Comments by CarlosCetina

I'm reporting that the following log is broken:

https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game=Symmetric+Chess&log=sissa-cvgameroom-2020-188-665

When trying to access it, one gets this message: 

A King may not castle after it moves. Use your browser's BACK button to go back to the previous page, then reload if necessary.

If this is your settings file, you may edit it at https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game=Symmetric+Chess&settings=rules&submit=Edit

@Fergus: Could you, please, take a look at it to try to figure out the cause? I know from email alerts that the last move was from my opponent (wdtr2) 10.Nb1-c3. The settings file was edited by Greg but I don't think he made any changes to the code that might have affected the log.

Configuring the applet to play test my variant called Cetran Chess 3, I find that something is wrong after inserting the HTML code on a web page because images of certain pieces are not uploaded. Five are the ones that fail: Amazon, Marshall, Archbishop, Knight-Wazir and Knight-Ferz.

Regardless of this small inconvenience, I can not but congratulate you for having developed such an extraordinary applet and I hope it is not complicated to fix the problem.

@Greg:

I just noticed that in both standard and alternate piece sets the labels for Sailor (R+F) and Missionary (B+W) are reversed.

They are currently incorrectly labeled thus:

= M

= S

They must be correctly labeled thus:

= S

= M

Could you please take a look at it?

Interesting deduction, Ben. Let's see what Fergus thinks.

Yes, but then how to explain that the program allows moving the piece like Ferz?

With the following code I have made some progress because the piece already can make the desired legal moves:

def Osprey fn (checkride #0 #1 1 1 and empty #0) 
  where #0 0 * 2 sign - rank #1 rank #0 
  #1 
  or fn (checkride #0 #1 1 1 and empty #0) 
  where #0 * 2 sign - file #1 file #0 0 
  #1
or checkleap #0 #1 2 0;
 

def Osprey-Range mergeall 
  leaps #0 2 0 
  rays where #0 0 2 1 1 
  rays where #0 0 -2 1 1 
  rays where #0 2 0 1 1 
  rays where #0 -2 0 1 1;

However something must be wrong since the program allows the Osprey to be moved as ferz. What do you think is the cause?

Thanks. I think we are close to finding the solution!

Then the question is how do we get the where operator returns the 4 options:

where #0 2 0

where #0 -2 0

where #0 0 2 

where #0 0 -2

Is there any other digit to use instead of 0 that fulfills the desired purpose? I mean the zero that I previously underlined.

What is easy to deduce is that the first backward line of code should look like this:

or checkleap #0 #1 2 0;

Is my assumption about the Osprey-Range definition correct?

def Osprey-Range mergeall 
leaps #0 2 0 
rays where #0 0 2 1 1 
rays where #0 0 -2 1 1 
rays where #0 2 0 1 1 
rays where #0 -2 0 1 1;

How should the underlined parts be read (interpreted)?

def Aanca fn (checkride #0 #1 1 1 and empty #0) 
where #0 0 sign - rank #1 rank #0 
#1 
or fn (checkride #0 #1 1 1 and empty #0) 
where #0 sign - file #1 file #0 0 
#1
or checkleap #0 #1 1 0;

Particularly, what do the underlined  0 's mean?

def Aanca fn (checkride #0 #1 1 1 and empty #0) 
where #0 0 sign - rank #1 rank #0 
#1 
or fn (checkride #0 #1 1 1 and empty #0) 
where #0 sign - file #1 file #0 0 
#1
or checkleap #0 #1 1 0;

@Fergus,

Trying to edit a preset for this interesting variant by using the fairychess include file I'm almost done, just need to define the function of the Osprey which is a color-bound aanca, first jumping as dabbabah and then sliding outward as bishop. The following diagram shows its move:

I guess the code for Osprey-Range would look like this:

def Osprey-Range mergeall 
  leaps #0 2 0 
  rays where #0 0 2 1 1 
  rays where #0 0 -2 1 1 
  rays where #0 2 0 1 1 
  rays where #0 -2 0 1 1;

and the Osprey-Desc thus: 

"The %s jumps to the second square on the same rank or file, and then slides outward as a bishop."

Could you please tell me the code for such a function? No hurry; when you can spend some time it's fine. Thanks in advance.

@Greg,

 Thank you very much!

@Kevin,

The new preset page is already updated. Please let me know if you want us to write any particular text there. You don't have to worry about past game logs being affected because I have used another settings name.

I have never seen the word 'compound' used in sequential meaning; I would say the Sissa is an (isosceles) hook mover. And I would not say the Tai Shogi Hook Mover is a (conjunctive) compound of two Rooks. The word 'or' usually implies 'and', and if you consider this operations on the move sets, the 'conjunctive compound' of R and B would have no moves (as B and R have no moves in common), and the conjunctive compound of K and R would be the Wazir, etc. There doesn't seem a case where this cumbersome way of describing more elementary move sets is useful, as they tend to all have simple names of their own. Note that the Sissa can neither move as a Rook, nor as a Bishop.

It seems to me the addition of 'disjunctive' serves no other purpose here then sow confusion in a case that otherwise would be correctly understood with 100% certainty.

Thank you very much, HG, for the clarification. Soon I will make the correction in what corresponds to the Sac Chess preset. It will take more time to do it in other texts because they are many.

What is paradoxical and anecdotal about this case is that I believed that making that distinction introduced clarity!

In passing, it should be borne in mind that 90% of what I write in English is "formatted"  [written, thought, said] by the Google translator.

Thanks Greg. I would suggest that players could choose customize the piece set between abstract and alfaerie.

The one who edited the preset in use was me with some guidance from Fergus.

Sissa is a compound of rook and bishop but its move is not disjunctive, it is conjunctive.

Conjunctive = A and B

Disjunctive = A or B

Am I right?

Hello Greg,

I would like to know if there is any way to access the set of pieces that ChessV uses for Sac Chess, that is, to which group does it belong and the name of the particular set?

I am looking to change in the current preset of Sac Chess the image of the zebra for the most appropriate of the knight/guard.

Thanks, Greg, for answering. Hopefully soon some mobile apps developer could join and help in your ChessV undertaking.

I'm sorry to tell you that I have found these bugs:

1. In Ministers Chess setup the i-rook and the h-knight from White side are switched.

2. In Sac Chess both kings cannot castle.

3. When rotating the boards the numerical coordinates remain unchanged.

4. In Gross Chess the window size does not fit proportionally to the PC screen.

Aside of that, I'm enjoying immensely your masterpiece!