Comments/Ratings for a Single Item
I just stumbled on this page, and it's quite interesting. (Very old, but still good.) I am, however, very surprised to see the Lion listed as the most powerful piece. If I needed a snap decition between Amazon/Lion I would have said Amazon on reflex....very interesting.
Interesting for sure, but to be taken with a rather large grain of salt. As the author points out, this is just how Zillions of Games values the pieces. Zillions is not always right, and not very strong. E.g. it has been shown by extensive computer self-play with far stronger programs that BN and RN are worth 8.75 and 9 (on a scale where Q = 9.5) on 8x8, which deviates a lot from the ratio 109 / 134 that Zillions get through some (propriatry) point-counting algorithm.
That being said, the Lion is indeed very strong, because of its ability to make hit-and-run captures. In Chu Shogi (12 x 12 board) it is considered about 1.66 times as valuable as a Queen, in the middle game. (In the end-game, where the board empties, the Lion becomes less valuable because it cannot be shielded well from slider attacks.) On 8x8 this ratio should go up significantly, as in Chu the Queen benefits from the larger board, while the Lion hardly does. An Amazon (QN) appears to be worth exactly as much as a separate Queen and Knight on 8x8, i.e. about 1.33 Queens.
Also note that the value of pieces can be strongly affected by what the opponent has. E.g. three Queens lose to 7 Knights (and only Pawns and King in addition) on 8x8, which violates all our ideas about the relative value of Q and N.
I really love the work he's done making this list, but I have to ask: Why is the Cannon rated higher than the Leon? If I understand the Leon right then it's strictly better.
Also, from what I've heard, the Cannon belongs way lower down than just beneath Rook. Maybe Zillions has some glitch when it comes to screening pieces, or maybe it's all in the starting location implemented.
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Ivan Derzhanski has compiled an impressive list of chess variant pieces. I wish that he had included more detailed notes, for the benefit of newcomers to this site. Here are some brief comments.
Nightrider combination pieces are discussed in the 'Notes' section of my variant Unicorn Great Chess.
I believe the 'short queen' (moves one or two squares like a queen) has been around for decades, under a variety of names. Peter S. Hatch calls this piece a Seeress in the ELVES army of his Fantasy Grand Chess (1999 and 2000). Tony Mez calls it a Guard in his Combo Modern Day Chess (2006). Peter Aronson and Ben Good use an unusual piece with the same two-square move in their variant Golem Chess. (2002)