Comments by jean-louiscazaux
I would like to be able to edit old contributions I had made years ago, in the Hans B's years.
Or for some of them, even delete them. I'm thinking of very early ones (proto-chess, proto-xiangqi) which do not correspond at all today to something I would say. Is it possible?
HG, do you think that a Cannon in a different context than XQ and its special board, for instance in Shako, can be worth than that? I wonder.
Zillions (I know that you don't like their estimate, and you're probably right) is estimating the Cannon just slightly below the Rook, and the Vao just below the Bishop. I also think this is overestimating. But how far?
In Shako or in Metamachy, the Cannon are still powerful pieces putting a lot of pressure on the columns they control.
Gigachess II. Evolution of Gigachess (2001).[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Very good. Thanks a lot for your reactivity and help.
Thank you. A mistake in the chess board painting tool. It's corrected now.
Teramachy. A chess variant between Metamachy and Terachess.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Terachess II. An unrealistic summit on a very large board of 16x16 squares and 128 pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Heavy Chess. A high-density chess-variant-variant.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Very Heavy Chess. A lot of firepower with all compounds of classical chess pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Play Metamachy on Game Courier. Play this large game with a variety of regular fairy pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thanks a lot. I'm going to start a new game.
Hello Fergus
The bug is also affecting my log: timurthelenk-numerist-2020-328-848
I (Timurthelenk) had white. Numerist resigned and was declared winner. Thanks a lot
Teramachy. A chess variant between Metamachy and Terachess.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Terachess II. An unrealistic summit on a very large board of 16x16 squares and 128 pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]At last, presenting Terachess II on the CVPs.
Gigachess II. Evolution of Gigachess (2001).[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Presenting Gigachess II on chessvariants website
OK, sorry
By the way, both Kirin and Phoenix have an accepted usage from Chu Shogi, it would be a pity to assign them other moves.
Kirin= FD Phoenix= WA
Aurelian you can find them on Wikipedia is that is your question.
The Kirin/Kyrin, or Qilin, is a chinese/japanese monster (haven't you ever drunk a Kirin beer?). Some think that this monster could have been inspired by a giraffe seen by early Chinese navigators.
Like the Aanca/Anka/Anqa could have been inspired by the Aepyornis of Madagascar. The Phoenix is also a monster giant bird, a kind of Greek version of the Persian Anqa. Again, a different beast than the Gryphon/Griffin whatever Murray said :=)
Play Metamachy on Game Courier. Play this large game with a variety of regular fairy pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thanks for taking care of this.
I'm not able to understand, and I confess I'm a bit lost because I have never programmed with that code.
As author what I just would like is that the player making the choice of the central setup is not the one playing the first actual move.
Would it help if Black was placing his 4 central piece, then the situation is replicated on White's side.
Then Black (automatically?) pass his first move, then White plays the second move, which is actually the first as Black has just passed?
I've tried to play against myself. I place 1 of the 4 central piece, but when I place the 2nd one, I get a message of error. Is that preset bugged?
Hello Fergus. Yes, the same happened to me for
timurthelenk-numerist-2020-328-848 Numerist (Black) resigned ... and was declared winner.
Maybe the bug comes from the fact that Black has the 1st action in the game, which is the chose the starting array, placing the central pieces. Then only White plays the 1st "real" stroke.
It happened the same thing to me. I played Metamachy on game courier, my opponent resigned and now it is registered that I lost and he has won!
Can someone looks what's wrong?
Thanks
The Emperor's Game. Variant on 10 by 10 board from 19th century Germany. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The name of the German author is Tressau, not Tressan. I know, it's confusing because the original book was written in gothic script and the u and the n are very similar (although slightly different). Here is a u, so Tressau.
Bent Riders. A discussion of pieces, like the Gryphon, that take a step then move as riders.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Alas this Man & Beast series for me is frustrating. For reasons I don't know, I see no moves on the diagrams, only a large chessboard and a poor lonely piece in the center. The accompanying text is so long, difficult to get something useful. Too bad because it is a huge work with probably a lot of good points inside. It will deserve a rework.
Games on Game Courier. A listing of Chess variants for Game Courier, ranked by number of times played.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Many links in the "Name" column are pointing to 404: Eurasian, Rococo, etc.
Maybe there is a simple thing to do to fix that?
Boyscout. Moves in a diagonal zigzagline.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I would like to move this piece is Zillions. I wouldn't say I'm good at programming Zillions.
