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Kibbitz Listing

Game: Chess with Different Armies Log: makov333-cvgameroom-2023-325-687
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

I have used this two-move opening in CWDA for years. But this time I ignored Ralph Betza's advice to keep the pawn structure locked up, preventing the Black Bishops from dominating the open lines.

My plan was to play 38. CH d2-c4 and capture the Pawn on d4 later, but at the last minute I chose another move. Bad idea! Congrats to the winner.

Game: Alice Chess Log: alice1
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

It has been pointed out that 22...k c6-B5 was the only legal move. In that position the lone White Queen is in danger of running out of checks.

EDIT [May 2023] my original notes here were incorrect.

Planning to run some computer analysis at a later date.

- - - - - -

Game: Unicorn Great Chess Log: sherman101-david_64-2008-39-954
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Does "Kibbitzing Comments" still work? Matthew La Vallee gave a link to his Game Courier Preset for Mattexperiment 2 at the bottom of this page on 2008-04-05. This 16x16 game (lacking rules) apparently gave each player a Gryphon, two Nightriders and two Roses. Comments by Matthew La Vallee contains one with no subject header dated 2008-04-22 that discusses how a Rose moves.

A little searching turned up presets named Mattexperiment 1d and Mattexperiment 1f. Sad to say, all we have left of his efforts are some pretty pictures.

Game: Seirawan Chess Log: whizzinater-cvgameroom-2010-259-697
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

There are two ways to make your move. Joe Joyce wrote:

'You've gone into the game 'the wrong way'. Either click on the link in any of the email notifications you received that it was your turn, or go to 'what's New' at chessvariants.org, click on the top item there - the most recent game courier move. This will take you to the Game Courier logs page. Enter your name and password there, and submit. When your list of games comes up, click on your name rather than the game log itself, to get to the game.'

Game: Embassy Chess Log: zdra4-cover33-2010-35-864
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Searching with [Userid:] zdra4 will allow you to delete unplayed games like this.
Game: Grand Shatranj Log: judgmentality-nicholaswolff1-2009-170-265
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Nick, you typed 'resign-', this command will not work with a '-' on the end.

Game: Raumschach Log: bruck-moonbuzz-2008-105-488
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

For the information of the casual viewer: this game was played using a different Unicorn piece from this webpage. Shortly after this particular game began, the Raumschach preset was corrected to show alternate colors for the squares on the second and fourth boards.

See also L. Lynn Smith's Zillions file for Monster 3D Chess. In that 6x6x6 variant the Unicorn moves as in classic Raumschach, while the colorbound Hippogriff 'leaps to the opposite corner of a 2x2x3 area'.

Game: Universal Chess Log: judgmentality-makov333-2009-248-434
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Spotted Gryphon This colorbound piece moves like a ferz and may also continue outward as a dabbabah-rider, until it captures a piece or is blocked from further leaping. It can reach all squares of the same color that a Gryphon can, with the advantage that its movement can only be blocked on those squares. See my Rose Chess page for a Chainsaw (Dragon) movement diagram.

Game: Universal Chess Log: judgmentality-sissa-2009-244-339
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
White overlooked 1.Rose c1-b3-c5-e6-g5 mate.
'RandomChess' variants with powerful pieces can be tricky. 

EDIT: I must have been looking at the Pawn (g4) when I wrote 
about a White Rose checkmate.  As you say, there is no check 
from g5. Tricky indeed!
Game: Pocket Mutation Chess Log: mageofmaple-olbog-2009-127-169
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Rule 6 There is no castling in this game.
Game: ShortRange Courier Chess Log: david_64-joejoyce-2008-353-191
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Has something happened to the Alfaerie: Grand Shatranj image set? No pictures this morning in this game - ditto some Grand/Great Shatranj games I looked at.

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Pawns move one square at a time. They can and must promote to any piece of the same color from the initial setup (for example, a player can have 15 Rooks on the board). Victory conditions are the same as in Shatranj Kamil X: checkmate and most stalemates.

Game: Ca Log: mathemagician-hambledon-2008-304-868
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

I notice that Q f5-d7 crossed a square (e6) that the Black King could move to. Perhaps the program forgot that the Black King cannot capture on that square.

But I have no idea at all why 21. c6-e4 was rejected.

Game: Shatranj Kamil X Log: david_64-joejoyce-2008-208-890
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Each player has three colorbound pieces, which cover the entire board with no overlapping. This game design requires the White Elephants to start on ranks one and two, in order to place them on squares of opposite color from the White Ferz. If, on the other hand, the game started with Elephants on the first and tenth ranks, then the fifth rank would be dominated by White Elephants and the sixth rank by Black Elephants. That initial setup might make it more difficult for the players to advance their pawns into enemy territory - and result in more drawn games.

Game: Shogi Log: hambledon-sdc.stats-2008-256-740
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Promotion is immediate, after making a normal move that ends (or begins) in the promotion zone. But piece drops do not count as normal moves. Click on the [Rules] button for more details.

Game: Shatranj Kamil X Log: david_64-joejoyce-2008-208-890
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Pawn = 100, Ferz = 175, (ordinary) Elephant = 175, Knight = 300, War Elephant = 350 are my revised piece values in this game. Why bump the colorbound pieces up 25 points? The Ferz is a handy little piece, worth a solid 150 points on a 10x10 board, plus a 25 point bonus for promoting (just like the Pawn). While the Alibaba may be worth not much more than 200 points, the Elephant should be nearly as valuable in the endgame, when there are few pieces on the board. Ralph Betza once estimated the combined Alfilrider and Dabbabahrider piece as worth no more than a Knight on an 8x8 board. Instead of generating pages of pseudomathematics here, I will just list some reasons for liking these pieces:

the War Elephant can force a stalemate victory against a lone King,

while King and (ordinary) Elephant can actually draw against five War Elephants, provided they all travel on squares of the opposite color to the Elephant.

Game: Chieftain Chess II Log: david_64-joejoyce-2008-91-546
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Knight = 300, Guard = 300, Shaman = 360, Hero = 450 are my latest estimates for this 16x12 board. I am giving the three-steppers lower values than in Opulent Lemurian Shatranj, as I feel that the much larger board and multiple moves per turn cause a 'leveling out' of the piece values. The Chieftain (giving the player an extra move) is worth at least two Heroes.

Game: Rose Chess XII Log: david_64-sissa-2008-194-848
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

This movement diagram uses hollow squares for the War Machine and X's for the War Elephant (not used in this variant). For an ASCII diagram of Rose moves on a 16x16 board, see the Rose Chess Preset.

Game: Schoolbook Chess Log: sam_trenholme-cvgameroom-2008-163-685
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Sam, I don't know how players manage to accept games without giving their names - but it may not be possible for your opponent to make any further moves. After all, what password does one enter for 'nobody'?

Regarding time limits, I have been trying to convert Joe Joyce 
to a '411' system, allowing two weeks per move: 
[Timed Game?] checked 
[Spare Time:] 4 weeks 
[Grace Time:] 1 week
[Extra Time:] 1 week
Game: Eurasian Chess Log: carlos-cvgameroom-2008-71-600
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Thanks for the game Carlos. I used my Omega Chess set to analyse these complicated positions. After your latest move (in time trouble), it looks like I can win a Rook with:

... Rook f4-f2 check!

