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From Ungulates Outwards. A Systematic Set of Names for the Simplest Oblique Pieces.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Charles Gilman wrote on Thu, Sep 2, 2004 07:18 AM UTC:That is a very good question. In Cardmate Queen+Knight is termed Ace, a usage which I adopted in Fivequarters. Its connotations of supremacy seem suited to a piece with so many moves. This gave me the idea of naming the Queen+Camel compound Acme, which has similar connotations. The common reversed Ca- prefix then suggested Queen+Zebra=Eze, Queen+Giraffe=Ige, Queen+Antelope=Ane, Queen+Zemel=Ezme, Queen+Satyr=Ase, Queen+Gimel=Igme, et cetera.
When you combine a Queen with a Knight you get an Amazon. What do you get when you combine a Queen with one of the other ungulates in your list?
Charles Gilman wrote on Wed, Jul 28, 2004 07:20 AM UTC:Thanks for all the suggestions. I will be considering more complex compounds, and pieces with non-straight paths, in later articles. Since the last posting it has occurred to me that I may have called the FO Ibex under a false premiss: it may be the horns of the oryx rather than of the ibex that tend to fuse, the confusion arising from the common final X. So, would anyone object to changing the name Juncture to Ledge (isolated flat bit on a mountain most accessible to an ibex) - with Jump therefore becoming Lump and Jandyman Landyman? If not, I will include these in an update that I am planning once my article on 3-coordinate oblique leapers (already submitted) is posted.
Defining oblique pieces by their coordinates leads to SOLL, in order to deal only in integers. A Ferz is two Wazir moves at right angles(SOLLs ratio 2:1). A Camel is two Knight moves at right angles (SOLLs ratio 10:5). That symmetry shows why the Quintessence (of Qu. Ch and Quinquereme), rather than Nightrider, is correct extension of Knight in two dimensions. It is worthwhile in the abstract naming the pieces moving oblique directions beyond Camel and Zebra. However, follow-up could relate to Chess and CVs by asking whether 5:3 or 6:1 leapers, as ex, are useful exotic pieces. Probably not. The 5:1 Zemel, 5:2 Vine, 5:3 Gimel, 5:4 Rector are all of them better implemented as 5-square 5-way DRAGON non-leaping: Dragon reaches all of those squares. [See my Passed Pawns, Scorpions and Dragon article] The 4:1 Giraffe, 4:3 Antelope and 4:2 two-step N-rider--all of them come under SCORPION without jumping ability. The 6:1 Flamingo (or Mallet for FO), 6:2 two-step Camel-Rider, 6:5 Pastor, 6:3 and 6:4 -- all of them are subsumed by PHOENIX, a 6-sq 6-way chess piece required to follow specific pathways. Occasionally, commentary might say that Dragon's 5-square move reaches one particular 5:4 'Umbrella'-square, but only colourful embellishment for that instance.
Charles Gilman wrote on Thu, Jun 3, 2004 06:50 AM UTC:Sorry, it was Comiscellany that was wrong, and should be Comixture. Miscellany was a name that I had been considering but changed my mind about, and when I changed it to Mixture I forgot to change Comiscellany. The ending -ure is my final decision, as I have now submitted an article of 3d oblique pieces.
Good. I was concerned when I noticed that Diplomat is already used for a piece with conversion power. For Ze/Gi, did you mean Mixture or Miscellany?
Charles Gilman wrote on Thu, May 27, 2004 07:19 AM UTC:While planning an article on 3d oblique pieces I have been having a rethink on the pieces that Breadman asked about. Huckster stands for 8:3 but I am now warming to Gardener for 8:5 (shortening Gamel and Gâteau correspondingly) and Outsetter for 9:4 (with Tomel and Torteau for what it's worth).
Charles Gilman wrote on Sun, May 23, 2004 08:23 AM UTC:These comments have been most useful. As yet I have heard nothing better suggested to associate with Parson than Nose. My Pope piece (a 3d-crowned Bishop, see the companion article Constitutional Characters) already has a better name than Nose for its FO version, namely Nuncio. Further to my suggested compounds I am warming to Zemel+Giraffe=MIXTURE, and its FO version Sump+Blotch=INFILL, yielding Zebra+Gimel=COMISCELLANY and Stripe+Bump=COINFILL. This is to fit with Churchwarden/Beggar/Treasure/Molehill for compounds involving the (dualless) 2:1:1 3d leaper. How do this page's correspondents feel about these ideas?
I don't think the origin of the term is American, but British. 'Pope's Nose' is also mention in the James Joyce novel <i>A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man</i>.
Re: 'Parson's nose' In my family, as I was a child in the 1950's, the turkey tail was called the 'Pope's nose'. That is US usage, New York City matropolitan area.
Charles Gilman wrote on Sun, May 16, 2004 08:48 AM UTC:I have submitted an update correcting Pastor to Parson (as it correctly appears as a component of the Parvenu). The 'parson's nose' is part of a bird carcase, the tailbone if I remember correctly, but this may be a peculiarly British usage. I do have some sympathy with Michael Howe's view on very long leaps, which is why I did not include Lamel, Cumel, Demel, Vemel explicity in the text. These are more in the nature of by-products. However, a question was raised about them, so I answered it.
Michael: Because it's fun, and because they're extremely easy to describe in a small space.
<p>Charles: I just saw your comment under Flamingo, which suggests Cadan for the 8:3 leaper; that could cause problems with its dual, though. You have a good point with Lamelrider and Somelrider.
<p>I have also found a site which lists <a href='http://www.ultimateungulate.com/'>all ungulate species</a>; that might help with some more names.
Meanwhile, a few triangulator suggestions:
Stork + Somel = Shiatsu or Sapajou;
Albatross + Lamel = Bhalu;
Curate + Cumel = Caribou.
<p>Finally, you mention Rootrider without a precedent, and I fail to see the connection between Pastor and Nose.
The 'first consonant and vowel' rule for colourbound duals gives a 9:5 Somel and 11:7 Lamel, with the advantage that the whole name is preserved when -rider is attached for the long-range version. The forward-only forms of these would be Gump and Fump. I have some TENTATIVE suggestions for the others, but welcome alternative ones. I have also considered 3-d oblique leapers, for which I will eventually submit a piece article. For some of the longer-range ones I suggest names of small animals (simply because so few of these have been used before) including a 6:6:1 Hamster and a 7:6:2 Fruitbat. As these have the same respective leap lengths as the 8:3 and 8:5 leapers, I can suggest 'same-endings' names for the latter as Huckster (a kind of salesman) and Diplomat. For 9:4 I am wavering between Gatecrasher and Gatekeeper, simply because I do not use Ga- for an oblique piece anywhere else. This would give an 11:5 Humel, 13:3 Fumel, and 13:5 Gamel. Triangulators could include Hutu (an African tribe) and Gateau.
This is an amazing collection of pieces; the largest set I have been able to add to a collection I'm making. I took the liberty of naming the duals of the Stork and Albatross as the 9:5 Stomel and 11:7 Blamel. That leaves only three holes with single-digit coordinates: 8:3, 9:4, and 8:5, with duals 11:5, 13:5, and 13:3 respectively. Any ideas?
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