I use this string: (define zslide ($1 (while empty? add $2 (verify empty?) add $1) (verify not-friend?) add)) I use 8 of them for the piece (nw ne; ne nw; nw sw; sw nw; etc.)
It works but then the value attributed to that piece is too strong because half of the squares it can reach are counted twice (those in position of dabbaba-rider).
Does anyone know how to fix that?
Thank
Sac Chess. Game with 60 pieces. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Sure, I was asking to know if what I was thinking had been considered. I have no doubt that this game is popular and I understand that it is not that every dude can alter your game.
I'm probably a bit stuck on the logic, because Sac chess is based on a very logical approach. If B, R and N are considered the basic ingredients, then having 2Q, 2BN, 2RN, 2KB, 2KR, 2KN and a single BRN=A is making it full.
The lineup with BN/Q/A/BN at the center of the back row is keeping the FIDE array in the 2nd row.
I will test a game like this, as a variant strongly inspired by yours.
This CV is quite interesting. I like this idea very much. As others, I'm a bit afraid of 2 Amazons per side. I understand the author's reason wishing to keep the standard respective chess lineup.
Then I wonder if it was considered to keep the 2nd row as it is but to modify the back row with Crowned Bishops (Missionaries) on d1,g1; a second Queen on e1 (behind the 1st one); and a single Amazon on f1 (behind the King) ?
Any thought?
Sergeant. A combination of the Berolina and usual Pawns.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I agree with Chebetol. Also, "In the diagram below, the Sergeant can move and capture to all the squares marked with a black circle. The Sergeant can make its initial(non-capturing) double-step to the square marked with a green circle." In the diagram, the black circles are green, and the green is red! This page deserves a second look maybe.
Too bad Aurelian you don't want to change your mind. Anka is the word used in Spanish for the Gryphon. Is like if you call a Bishop, a Torre. You can call your piece otherwise, a Simurgh or anything, why a Anka/Anqa/Aanca? Check that page: http://history.chess.free.fr/acedrex.htm
Aurelian, the RNN is called Waran or Varan by problemists. (Source Giffard/Bienabe, 1993)
For the different bent riders, I suggest you take inspiration from different mythical monsters.
Please resist to use Aanca/Anka, I cry when I see that. It is not because the mistake was done once that we are obliged to perpetuate the mistake. Once we know, we are no more ignorant. Aanca is the word used in Alfonso X codex for the F^R. It was the medieval Spanish rendering of the Arabic word Anka. That word designated a mythical giant bird preying elephants like in Persian tales. Murray thought that giant bird was a Gryphon (which was a different monster). OK, Gryphon is too much installed in the CV word to change it, but calling Aanca something else is a mistake.
Especially if it is to designate the N^B which was an Unicorn (meaning a Rhino) in the same Spanish old text!
Look for Hydra, Basilisk, or a full list here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_creatures_by_type
What do you call an Aanca or an Anka? I can't see what you are talking about
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]I propose to add some ungulates I don't see in the list.
(Source: Le Guide des échecs - Traité complet, Giffard & Biénabe, ed. Robert Laffont-Bouquins, 1993. A big French book with a very large part dedicated to fairy chess and problems).
Okapi: Knight+Zebra
Auroch: Knight + Giraffe
Impala: Knight+Antelope
Zebu: Camel+Giraffe
And my own proposal for a piece that I never found named elsewhere:
Stag: a (2,4) leaper
About Game Courier. Web-based system for playing many different variants by email or in real-time.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thank you Fergus, you spotted our problem right!
Viking Chess Set. Game board and pieces in search of rules. (Cells: 37) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Very interesting. I see no mention of it in Pritchard's Encyclopedias. It has nothing to do with Byzantine chess which was played on the spaces, not on the intersections. The closest similar game I know is Circum Morum or Jabberwocky chess invented by V.R.Parton in 1961. But this one was more complex with 5 concentric circles and 61 positions. Maybe your game has been inspired by Parton's one.
About Game Courier. Web-based system for playing many different variants by email or in real-time.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]We try to play Metamachy on Game Courier. I have blacks. I can't find how to move a piece to the central squares of my lines and then start the game. Is that preset bugging? Or are we missing something? Please help us to understand. Thanks a lot
Game Courier Logs. View the logs of games played on Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Can someone help us? We try to play Metamachy with Numerist, I have the black pieces. When I click on one of the 4 which are in the center of the board, it activates (with a framed square) the 4 squares in the center of my lines, but how to move the piece in those squares? I've tried to click, to hold and drop the piece, nothing works. I've tried with Safari and with Firefox. Am I doing something wrong? Thank you
Play Metamachy on Game Courier. Play this large game with a variety of regular fairy pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Man and Beast 03: From Ungulates Outward. Systematic naming of the simplest Oblique Pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]For reason I don't know, I don't see the full diagrams: I only see the boards and the piece in its middle, but the possible moves are not shown.