Game: Modern Shatranj Log: tchervenkov-jejujeju-2008-30-534
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
We must assume that a tournament game of Shatranj or Modern Shatranj 
will be following the given rules, not footnotes.  I have argued in 
the past that any variant rules worth playing should have their own 
pages on this site.
Game: Raumschach Log: agentofchaos-cvgameroom-2008-108-496
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

WARNING: the pieces are not set up correctly - also the second and fourth levels have the wrong colored squares. You can use my Raumschach Revised preset - eventually an editor will add a link to it on the game information page.

Game: Korean Chess Log: lunaris-cvgameroom-2007-325-709
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'drawn' is the correct word to use
Game: Rennaisance Chess IIc Log: sherman101-cavalier-2008-83-115
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Three years ago I posted Piececlopedia comments about the Cavalier and the Duke, mentioning some gryphon/aanca type pieces used by Adrian King and Mark Hedden. More recently, Gary K. Gifford has posted a 12 by 12 variant called Gryphon Aanca Chess. My own Rose Chess XII has Spotted Gryphons, limiting the number of other pieces in order to provide more 'breathing room' on the board.

Regarding Mark's comment below, the Boyscout / Crooked Bishop has been re-invented at least once. Dababbah riders are rarely seen, but the Dragon in Ca

Game: Rose Chess XII Log: david_64-sherman101-2008-75-749
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
The Piececlopedia has a multicolor Rose movement diagram.
Note that the (half-)rose in this game makes at most four hops.
On a large board, the rose [O] can still move to 32 squares [x]:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
. . . . . . . . x . . . . . . . 14
. . . . . . x . . . x . . . . . 13
. . . . x . . . x . . . x . . . 12
. . . . . x . . . . . x . . . . 11
. . . x . . . x . x . . . x . . 10
. . . . . . x . . . x . . . . .  9
. . x . x . . . O . . . x . x .  8
. . . . . . x . . . x . . . . .  7
. . . x . . . x . x . . . x . .  6
. . . . . x . . . . . x . . . .  5
. . . . x . . . x . . . x . . .  4
. . . . . . x . . . x . . . . .  3
. . . . . . . . x . . . . . . .  2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p
Game: Modern Random Chess Log: j_carrillo_vii-frcec-2008-79-849
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Either player can delete any game here at any time. These (unplayed) games remind me of several Fischer Random Chess games, from years ago, which were abandoned when the players (presumably) did not like the setup they saw.

Game: Capablanca Random Chess Log: joejoyce-jejujeju-2008-30-526
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
[Userid:] joejoyce
[Enter your move] i1-i1; j1-h1  works fine when I try it. 
I think that you have to enter both piece moves to castle.
Note: O-O-O would take your King to the c-file.
Game: Mir Chess 32 Log: joejoyce-adrian-2007-316-493
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Joe does have an extra piece, which he can keep, 
if I correctly remember how a cannon double-pin works.
EDIT: Somehow I failed to see ExN check!
Game: Fusion Chess Log: antoinefourriere-david_64-2008-17-701
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Sent move 14... d6-b8 and received the following message:

Array ( [0] => 1200671435 [1] => 1200757191 [2] => 1200839692 [3] => 1200919765 [4] => 1200947176 [5] => 1201016841 [6] => 1201033856 [7] => 1201099773 [8] => 1201101852 [9] => 1201285016 [10] => 1201352171 [11] => 1201365155 [12] => 1201395912 [13] => 1201614264 [14] => 1201649342 [15] => 1201712285 [16] => 1201735914 [17] => 1201791224 [18] => 1201871003 [19] => 1201880662 [20] => 1201883291 [21] => 1202205298 [22] => 1202246702 [23] => 1202256806 [24] => 1202300831 [25] => 1202365990 [26] => 1202428233 [27] => 1202491577 [28] => 1202564284 [29] => 1202564285 ) 30

1202564285 - 1202564284

Is 1 > 86400 + 1915200, which is 2001600.

It is not your turn to move. Please wait for your opponent to move.

Game: Unicorn Great Chess Log: sherman101-david_64-2008-31-013
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

The Lion

The Lion is a piece invented by Ralph Betza, which he called a Half-Duck. It has been used recently with the name 'Lion' in games by David Paulowich. This piece may leap either 2 or 3 squares horizontally or vertically, or may step a single space digonally. This piece stays on squares of the same color except when it makes the somewhat awkward (0, 3) leap.

The Scout

The scout may step one square horizontally or vertically, or leap exactly three squares horizontally or vertically. Also, a Scout that has not moved yet this game has the added ability to move (once) like a Knight. Like the Knight, it is forced to change the color of the square it occupies with each move.

Piece diagrams and descriptions taken from Greg Strong's Hubbub. The Lion is used in Unicorn Great Chess. The 'War Machine' in Rose Chess XII moves like a Scout, but without 'the added ability to move (once) like a Knight'.

Game: Rose Chess XII Log: sherman101-cvgameroom-2008-19-956
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

The Notes section on my Unicorn Great Chess page has a link to the preset: 'Computer Play: Fergus Duniho was kind enough to playtest this game with me in 2001 and create a PBM preset here.'

Feel free to send an invitation with 'david_64' listed as the opponent. I will start the game some time in the next two weeks.

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

I have also had problems keeping that box unchecked. There is another way around this problem.

Shatranj Kamil X has promotion to a piece that is not in the initial setup. DO NOT CLICK ON THE GAME COURIER PRESET ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE! My original game preset, which has not yet been attached to this page, places extra pieces in the center of the board and then deletes them before the first move is made. So all of the pieces used in my game will show up in the pieces list. Clicking 'Edit this preset' to see [Pre-Game: @-e5; @-f5 ], reveals how I remove the extra pieces from e5 and f5.

Game: Mir Chess 32 Log: joejoyce-adrian-2007-316-493
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
16... e7-d6 // kxg
// well, no major blunders in this game so far... though i
// think i may have been a little hasty with CxN
17. d1-e2 
//KxC Well, it certainly has reduced some of the tension.
// Now we get to find out if a cannon and knight are
// equivalent. Enjoy.

Ralph Betza would say that the practical value of a piece is determined by the hand that holds it. This is the first such duel I have seen in a Mir Chess game. I do recall a wild position 28 moves into my game with Gary Gifford, which left me with Cannon and Elephant vs. Knight. This substantial material advantage (two pieces for the Knight) allowed me to dominate the board deep into the endgame.

http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game=Mir+Chess+32&log=david_64-penswift-2006-4-133

Game: Shatranj Log: lunaris-cvgameroom-2007-317-550
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Black's moves 6,14,15 in this game have the effect of castling his King. This prompted me to looks up some Shogi references:

http://www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/gnushogi/gnushogi_18.html

There is no special castling move in shogi. The term 'castle' is used in shogi to denote a defensive formation consisting of (usually) three generals which protect the king. There are many such castles (about 40 or so have names).

