Ratings & Comments

Hi H.G.:

Chess Assistant16 doesn't provide the engine that it used for evaluations, regrettably. However I experimented in another way (though not as you would prefer), using Houdini3 (released 2012) as an engine instead. In the exact position in the line culminating with 9.Qc2-c3 that I gave, after some considerable time to look, Houdini3 evaluates the position as 0.15 (or "+=/="), somewhat better than the 0.04 of CA16's engine (as an aside, a disbelieving master friend dared me to play this line as Black against him in any tournament, back in the 1980s, and gallingly I lost the one time I obliged - in spite of previously winning a number of nice master-level games with it, at least sometimes attacking with queens on the board).

I tried replacing the B on c1 with a White knight (a fairly lousy square for a Kt), and this time Houdini3 gave the position as -0.12 (or "=") after considerable time spent. I then tried looking at the same position but with the White knight on d2 (not a great square completely for a knight, either, but it allows White to develop at least a move faster, probably); in this case Houdini3 rated the position as exactly 0.00 (or "="). Note: replacing the Kt on d2 with a dark-squared White bishop gives a position Houdini3 evaluated as 0.17 (or "+=/="); White can formally develop all his pieces a move faster (probably), but he'll want to eventually improve the lot of that piece (White B) now on d2 - though that seems true if a White Kt were there, too.

It may be worth noting that CA16's engine rates the Nimzo-Indian Defence (position after 3...Bf8-b4) as worth 0.07 (or "+=/=") for White, while Houdini3 gives it as 0.16 (or "+=/=") for White. CA16 considers the Nimzo-Indian complex of defences as numerically Black's best defence to 1.Pd2-d4 (i.e. with 'best' play).

If that is still happening, please provide details on how to replicate the problem. Otherwise, it is hard to know what is going on or how to address it.

@ Moderators - about 2 weeks ago I made some edits to the posting. However this is not yet reflected after I click "Edit the post" so when I edit, I had to work off an older version. How could I get the latest html version from the post? 

Hello. Do you have the opportunity to add a description of this type of 100 chess to your site, as well as the opportunity to play it on ChessV?  http://lotos-khv.ru/game/games/chess100.pdf

Since the old GC preset for Odin's Rune Chess doesn't seem to work anymore, I've created a new one which can be accessed here.

Stanislav's name and the fact that he brings this up at all suggests that he reads Russian. So why doesn't he put a discription of this variant on this website?

Google translate doesn't do too bad a job on this, BTW. It seems that this is a patented commercial variant (in Russia) that uses 2-step area-moving Ferz and Wazir as extra pieces, which furthermore aquire Bishop or Rook moves when on the same file as the King. Seems the King itself also has some extra capabilities, but I didn't really read that far.

I also noticed another thing about the diagram that I thought was very weird. When the diagram has at least 73 different pieces it starts combining the IDs of the first 6 pieces and replacing the actual ID of the piece with those. Specifically, it does this for the first group of 6, and then it skips two pieces. This process repeats until all 6 IDs have been used (So if the first 6 IDs are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the overwritten IDs would be 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, and so on all the way to 66). For example, the diagram in you page on Maka Dai Dai Shogi replaces the IDs of the Furious Fiend (+Ln), Buddhist Spirit (+DS), Teaching King (+Dv), Crown Prince (+DE), and Emperor (+K) with PP, PGB, PE, PSt, and PT, respectively. This is probably due to a bug in the source code, as I can't see any reason to think that it was intentional. However, this is only a guess. Do you have any suggestions as to what might be causing this?

Thanks, Fergus!

I added some illustration to better visualize the terrain and initial setup. Next time I'm putting down images of the units, structure and the strategic maps. 

Hello. Do you have a clear, detailed video tutorial on creating your own chess pieces and variations? By changing the rules? Is it possible to introduce a diagonal on which some figures could be amplified? Is it possible to introduce pawn castles, so that the pawn could swap places with its own figure standing in front and walking diagonally, that is, with the queen, bishop, wizzard, lion, zanny ...? should only be transformed into the figure that stood on this square, only on the royal square in anyone?

New fairness-based rule to the Randomized version of this game: in the opening setup, the sentry must reside on the c, d, e, or f files.

A while ago, one longtime member shared with me an extortion scam email he had received that included his CVP password in it. Today I received a similar email that included my CVP password. If you get such emails, just ignore them. It talks about installing malware on your computer, recording your passwords, recording you through your webcam, then conveniently removing all trace of the malware from your computer. It's just a scam, not a real extortion threat.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the password it included in the email was the one for this site. Until just now, I had not changed it in years, and several years ago, all passwords here were encrypted as MD5 hashes. This is very insecure, because there is a fixed relationship between the original word and the encryption, which allows people to build translation dictionaries that can identify your password from its MD5 hash.