Yes it's true, they are not huge changes, anyhow it is quite interesting even for us, for example to look at the differences induced by different pawns.
Expanded Chess. An attempt at a logical expansion of Chess to a 10x10 board.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Daniel, I programmed your variant on Zillions to see how it looks. I was wondering if the castling done by moving the King 3 steps towards the Rook on both side is intentional? On King's side it means that the King goes on the Rook square. Is that correct?
Very good explanation of major / minor notion. Your answer would deserve to be presented as an article on this site.
Bent Riders. A discussion of pieces, like the Gryphon, that take a step then move as riders.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Bent Riders. A discussion of pieces, like the Gryphon, that take a step then move as riders.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I was thinking of some very mighty pieces, probably playable only on very large board, 12x12 or more.
Those pieces could threaten wide bands of lines
Piece 1: compound of Gryphon/Eagle + Rook (I once suggested to Zied to call it a Dragon)
Piece 2: compound of (W-then-B) + Bishop (I once suggested to Zied to call it a Basilisk)
Piece 3: compound of Gryphon + (A-then-R)
Piece 4: compound of (W-then-B) + (D-then-R)
Why stopping there, one can have also compound of P1+P3 and of P2+P4, threatening even wider bands, probably more than crazy.
I was wondering if anyone had used them in CVs?
Expanded Chess. An attempt at a logical expansion of Chess to a 10x10 board.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I understand now what you call "conjugate". Interesting notion. I've looked with ZoG what it says about W-then-B, N-then-B and D-then-B (the Osprey here). Like you said, it estimated the Osprey slightly stronger than a Rook on a 10x10 board. On a 8x8, it gives the Rook slightly stronger than the Osprey.
Another question HG, how is defined a major or a minor? It's still obscure for me. Thank you.
Oh thank you HG, my mistake! So, the Osprey is a colorbound piece. Interesting.
My preferred "x-then-bishop" is a 3rd one, W-then-B that I use in some of my large variants (I call it Rhinoceros). The Gryphon/Eagle being F-then-R, I see that pair as counterparts, am I wrong?
Maybe, I would have added a pair of Camels, leaping (4,2), to fill c1 and h1. They would fit well the spirit of this game.
Interestingly this variant put 3 additional pieces on the decimal chessboard, 3 additional pieces that are, as the matter of fact, old known pieces! Indeed the 3 of them are found in the Grant Acedrex from King of Castile Alfonso X's codex published in 1283.
The Gryphon is the Aanca of the Spanish text, an Arabic word designating an "Elephant Bird", a very big legendary eagle of the oriental tales, able to carry an elephant. Murray translated, a bit wrongly, as a Gryphon (which is another legendary animal).
The Osprey is the Unicornio of the Spanish text, which according to the original illustration designated a Rhinoceros. Consider that in 1283 not a lot of people new what a rhinoceros was and it was identified with the legendary unicorn. I like the idea of a Rhinoceros for this piece that goes deep inside the opposite defensive lines.
The Zebra is the Zaraffa of the Spanish text, obviously a Giraffe, considering that, again in the 13rd century, this beast was a bit frightening for those who had the chance to have seen one. Murray and some others after him had another interpretation of the described move, a step (5,2) instead of a step (4,3) which was a misunderstanding.
http://history.chess.free.fr/acedrex.htm
I also use Eagles, Rhinoceros and Giraffes in Zanzibar but on a 12x12 board.
Alpaca Chess
. Introducing the weak but interesting Alpaca, which hops one or two steps rookwise (with zrf).[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Do you consider that the fact that the Alpaga is more interesting than a pure W+D (that I call War Machine in some of my CVs)? Personally, I prefer to give simple pattern and definition to new pieces, and I'm a bit skeptical to use pieces with move-only or capture-only. Especially when you have to recall that the piece do this on some squares and that on other squares. Pawn is the exception of course. So, is that game better with Alpagas instead of W+D?, I wonder.
Games for Game Courier. The many games you can play online with Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Just a reminder if someone could make that Metamachy is visible among the game playable. Thanks a lot
Thank you very much
Hello. I can't find Metamachy on Game Courier. Has it been removed?
