense to my friend Hans, of course.
Maybe worth to mention that there are two versions of the move depending on the source.
Play Metamachy on Game Courier. Play this large game with a variety of regular fairy pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I had not found that link on the bottom. Thank you Greg.
Sorry, I missed that important point. Btw, no "e" in my name :=)
"I realized that the knight is stronger than a bishop." Do you mean that? I had the feeling that on a 10x10 the Bishop is the strongest.
Manticore. Moves one space orthogonally, then slides outward as a Bishop.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]That page is fine. Just a detail when it is mentioned the Mideast chess account from John Gollon. As the matter of fact, Mideast C is not covered in the famous Gollon's book. It was said that this game and Pacific C. were detailed in draft from Gollon partly sent to Eric Greenwood in 1976; who communicated this to Hans Bodlaender in 1997.
I have never seen this draft. The source used by Pritchard was a correspondance between John Gollon and Philip Cohen. Was it the same thing? It could be.
I would be inclined to think that the good description was from Pritchard, which revised his text for his second book (Classified ECV), and that the text composed by Hans had an unwanted error.
I would be very interested to look at these correspondances if someone has them.
Interestingly, someone told me on Facebook that a piece playing as F then R and W then B was called a Godzilla by another inventor.
Play Metamachy on Game Courier. Play this large game with a variety of regular fairy pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I wanted to see past games of Metamachy But the Related Pages menu is almost void on this page. Could it be corrected?
Mideast chess. Variant on 10 by 10 board, inspired by ancient Tamerlane chess. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Mideast Chess reported in D.B.Pritchard's Encyclopedia of Chess Variants (both editions) has a different Cavalier's move.
Instead of :"The cavalier first moves one square diagonally, and then an arbitrary number of squares horizontally or vertically, or it moves one square horizontally or vertically, and then an arbitrary number of squares diagonally. "
It is "The cavalier first moves one square diagonally, and then an arbitrary number of squares horizontally or vertically, or it moves an arbitrary number of squares horizontally or vertically, and then one square diagonally." Thus, the cavalier has a choice of two path to reach a square. It is the move of this piece at Renn Chess too, which is a follow up of Mideast Chess.
Maybe this difference could be mentioned on this page.
Cavalier. Piece from RennChess that steps one diagonally then slides orthogonally, or steps one orthogonally then slides diagonally.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The Cavalier was not invented by Eric Greenwood in 1980. This name and piece had been borrowed from Mideast Chess invented before, in the 1960s, according to D.B.Pritchard's Encyclopedia ofChess Variants.
The name of Cavalier, as well as the one of Chevalier to name the Camel, was even much older than that. Chevalier for the Camel and Cavalier for the Giraffe were names proposed by Falkener in his book of 1892 while describing, Tamerlane's Chess.
Manticore. Moves one space orthogonally, then slides outward as a Bishop.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Among the two I vote Manticore.
This page is nicely written. I answer to this: "I've referred to the Alfonso X text as the Libro de los Juegos, but I can't track down where I found that name and other sources call it different things; anyone (Jean‐Louis?) have any pointers re this?"
Indeed, the book has several titles, it is not like a modern book with a title on the cover. Moreover it is composed of several parts, which are called "libro" (book) themselves. "Libro de los Juegos" (Book of games) is correct however and can be used.
The WP page is good (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libro_de_los_juegos) or there is also my website (http://history.chess.free.fr/acedrex.htm). An excellent page introducing to the translated text and the PhD of Sonja Musser is here: https://www.ancientgames.org/alfonso-xs-book-games-libro-de-los-juegos/
I'm stupid. I registered when I saw your post yesterday, and today I forgot to connect. Friday 6PM, end of a hard working week, I started to relax and I forgot :=( They sent two mails to ring up, but they went to my spam box. Aaaargh.
Only satisfaction, I had sent the information to some friends, and one friend was able to listen. He told me that I have not missed much.
Manticore. Moves one space orthogonally, then slides outward as a Bishop.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Yes, indeed a lot of miscommunication. My mistake is probably my willingness to share my researches. I'm glad when someone is teaching me something outside my domain, such as computer science for me. I had appreciated a lot the help I've got here for the presets for example. If my sayings looks pedant, I apologise, it is not at all my goal.
