💡📝H. G. Muller wrote on Sun, Mar 27, 2022 06:02 PM UTC:
I changed the rules as described in the article now such that PxP does not provide a promotion opportunity. I also considered smaller rule modifications, such as that this would only hold in the move immediately after PxP, or only on P x promoted P, but I decided the added complexity (having an e.p.-rights-like extra game state, or distinguishing two different kinds of Veterans) was not worth it. The new rule creates a difference from Maka Dai Dai Shogi when a Pawn captures an unprotected Pawn, where it can now not promote. Just the reverse of the old problem, where a Pawn that recaptured after PxP could promote in Veteran Chess, while such a recapture would never be possible in Maka Dai Dai Shogi in the first place. The new rules do not discourage attacking Pawn chains, however.
I also made a second rule change: the Lady is now also contageous, and pieces capturing it mandatorily promote to Queen. With a non-contageous Lady I felt it was too easy to avoid Queens appearing at all by early indirect trading of the Ladies. In addition it makes the Lady a more powerful attacking piece: when kept sufficiently protected it can now safely be exposed to attacks by even less valuable pieces, as the exchange would result in a Queen. So it can be used in the vanguard.
The Interactive Diagram now also implements these rule changes, and I made some improvements to the general diagram script that makes optional deferral also possible with custom-defined promotions. (The previous implementation would automatically defer on demotions, and mandatorily promote otherwise.)
I changed the rules as described in the article now such that PxP does not provide a promotion opportunity. I also considered smaller rule modifications, such as that this would only hold in the move immediately after PxP, or only on P x promoted P, but I decided the added complexity (having an e.p.-rights-like extra game state, or distinguishing two different kinds of Veterans) was not worth it. The new rule creates a difference from Maka Dai Dai Shogi when a Pawn captures an unprotected Pawn, where it can now not promote. Just the reverse of the old problem, where a Pawn that recaptured after PxP could promote in Veteran Chess, while such a recapture would never be possible in Maka Dai Dai Shogi in the first place. The new rules do not discourage attacking Pawn chains, however.
I also made a second rule change: the Lady is now also contageous, and pieces capturing it mandatorily promote to Queen. With a non-contageous Lady I felt it was too easy to avoid Queens appearing at all by early indirect trading of the Ladies. In addition it makes the Lady a more powerful attacking piece: when kept sufficiently protected it can now safely be exposed to attacks by even less valuable pieces, as the exchange would result in a Queen. So it can be used in the vanguard.
The Interactive Diagram now also implements these rule changes, and I made some improvements to the general diagram script that makes optional deferral also possible with custom-defined promotions. (The previous implementation would automatically defer on demotions, and mandatorily promote otherwise.)