Brouhaha. Like Chess, but it really brings the ruckus! (8x8, Cells: 72) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Not sure. What you say depends on the way you write your code. Moreover people are not computers. If I explain that it is forbidden to any piece to enter on a square, it needs an extra sentence to explain that a capture is an exception. The shortest way of writing a code is not obviously the more natural or simpler for a real human. And vice-versa.
I agree HG, the simplest the rules, the better. It is a principle that I always try to apply in the games I invent (not only chess related) and that we apply in the circle of games inventors (MALT) we have in my region. Always we start from a set of rules and after testing and testing, we remove rules. :=) Good practice!
As it is (in Brouhaha chess and Apothecary chess), actually there is the need of an extra rule to specify that it is forbidden to enter the waiting square except to capture the piece which stands on it.
This is exactly to simplify that point that I started thinking about it. I found this exception strange. The simplest rule would be to forbid any incoming on that square no?
But there is the point mentionned by Greg, which is true, that the waiting piece would be in the same time threatening and immune. So, I was wondering if forbidding an entering move which is a capture, a check or a blocking check could mitigate this issue. Blocking a check is a restriction used in Seirawan chess for example. Also the entering on the board could be seen similar to a drop. In shogi, one can't capture by droping. One can check though.
Maybe, this is not a good idea if it is too complex.
I'm just sharing my thoughts. I'm designing a new variant of my own, this is why I'm asking you guys, experts in CVs. Thanks
Fine with "brouhaha", it's a funny name, sounding nice. I understand the reluctance of having a piece standing there as a threat and that would be unvulnerable.
When the piece enters on the real board, is there any limitation? Can it capture, check or hinder a check?
Maybe a good practice would be to forbid their capture as long as they stay "in the brouhaha" but also to forbid their first entering move to be a capture, a check or hinder a check?
What do you think? Would it work?
I have 2 questions about the brouhaha squares:
1) What is the advantage of allowing a capture on a brouhaha square? Spontaneously, I find this strange: I understood that such a square hosts a piece until it is activated and enter into play, then the square disapears. Then, this square is not part of the play area really. So, I wouldn't have allowed a capture on it at all. Maybe there is something I don't see.
2) Why this name of "brouhaha" square? At least in French a brouhaha is a surrounding noise. Those squares are more like a fog, brouillard in French. Brouhaha/brouillard, is there a linguistic confusion there?
Musketeer Chess. Adding 2 newly designed extra pieces. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This page has several problems when displayed. I've tried both Safari and Firefox on a Mac Book and the result is really too bad. Also the rules are not all given: for instance the placement rules are not given. Instead there is a link to an external website ... where several diagrams are not displaying either. I suggest that this page is improved when possible.
Zanzibar-XL. Beyond Metamachy. 80 pieces of 19 different types, with historical lineage.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Yes, this page can be deleted. It was an attempt to make a game preset, but I gave up, it's beyond my programming skills alas
Chu Shogi. Historic Japanese favorite, featuring a multi-capturing Lion. (12x12, Cells: 144) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]A player may have 2 Lions as a Kirin may be promotted to a Lion
Zanzibar-XL. Further step after Metamachy. 80 pieces of 19 different pieces, with historical lineage.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thank you very much. I have been able to upload all diagrams and the process was very lean.
Yesterday, it was my mistake for the size limit. Instead of uploading the jpg diagrams I have made for my own website, I uploaded instead the source images coming from the board painting tool, which are much heavier. Thank you for your help.
Antelope. Makes (3,4)-jump.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The texts still says: The antelope is a (3,4)-jumper, i.e., it moves (with or without taking) four squares horizontally and five vertically, or five squares horizontally and four vertically.
It should be corrected as:
The antelope is a (3,4)-jumper, i.e., it moves (with or without taking) four squares horizontally and three vertically, or three squares horizontally and four vertically.
Btw, what is the name of the (2,4) jumper?
Zanzibar-XL. Further step after Metamachy. 80 pieces of 19 different pieces, with historical lineage.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]OK, thank you. I have been able to upload 2 graphics. I was only able to do them one by one, and to enter my password at every upload, sometimes twice. Finally, after only 2 successful uploads, I have reached by upload size limit and I cannot go forward. This is a bit hassling.
Sorry, I have tried but I'm not skilled enough. 1) when I upload a graphic, I choose the file on my HD, then I take "Upload file" (under my User ID/password) and then I get a white screen with only this address:
https://www.chessvariants.com/index/memberupload2.php
And I don't knwo if it was successful or not. I have tried with Safari and Firefox, I get the same result.