Indeed I never proposed to call Gryphon a W-then-B or N-then-B. In addition to a confusion of pieces, there is also a confusion of people.
I know that Cavalier also exists in English. It is a direct loan from French as about 30% of the English lexicon. There is a Cavalier as a court in K6T-deck (https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/k6t). That example was obviously chosen because I'm French. The message is clear, I got it.
As you want Fergus. You are playing with the words. I call this adding confusion. The Cavalier was also a very bad idea. Taking the name of the pieces in languages to give them another meaning in English is a poor choice, especially when this is done for a piece which is a counterpart of the original one. If you wish is to make CVP meaningful for only people with English as mother tongue, then you are right.
There is a solution to respect the historical background which links those bent riders finishing on diagonal with unicorns, rhinos, etc. And starting with a A (as this seems the most important criteria for you):
Alicorn.
Please correct my name to write it right: no 'e' in my name. Strongly hoping that you will not continue in perpetuating a mistake with Aanca. Errare humanum est, perseverare diabolicum.
Teramachy. A chess variant between Metamachy and Terachess.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Slight change in the lineup as the pawns of the bishop were not protected. Thanks to Numerist for optimising the design with me.
Terachess II. An unrealistic summit on a very large board of 16x16 squares and 128 pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Slight change in the lineup as the pawns of the bishop were not protected. Thanks to Numerist for optimising the design with me.
Jocly. An html-based web platform for playing 2-player abstract stategy games.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Yes, strange. Not all the games are present, for example Gigachess and Terachess are missing. Jocly is reactivated times by times on other sites. I believe it is because it is mainly open source and some people are able to re-put it on line. I was told by the creator, who I met, that he had gave up because he was finally fed up and demotivated by many many consecutive attacks from hackers. Bad and sad. (His next project was to have Jocly coupled with virtual reality and I had the chance to have a demo. It was impressive to get really projected on the board and be able to fly above the board or move the pieces around yourself. So bad this has been stopped).
Is that visible somewhere?
No problem, my suggestion can be ignored.
Dave Parlett is a famous author of books about games, also an historian. His books on card games are a reference. He is also the author of Hare & Tortoise a very original race game without any dice, only skill-based. He wrote an History of book games which contains a full chapter on chess variants and it is in this book that he proposed a notation which has some merits, at least for common fairy pieces. Quite a good book btw for anyone who would have interest in.
Very interesting.
Good initiative.
Maybe you could also add the Parlett's notation, sometimes it is more straight than Betza's. I find that both complete rather well. It is what is done in the WP page (on which I have contributed a lot recently).
Pandemonium (Surajang修羅場). Capablanca chess + Crazyhouse.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Daphne, I don't know if you prefer communicate (in PM?) with another language, I speak Fr, Sp, It. What I mean is that your rules of castling seems to apply equally for King and Jade. If yes, then you could simply write King/Jade because as it is written, it is confusing.
My English is not very good either, but "to be castle" is not correct.
The rules of castling in chess are complex but they are less complex if one understands the history. Castling should be the 1st move of the King and the concerned Rook. It is a kind of dogma. Now, we are talking "variants" so you can decide what you want. Personally I like the idea that the player forfeits his right of castle if he moves the piece. But it's up to you.
Why do you need to have another names like Apricot and Whole (why these strange names?) for something which is exactly the Queen. Why not simply saying "Queen"?
Interesting cross over between decimal chess, shogi, janggi, xiangqi.
On the critical side, I find the rules of castling confusing: sometimes referring to the Jade, sometimes to the King. I guess they are applicable to both but a strict reading permits to doubt. So why two different names, apart from the exotic touch?
Also what the point to define an Apricot and a Whole if they are exactly identical to a Queen, or I missed something? I like the idea of promoting non-Pawn pieces, but not sure that promoting a BN and a RN to a Queen is so nice as these pieces will loose their knight-part.
Anyway, interesting game
Fairy Pieces Part 1 
. zillions file with many shogi pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Fergus, for me the link "Download the .zip file" doesn't work. I get a 404 page.
Game Courier Settings Files. Keep track of all the settings files you have written for Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I suppose that if the original author has lost interest, there is nothing that forbid you to re-invent them, maybe altering them to your taste.
Exact, very sorry, I had not looked carefully enough. What is your purpose for designing those pictures?
