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Comments by michaeljay

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Pocket Mutation Chess. Take one of your pieces off the board, maybe change it, keep it in reserve, and drop it on the board later. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Tue, Jan 18, 2005 01:29 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
Intriguing. I have to try it. I am not sure how many opponents I can get to play over-the-board--but I will ask a good one. I am not too fond of the riders, but the fusion idea is pleasant. How do you (collectively) think it would play if the more advanced player (e.g., by more than 200 points) took standard FIDE pieces, and the novice took the Pocket Mutation pieces--or in another vein, that the more advanced player could only choose a more limited number of mutations, decided before gameplay begins.

Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Tue, Jan 18, 2005 01:47 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
If I were trying to start a game of Omega Chess, how would I go about it?

Alice Chess. Classic Variant where pieces switch between two boards whenever they move. (2x(8x8), Cells: 128) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Sun, Mar 6, 2005 07:20 PM UTC:
Fergus Duniho speaks about Alice Chess and en passant. 'Jellis mentions some details about en passant that I also thought of while working on my own Zillions Rules File for Alice Chess. First is the question of whether the capturing Pawn has to be on the first or second board. As I understand en passant, it allows a Pawn to capture a Pawn it could have captured if that Pawn had made a one-step move instead of a double move. Thus, the Pawn that can take another by en passant must be the one that could have taken the Pawn if it had moved only one space. This means a Pawn on the second board. When a Pawn makes a double move, it will switch boards, and if it lands beside an enemy Pawn on the other board, that Pawn will normally be able to take it by en passant. But Alice Chess does introduce one situation in which the rule of en passant becomes ambiguous. When a Pawn makes a double move, it may pass over a space whose corresponding space on the other board is occupied. Thus, the space the enemy Pawn would have to go to for an en passant capture will be occupied.' I was reading an article from Alessandro Nizzola on 'Passar Battaglia' (http://www.chesscafe.com/text/skittles222.pdf) wherein the double move was used to pass the battle by, and in the Italian rules, the opponent could not recapture. So perhaps Alice allows conditions where en passant and passar battaglia co-exist. Does the community feel there is a need for either one or the other, or, in the spirit of Alice, that both are interwoven? Fergus' analysis is sound, but there are loopholes, not because of his argument, but because of Alice's mirror world. Discernment is tough with the board shifts, and adhering to the few extra rules brings about so many new possibilities. Arguments in either direction are possible, and perhaps that is why Parton offered up the statement on en passant, 'it is usual to forgo it.'

Nasmichael Farris wrote on Tue, Mar 8, 2005 02:02 AM UTC:
Thanks, Fergus. I appreciate the clarification.

Sample games of Hostage Chess. Missing description[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Sun, Apr 3, 2005 06:51 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
Thanks for the best advice on how to play--examples of the games
themselves.

This game is very exciting.  Thanks for your contribution.

Crown Prince Chess. One Knight on each side is replaced by a Crown Prince. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Sat, Apr 23, 2005 03:16 AM UTC:
Just cut the cross away from the standard king, and sand the top flat.

This idea of a crown prince (save that it cannot be captured) is given in
'Chess II', made for an 8x10 board, by another author on this site.  For
the record, the twin goals of 'promoting' the prince or checkmating the
king, works VERY well for that board.

Nasmichael Farris wrote on Sat, Apr 23, 2005 04:57 AM UTC:
Jesse Obligacion's 'Chess II' also has a prince; it was authored on December 2000, and the goal of that game was to checkmate or to usher the king to the other side. The presentation differs in that the prince could be captured, and the board is 10x8. Nevertheless, the game must be intriguing. Good ideas seem to come to several folks at the same time. That's fine by me. see link http://www.chessvariants.org/large.dir/chess_ii.html

Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Sun, May 22, 2005 06:28 PM UTC:
When I submit my moves today, I get this message, even though the move is
sent:

Warning:
copy(/home/chessvar/public_html/play/pbmlogs/(...)/(omitted)-cvgameroom-2005-32-111.bak):
failed to open stream: Permission denied in
/home/chessvar/public_html/play/pbm/write_log.php on line 9

Warning: Failed to copy
/home/chessvar/public_html/play/pbmlogs/(...)chess/(omitted)-cvgameroom-2005-32-111.php
to
/home/chessvar/public_html/play/pbmlogs/(...)/(omitted)-cvgameroom-2005-32-111.bak


Warning: chmod(): Operation not permitted in
/home/chessvar/public_html/play/pbm/write_log.php on line 52

Warning: touch(): Utime failed: Permission denied in
/home/chessvar/public_html/play/pbm/write_log.php on line 53


***

Is there some work being done on the log?

Game Courier Logs. View the logs of games played on Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Tue, Jun 14, 2005 04:36 AM UTC:
In game log -- michaeljay-cvgameroom-2005-32-111 -- the system is showing that it is my move, but when I click onto the link to the game, there is a short message showing that 'my opponent cannot move a pawn from f8 to f6'. Is there a way to correct the move so that I can continue the game?