2) when I edit the page, I see the code with SRC in HTML and the address to the external page, but what shall I put to make a link to local?
Forgive my ignorance
Wait a minute. I was hitting the "edit" link which is at the bottom of the page, not the one in the black rectangle. I was confused. It is confusing. I try again, sorry.
I don't know how to do it. When I created the page for submission the form/template was asking to a weblink to upload the images. I thought it was what I did, believing it was then uploading the images to a local server, not just taking the link.
Now to modify, if I click on EDIT, I get a form/template but I cannot make any changes on the content of the page.
Is there a way for me to edit that page? Thank you
It seems that the first diagram is missing, showing the line-up before putting the major pieces. If it has been lost, it can be found here: http://history.chess.free.fr/images/zanzibar/zanzibar-XL0.jpg
No I don't believe that you are stupid. You are not at all. But you always want to have the last word and your words are often difficult to swallow. Look here "Authors should not be blind to imperfections in their work, and the normal response would be to repair the defects"
I'm not blind at all and I welcome positive remarks. I have currently people play testing this variant quite intensively and I will take their feedback into account. I know the benefits of peer review as I practice this a lot in my professional life too. But what are the "imperfections" and "defects" you corrected here? We are just talking of something that was not an imperfection but rather something you were not understanding.
I was happy to post this new game here but now this page is spoiled. A new reader coming here will conclude that this game is flawed and has imperfections. Nice.
I was happy to come back on CVPs after so many years of absence but every post I've made these last weeks have turned to upsetting feedbacks. I will stop here. I wish you success because these pages in overall are really great and a very valuable source of information for the researchers interested in chess variants like me.
Papers on phylogenetic analyses of chess variants . Papers describing phylogenetic analyses of chess variants.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The new link is broken too. Fortunately this paper as well as many others can be found on my webpages, here (in authors' alphabetic order)
http://history.chess.free.fr/library.htm
Zanzibar-XL. Further step after Metamachy. 80 pieces of 19 different pieces, with historical lineage.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I'm not perfect. I speak French every day, not English, please forgive me if I use '"threatened" instead of I don't know what else. If we start to criticize each other for such things, then let's scrutunize every variant that we give in our chess variants pages and not only mines. I believe everyone has understood what the rules of Metamachy or Zanzibar are with respect to that point.
About pinning, common sense is to apply the principle which is in the rules of chess, article 3.1 of FIDE laws:
- A piece is considered to attack a square, even if such a piece is constrained from moving to that square because it would then leave or place the king of its own colour under attack.
I'm sorry, this thread is becoming very confusing ... and I'm adding confusion, really sorry. I made an awful typo.
HG you say: "No, this is not what Fergus said. He said the King could not go to h3 because h2 was attacked. h3 is not attacked. And what Fergus says contradicts what you say: according to Fergus the black Knight is actually considered to attack the black Bishop, a piece of its own color that he cannot capture. While you said: "Pieces are never attacking friendly pieces..."
Sorry sorry. I made a mistake. This is my correct sentence:
>>As Fergus said, in both cases, the Bishop on h2 being black or white, the King cannot jump on h3 because h2 is a square under threat.
Sorry, I meant h2 and I don't know why I wrote h3, which is absurd. As I said, I agree with Fergus.
The black Knight "attacks" h2. When a white piece is on h2, the black Knight obviously attacks that white piece. If it is a black piece which is on h2, then that piece is "protected" by the black Knight. You say "attack (by a friend)", I say "protected", this is just a different understanding of "attacking". "To attack" as something aggressive in my language, which is opposite to "to protect", but for the square which is concerned, it is the same.
No more complicated than that. If I define the rule relatively to the square which is or not under threat, I think it is clear.
HG says: "if a virgin King is on h1, a black Bishop on h2, and a black Knight on g4, the King can move to h3. If his own Bishop was on h2 instead, he could not. "
>>As Fergus said, in both cases, the Bishop on h2 being black or white, the King cannot jump on h3 because h3 is a square under threat.
For several reasons, I wanted to put in Metamachy the original rule of the old medieval King's leap (although they had no real standards in those times) which preceded the modern castling in chess. This is why I kept the rule that he can jump over a threatened square, although it is a bit weird, I agree.