Quite mysterious for me. The 1st link doesn't work. The 2nd and the 3rd show the same thing. I suspect that you are posting comments on a page which I can see because I'm not an admin. I can only see your post in the Explore>Comments page.
I try to guess. You want an opinion on a proposal of pieces' icons which are either symbolising the moves or showing a letter.
My opinion on moves-based icons is I don't feel at ease with them to play with. On letter-based icons, I think they have several drawbacks, they are mostly valid for English-speakers, they are affected by the direction from where they are read (same as some are complaining for shogi's pieces).
I guess I don't see the same page as you. I look at it from the Explore>Comments. There I see no images and no link to another page
where is the link to see the images?
Dear Aurelian
Personally I'm not fan of abstract design indicating the moves. Even when simpler than yours. It is extremely confusing for my brain to see more than one at once and if of course I understand the logic behind, I cannot play at all with them. For example the ones used here: https://www.chessvariants.com/rules/sac-chess I cannot play with that. Hopefully not everyone is like me.
Enlarged and Improved Chess. Early large-board variant from Holland.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Excellent post, thank you for this analysis. What is value of the Kning in FIDE contest? (You said 1/2 Pawn more than other combinations, which ones? The Kight?)
Sure, I am the one who is making most updates on this page :=)
V.R.Parton also was interested in these divergent pieces. He used the "Biok" (mBcR) and the "Roshop" (mRcB) in his Half-Queen's chess. The Biok is a name that was invented by Lewis Carroll. Parton also proposed a Quight (mQcN) and a Kneen (mNcQ).
The Enlarger and Improved Chess is also described in my book A World Of Chess. It seems to have appeared in Dutch edition of a treatise by Greco circa 1696. Interestingly, modern Chess had barely two hundred years only, so this game is one of the earliest variants of modern chess.
Thinktank Chess. Frank Maus' game where most pieces move differently when capturing from how they move without capturing.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The table in the center of this page has several mistakes in the description column
Games for Game Courier. The many games you can play online with Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I have submitted the GC preset also for Zanzibar-XL, Gigachess II and Terachess II now.
You will please tell me if they are OK or if I need to correct something.
Thank you
Great, I open a bottle :=) Thank you for your patience.
Strong of this experience I think that you might consider a more user-friendly process. For example, when someone has developed a GC preset which works (which demonstrates some skills already, as it is not very easy), why not having a box to tick that would allow a public submission.
No offense meant.
Now I'm going to repeat that process for 3 other games I wish to offer to our community.
OK. I start (finally...) to understand what I'm asked to do... Is that OK now for both Teramachy and Zanzibar-S? Thanks
Meta-Chess. Missing description[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I was in contact with him also long time ago and I have a copy his book. It is not a real book. I remember something like a student's project, with pages bounded with a spiral. Currently we are doing big works in my house so I can't reach that book immediately, but keep contact with me and I will see what I can do. Sell it, no I wish to keep it. Digitize it maybe but it might be a long task for more than hundred pages. I will see.
Games for Game Courier. The many games you can play online with Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thanks. Which links? Where to put links? I have taken the images now from Diagram Designer as you said, and I put the link in the page of the GC. Is it OK now (for Teramachy and Zanzibar-S)?
Thank you for that. Could you please check what I've done for 2 GC presets: Zanzibar-S and Teramachy? Are they correct?
This is the problem I had:
I have understood that after creating the page for the preset, I have to select "Upload or Manage Files" to upload an image, that in this case is a screen copy of the preset. (as this image is loaded when the preset is launched, why the need to upload an image already available on the site?)
Then, I understood that I need to go back and then edit by selecting "Edit this Page." I get a page with 5 frames to be filled but only 1 is relevant here, "Introduction". The rest is not needed for a GC preset page. Then, in "Introduction" I have to type a simple sentence like "this is the preset for XXX" (this could be automated no?)
And there I have to add the image. If I select WYSYWIG, I can attach an image. When I click the button, I am asked to enter the URL. How can I know the URL straight? Too bad it don't offer to me directly the link to the image I have uploaded.
Sorry for this long description. I have tried to explain how difficult it can be when someone is not an expert to IS. I don't consider myself as a guy hermetic to technology. I wish to put more GC preset on-line. So many days to make those 2 GC only, I'm a bit discouraged, I wonder if I'm the only one to face so many difficulties for something that should be simple. Thank you for your help.