Game: Moderate Progressive Chess Log: bruck-antoinefourriere-2007-269-565
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Just a reminder, Uri needs to shift back 
and repeat move 3, allowing Black to replace 
his illegal move.
Game: Templar Chess Log: david_64-mschmahl-2007-269-569
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
I meant to explain that I was shifting back a move, so Black could take back his illegal castling move.
Game: Fusion Chess Log: judgmentality-joejoyce-2007-270-699
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Joe, I think we all agree on what Fergus meant, if not on what he said. Permit me to ramble on for a while here. Suppose a master slides the White Bishop f1-b5 in a Ruy Lopez. According to the strict 'touch-move rules' FIDE passed in the 1930s, that Bishop has touched the squares e2, d3, c4, b5 and Black has the right to pick any one of those four squares and force White to move to that square. Tournament directors had to ignore that particular rule, as many high level players continued to slide their pieces across the board. Since then, players have tended to ignore how the Bishop gets from f1 to b5. And the younger players grew up on: click f1, click b5, click SEND MOVE.

Which raises a tricky question: Are we enforcing 'touch-move rules' in this tournament? To be specific, if I attempt an illegal move, can my opponent demand that I then make a legal move with the same piece?

Game: Catapults of Troy Log: antoinefourriere-cvgameroom-2005-158-780
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Black's Pawn launch on move 19 passes over multiple pieces. The White King was launched over 8 empty squares in move 23. A Catapult is not a Cannon. It has taken me a while to wrap my head around this concept.
Game: Fusion Chess Log: judgmentality-joejoyce-2007-270-699
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

As has just been posted, the rules do not permit Joe's move. Also, I ran a search with [Game Filter:] Fusion* and found an additional game (fragment) for 'Fusion Diamond 41', but that is all.

Game: Cannons of Chesstonia Log: jejujeju-david_64-2007-232-312
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Thanks for the game. My cannon showed up too late for the battle!
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
While I am tempted to play 22... RxK, 
the game rules mention 'checkmate' and 'stalemate', 
so I have to call 22. KxR an illegal move.
Game: Moderate Progressive Chess Log: david_64-judgmentality-2007-245-682
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Thanks for the game. My knights really got to show off!
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

I am counting five moves for Jeremy on turn 3:

two Knight moves, two Pawn moves and O-O-O.

His 'b8-d8;' was a null move, as the b8 square was empty.

Game: Magicpawns Chess Log: jejujeju-rodriguez-2007-221-566
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Looks like every time Black attempts to capture a piece in this game, it is rejected with a 'you may not capture your own piece' statement. Needless to say, this is a major problem in the preset. You got around this problem on move 11 with:

11... d5- ;d8-d5 //qxp and you should be able to get around this problem on move 14 with:

11... d5- ;c6-d5 //pxq

Game: Ferzes vs. Wazirs Log: judgmentality-mageofmaple-2007-188-624
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

See Ralph Betza's page on Mobility, Forwardness, Distance, Colorboundness, Capture, where he writes: 'Distance: a less obvious reason for the difference in strength between the Wazir and Ferz is that the Ferz has a longer move than the Wazir. The Wazir has a move of length 1.0, the Ferz has a move of length 1.4 ( the square root of two ).'

Regarding Betza's statement, in the endgame a piece may need to move quickly from (b2) to (h8). In Midgard Chess I pointed out that this takes:

[3] moves for a War Elephant

[4] moves for a Knight or a War Machine

[6] moves for a King or a WD (Wazir+Dabbabah).

Game: Hullabaloo Log: judgmentality-david_64-2007-179-865
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Thanks for the invite, but I am cutting back on my internet chess. Catch you in the tournament.
Game: Alice Chess Log: kezier-cvgameroom-2007-172-739
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
If you are looking for an opponent, do not enter your name in both places.
Game: Midgard Chess Log: david_64-brainburner-2007-132-067
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

EMAIL notification for this move took 22 minutes to arrive. I had already spotted your move on Game Courier Game Logs. The internet is full of mysteries.

Game: Rococo Log: matthew_montchal-cvgameroom-2005-279-312
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

'Many presets are now programmed to update the status automatically, and for those that aren't, there are commands available for updating it from the Moves field. If you have won a game, enter won to mark your victory.'

Todor: you need to send won as your move, then this game will be recorded as over.

Game: Opulent Lemurian Shatranj Log: david_64-joejoyce-2007-138-825
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Third time lucky? Joe, you need to adjust your wandering pawn!
Game: Falcon Chess Log: gwduke-cvgameroom-2007-124-722
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
If [f8-h8] does not do the job, then see if [f8-h8; j8-g8] works. WARNING: I have not checked to see how far the King actually travels in this variant.
Game: Alice Chess Log: fergus-joejoyce-2007-73-090
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Total Time: 11 days, 22 hours, 48 minutes, 14 seconds Remaining Time: less than zero seconds 
 
Elapsed: 13 days, 19 hours, 56 minutes, 5 seconds 

I just ran a search under 'fergus' and came up with the figures above.  Well, I am officially confused now.
Game: Falcon Chess Log: carlos-cvgameroom-2006-206-703
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'Falcon Chess Preset for Game Courier' states: 'When castling, the King is allowed to move to any free square between its original position and the Rook's original position. When the King moves only one square, you must enter a double move, such as K f1-g1; R j1-f1 or k f8-e8; r a8-f8.'
Game: Falcon Chess Log: gwduke-cvgameroom-2006-90-840
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

I am just crazy enough to mix Cannons and Bisons in the same variant. And invent positions like this one:

WHITE (to move and win) King(a3), Cannon(g1), Bison (g7)

BLACK King(b1), Cannon(a1)

After 1.CxC KxC the Bison will force mate in 3 more moves: g7-d6-f3-c4. If Black fails to capture the White Cannon, then the three White pieces will eventually force checkmate.

And so the position after 1.CxC KxC also serves as an example of a forced mate in 3 by a single Falcon. In general, a pair of Falcons should be able to mate a lone King. Even a pair of Knights can force a lone King into a corner and stalemate it - but they lack the ability to force checkmate.

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

1. c2-c4

1... n b8-c6

2. c4-c5

2... n c6-e5

3. c5-c6

3... n e5-g6

4. c6-b7 // PxP

4... n i8-h6

5. b7-a8; Q-a8

I just ran this sample game to verify that Pawns promote to Queens (and presumably other pieces) in this rules enforcing preset. Clicking on the [Rules] button takes me to the 'Falcon Chess' page, where a 'Find promo' command results in several comments of a general nature and one example of a Pawn promoting to a Falcon. I am confused - in a game of 'Falcon Chess 100' between the same two players, George Duke writes:

// Right, in our 80-square FC, promotion only to RNBF,

// because R or F is interesting equal choice, depending on

// position. Here FC100 Queen promotion too if reaching that

// farther zone(Rules).

Game: Shatranj Kamil X Log: david_64-david_64-2007-68-788
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

For those of you who find Shatranj Kamil as exciting as watching grass grow, I have used illegal moves to speed up the process here. First: 6 moves for White and 6 'mirror' moves for Black. Next 6 more moves for White, representing his goals for the opening phase of the game.

Points of Interest: Cannons are attacking Pawns in the initial setup, so precautions need to be taken before the Knights are moved. The Elephants on the h-file now defend the j-file Pawns. On the other side of the board ... Cannon(a10) x Pawn(a3) can be met by Elephant c4-a4, followed by Knight d4-b5. The best move for the trapped Cannon is: sacrifice itself for the Pawn(c3).