There is the same relic in modern castling. We don't see it because when we mechanically castle, we first move the King two steps, he is not jumping. But the castling's root was a particular case of the King's jump, where the Rook was coming close to the King and the King jumping over. We still have the rule that the square d1 or f1 shall be not attacked.
Zanzibar follows Metamachy, that's right.
Not sure I understand the question:
"There still is one thing in the rules that is not clear to me, in connection with the King jump: can the King jump over an enemy piece that is protected? "
>> No for two reasons. 1) when jumping it doesn't matter if the square is occupied or not. So it is like if the square was void. 2) The enemy piece is obviouly on a square. The jump is forbidden when the square is threatened.
"In other words, are pieces considered to attack friendly pieces in their path?"
>> This the question I don't understand. I don't see the relation between your two sentences. Pieces are never attacking friendly pieces or I miss something
Shako. Cannons and elephants are added in variant on 10 by 10 board.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Grande Acedrex. A large variant from 13th century Europe. (12x12, Cells: 144) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Fergus you say: Now that I compare what looked like a d with the two beginning a's in aanca at the top of the second column, I can see that it is an a. The a at the end of aanca is the same shape, but smaller. The word before acedrex looks like it begins with a g and ends with a t.
>> Yes. You repeat what I explained in my answer to your first post where you intended to say that my information, i.e. the name is Grant not Grande, was wrong. So, I repeat, the word "grant" has its "r" missing. Yes, it does start with a g and ends with a t. I'm glad that you recognize your mistake.
You said after: So, we could go with the name grant acedrex but the article should also mention that the game has been referred to as grande acedrex in books by Murray, Gollon, and Pritchard.
>> Of course you could, I would say, you can. I appreciate your trust. The article could also explain that Murray didn't take the exact original title and that the others followed him.
If interested readers come by here, there is a more recent book which has endeavoured to update the knowledge on "ancient and regional" chess variants, as Gollon said, it is the book written by me and Rick Kwolton during 6 years, reviewed by a dozen of experts in their field and deeply blommerized by Peter Blommers that I thank again: A World Of Chess, Mc.Farland, 2017
Have a nice day
You can see the word "grant" on the 1st line of the document you showed. You can see the transcription on the txt file which is available from my website. From that 1st line we have: Aqui se comienc'a el iuego del g<r>a`nt Ac'e-drex. The (-drex) is on the 2nd line. It appears that the r has been omitted by the scribe. If you want to see a "d" you have one in "del" the word before. It is a round character. You have another "t" at the 2nd word of the 5th line, "todos". I suspect that what you took for a "d" is the "A" from Acedrex. We have a "t" and not a "de".
Indeed Murray used Grande Acedrex. Again I respect his work a lot, but his authority in that area is questionable. SInce 1913 they have been other works, like Sonja Musser on her PhD dissertation of 1441 pages. Gollon simply compiled the variants he loved and he used Murray there. Pritchard was not an historian and relied on Murray as a source. On the contrary there are several scholar references in Sonja Musser's PhD dissertion which are all citing that game as Grant Acedrex as it is indeed written twice in the codex (for 0 as Grande Acedrex). I can give for details for skeptical people. If you don't believe me you can ask Sonja Musser who is active on FB and she can be joined.
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Hello, the "Cazaux" graphics do have a Camel of course.
https://www.chessvariants.com/graphics.dir/cazaux/catalog.html
It is not because they didn't have a Camel that a Cannon was shown. No, it is because Shako needs a Cannon, not a Camel. The problem is when using Alfaerie set, it is a Camel that is shown, not a Cannon.
Grande Acedrex. A large variant from 13th century Europe. (12x12, Cells: 144) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Maybe it would be difficult to change it, but the title of this page is wrong:=) !!
Presently it is Grande Acedrex.
This is a mix between two different languages. The title of this game as reported in the original codex is in 13th century Castilian and is Grant Acedrex
In modern Spanish, it will be Grande Ajedrez. Large Chess in English.
But Grande Acedrex is not correct in either language. If it is technically possible, it would be wise to replace "Grande" by "Grant"
I believe that CVP is a serious website, consulted as reference by many, so it ought to be correct.
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I agree that Alfaerie is a very good set. Moreover it is intimately attached to the look of the chessvariant pages. I like it a lot.
Zanzibar-XL. Further step after Metamachy. 80 pieces of 19 different pieces, with historical lineage.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thank you for your pleasant comment.
As explained, the piece values are just reflecting what Zillions computes. It has no more value than that, the goal was just to give an idea of the relative values. Every method "suck", because the piece value is a complex notion where mobility is just one parameter, we all know that. Maybe I will include a disclaimer to avoid more comments like this.