Nasmichael Farris wrote on Tue, Jun 14, 2005 05:10 PM UTC:
Also, when I tried to look at some finished games, the logs do not pull up. I am sure that something positive is being done to fix it.

PBMWaitingRoom[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Fri, Jul 8, 2005 02:02 PM UTC:
I also was having difficulty offering invitations.

Free Castling Rule. Less restrictive castling rules. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Wed, Sep 7, 2005 01:12 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
I am glad it is posted here.

Game Courier Logs. View the logs of games played on Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Tue, Oct 11, 2005 03:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I am very thankful that this team has been so diligent in bringing the chess variant community the continued opportunity to play and experiment with these great games. Much of your work goes unrecognized, and I want to be one to offer my gratitude. Good job, folks.

Generalised Generals. Variations on Shogi Generals.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Thu, Nov 24, 2005 10:46 AM UTC:Good ★★★★
I am just getting familiarized with Shogi, and the separation of powers on
the Japanese Chessboard is pleasing to my novice eye.

Thanks, Charles, for your focus on the powers of the generals, and their
adaptation to respective games.

On Designing Good Chess Variants. Design goals and design principles for creating Chess variants.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Sat, Dec 10, 2005 08:30 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Fergus, thanks for writing this treatise. I work with young chess players, and for the other coaches who may initially not see the value of variants as a teaching tool, or something to change the normal tension of the game (which allows transition from some of their tournament games to something that continues the training, but in a fresh way), this article might allow them to see variants in a different, perhaps more positive, light.

Chess/Xianqi/Shogi Tournament #1. Enter the First Chess/Xiangqi/Shogi Game Courier Tournament![All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Thu, Feb 2, 2006 04:48 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Awesome idea. 

I have to go and clear my schedule--I have always wanted to see something
like this.  Give me a chance to determine my availability.

Thanks for creating this tourney.

Game Courier Logs. View the logs of games played on Game Courier.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Wed, Mar 29, 2006 05:47 AM UTC:
I wanted to check on the status of the tournament being played here with Shogi, Western Chess, and XiangQi--is there a link to games played, and tournament status? It began February 18th.

CCC - The Clash of Civilizations Chess. Missing description (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Wed, Apr 5, 2006 07:00 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Awesome and innovative idea. Now, THAT is a battle I'd like to see!

Chess/Xianqi/Shogi Tournament #1. Enter the First Chess/Xiangqi/Shogi Game Courier Tournament![All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Wed, Apr 5, 2006 08:04 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I am really enjoying the tournament; the mental flexibility that it
requires is energizing.  I work with young kids who love chess, and I have
shown them the positions in my games.  Some had not before heard of XiangQi
or Shogi, and those who had were really excited to talk about their parents
(some of whom grew up playing one of the Eastern standards) and the parents
were pleased to hear they were also learning about these games as well--it
was validating to hear praises of the game sung by someone else.

Thanks for offering the tourney.  I hope after this one, we have another.

Game Courier User's Guide. How to play games with the CV Play-by-Mail system.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Thu, Apr 13, 2006 10:23 PM UTC:
If two players agree upon a draw, how does one indicate that on a gameboard?

Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Sun, May 14, 2006 01:55 AM UTC:
In my game with Jeremy Good -- Hostage Chess game
/play/pbm/play.php?game=Hostage+Chess&log=michaeljay-cvgameroom-2006-93-166

I am having some difficulty transferring freed pieces during exchanges
from the grey prison area to free blue area.  The system will allow the
player on move to drop a piece, but the opponent's freed piece will not
move to the blue area, even when attempted manually.  As a result, pieces
do not appear available to the opponent, even when the
potentially-droppable piece is free.

Chess/Xianqi/Shogi Tournament #1. Enter the First Chess/Xiangqi/Shogi Game Courier Tournament![All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Thu, Jul 6, 2006 05:46 PM UTC:
I really enjoyed the 'chess trifecta', and I hope we can hold a tourney like that again next quarter. Thanks to all the players -- and there were some great games here!

Game Courier. PHP script for playing Chess variants online.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Tue, Jul 11, 2006 05:08 PM UTC:
Thanks, Fergus, for the modification in Hostage Chess and the clarification for my opponent and me. I had in the past played with the preset which required the full coordinate notation, which worked fine--this one you have replaced it with is more like the notation suggested by the author of the game--very helpful, easy to understand.

Thank you for easing the play of one of my favorite games.

Well done, and it is appreciated.


Shako. Cannons and elephants are added in variant on 10 by 10 board. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Wed, Jul 26, 2006 03:56 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
This game looks to be well thought out.  I am pleased to see the
re-unification of the game as it is perceived through both eastern and
western eyes.  Each stands to gain something from the other.
I am glad it was submitted to the 3rd Courier tournament.  Thanks also to
Hans B. for the translation from the French.

Dimension X. Chess on two planes - one with the usual chess pieces, the other with spooky trans-dimensional pieces with strange interactions. (2x(8x8), Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Nasmichael Farris wrote on Wed, Jul 26, 2006 04:06 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
Intriguing. It seems to be a very original game, with opportunities for novice and more masterful chess players. I look forward to seeing some finished games.

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