If there were really malware on my computer monitoring my passwords, the hacker could just as easily steal my Paypal password, which would prove lucrative without going through the trouble of trying to blackmail me.

If you have not changed your password in a long time, it will still be encrypted as an MD5 hash. To fix this, sign in and change your password. Your new password will be encrypted in a format that does not have a 1-to-1 relation with the password, and it will be much more secure. While you could keep the same password and just update its encryption, that is what I had done, and this email proved that this was not enough to protect my password. The best thing you can do to protect your password is to change it.

https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game=Wildebeast_9&settings=default

I am currently playing a game of Odin's Rune Chess, and I really like it, as much the rules and gameplay, as the runic theme. The Forest Ox is a terrific piece, maybe too powerful... I like the rather strong Pawns. I generally appreciate modern variants that use non-conventional Pawns, it effectively renews the dynamics of a chess game. And their initial colorboundness isn't a default at all, for me.

I was wondering if Pawn promotion could be integrated in this game - even if it is not necessary since Pawns can go back and the need for new material is less crucial, since the vulnerabiliy of the Kings without moving possibilities makes situations of insufficent material less likely. Promotion possibilities should be limited, since Pawns can reach the last rank in only four moves; for example, they could only promote to previously captured pieces of his own colour; or there could be limitations to the maximum number of pieces of each type present on the board (4 Valkyries, and 4 Forest Oxen, for example - which is already a lot). One can also think of the opportunity to permit the promotion to King (here too, the maximum number must be limited or promotion be only to previously captured Kings). But the game plays already well, I don't think it needs a promotion rule. I was just wondering how promotion could affect the gameplay, and if it could be interessant as a variant.

Edit: my comment about the possibility of promotion wasn't very pertinent. Promotion doesn't make much sense in this game.

This completed game from Game Courier has errored out. Can it be recovered? Thanks, Joe

https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game=Janus%20Chess&log=joejoyce-david_64-2008-52-143

Sac Chess still seems to be holding up well in practical testing on Game Courier, I'm happy to see.

A while back I toyed with the idea of making novel spinoff variant(s) that included the use of N+Guard+Bishop (technically NWB) compound pieces (I've called them Freemasons) and also what I've called Ships, that is N+Guard+Rook (technically NFR) compound pieces (using either an 8x10 or 12x12 board). I had, subsequent to inventing Sac Chess, had the feeling these two triple compound pieces perhaps ought to have been included in a Sac Chess-like game, somehow, as they perhaps logically complete the set of thematic compound pieces added to the standard FIDE piece types. On the other hand, there seems to be no precedent for the use of these triple compound piece types in previously fairly-widely played CVs, e.g. shogi includes the promoted B & R types, at least, while I recall Amazons had been fairly popular, in a variant of chess played in Russia long(?) ago - even centaurs have been employed (Courier-Spiel). So, I don't feel the urge to use the Freemason and Ship compounds as strongly as I once did, as I now see Sac Chess clearly uses the 'classic' compound pieces, as Carlos once put it.

A side issue arising from all this that occured to me is: what values should the Freemason and Ship piece types have? If we note that computer studies place Archbishops (let alone Chancellors) very close to a Q in value, and also place Amazon=Q+N in value (only), at least on 8x8, there doesn't seem much room to put Freemasons and Ships between Archbishops (or Chancellors) and Amazons on a numerical value scale, one might guess (at first thought anyway). I'm not sure what I'd speculate any future computer studies might (approximately) give for the values of Freemasons or Ships, but my own tentative valuation of an Amazon (as =Q+N+P) gives more room to fit Freemasons and Ships on a values scale (e.g. for armies on 8x8 or 10x10), at least. [edit: Fwiw, for 10x10 my own tentative estimates place Chancellor=N+R+P=3+5.5+1=9.5; Amazon=Q+N+P=10+3+1=14 and Ship=(N+F+P)+R+P=(3+0.75+1)+5.5+1=11.25, for example; if I only changed the value of an Amazon, to be equal to Q+N=10+3=13, then its value would seemingly be too close to that of a Ship's.]

The relevant file seems to be missing.  (Also, I don't have Zillions, so another editor would need to verify that the file works should it be uploaded.)

I think it's a fusion between Wildbeast and Xhess not XChess. XChess is a variation with an hourglass.

Chris