I have tried. Not sure I have understood what to do. Indeed, I had to guess where to add the image of the preset. Frankly, this process is not easy when you make it once. When I find my Unpublished Submission, it opens the same interface than when I was composing the page for presenting the game, with several frames to be filled. I understood that for publishing a GC preset all these frames are not relevant.
Then I wonder why it is not simpler than that. It could be a simple box to check when one has developed his GC to allow that it is published. Maybe what I say is not possible.
I wish to understand that process as I plan to publish 5 or 6 more GC. Thank you for the help.
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game=Zanzibar-S&log=bughouse-numerist-2021-2-221
Yes,I believe that game was held before I changed and ticked the box of skipping first move.
Games for Game Courier. The many games you can play online with Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]OK I understand. Shall I mention to report any bug to you or to me? Thank you again for your time and your patience
OK but it is not clear to me.
Step 1 is OK
Step 2 asked to put description and link. OK, where I put the link? Which description? The one I already put on the page describing the preset? It is not clear, I don't understand what I do.
For instance for this preset: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game=Teramachy&settings=Default-Alternate
How can I publish it for everyone? Thanks
I have developed GC for the series of my games:
Zanzibar-S
Zanzibar-XL
Teramachy
Gigachess II
Terachess II
How can they get a link in this GC table in order to let people play them? Is it something I can do myself?
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Yes, indeed. Checking that box has solved the issue. I don't know why I had not checked it in Zanzibar-S whereas I did for Zanzibar-XL. Now, it's OK, thank you.
Hello. I wish someone could help me.
I have made a preset for Zanzibar-S. It works, but I confess that I have not understood everything. We have a game on-going.
Something is strange. The preset asks the invited player if he wants Black or White. If Black is chosen, the invited gets ... White. And vice-versa. Then the game goes normally, no problem, Black put the central pieces (like for Metamachy) and White play the 1st real stroke.
Just what is strange is it must be chosen White in order to get the Blacks.
Can anyone good at Game Courier Preset have a look and tell me what's wrong?
Thanks
Shako_Balbo. 
Game with Diamond Shape Board.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]My feelings about this game are mixed. On the positive side, I like very much the idea that the variant Shako has its own variant. On the critic side, I am not so enthusiast and I keep preferring the standard Shako. In play, I found that diagonals are too much weighting on the game. I had the feeling that Rooks, Cannons and even Queen were sort of squeezed on this diamond-shaped board. It is not because I lost that I'm negative. I lost because I'm not a good player, I'm not focused enough. No, regardless of defeat or victory the fact is I was sometimes kind of "I don't know what to play", if I could, I would have simply passed my turn as I had the feeling that any move would spoil my game. I think that I would have the same impression at Balbo (std) chess. But I appreciated to have tried, it was interesting to see the difference with a square board. Thanks
Play-test applet for chess variants. Applet you can play your own variant against.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]OK, I see the point. Thanks
Daniel, formally you are right. Nothing in the Spanish text specifies if the King could leap while in check, nor if he could fly over threatened squares (at Grant Acedrex). However, it can be extrapolated that it was the case by comparison with the rules played at (standard) lepchess as reported in other contemporary sources. Allowing that King's jump to escape a check would be anachronistic in my opinion.
As far as Metamachy is concerned, you guys loose me. I don't understand what you say "And the jumped-over piece would then block its protector from moving to the e.p. square to make the capture".
There is nothing exceptional with the King's jump in Metamachy. It is simply to adopt the rule that was in force at chess in several places in the Middle Ages, before castling was adopted. Basically, the King was allowed an initial 2-square away move, including horse's leap, providing he was not in check and he was not passing over a square where he could have been checked. The same idea is still applied for castling, the King must not go over a square under threat either. Castling is a particular case of the King's jump. Plus, of course, the fact that castling gathered two consecutive moves in one, 1) bringing the Rook close to the King, 2) the King jumping over the Rook. That is the true evolution that led to our modern castling.
