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Kristensen's Game. A conscious attempt to restructure Chess from 1948. (9x9, Cells: 81) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Matthew Paul wrote on Sun, Sep 26, 2004 04:54 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Okay, I think I WAS too harsh.  I'm changing my rating to 'good' (P + E
= G) for concept and the interesting features (eg. Barrier Pawn).

Michael Howe-
Your ideas have been more absolute than my criticism, so I don't think I
deserve sole credit.  Anyway, this is what I had in mind:

- Dragonhorses instead of Bishops: This is less 'fiddly' and compensates
somewhat for the power lost in the next change.
- Normal Rooks
- c and g file pawns brought back one space:  This solves the clumsy
knight development problem.  I wasn't so concerned over the knight's
value, just that this minor piece had terrible development, whereas the
major pieces had easy development.  This setup, although not as pleasing
as the original, allows knights to contest the centre much more easily,
and also slows down dual Queens getting out too early.  This is just a
matter of taste though.
- Resignation allowed.  Although there might be a nice checkmate
available, this rule also lengthens games in which it is obvious who the
victor is.  This is a necessary evil to play this game practically.

I think the bishop position is interesting, so I have left it.

Other comments:
- I missed the backwards step of the pawn.  That is also another positive
for this game for interest.
- Is this correct:  Stalemate and perpetual check give you one point, but
your opponent gets 1/2 point?  If this is the case, it still encourages
checkmates (in a tournament) while the player who stalemated gets a reward
for their effort.  I don't support this for perpetual check though.

That's probably enough of my opinions for one comment, so I'll stop now.