Comments/Ratings for a Single Item

It can be argued that if chess is a forced draw from opening position, then first move advantage doesn’t exist at all. Yet even if someone showed proof that chess is drawn game, humans would still atribute some advantage to white. Its not completely unreasonable that someone migth derive advantage from playing with more familiar setup (assuming one would play this variant enough). Quantifying this advantage and comparing it to first move advantage is another story though.

I agree that it is exceedingly unlikely that anyone would ever develop opening theory for these games. And of course it is your design, and you can pick the rules anyway you like them.

But what I object to (since your submission is open for review) is your claim that the rule you propose compensates the first-move advantage. Especially if you don't believe yourself that black would ever go to the trouble of developing opening theory, it is a misleading claim.

Seriously, nobody will study the opening theories for my games. If few are just playing, I'll be happy. I still believe that if they are many setups, the impact of learn-by-heart openings will be less important. I like the idea of one player choosing the setup and the opponent making the first move. I understand that other people may like other ideas, no problem.

It seems to me that the black player who chooses the setup has an advantage to his white opponent who doesn't know what will be the setup. It is true that the black player may know an opening theory for his favorite setup but as they are a lot of possible setups, one would have to know a lot of opening theories which is reducing the impact in my opinion.

There is no game-theoretical advantage from choosing btween a number of symmetric, and therefore mostly equivalent start position. The only way black can derive any advantage from this is by having very extensive opening knowledge for the setup he is going to choose. Only white would have to prepare for all openings, if he has no clue what black is going to choose. (Which presumably is hopeless, due to the large number.) Black, however, only has to prepare for one, and can use that one in every game he plays as black. (And even if it is commonly known what he will pick, it is not much help to the white player if he has to play a variety of opponents.)

So I think that rather than doing away with the burden of opening theory, your rules compell the players to study opening theory for black, in order to neutralize the first-move advantage.

I am confused. Yesterday I created a new page for a new entry called "Maasai Chess". This page is now waiting for approval by editors. This is not the problem.

After, I wanted to create a new Game Courier preset to play this Maasai Chess. Then, I follow the link to create a new GC preset. But at the end, the process gives a similar template than for a normal page entry. This is confusing.

So, I started from an existing GC preset of my own, I modified it, I renamed it "Maasai Chess", I saved it and I spent my evening working on it. This morning, I wanted to come back on it and continue ... but I can't find it. Where is it?

When I look under my name to my unpublished submissions, I see the normal page for "Maasai Chess" but for the GC preset I just see the void page I had made, and not the file I had worked on yesterday.

May someone help me?

It seems to me that the black player who chooses the setup has an advantage to his white opponent who doesn't know what will be the setup. It is true that the black player may know an opening theory for his favorite setup but as they are a lot of possible setups, one would have to know a lot of opening theories which is reducing the impact in my opinion.

Why do you say that black's privilege of choosing the initial setup would compensate the first-move advantage? It shouldn't be worth anything, because white gets exactly the same arrangement of pieces. And having one player determine the setup interferes with the purpose of having no opening theory.