And what about that Ferz on f2? Will it serve any purpose in the game besides defending the Pawn on g3? One plan for the endgame is to move a Cannon to f1 and 'fire over the Ferz' to control 8 empty squares on the f-file. The Black King and one Elephant must stop on the f-file whenever they cross the board, which is a major headache.

Game: Shatranj Kamil (64) Log: judgmentality-cvgameroom-2007-69-586
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Jeremy, Checking the [Exclude Pieces not in Setup:] box will spare the players (and onlookers) the delays involved in loading those 1200(?) images. Also, I think that some users would prefer to see all the chess pieces in standard (not flipped) orientation. Thanks for your work - my Shatranj Kamil on 100 squares Preset will be available soon.
Game: CwDA:FFvsSS Log: joejoyce-sibahi-2006-271-086
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Interesting ending! Even a pair of Woody-Rooks could mate here - sometimes an unblockable shortrange attack is the most useful thing to have. Joe, this website allowed you to post a 'Long&Short of it' thread, but it will not allow replies (because of the illegal '&' symbol).
Game: Square Tiling Rider Shatranj Log: judgmentality-david_64-2007-41-371
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Jeremy: please adjust your 'TenCubed Chess' preset to Sides: White Black and Side: White.

And as long as you are in the preset, I think that the dark squares would look better with Colors: FFFFFF 888888

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Jeremy: the board looks fine now. I plan on taking at least 36 hours per move, in order to justice to this complex game. I agree with the rule allowing a King to move into check, stay in check, or be exposed to a discovered check during the sequence of moves that make up a single turn. For example, in our last game - Black King captures the White Knightrider [placing the Black King in check again] followed by Black Queen captures White Queen - would have saved the game, if only you had been allowed enough moves to clear a path for the Black Queen.

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Apparently this board is still set at 18 units wide (a - r). This is causing problems with the display, especially when it is Black's turn to move. I propose using these rules:

first turn 4/8 moves, progressive rules for later turns

even a single capture removes the giant ferz

even a single check endangers the giant wazir, and must be countered to avoid mate.

Game: Tiling Rider Chess Log: judgmentality-david_64-2007-29-031
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Yes, if you can force my Queen to stop on the 11th and 12th ranks, then there is no checkmate. I took the Knightrider mate you were kind enough to point out to me and adapted it to a Knightrider support of a Queen mate. Note that my Rook (next to my King) has an important role: preventing you from playing a 1-move Knightrider mate on the 'giant square' directly in front of the Rook.

WILD GUESS at piece values: Ferz=1, Wazir=1, Guard=2, Knight=3. Clearly Knightriders and Queens are powerful attacking pieces. I think that Rooks are stronger than Bishops (no surprise there), but a solitary Ferz can race forward at a steady 2 squares per move and provide the forward line of defense we now know to be crucial in this game. Even with elongated moves, a solitary Wazir advances 2+1+1+2+1+1.

How big is the increase in value when a player forms an aggregates? Well, a Queen may be worth as much as 3 Wazirs plus 3 Knights (that can never form a Rook or a Knightrider). Bad luck for a player to get reduced to 3 of one piece.

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Turn 10 checkmate, because the White Guards on k13 and k14 can only be captured by giant pieces.

If the the Black King captures the White Queen, then 3 more moves are required to eliminate all Knight checks.

If the the Black King captures the White Knightrider, then 3 more moves are required: h13-h11; g13-h12; [Black Queen captures White Queen].

My hypothetical comments two days ago have nothing to do with this mate. Many thanks for the game!

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

'Square Tiling Rider Shatranj' is a perfectly good name for the 16x16 game - it is still your variant, after all. Looking forward to a game with you - but I may wait until next week to begin. I am in a kind of opposite situation to you, with MIR CHESS 36 having started out as the simple idea of an 8x8 version of SHAKO, but my refinement MIR CHESS 32 added several original touches.

'My heart says yes, but my mind says no.' Trust your mind - note how easy it is to move an aggregate to a location adjacent to your opponent's royal piece, so any 'jump off the aggregate bus' rule would allow (part of) the royal piece to be captured in the same game turn.

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

I am tempted to place a nonroyal Giant Ferz on k1, k2, l1, l2 (also k15, k16, l15, l16) and then remove the a1-a16 and b1-b16 columns from the board. This results in a 16x16 variant giving each player 14 copies of each small piece. The (NEW) a1 to p16 diagonal will be shades of blue - which matches the 'black' squares in standard 8x8 chess. The (NEW) locations of the royal giants match that in the 8x8 Shatranj setup.

I am unsure which player actually has an advantage under my proposed 4/8 moves rule. That sounds like fun!

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

You asked for comments:

Your variant reminds me slightly of highly symmetric 9x9 variants, but in fact this 18x18 setup has different pieces on the the 'i' and 'j' files - and the 13th row matches the 3rd row while the 12th row matches the 4th row. This lack of symmetry seems to be a small advantage for Black. Here is a rules change to help Black some more in future games. TURN ONE: White makes exactly 4 moves and Black makes exactly 8 moves. TURN TWO: regular rules apply, with White moving up to 9 times and Black moving up to once more than White.

Game: Grand Rider Chess Log: brainburner-judgmentality-2007-29-748
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
I suppose Black moved a Berolina Pawn on move 5. Larry, you need to bring Black's last LEGAL MOVE up in the display line and press the 'Go' button (where the 'View' button is when you are looking at someone else's game). Next, retype your previous move in the usual line and add a note telling your opponent why his move was illegal.
Game: Schoolbook Chess Log: sam_trenholme-cvgameroom-2006-294-651
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
I plan to delete this game by the end of the month.
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Apparently the game settings did not allow players to 'save up' unused time, which eventually resulted in a time forfeit. I don't know any way to restart this game.
Game: Modern Shatranj Log: joejoyce-judgmentality-2006-46-225
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Jeremy, thanks for making a preset for TenCubed Chess! Only actual play will determine if I have successfully merged two variants into one enjoyable game.

As for the question Joe asked at the end of this game, I suspect that the General is not strong enough to beat a Knight in the endgame. This seems reasonable, as the endgame K+R versus K+N is usually a draw. In fact, I cannot find a winning strategy for King and Dragon Horse versus King and Knight. I set up Zillions to play this endgame against itself on a slow setting, with no progress being made after 60 moves. That is somewhat shocking, as I consider the Dragon Horse to be worth a pair of Knights.

Game: Chess with Different Armies Log: pallab-david_64-2006-125-905
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Sad to say, I do not have the free time to start any new games here. I mostly play on Game Courier from December to March, each year.
Game: Chinese Chess Log: michaeljay-ramalam-2006-48-117
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Typing the word 'drawn' for your move should work.
Game: RuBeN Chess Log: judgmentality-cvgameroom-2006-92-805
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'Suppose that White's Bishops and Knights are exchanged...'

It appears that Betza intended a sort of Chess With Different Armies variant, with the Black pieces on their usual squares.

Game: Chess with Terrain Log: gwduke-cvgameroom-2006-97-776
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'There are 21 possibilities to put 5 pieces in seven spaces...'

[2004-10-07] comment by Roberto Lavieri on the 'Chess w/ Terrain' thread, which I bumped today. I recall reading that one victory condition was: occupy five of the seven yellow squares with your pieces.