The path to promotion for Pawns is not longer here than in std chess. Because the Pawns can always move 2 squares forward, like in Metamachy.
With this variant, like with my other ones, my intention was to give fun. Not to be upset by people self-convinced to have found a winning strategy. I was glad to get back to CVP after many years of absence. I was co-editor in the early times with Hans. I see that the spirit has changed a lot.
Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thanks Greg. I'm not skilled enough to do it myself alas. If possible it would be good to align Shako with the letters used for Metamachy as the 2nd is using the pieces of the 1st.
The graphics named "Cazaux" are very old. They come from the early 2000s when I was starting that business with Hans B. Even for my own use I have changed several of these graphics that were ugly (Bishops for example). Alfaerie is much nicer.
Is it possible otherwise to replace the old "Cazaux" graphics set by an updated one?
Hi, if Alfaerie 1 graphics are chosen for Shako preset, which are much nicer than the old "Cazaux" graphics, one gets a Camel instead of a Cannon.
Is that possible to fix that?
Thanks
This is a comment for the page intitled: A Game Courier Preset for Eurasian Chess
At the bottom, in the "Credits" section, there is a link on: This preset uses the newrules settings file for Eurasian Chess.
I wanted to know what are the "new rules" but it points to a 404 error.
Zanzibar-XL. Further step after Metamachy. 80 pieces of 19 different pieces, with historical lineage.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Aaargh. I correct the Eagle's diagram immediatly.
For the Lion, I failed my cut/paste, I wanted to point to Chu Shogi's Lion.
Let me correct them.
Thanks a lot
Thank you.
OK the legend was for the setup. I have legended all other diagrams...
Difficult for me to understand what is not clear. In the text I do list all pieces, then the ones which are on the board, then I explain which other pieces are coming on which squares, then I give as an example a completed set-up. Anyhow, I will try to clarify more.
I will do for the links for piececlopedia, I just have to find out how to do but it shoudn't be complex.
You're right for the Elephant in Janggi, I went too fast, too much focused on the pattern of the move. I'm going to correct.
OK for the Cannon. Yes, this text is made by copying what I have on my own website, this explains why, but I'm gonna change.
Links to CVP pages: yes of course, again because I first wrote this for my website, no problem I'll change.
Thank you, sorry to bother you
I have added legends behind each diagram
I don't see the new problems.
The pieces that have no image are those of regular chess with the addition of RN and BN. The text clearly says that.
The diagrams have no legends because they are just illustrating. If someone doesn't see the diagrams, it will not be a problem because the text is saying what is in the diagrams. Putting a legend saying "move of the Cannon" for example is not helping much.
Most of the descriptions in chessvariants.com are done in a similar way.
Please publish my page as it is. Thank you.
I have now loaded new images, consistent with the set-up diagram. Is that OK?
Bent Riders. A discussion of pieces, like the Gryphon, that take a step then move as riders.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Yes Fergus, this is the kind of analysis that we've done. But of course not only 1 passage must be checked, any "theory" has to be tested with other passages of the text. Basically, this is what Sonja has done in her PhD.
To go further on this particular passage, the authors used the verb "to do" instead of "to go". Let's do more litteral:
"corre mucho desque comienca & faze ante en salto en trauiesso como Cauallo."
>> runs a lot when it begins & does before a jump in oblique as a Horse
"& assi lo establecieron en este acedrex que anda el primer salto como Cauallo"
>> & so they established in this chess that walks (anda) the first jump as a Horse
& depues en sosquino como la Cocatriz fata do quisiere; o que tome.
>> & then in corner as the Cocatrice (mythical animal probably inspired by the crocodile. Consider that no crocodile was frequently seen in Castile in those days) does as it wants; or take.
(the punctation ; is given in the numeric Spanish text)
"E daquella casa o salta non puede tornar a tras si non yr siempre adelante."
>> And from that square where it jumps cannot turn back but goes (yr) always forward
Again, there are several points where Murray went wrong with this text. Murray was quite good at many languages, not sure he was with Spanish. Another possibility, I believe it, was the poor consideration that Murray had for those large chess variants. I can elaborate on this if you want.
All my best,
Hello all. I'm reading the thread with some days late. I believe I can answer some questions. You have to know that Sonja Musser from the USA, has defended her PhD on the Libro de los Juegos, the Alfonso X's codex, few years ago. On that particular aspect of the Grant Acedrex, I worked with her analysing the Spanish text. Sonja and I speak Spanish. The language used here is a medieval Spanish but it is not a big problem to understand it because that medieval Spanish has more latin roots than the modern one.
