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It is an interesting twist, but it seems odd that Rooks can be brought into action so quickly. Why is this array preferable to having them on b2, e2, h2, and k2?
Partly keeping close to standard Chess, partly the trivial reason of symmetry within as well as between armies. In retrospect the latter is fairly trivial as the initial f1xg2 and g1xf2 could not be replicated except by wraparound. My question was out of curiosiy rather than criticism, and if moving further from standard Chess improves the game, well done. By the way, the game really fits its name. It conveys well the idea of warriors heading off into frozen northern wastes, as much competing to best fight the common enemy of the elements as fighting each other. Many games fit their names less well.
It isn't easy to come up with an interesting variant when you limit yourself to the usual pieces, and Viking Chess passes that test with flying colors. I was surprised it didn't make it to the final in the 84-square Contest, although it was certainly in the strongest bracket. Would you mind if I made a preset for it on the Game Courier?
This variant is berserkly sharp, as befitting of the name, and a stronger player could easily suffer an upset loss if he is at all having an off day. The rectangular, rather than square, board cannot be helped, but it is clearly justified.
My tentative estimates for the piece values of this variant would be: P=1; B=3; N=3.5; R=5.5; Q=9.5 and the fighting value of K=3 approximately (though naturally it cannot be traded).
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