Game: Mir Chess 32 Log: david_64-zcherryz-2006-47-058
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
After 27... Cxc4, Black temporarily leads by an Elephant to a Pawn. I was mostly concerned about White playing 28.Exd5 Exd5 29.Rxd5+ Kc7 30.Gd4, and now Black leads by an Elephant to two Pawns - but could still lose his Cannon on c4.
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
27.Nb1 Gxc2 28.Bxd5 looks interesting. I now realize that the White Rook should not be taken: 28... Gxd1 29.Cxd1 check!
Game: Chess with Different Armies Log: olbog-cvgameroom-2006-69-490
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Fergus, this preset announced Check! instead of Checkmate!
Game: Ca Log: lazyking-joejoyce-2005-152-745
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Jeremy, the game ended with double check and mate to the Black Queen, with the White Dragon assisting.
Game: Chess with Different Armies Log: pallab-cvgameroom-2006-64-786
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Every spring I retire from internet chess and return to my local chess club. So what have I learned this time around? STRATEGY: the Half-Duck is worth 50% more than the Short Rook, making it too valuable to risk trading. I should have used my Short Rooks aggressively and perhaps traded them for the Charging Knights.

TACTICS: If Black plays 29...CH b2-b1(check) 30.CR d2-e1 the Chancellor will have to run away, losing a tempo. Black saw the diagonal move 30 at the last moment, because he had been thinking of the CR as a ordinary Rook. What should Black have played earlier? After 28...WR f7-f6 29.CO f4-d3 the Chancellor will still have to run away. After 28...HD e7-f6 29.CO f4-g6 Black has saved his Half-Duck from capture, but White seems to have a mating attack similar to the one that ended this game. One lesson from this game: never assume that your opponent must reply to a capture with a recapture.

Game: Unicorn Great Chess Log: judgmentality-cvgameroom-2006-36-635
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
My congratulations to the winner. Observation: even if the White Unicorn was replaced by a Fibnif (from Ralph Betza's Nutty Knights), Black would still be checkmated.
Game: Eurasian Chess Log: fergus-david_64-2006-60-649
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
On move 20 White played Cannon x Queen, Black retaliated with Vao x Rook, and things got complicated. I think the game was definitely lost when Black failed to play 36... Pawn e6-e5, after which his Knight(c8) is defended by his Bishop(h3), which in turn is defended by his Cannon(h10). At the very least, White's Queen would have a more difficult time breaking through the Black defenders in this position. Thank you for a most interesting game.
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: fergus-cvgameroom-2006-60-221
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
I now prefer the line 4...CxN (Wizard checks) 5.KxC (forced) C h8-f6 check, and the Black Wizard on c8 will capture the White Lion sooner or later. White might do better by declining to take the gambit Pawn on move two. Congratulations to Fergus Duniho for marching his King to safety and winning the game.
Game: Cavalier Chess Log: judgmentality-cvgameroom-2006-58-663
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
not getting an image on 'd4' on my browser (MSIE 6 on Win98)
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: fergus-cvgameroom-2006-60-221
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Glitch in the program? Looking at this position a second time, I believe the move N c3-anywhere defeats Black's double check.
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: judgmentality-cvgameroom-2006-54-945
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'(Since I forgot to eliminate g3 at move 5)'

WARNING: illegal move! There was no reason to remove a square with '-g3'. Counting the 10 blue squares after Black's move 5 verifies that the correct number of removals has been made. Counting the blue squares now shows that there has been one square too many removed.

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
To answer your question, I believe Black can capture the White Lion.
Game: Gast Chess Log: olbog-cvgameroom-2006-25-365
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
At all times in the game '... a pawn may move one or two squares forward, and may capture one or two squares diagonally forward.' This means:

White could have played d4-b6 (PxB) on moves 5, 6, and 7.

Black definitely should have played 8...d9-f7 (PxA).

Game: Gast Chess Log: judgmentality-gwduke-2006-55-426
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
George, you made an illegal Knight move (to the opposite corner of a 4x4 rectangle). This game should be deleted.
Game: Mir Chess 36 Log: fergus-david_64-2006-44-218
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
This preset will enforce rules and spot check, checkmate, and stalemate.you may not move a k from d6 to d5

is the message I get when I enter move 35. I will try again later.

Game: Great Chess Log: judgmentality-spindizzy-2006-46-724
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Fergus, this game announced 'Check!' after Black's move 2 and move 3. Perhaps it is giving a false 'Check!' after every move.
Game: Mir Chess 32 Log: david_64-penswift-2006-4-133
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Once again Gary played the flexible 'Four Pawns Defence'. He lost a Knight late in the game because 30...Nb5? is met by 31.Exe6 checkmate. The fact that an Elephant attack cannot be blocked makes it a very useful piece on a crowded board, compensating for its short range.

Not tried in the game was: 40... a2? 41.Eb3 Rc1+ 42.Kxc1 a1(G) 43.Kc2 Nf3 44.Re6 Nxc2 45.Re1 Gb1+ 46.Rxb1 Nxb1 47.Kxb1 and Black is facing a lost endgame. Thinking about this line, I first considered moving my Rook to a6 in an attempt to win the Black General outright. But 43...Nf3 threatens 44...Ne1+ and appears to force an even trade.

Game: Pocket Mutation Chess Log: mikenels-joejoyce-2006-5-806
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Allow me to offer my congratulations to Michael Nelson here. I placed Courier Chess first on my list, because I went to school with the inventor (old guy joke). By the way, Joe may not get back on the internet until Monday.
Game: Mir Chess 32 Log: david_64-penswift-2005-364-519
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
After making four pawn moves, White's position resembled the start of a game of Makruk. It will take more than one game to decide whether this highly original opening is sound or not. My thanks to Gary for playtesting Mir Chess 32.
Game: Grand Shatranj test Log: joejoyce-penswift-2005-328-033
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'Addendum to C2 - if the player wishes, or no captured piece is available, pawns may promote to general.' was Joe's 2005-12-16 Kibbitz to our game of Great Shatranj (80 squares). As for this game, 'Pawns - the pawns may promote on 8th & 9th and must on 10th rank. Pawns promote to lost pieces.' was the move two message.

Gary, check out today's ShatranjSwapMeet Comment if you are looking for a PBM game. Yours, david_64

Game: Chess Log: bro-cvgameroom-2005-356-863
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
You seem to be playing both sides in this game. You will need to send another invitation in order for someone else to play you. Not much interest in ordinary chess on this site - you might have a better chance of finding an opponent for a game of Fischer Random Chess.
Game: Chess Log: m21b21-cvgameroom-2005-333-257
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Jose: It appears that you chose the White pieces in this game, but you did not send your move.
Game: Ultima Log: matthew_montchal-cvgameroom-2005-307-426
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
http://www.chessvariants.org/large.dir/optima.html

leads to Michael Howe's Optima page, with both 10x10 and 9x9 variants. There are supposed to be 10 Comments, but clicking on the 'View all comments' line leads to an empty page. Also: the Query Results, Starts with the letter 'O', page does not have an Optima entry. Curious!

Game: Shatranj of Troy Log: joejoyce-penswift-2005-328-037
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'David Paulowich is commenting on shatranj (and other ancient variants), and is also working on a shako-style game. Think we might get him to swap games? I know, dream on.'

Be careful what you wish for. (Cue ominous music) I direct your attention to my 'ShatranjSwapMeet' subject on the Ratings and Comments page.