By taste, I want just to say that having tested to introduce the Nightrider or the Dabbabarider into my variants, I gave up because I didn't like those moves that are so difficult for me to visualize. But, I should recognize that others may like as the Nightrider is among the most popular fairy pieces. One will say that being a popular fairy piece doesn't mean being popular for chessvariants, eg. the grasshoper or the locust, and this is true also. It is interesting to discuss these matters and exchange our points of view. Thanks my friends.
I agree with Aurelian. Personally, I'm not at ease at all with leaper-rider pieces. I had tried a nice compound, colorbound, of Dabbaba-rider + Ferz, but I find difficult to visualise what it does. Even with the Nightrider I have the same difficulty. So, it's a matter of taste, as usual.
Ooops, sorry, yes, same thing
This is probably a question that can be solved by philosophes. Just for fun. A chess variant where all pawns would be replaced by knights. Knights that can be promoted to an Amazon. Possible no? Maybe better on a large board. OK. Then, is the Knight a Pawn?
Rollerball. Chess race fight on board formed by removing 3 by 3 square from center of 7 by 7 square. (7x7, Cells: 40) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I like this small tactical game. There is a GC preset written by Antoine, long time ago. Alas, legal moves are not displayed.
When I edit the GC preset I don't see any rules, I don't know where they are stored. Is it possible to change and have the legal moves displayed ?
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I realize that my previous comment goes on a general page and then nobody knows what I'm talking about.
I was asking to just edit and rewrite the sentence about the move of the Camel in the rules presented for the Metamachy preset:
https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game=Metamachy&settings=default
It is said:
The Camel, a traditional piece from historic variants, can leap to any space at the opposite end of a 1x3 triangle.
"Triangle" is not clear in this context of board with squares. I would simply say:
The Camel, a traditional piece from historic variants, is a (3,1) leaper.
I can't do that change myself. Thank you
Sure, all compound pieces have probably been conceived or imagined long time ago. J.Knappen's Teutonic Knight's Chess used both triple compounds we are talking about. He called them Crown Princess and Archchancellor, names I don't like very much. About the names, yes, there is a Templar in Templar chess moving as Dabbaba or B2. For the BNW, or BKN, I was thinking to ... BiKiNi. Smile.
While exploring the same concept (see Very Heavy Chess), apart from the difference Queen vs Amazon, I have been testing the relative position of BKN and RKN with Zillions. My first idea was also to have BKN on the 2nd row, like in your variant, but then I had the feeling that it is very difficult to develop the RKN. Then, I changed and put the RKN on the 2nd row and the BKN on back row.
Maybe it is because in VH Chess, RKN and BKN are set at the extreme wings, a/l, and not in a more centred position d/i like here.
Proto-Chaturanga. A seminal so-called "indo-persian" game with only King and Pawns. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Please delete this old page
Thank you
Shako_Balbo. Game with Diamond Shape Board.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Sure, what I wanted to say that it was not saying anymore that I don't correspond to the invitation (so, it was better), but as I was now assigning with Blacks and couldn't start and I couldn't check if it was all OK.
This morning, my opponent who launched the invitation, started also the first move and I have been able to play my first move as well.
So all looks good now. Thanks a lot for your support.
Seems better, but I'm given blacks.
Game Courier Settings Files. Keep track of all the settings files you have written for Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I would like to delete Zanzibar-S-prov as well
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The move for the Camel is strangely written:
"can leap to any space at the opposite end of a 1x3 triangle"
Can it be changed to write, more conventionally:
"is a (3,1) leaper"
Thank you
Game Courier Settings Files. Keep track of all the settings files you have written for Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]How to delete a Game Courier Setting file on our own page? I would like to delete "Zanzibar-S1" that I've made and I don't know how. Thanks
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I am confused. Yesterday I created a new page for a new entry called "Maasai Chess". This page is now waiting for approval by editors. This is not the problem.
After, I wanted to create a new Game Courier preset to play this Maasai Chess. Then, I follow the link to create a new GC preset. But at the end, the process gives a similar template than for a normal page entry. This is confusing.
So, I started from an existing GC preset of my own, I modified it, I renamed it "Maasai Chess", I saved it and I spent my evening working on it. This morning, I wanted to come back on it and continue ... but I can't find it. Where is it?
When I look under my name to my unpublished submissions, I see the normal page for "Maasai Chess" but for the GC preset I just see the void page I had made, and not the file I had worked on yesterday.
May someone help me?