[ List Latest Comments Only For Pages | Games | Rated Pages | Rated Games | Subjects of Discussion ]
Comments by GlennOverby
<p>Looking at Peter's questions...
<ol>
<li>What is the maximum height of a stack of stones? With Eaglet promotion it is possible to get more than 8 stones on the board -- can a stack contain more than 8?
<ul>
<li>I favor an 8 stone limit as well. I did not vote for the rule that won precisely because of its interaction with the Towers.
</ul>
<li>Are the pieces of the Tower of Hanoi allowed to both break apart and merge with others in the same move? Or are the breaking moves and merging moves separate?
<ul>
<li>I favor break-or-merge, but could live with break-and-merge.
</ul>
<li>And should the Tower be allowed to make capture moves when breaking apart?
<ul>
<li>I see no reason why not. Only one 'piece' is moving.
</ul>
</ol>
<p>Just my $.02...Glenn
I apologize for not making the second round vote rules more clear. There should have been a third clause: 'Entrants may vote or not vote under the same rules as all other voters.' Now I'm glad that I posted the finalists a few days early. :)
I have no objection to modifying the official Luotuoqi rules to use king-capture instead of checkmate for victory. If a majority of contributors concur, let it be so. ===== Entrant 3, the second to propose the Separate Realms Rook (under a different name), has withdrawn that entry in favor of Entrant 2's earlier independent submission. I'll make the change in a few minutes.
The eight finalists are now posted to the site. Congratulations to the survivors, and a big thanks to all who entered and all who voted. The finals round of voting runs from 15 July through 15 August. Glenn
One question, one plea: Question: Will any two Towers trigger the new promotion rule, or only two Towers of the same height? (I recommend the latter.) Plea: ZRFers out there, the time is upon us. We need someone to take up the formidable challenge of coding The Cube. Everything else appears to be moderately straightforward. If you can code The Cube for an otherwise standard game of chess, let me know. We'll beg and plead to let us put it into a Camel Chess ZRF. :) Glenn
Hi, folks. Thanks for the good suggestions. I am over my computer difficulties, and will be back up to speed very soon. There are three entrants who have not yet voted. All voters who mentioned voting in this thread have their ballots in. I am allowing until midnight CDT on Sunday, July 6th for those voters, or any others, to get in their ballots. Existing ballots may also be changed up to that time. I'll count votes on the 7th. Glenn
::waving Hello:: My computer was down temporarily. I'll be up to speed Real Soon Now. Promise. ;)
In a very divided vote, the winner is the Diagonal Bypasser. A different method of counting votes might have given either the Sliding Bishop or Chaplain the nod. I'll add this to the page over the weekend. Thanks to everyone who has voted on New Rules so far; that poll closes on the 30th.
Thank you, gentlemen, both for the support and the critique.
The poll results are on the site. I don't have the link handy, but clicking on Polls on the sidebar of the What's New page should get you in the right place. Any number of voters is more input than simply letting the editors pick. Our primary say comes in determining what gets on the ballot from public suggestions. We also break ties. Offhand, I could easily have nominated Tamerlane, Alice, or Hostage without a second thought. The field was tough, as was picking ONE to vote for.
One of the recurring challenges of life, when building up any organization to fulfill a given purpose, is to build something which will last beyond the interest or ability of the founder to continue. Hans has done that, and has in the process established himself as a great modern contributor to the history of chess. Well done.
Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention.
<p>No, this idea hasn't died. A revision to the selection criteria has been floated to the staff for comments. The remark of Antoine Fourriere here is particularly on point, that a player ought not be able to win this by knowing only four games.</p>
<p>I seek inputs on a different issue:</p>
<blockquote>
If you were going to recommend up to five variants for listing in a championship tournament, <b>other than Recognized Variants</b>, what would you recommend and why?
</blockquote>
<p>I don't have five on the tip of my tongue, although reflection might give me two dozen. But <i>Hostage Chess</i>, <i>Rococo</i>, and <i>Alice Chess</i> strike me as three good starting points.</p>
<p>(I expect the revised selection method to involve lists dominated by Recognized Variants, with a few others mixed in for variety.)</p>
The finals jury will be Glenn Overby, John Lawson, and Peter Aronson. This provides one judge from each preliminary group, and all judges from the CVP staff. To the judges of the preliminaries: Thank you for stepping forward at a difficult time to ensure that the contest could go on.
The 12 finalists have been announced. I do not have entries in competition, so I will probably be putting my competitions editor hat back on to organize the finals jury. A further announcement may be expected in a couple of days. Good luck to the finalists!