Game: Modern Shatranj Log: joejoyce-zcherryz-2005-154-231
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
I would like to thank you both for this interesting game!

Joe, the moves 45. Rc1-a1 and 46. Ra1-a5 should force a draw. White's Elephant pair is very strong in the center of the board and Black has to worry about the weak Black Pawn (a7).

Christine, now you know which endgame to avoid. You needed to force a trade of the light-square Elephants early in the game - then your General could have exploited the colorboundness of the lone White Elephant. If that was not possible, you could try to trade your Elephant for two White Pawns. Good winning chances for Black - also some losing chances(!)

Game: Mitosis Chess Log: mageofmaple-cvgameroom-2005-156-774
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
WARNING! any attempt to move a piece from f9 or d9 results in: <p>Syntax Error on line 161 <p>The function t has not been defined.
Game: Modern Shatranj Log: joejoyce-zcherryz-2005-154-231
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
http://www.chessvariants.org/d.betza/pieceval/fig2key.html <p>gives some of Betza's thoughts on piece values. My piece values are intended for the late endgame, when a Rook will dominate the board. But nothing is carved in stone - many writers reduce the Rook's value to 14 or so (4.66 Pawns). Feel free to quote my numbers - but I reserve the right to change my mind in the future. How would I rate the pair of MS elephants? I mistrust colorbound pieces. In fact, I have made a career out of trading a Bishop for a Knight in the opening and using my 'deadly Knight pair' in the middle game. Also I generally get good results in one Knight versus one Bishop endgames. <p>Here are some simple endgames. FIRST: K+N vs K+R is usually a draw, except when the White King happens to be on the edge of the board. Perhaps there may also be a chance for a stalemate victory in a Shatranj variant. SECOND: consider the position WHITE K(b2) and E(e5), BLACK K(d3) and G(c4). After White moves the Elephant, the Black General will check on c3, pushing the White King to the edge of the board. I really don't know if there is a forced mate here - Zillions can be useful for testing endgame positions. THIRD: K+E+E vs K+G+P pits a 16 point force against a 15 point force. But Black may be able to advance the Pawn until White is forced to trade an Elephant for it, leading to the sort of endgame I dealt with in the previous note. Generals appear to be much stronger than Elephants.
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Pawn=3, Elephant=8, Knight=9, General=12, Rook=15 is my 'best guess' for the values of the pieces. Back in 1996 Ralph Betza said your General (also called Commoner) was no stronger than the Knight, but he later corrected that mistake. Setting the King itself at 2.5 x 3 = 7.5 points would only make sense if you assign a large penalty for being vulnerable to checks. Elephants and Knights are valuable on a crowded board, but less so in endgames where their ability to leap is mostly irrelevant. <p>I believe I can offer more than just a guess as to what constitutes suffient mating force against a lone King on the 8x8 board. King and one General will suffice, as will King and two Elephants. King and two Knights can slowly force a stalemate victory. Compare the forced mate in sixty moves (or so) in some FIDE endgames where King and two Knights first blockade the lone enemy Pawn, then force the enemy King into a corner, then move in and 'stalemate' the King. After the Pawn makes a move or two, one of the Knights shifts from 'stalemate' to checkmate.
Game: Opulent Chess Log: mageofmaple-cvgameroom-2005-122-773
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Greg: the Rules Button for this game links to Wildebeest Chess.
Game: Shatranj Log: joejoyce-rlavieri2003-2005-99-890
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Assuming that you do not promote a Pawn to a Ferz, then your variant is different enough that you should write it up as a stand-alone variant. I suggest you first check out my Shatranj Kamil (64), soon to be a last minute entry in the 10-Contest. I will have a lot to say about bare king loss, and other rules. Note: Gothic Isles Chess has the only ZRF (to my knowledge) that correctly implements the classic Shatranj bare king rule. Most ZRFs are worse than useless, as I indicated in my 2005-03-30 Comment on the Shatranj page.
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Joe, your idea for 'Modern Shatranj' is very close to Peter Aronson's Gothic Isles Chess (April 2001). That variant has two 'Dragons' that move like Elephants or Counsellors, plus a single 'Champion' that moves like a Counsellor or forward orthogonally (compare the Silver General in Shogi). Pawns promote to a variety of pieces. Also, I am currently putting the finishing touches on Shatranj Kamil (64), with 18 pieces in each army on an 8x8 board, including a brand new version of the Elephant. Pawns promote to Silver Generals.
Game: Kamikaze Mortal Shogi Log: mageofmaple-fergus-2005-89-723
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'In the first story he was called Galloway. Then we packed up and drove to the other coast, and when Hank wrote the second story he had forgotten this and called the character Gallegher. He eventually got around this very neatly by explaining that the man was, of course, Galloway Gallegher. Which sounds rather like the logic of Gallegher himself.' - C. L. Moore (circa 1975) <p>David says: I recall Stan Lee telling a similar story regarding David Bruce Banner [The Incredible Hulk].
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'Jurisprudence should be founded on justice, and not be a three-dimensional chess game.' from Time Locker, one of five fascinating stories in the hardcover book 'Robots Have No Tails' (c) 1952 by Lewis Padgett. Also available as a 95 cent Lancer Science Fiction Library paperback, with Henry Kuttner (author) and C. L. Moore (new introduction). She explains the confusion that resulted in the lead character being named Galloway Gallegher.
Game: Pocket Mutation Chess Log: rlavieri2003-antoinefourriere-2005-67-759
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Congratulations to both of you for an exciting game! <p>I wish to strongly disagree with any proposal that the SuperCardinal should be redefined as a class 6 piece. In fact, the CardinalRider (Unicorn) is still my favorite piece in class 5. On the other hand, the SuperBishop (Dragon Horse) is my favorite piece in class 3. Half the fun of the game comes from players holding fundamentally different opinions and fighting for those opinions on the chessboard. Perhaps we will meet over the board after this tournament ends.
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-kron-2005-44-615
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Looks like mate to me - if this was a tournament game we might have to poll all the players for a decision. Congratulations Carlos!
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-david_64-2005-48-681
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
1. d2-d4;-d2 <p>1... c7-c5; -c7 <p>2. d4-c5;-d4 <p>2... a8-c6; -a8 // is the Paulowich Gambit (accepted), threatening 3...Champion x Pawn and 4...c5-c4, with a discovered mate by the Black Wizard. Black gets a savage attack, which I ended up spoiling with a speculative double Wizard sacrifice. Carlos put up a great fight in the second game - all the way to a 58 ply stalemate, with only 6 squares left on the board.
Game: Marseillais Chess Log: rlavieri2003-cvgameroom-2004-354-179
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Andreas: I traded down to a 'safe' endgame. I still cannot decide who has the advantage after moves like <p>18...K-d6; Q-f4+ <p>19.N-f3; R-h2 <p>19...Q-g4-g6+
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-cvgameroom-2005-37-104
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
4.d1-b3; -d1 was my original plan, before I discovered a way to lose lots of material. After that, I concentrated on looking for any possible checkmates on the board. That has been working for me here - more often than it should!
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: kron-cvgameroom-2005-27-567
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Looks like checkmate to me. Congratulations Carlos!
Game: Marseillais Chess Log: carlos-cvgameroom-2005-9-652
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'A player in check must remove the check in the first half of his turn.' <p>Black's move 10 is illegal.
Game: Grotesque Chess Log: fergus-cvgameroom-2004-336-182
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Congratulations Andreas! One comment: <p>After 42.N f4-d5+ k c7-b7? 43.b4-b5! traps the Black Queen. Which illustrates the old adage: 'When you see a good move on the board, always look for a better one.'
Game: Pairwise Drop Chess Log: david_64-mageofmaple-2004-344-071
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

You start a game of Pairwise Drop Chess by choosing one of five pairs: RR, NN, BB, KQ, AM and placing the two pieces on your first rank. Bishops must be placed on opposite color squares. Each player must also copy the opponent's drops, placing pieces on the same files. This process uses up the first three moves of the game.

