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Penturanga. Chaturanga on a board with 46 pentagonal cells. (8x5, Cells: 46) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Joe Joyce wrote on Wed, Dec 10, 2008 04:02 AM UTC:
Yes, the horses are 'colorbound'; they travel a circuit that only includes 1/3 of the board, like the elephants. Unlike the elephants, the knights not only change pentagon colors while traveling, they form pairs with their diagonally opposite opponent horses, so they are able to be exchanged, whereas only one pair of opposing and exchangeable elephants exists. Note that exchanges between elephants and knights exist and are balanced. The weak pieces, able to visit only limited portions of the board, and not necessarily able to interact with each other, are a feature of the oldest games of chess. Graeme's subtle use of this contributes to the 'large' feel of a small game, and it is not easily noticed. Nice eye. Did you notice it while looking at the 3x5 hex board? The pattern should show up more strongly there. It's easy to miss the boundness, as the knight's move is the easiest to do wrong in a game.