I left the King unpromoted for two reasons. One was the notorious difficulty of checkmating more mobile royal pieces. The other was the influence of Shogi itself, where the King is one of just two pieces that cannot promote. But there are potentials for promoting the King, and a case could be made that if it survives to get out 7 ranks it deserves to be harder to kill :)
Two groups have finished judging. The third has been corresponding with me about their overall progress, and I expect they will be done this weekend. I would therefore expect the finalists to be posted within a week.
<p><i>John wrote: The selection for options 2 and 3 should be limited to variants posted at the time the contest is announced.</i>
<p>I concur, for the reasons you stated.
<p><i>Antoine wrote: I would suggest to draw randomly the games for 'choice 1' among all the recognized variants.</i>
<p>I think that some recognized variants are clearly superior for purposes of the competition, and others clearly less than suitable. But a random draw between 20 or so games <i>might</i> be OK.
<p><i>Antoine also wrote: I don't believe a player should have to be skilled in only four variants to win the Championship.</i>
<p>I agree. But I also believe that as we <i>require</i> each player to know a greater number of games, we also reduce the number of players who may be willing to enter.
<p><i>And Antoine asked: 'No player may use a machine for active assistance in analysis.' Does this mean we cannot use Zillions at all, or simply that we may not have Zillions search the better move...</i>
<p>You can use Zillions as a record keeper. You cannot use Zillions as an advisor. (Enforcing this, as with all rules about outside aid in correspondence play, is of course largely a matter of honour.)
William: I have no objection to an entry fee of zero. However, it is perhaps appropriate to note that open championships in virtually every competitive discipline routinely charge entry fees. Roberto: The choice of games for list 1 is certainly something I would want discussed. I would not want to see list 1 larger than three or four games, as one of the perceived difficulties with the multivariant concept is being =required= to learn a whole bunch of variants to compete. On the list 1 suggestions: I looked for games that broadly sample the different directions of chess variants, while being recognized for excellence in their own right. CWDA brings many different pieces into play. Extinction provides a different way to win. Grand is a modern great or extended chess, a thousand-year tradition. Progressive is the quickest multiple-move variant. There are certainly other candidates. On the philosophical question of Shogi and Xiangqi as variants: I would avoid both on list 1, but would look at variants of either. (Five-Minute Poppy Shogi comes to mind.) As for a player listing Shogi, Xiangqi, or Western chess on their personal list...that's fine with me.
On the naming of combined leapers: I developed a family of combined leapers for Beastmaster Chess. Positing the Horse's move as three squares including a turn (another way of describing a 1,2 leap), I used pieces with four, five, and six square moves including a turn. The colorbound Roc is (1,3) + (2,2), Camel+Elephant. The colorchanging Pegasus is (1,4) + (2,3), Giraffe+Zebra. The colorbound Wyvern is (1,5)+(2,4)+(3,3). None of these names is in =common= use elsewhere. Pegasus found its way into ximeracak. as well.
Voting instructions have now been posted above. Just send an email to the address listed, listing up to 15 games in order of merit and including your name. Entrants MUST vote for at least 10 games, and MUST NOT vote for their own at this stage. Glenn
Actually, there's a great deal going on. At work. :) I expect to post the voting instructions later this weekend. Glenn
Selecting a royal piece might be an interesting addition to Luotuoqi II. I can think of more than a few ideas. :)
I have been informed that Group B has also reached a decision. So it looks like a finals list is at least possible by mid-May.
Just two days left for the voters to pick a new Queen! If you want in on the remaining three polls (Bishops, the second New Rule, and Rooks) then send in a suggestion for one or more of them. :) I am also starting to look at ideas for how to organize Luotuoqi II, possibly without the limitation of the standard set. Given the long history of chess on somewhat bigger boards, here's my first idea: The game is for a 10 x 10 board. First ballot selects three 'doubled' pieces (two of each in setup), and a fourth- through seventh- choice as possible extras. Second ballot selects three 'single' pieces (one of each in setup), and a fourth- and fifth choice as possible extras. Third ballot selects a pawn to be used, including oddities such as promotion and multiple step. Fourth ballot selects three extra rules, with a 100-word limit instead of 50 words. Fifth and final ballot selects a setup. This would include three to seven 'doubled' pieces, three to five 'single' pieces, a king, and the row of pawns (which may be staggered on more than one rank, or have holes). Assuming a full row of 10 pawns...which is not mandated, although it is likely...this makes for 20 to 30 pieces per side according to voter preference. Your comments are invited.
25 comments displayed
Permalink to the exact comments currently displayed.