Each king may 'free castle' once in the game with either the nearest rook on its left side or the nearest rook on its right side. This variant idea comes from the Kibitzer article 'Bring Back Free Castling!' by Tim Harding. A Pawn promotes on the last rank to a Marshal/Chancellor, Queen, or Archbishop/Cardinal of the same color. Nothing else.

Game: Chess Log: sagig72-david_64-2005-4-268
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Sorry, but I am cutting back on my internet games this month.
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-david_64-2005-4-138
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Sorry, but I am cutting back on my internet games this month. <p>Note: I added a comment to your current Wormhole game concerning an illegal 4th move by Black.
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-cvgameroom-2004-359-596
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
ILLEGAL MOVE 4... g8-f6 <p>The only legal moves for that knight involve skipping over 'blue squares.' The paths traced out are: <p>g8-g6-h5 and g8-f8-d6
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-david_64-2004-354-661
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Once again I had to 'CHECKMATE' you twice to win the game! If you had played Champion takes Knight, then your King would have an escape square on e7. In that case my plan was to sacrifice all my 'Queenside' pieces and try for a stalemate after: <p>... Black Pawn-f4 <p>White PxP <p>... Black King-g4.
Game: Marseillais Chess Log: rlavieri2003-cvgameroom-2004-354-179
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Roberto was thinking about playing 16. Kf1; Rh5. In that case I was planning to advance my passed pawn with 16... c7-c5-c4. White is better off attacking with the Rook and Knight, as he did in the game.
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-david_64-2004-354-661
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
There is no checkmate! White still has 'Pawn takes Lion'. I made a wallpaper diagram of the board position after the Lion check - had my supper - and took a last look at the diagram before making my move.
Game: Marseillais Chess Log: rlavieri2003-cvgameroom-2004-354-179
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Season's Greetings! I will return to my games here around 0800 Dec. 26.
Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-david_64-2004-338-647
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'Checkmate Confusion' has started on move three! This would be a good time to point out that our previous game of Wormhole Chess actually ended in a victory for Carlos. See the COMMENTS section for the remaining moves of that game.
Game: Pairwise Drop Chess Log: david_64-mageofmaple-2004-337-027
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

After 11... Kd6 12. Ac5+ Kc6 13. Ma5+ Kd5 14. Nc3 checkmate

all the active White pieces are on dark squares. This is the secret to bypassing Black's strong grip on the light squares. A similar mating attack also works against 10... d7-d6. The position after 10. Af5 is extremely complicated - I had a reply to 10... Md6, but I forget what it was! Certainly not 11. Axi8? Bh7! 12. Axh7 Axh7 and Black still has a small material advantage.

Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-cvgameroom-2004-295-796
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
looks like <p>22. a3-a5;-a3 // CHECKMATE, as the P(b2) defends the P(d4) which defends e5. Congratulations! I have been using the game diagram as Windows Wallpaper on my computer since move 1, unfortunately that mostly helped me to find good moves for you. I believe that you also had a forced mate after: <p>20. g3-b3;-g3 <p>20... g4-c4;-g4 // Ch x P <p>21. b3-c4;-b3 // K x Ch
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
I meant to write: 'Do you want to play 21. Lion X Champion instead?
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
21. c1-a3;-c1 <p>21... d6-d5;-d6 // K x N <p>Do you want to play 21. Ch X Ch instead?
Game: Pairwise Drop Chess Log: david_64-mageofmaple-2004-337-027
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
A Pawn promotes on the last rank to a Marshal/Chancellor, Queen, or Archbishop/Cardinal of the same color. Nothing else.
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

This variant expands on an idea from the Kibitzer article 'Bring Back Free Castling!' by Tim Harding. A king may free castle with either the nearest rook on its left side or the nearest rook on its right side. When the players drop the kings on the a-file and the rooks on the b-file and i-file, for example, the only possible castling move is switching the king and the b-file rook. The 'outside rook' can never take part in castling. This rule could even be used in variants with more than two rooks for eack player.

More often the rooks will be on opposite sides of the kings. Suppose White has K(c1), R(a1), R(j1) and none of these pieces have yet moved in the game. Let Black have K(e3) and Q(e4). White to move can free castle only by moving the king to d1, e1, f1, or g1. Since the Black queen attacks h1, the king can neither end its move on h1 nor pass through that square to i1 or j1. The rook on j1 can move in free castling to c1 or to any other square between c1 and the one the king ended its move on.

Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-cvgameroom-2004-295-796
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
20. g3-h3;-g3 <p>20... g4-c4;-g4 // Ch x P <p>I used to play only three games at a time and made use of my Omega Chess set. Playing this game 'on the screen' turned out to be a bad idea. For example, I believe you had a simple win with 12. c3-c6;-c3 // check! The game board would be much easier to read if it had grid lines, like the shatranj board.
Game: Pairwise Drop Chess Log: david_64-mageofmaple-2004-337-027
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Choose one of five pairs: RR, NN, BB, KQ, AM

and place the two pieces on your first rank. Bishops must be placed on opposite color squares. Each player must also copy the opponent's drops, placing pieces on the same files. This process will take three game moves for each side.

Game: Wormhole Chess Log: carlos-cvgameroom-2004-295-796
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
I am happy to allow one 'take-back' per game. I actually typed CHECKMATE after my move, but caught my mistake just before sending! Since this PBM preset apparently cannot be changed now, I will accept your suggestion to use Kibbitz Comments to send moves. Also, any time you wish to play Wormhole Chess again, just set up a game with 'david_64' as your opponent. <p>19. e1-g3; -g3 <p>19... h4-g4; -h4 // check!
Game: Chess Log: david_64-cvgameroom-2004-333-958
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
All I see is the Starting Position. When I click on VIEW, I get the following message: <p>'You may not move a P from d2 to d4'
Game: King's Court Log: Ironlance-cvgameroom-2004-292-160
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
If any onlookers expected White to play Chancellor x Knight 'mate' on move 35 or later, then they were confused by the crowned knight symbol used in this preset. As pointed out in my previous comment, the Knight on k6 is defended by the Black Chancellor on k8. I believe that the first time in this game a Chancellor has actually moved two squares in a straight line was on Black's move 37.
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
http://www.chessvariants.org/large.dir/contest/kings-court.html <p>is the first web page I consulted before signing up for this game. The chancellor diagram shows a 'Q2N' move - it can move one or two squares like a queen or make a normal knight move. This preset uses crowned knight symbols for the chancellors, which might confuse some players. Especially if they are thinking about the different definition of the chancellor given in the (lesser) Kings Court variant on the commercial site. <p>The King
Game: Fischer Random Chess Log: math-cvgameroom-2004-313-900
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
What happened to the record of moves 8-9-10? Is there a backup copy of this game somewhere?
Game: Remarkable Rookies vs. Colorbound Clobberers Log: Moonbuzz-bruck-2004-294-671
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Black has been in check ever since White played: <p>'8. e2-e5 // check'
Game: Colorbound Clobberers vs. Remarkable Rookies Log: gwduke-cvgameroom-2004-312-807
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Ralph Betza's Half-Duck also appears (with a name change) in Lions and Unicorns Chess. This 80 square variant is so 'trappy' that the ChessV program has twice tossed away material against me in the opening. The ZRF I was using in those PBM games is now included in the Alfaerie.zip file.
Game: Lions and Unicorns Chess Log: MageOfMaple-paulo-2004-281-878
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

Why sacrifice a Pawn on the first move? It all comes down to search depth. In some lines the White Unicorn can capture the Rook on i8, but it will be trapped after ... Knight j7-h6. These lines may register as 'false victories' in computer analysis.