You can find the full text on the web and large extracts concerning our Grant Acedrex on my own website here (Spanish text AND Sonja's English translation) : http://history.chess.free.fr/acedrex.htm
The original text and a litteral translation are also given in A World Of Chess, my most recent book.
You will see that we had 2 possible interpretations for the Unicornio, which is clearly a Rhinoceros, nothing else, in the mind of the author of the 13th century. When writing A World Of Chess with my mate Rick Knowlton, we considered it again, and Rick finally convinced me that the most probable interpretation is the more natural N-then-B. I will try to update my website today.
I have studied Murray's a lot and owe a strong respect to his work. What he did is unsurpassed. No one can do something like this today. That being said, Murray's look on chess variants was not very deep. He did not have a lot of estimate for them, being more attracted by chess and its direct ancestors. He made several mistakes, especially on Grant Acedrex, but also on others like Ciccolini's chess. Having access to original sources we have corrected many small details like this in our book A World Of Chess.
To answer the last question from Fergus whether the Unicornio was capturing or not on its initial N's move: Murray affirms that cannot, but the text does not say that. The text says:
"corre mucho desque comienca & faze ante en salto en trauiesso como Cauallo. & assi lo establecieron en este acedrex que anda el primer salto como Cauallo & depues en sosquino como la Cocatriz fata do quisiere; o que tome. E daquella casa o salta non puede tornar a tras si non yr siempre adelante." (in these times they used an u for a v)
Which means (literal translation)
it runs a lot when it begins and begins with a sideward jump like a horse, and so does it in this chess. It goes the first jump like a Horse and then goes in corner like the Crocodile does when it wants to go or take. And from that square where it jumps, it may not turn back, it shall always go forward.
In Grant Acedrex, the Crocodile moves as the MODERN Bishop. (Bishop at that time was an Alfil).
Could the Rhino take when jumping as a Knight? Personally I believe yes, but nobody knows.
We have no more information. People from 21st century shall realise that those of the 13th century didn't have the Internet and a community of chessvariant enthusiasts to comment and discuss any tiny points of the rules :=)
Hope this helps.
How to Design and Post Your Own Game. A reference for those who want to post their own games here.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The title is Zanzibar-XL:
https://www.chessvariants.com/rules/zanzibar-xl
It appears in my "unreviewed submissions".
Since I posted it, I have re-drawn the graphics with the Chess Board Painting Tool of Musketeer Chess. I didn't know if I could update my page, I was afraid to add more delay if I do it.
I also tried to make :
https://www.chessvariants.com/play/zanzibar-xl
This one too is in my "unreviewed submissions". But I stopped writing this one because I was not sure to understand if I need to do both.
Sorry if I did something wrong, probably I missed a point somewhere. Thank you for your help
Hello, I would like to know how long can take the review process. I've made a submission one week ago and I see nothing happening. Maybe it's the normal delay, or maybe I did something wrong. Having no feedback at all, it is difficult to know. Thanks to all reviewers.
Metamachy. Large game with a variety of regular fairy pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Thanks a lot. I didn't know about Lioness, very good.
Bent Riders. A discussion of pieces, like the Gryphon, that take a step then move as riders.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]OK, I understand. The idea should not come from me. Btw, the ferz-then-rook has also an 8-leg move. Good luck with your spiders, starting with A or not.
Metamachy. Large game with a variety of regular fairy pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Could it be possible to remove now the line saying:
Some of the rules that were not clear from the original description on Jean-Louis Cazaux's website were derived by Fergus Duniho from the Zillions-of-Games implementation of Metamachy.
As soon as I saw it, I asked what was not clear and I have clarified the original description.
Many thanks
Bent Riders. A discussion of pieces, like the Gryphon, that take a step then move as riders.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I have the same so-so feeling than Fergus about inserting Harry Potter's here. Why not my suggestion of Monoceros, it is a fantastic beast recognized in WP, it has a link with the Unicorn. As Unicorn is the N-then-Bishop in Alfonso's description, why not Monoceros for W-then-Bishop? The difference between the 2 moves is thin, so is the difference between the 2 names.
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I have tried to make a Game Courier preset for my first time ever. I did it for Heavy Chess because it is easier as I borrowed almost everything to Kevin. I hope I did nothing wrong, if I did please forgive me.