Running Zillions-Zillions test games at 3 minutes per moves can be extremely effective, but it it cannot rescue a game from human error. After Zillions came up with 8. Bishop e2 - j7, Pawn h6 x i5 9. Bishop j7 x i8, Knight f7 - h6 it was clear that I had tied myself up in knots trying to hang onto the extra Pawn. I chose to capture the Bishop and gamble on my opponent missing the best continuation, a strategy which has served me well over the years. Not this time! Congratulatons to ChessV and its creator.

David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
'Any Pawn may make an initial double move. Whenever a double move takes a Pawn to a space horizontally adjacent to an enemy Pawn, the enemy Pawn may take it by en passant on the next turn. On reaching the last rank, a Pawn promotes to a Chancellor, Queen, or Unicorn, but not to any lesser piece.' This should replace the definition of a Pawn in the Lions and Unicorns variant, which lacks the more complex initial setup of Unicorn Great Chess. Another suggestion: both of these variants could simply link to themselves when you click on the RULES button. At present they link to a Great Chess rules page, a legacy of the Great Chess preset they were based on.
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on

In this second game of Lions and Unicorns Chess, White is ChessV and Black is ZPaulowich (a combination of me and Zillions 1.3.1). The Unicorn moves like a Bishop or a Nightrider, while 'Lion' is another name for Ralph Betza's 'Half-Duck'.

My three games on this site are using an obsolete email account that expires on October 31. I don't even have an email program on my primary computer and hope to continue playing in November without this emailing moves feature.

Game: Lions and Unicorns Chess Log: MageOfMaple-paulo-2004-268-719
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
1. Pawn e2 - e4 1. Pawn e7 - e5 2. Knight j2 - h3 2. Knight j7 - h6 3. Pawn f2 - f3 3. Pawn f7 - f6 4. Bishop g1 - e3 4. Knight a7 - c6 5. Lion j1 - j4 5. Lion j8 - j6 6. Lion j4 x j6 6. Pawn i7 x j6 7. Knight a2 - c3 7. Lion a8 - a6 8. Bishop d1 - e2 8. Lion a6 - d6 <p>looks reasonable to me. But opening lines do not come with a warranty. My previous note showed the loss of tempi resulting from Black playing Lion a8-a6 one move later (move 6). So the line in that note is a positional blunder, at least at the master level. And the line played in our game ended in a tactical blunder. Hard to spot exactly when it happened, especially when I am running a weaker chess program. <p>I am happy to take the Black pieces in Game 2, as long as you are aware that it may terminate on October 31. I have no intention of changing my personalid file here to include my new email address. I will post more details on that PBM page.
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
My 533 MHz computer (AMD K6-2) runs Zillions 1.3.1 at 3 minutes per move, for both sides. After watching TV for an hour, I can return and examine one possible future for the game. This is more important to me than finding a theoretical 'best move', which I would most likely disagree with anyway. Also, I prepared an opening trap. Black was supposed to play: 6 ... Lion j8 - j6 7. Lion j4 x j6, Pawn i7 x j6 8. Pawn b2 - b4, Lion a5 - a8 9. Pawn b4 - b5, Knight c6 - e7 10. Lion a1 - a3, Knight e7 - g6 leaving White with a positional advantage. <p>Something went very wrong and now Black is sacrificing pieces to avoid checkmate. I can take credit for the opening moves, as well as the decision to capture Black's Knight on move 13, instead of the more valuable Bishop. But Zillions is giving a massive boost to my tactical strength. I am in danger of turning into a trained monkey, pushing buttons on the computer and staring at the blinking lights with no comprehension.
Game: Pocket Mutation Chess Log: mikenels-paulo-2004-248-816
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
And Rule 4 in this version is cut back to: <p>'If the piece put into the pocket was removed from its owner's eighth rank, then it promotes to the next higher value class. The exact piece promoted to is chosen immediately.'
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
David Paulowich writes: Michael Nelson has graciously agreed to playtest some new rules I suggested for Pocket Mutation Chess. <p>NEW CLASS 4: Short Queen (piece Y) - moves up to four squares as a Bishop or Rook. Midway between Rook and Queen in normal chess, it may be a very strong 'drop piece'. <p>[NEW RULE 2] If a player's pocket is empty, then the player may remove any of his pieces (except for a king, pawn, or amazonrider) from any square on the edge of the board (28 possible) and put it in his pocket as a move. White may not use the pocket on the first move. <p>[NEW RULE 5] If the player has a piece in his pocket, then he may drop that piece on any empty square not on the edge of the board (36 possible) as his move. <p>[NEW RULE 7] En passant and initial double step rules for pawns apply as usual. Pawn promotion (still mandatory and immediate) is limited to a Class 2 piece. But Rule 4 allows that new piece to 'pocket promote' to a Class 3 piece on the very next move.
Game: Unicorn Great Chess Log: charles-amxie-2004-203-830
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Charles: I saw this game a few weeks ago. If you don't have an opponent, I am willing to take the Black pieces. --- David Paulowich (still planning to post a proper rules page for UGChess).
Game: Unicorn Great Chess Log: MageOfMaple-cvgameroom-2004-213-777
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
After 36. Pawn j2 - j4 Black could try 36... Unicorn c8 - a4 check
 
Running Zillions at 3 min. on a 533 MHz machine gives: 
37. King d1 - c1,  Unicorn a4 - c6 
38. Queen j1 - j2 check,  King c9 - c10 
39. Queen j2 - j3 check,  King c10 - b10 
40. Unicorn f9 - c3,   Rook i10 - f10 
41. Rook e1 - e5,   Rook e10 - e8
David Paulowich Verified as David Paulowich wrote on
Just a note to let you know that I have posted 'Unicorn Great Chess: Inventor's Comments' on the Unicorn Chess webpage and offered some guesses as to the piece values: Pawn 100, Knight 300, Bishop 350, Lion 450, Rook 550, Chancellor 900, Queen 1000, Unicorn 1000. Currently I am busy working on changing the rules file 'alf-capablancaschess.zrf' into 'alf-lions_and_unicorns.zrf'. That's right, this is a draft set of rules placing Chancellors, Lions, and Unicorns on an 80 square board. This time around I am going to prepare a brand new web page before the ZRF files and PBM presets go up on the internet.